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IBM

Machine Learning: Classification

IBM via edX

Overview

This course provides an introduction to classification, a fundamental technique in supervised machine learning used to predict categorical outcomes. Learn how to build, train, and evaluate predictive models using methods such as logistic regression, decision trees, and powerful ensemble techniques like random forests and gradient boosting.

You’ll gain hands-on experience with essential machine learning practices, including properly splitting data into training and testing sets to avoid overfitting and using techniques like oversampling and undersampling to handle unbalanced datasets. This ensures your models are both accurate and robust when applied to real-world data.

A key focus of the course is on model evaluation using a range of error metrics, helping you compare performance and choose the best model for your data. By the end of the course, you will understand when to use classification versus other supervised learning methods, how to implement and interpret different classification algorithms, and how to use best practices to ensure your models are effective and generalizable.

This course is ideal for aspiring machine learning engineers and data scientists looking to apply classification techniques in practical business scenarios. Whether you’re aiming to predict customer churn, detect fraud, or categorize products, this course will equip you with the skills needed to solve real-world classification problems.

To succeed in the course, you should be comfortable with Python programming and have a foundational understanding of data cleaning, exploratory data analysis, calculus, linear algebra, probability, and statistics.

Syllabus

Course Introduction

  • Reading: About this course

  • Video: Welcome

  • Reading: Optional: Download data assets

Module 1: Logistic Regression

  • Reading: Learning Objectives

  • Video: Introduction: What is Classification?

