Weekly Summary

Week [7]: [Introduction to Neural Networks]

Overfitting and underfitting are common issues in machine learning that

affect a model's ability to generalize to new data. Overfitting occurs when a
model learns the training data too well, capturing even the noise and minor
fluctuations. This results in high accuracy on training data but poor
performance on unseen data, as the model fails to generalize beyond the
specific patterns of the training set. Overfitting typically happens with
overly complex models that have too many parameters relative to the
dataset size.
On the other hand, underfitting happens when a model is too simple to
capture the underlying patterns in the data. This can lead to high errors on
both training and test data, as the model is unable to learn and represent
the relationships within the data accurately. Underfitting often occurs with
models that lack complexity or have insufficient features or training time.
Balancing complexity is key to avoiding both issues, which is why
regularization and careful tuning are critical in model development.

Day 1
Topic:
Understanding Overfitting, Underfitting, and the Bias-Variance Trade-off

Objective:
Grasp the foundational concepts of overfitting and underfitting in machine
learning, along with how the bias-variance trade-off influences model
accuracy and generalization.

Activity/Assignment/Experiment/Practical:
 Train a simple linear regression model on a dataset.
 Gradually increase model complexity by adding more polynomial
terms (e.g., quadratic, cubic) and observe changes in performance.
  Plot training and validation errors to visualize when the model starts
overfitting or underfitting.
 Analyze how model complexity affects bias (systematic error) and
variance (sensitivity to fluctuations in training data).

Learning Outcomes:
 Developed an understanding of overfitting (when a model performs
well on training data but poorly on unseen data) and underfitting
(when a model is too simple to capture the data's patterns).
 Learned that the bias-variance trade-off is about finding the right
balance: too much bias can lead to underfitting, and too much
variance can lead to overfitting.

Challenges Faced:
Grasping the impact of bias and variance on model performance and
understanding when a model is underfitting or overfitting.

Skills Developed/Improved:
 Basic understanding of evaluating model performance on training vs.
validation data.
 Insights into model complexity and its role in bias and variance.

Day 2
Topic:
Introduction to Lasso (L1) and Ridge (L2) Regularization

Objective:
Learn how Lasso and Ridge regression techniques help control overfitting
by penalizing complex models and reducing unnecessary features.

Activity/Assignment/Experiment/Practical:
 Build a linear regression model without regularization and observe
its performance.
  Implement Lasso (L1) and Ridge (L2) regression on the same dataset
and compare their performance.
 Experiment with different alpha values to understand how they
control the strength of regularization:
o Lasso (L1): Adds a penalty equal to the absolute value of
coefficients, leading to sparse models where some feature
weights can be zeroed out (feature selection).
o Ridge (L2): Adds a penalty equal to the square of coefficients,
reducing the influence of features without completely
eliminating them.

Learning Outcomes:
 Understood how regularization penalizes large coefficients, helping
to mitigate overfitting by reducing model complexity.
 Gained insight into when to use Lasso (for sparse models or feature
selection) and Ridge (for reducing multicollinearity among features).

Challenges Faced:
Finding the optimal alpha values to achieve a balance between
regularization and model accuracy.

Skills Developed/Improved:
 Practical understanding of Lasso and Ridge implementations.
 Improved capability to control model complexity through
regularization.

Day 3
Topic:
Applying Regularization to Improve Model Generalization

Objective:
Gain hands-on experience in building a more robust regression model by
using Lasso and Ridge regularization to prevent overfitting.
Activity/Assignment/Experiment/Practical:
1. Baseline Model Creation:
o Start with a linear regression model without regularization and
evaluate its accuracy using metrics such as Mean Squared Error
(MSE) and R-squared.

2. Apply Regularization:
o Implement Lasso and Ridge regression models on the same
dataset, tuning hyperparameters (like alpha) for each
regularization technique.
o Observe changes in model accuracy and coefficients to see the
impact of regularization.