  • Video: Introduction to Logistic Regression

  • Video: Classification with Logistic Regression

  • Video: Logistic Regression with Multi-Classes

  • Video: Implementing Logistic Regression Models

  • Video: Confusion Matrix, Accuracy, Specificity, Precision, and Recall

  • Video: Classification Error Metrics: ROC and Precision-Recall Curves

  • Video: Implementing the Calculation of ROC and Precision-Recall Curves

  • Practice Assignment: Logistic Regression

  • Demo Lab: Logistic Regression

  • Reading: [Optional] Download Assets for Demo Lab: Logistic Regression

  • Video: [Optional] Logistic Regression Lab - Part 1

  • Video: [Optional] Logistic Regression Lab - Part 2

  • Video: [Optional] Logistic Regression Lab - Part 3

  • Practice Lab: Logistic Regression

  • Practice Assignment: Logistic Regression Labs

  • Reading: Summary/Review

  • Module 1 Graded Quiz Logisitic Regression

Module 2: K Nearest Neighbors

  • Reading: Learning Objectives

  • Video: K Nearest Neighbors for Classification

  • Video: K Nearest Neighbors Decision Boundary

  • Video: K Nearest Neighbors Distance Measurement

  • Video: K Nearest Neighbors Pros and Cons

  • Video: K Nearest Neighbors with Feature Scaling

  • Practice Assignment: K Nearest Neighbors

  • Demo Lab: K Nearest Neighbors

  • Video: [Optional] K Nearest Neighbors Notebook - Part 1

  • Video: [Optional] K Nearest Neighbors Notebook - Part 2

  • Video: [Optional] K Nearest Neighbors Notebook - Part 3

  • Practice Lab: K Nearest Neighbors

  • Practice Assignment: K Nearest Neighbors Labs

  • Reading: Summary/Review

  • Module 2 Graded Quiz – KNN

Module 3: Support Vector Machines

  • Reading: Learning Objectives

  • Video: Introduction to Support Vector Machines

  • Video: Classification with Support Vector Machines

  • Video: The Support Vector Machines Cost Function

  • Video: Regularization in Support Vector Machines

  • Practice Assignment: Support Vector Machines

  • Video: Introduction to Support Vector Machines Gaussian Kernels

  • Video: Support Vector Machines Gaussian Kernels - Part 1

  • Video: Support Vector Machines Gaussian Kernels - Part 2

  • Video: Support Vector Machines Workflow

  • Video: Implementing Support Vector Machines Kernal Models

  • Practice Assignment: Support Vector Machines Kernels

  • Demo Lab: Support Vector Machines

  • Video: [Optional] Support Vector Machines Notebook - Part 1

  • Video: [Optional] Support Vector Machines Notebook - Part 2

  • Video: [Optional] Support Vector Machines Notebook - Part 3

  • Practice Lab: Support Vector Machines

  • Practice Assignment: Support Vector Machines Labs

  • Reading: Summary/Review

  • Module 3 Graded Quiz: Support Vector Machines

Module 4: Decision Trees

  • Reading: Learning Objectives

  • Video: Overview of Classifiers

  • Video: Introduction to Decision Trees

  • Video: Building a Decision Tree

  • Video: Entropy-based Splitting

  • Video: Other Decision Tree Splitting Criteria

  • Video: Pros and Cons of Decision Trees

  • Practice Assignment: Decision Trees

  • Demo Lab: Decision Trees

  • Reading: [Optional] Download Assets for Demo Lab: Decision Trees

  • Video: [Optional] Decision Trees Notebook - Part 1

  • Video: [Optional] Decision Trees Notebook - Part 2

  • Video: [Optional] Decision Trees Notebook - Part 3

  • Practice Lab: Decision Trees

  • Practice Assignment: Decision Trees Labs

  • Reading: Summary/Review

  • Module 4 Graded Quiz: Decision Trees

Module 5: Ensemble Models

  • Reading: Learning Objectives

  • Video: Ensemble Based Methods and Bagging - Part 1

  • Video: Ensemble Based Methods and Bagging - Part 2

  • Video: Ensemble Based Methods and Bagging - Part 3

  • Practice Assignment: Bagging

  • Video: Random Forest

  • Practice Lab: Random Forest

  • Practice Assignment: Random Forest

  • Demo Lab: Bagging

  • Reading: [Optional] Download Assets for Demo Lab: Bagging

  • Video: [Optional] Bagging Notebook - Part 1

  • Video: [Optional] Bagging Notebook - Part 2

  • Video: [Optional] Bagging Notebook - Part 3

  • Practice Lab: Bagging

  • Practice Assignment: Practice Lab: Bagging

  • Video: Review of Bagging

  • Video: Overview of Boosting

  • Video: Adaboost and Gradient Boosting Overview

  • Video: Adaboost and Gradient Boosting Syntax

  • Video: Stacking

  • Practice Assignment: Boosting and Stacking

  • Demo Lab: Boosting and Stacking

  • Reading: [Optional] Download Assets for Demo Lab: Boosting and Stacking

  • Video: [Optional] Boosting Notebook - Part 1

  • Video: [Optional] Boosting Notebook - Part 2

  • Video: [Optional] Boosting Notebook - Part 3

  • Practice Lab: Ada Boost

  • Practice Lab: Stacking For Classification with Python

  • Practice Lab: (Optional) Gradient Boosting

  • Practice Assignment: Boosting and Stacking Labs

  • Reading: Summary/Review

  • Module 5 Graded Quiz

Module 6: Modeling Unbalanced Classes

  • Reading: Learning Objectives

  • Video: Model Interpretability

  • Video: Examples of Self-Interpretable and Non-Self-Interpretable Models

  • Video: Model-Agnostic Explanations

  • Video: Surrogate Models

  • Practice Lab: Model Interpretability

  • Practice Assignment: Model interpretability

  • Video: Introduction to Unbalanced Classes

  • Video: Upsampling and Downsampling

  • Video: Modeling Approaches: Weighting and Stratified Sampling

  • Video: Modeling Approaches: Random and Synthetic Oversampling

  • Video: Modeling Approaches: Nearing Neighbor Methods

  • Video: Modeling Approaches: Blagging

  • Practice Lab: Modeling Imbalanced Classes

  • Practice Assignment: Modeling Unbalanced Classes

  • Reading: Summary/Review

  • Module 6 Graded Quiz

  • Peer Assignment: Course Final Project

  • Reading: Thanks from the Course Team

Taught by

Joseph Santarcangelo and Skills Network

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