3. Performance Comparison:
o Compare the regularized models against the baseline,
observing improvements in validation performance and
reduced overfitting.
o Experiment with Grid Search or Random Search to optimize
hyperparameters for maximum accuracy.

Learning Outcomes:
 Learned how Lasso and Ridge regularization can improve model
accuracy by controlling overfitting.
 Gained insight into the process of hyperparameter tuning to optimize
regularization strength for each model.

Challenges Faced:
Balancing regularization strength (alpha) to achieve an ideal generalization
without sacrificing too much accuracy.

Skills Developed/Improved:
 Hyperparameter tuning skills.
 Hands-on experience with regularization for model optimization and
improved generalization.
Day 4
Topic:
Exploring Feature Engineering and Feature Selection Techniques

Objective:
Understand the importance of creating and selecting meaningful features to
enhance model performance.

Activity/Assignment/Experiment/Practical:
1. Feature Engineering:
o Experiment with creating interaction terms (e.g., product of
two features) and polynomial features to capture more complex
relationships.
o Engineer domain-specific features if applicable, like temporal
features (e.g., month, season for time-series data) and
transformations (e.g., log, square root).

2. Feature Selection Techniques:

o Apply correlation analysis to identify highly correlated features
that may not contribute unique information.
o Use model-based feature importance (e.g., tree-based
importance from Random Forest or feature weights from
Lasso) to select the most influential features.

Learning Outcomes:
 Gained an understanding of how feature engineering improves a
model’s ability to capture relevant patterns in data.
 Learned techniques to select impactful features and eliminate
redundant or noisy ones.

Challenges Faced:
Deciding which features to keep or discard, especially with high-
dimensional datasets.
Skills Developed/Improved:
 Enhanced skills in feature engineering and selection.
 Improved understanding of feature contributions to model
performance.

Day 5
Topic:
Importance of Data Transformation for Model Optimization

Objective:
Learn how data transformation techniques like normalization,
standardization, and encoding help improve model performance and
training consistency.

Activity/Assignment/Experiment/Practical:
1. Normalization and Standardization:
o Apply normalization (scaling values between 0 and 1) and
standardization (scaling to have a mean of 0 and standard
deviation of 1) to numerical data.
o Compare model training speed and accuracy with and without
scaling.

2. Encoding Categorical Variables:

o Experiment with encoding techniques like One-Hot Encoding
(for nominal variables) and Label Encoding (for ordinal
variables).
o Use advanced techniques such as Target Encoding (encoding
based on target mean) for high-cardinality categorical features.

Learning Outcomes:
 Understood the impact of scaling on model convergence and
performance.
  Learned various encoding techniques and the importance of choosing
the right encoding based on variable type and model compatibility.

Challenges Faced:
Selecting the right transformation techniques for different data types and
managing categorical variables with numerous categories.

Skills Developed/Improved:
 Practical knowledge of data preprocessing techniques.
 Improved understanding of the role of data scaling and encoding in
optimizing model training.

Day 6
Topic:
Refining Model Input with Advanced Feature Selection Methods

Objective:
Learn advanced feature selection methods to optimize model performance
by focusing on impactful features.

Activity/Assignment/Experiment/Practical:
1. Variance Thresholding:
o Apply a variance threshold to remove low-variance features
that contribute minimal information.

2. Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE):

o Use RFE to iteratively remove the least important features
based on a model’s performance (e.g., with linear regression or
a tree-based model).

3. Model-Based Feature Importance:

o Implement a model (e.g., Random Forest or Lasso regression)
and use it to rank features by importance.
 o Select the top-ranked features based on their contribution to
the model’s predictive power.

Learning Outcomes:
 Learned how advanced feature selection can improve model
efficiency and accuracy by focusing only on the most relevant
features.
 Gained insights into selecting features that best capture the
relationships in the data.

Challenges Faced:
Balancing feature selection to avoid underfitting while ensuring the model
remains interpretable.

Skills Developed/Improved:
 Proficiency with advanced feature selection methods.
 Enhanced ability to create streamlined models that maintain high
performance with fewer, more impactful features.