Re: PROGRAMMING HOMEWORK HELP!

From: Thomas Stegen (tstegen_at_cis.strath.ac.uk)
Date: 03/29/04 

Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 09:17:51 +0100

Michael Mendelsohn wrote:
>
> Thus the requirements of learning and examining are contradictory.

For me that is not true. If I know something I get a better grade.
This seems like a mystery to some though.

>
> It is especially hard to pace a programming course, as some students
> with previous programming background will find the exercises easy, while
> others find them hard.

Were I am the students who find the assignments hard know next to
nothing. They don't understand parameter passing after 6 months of
programming, they have no clue what an array is even if they have
done three assignments and two lectures on them, some don't even
understand the relationship between the name of a variable and the,
hmm, name of a variable... In that they don't understand how calling
something by a different name will give you something else.

Those who find the assignments challenging, but doable within the
two hour period allocated, know almost as little.

Those who find this real easy, so easy in fact that it takes
them 5 minutes to do, range from almost clueless to quite skilled.

There is no one to blame but these student themselves. In later
years, yeah things get hard. But if something as simple as
argument passing is totally beyond you, you do not belong in
a university. It is rarely because they are stupid, they just
can't be asked.

Where do I have my data from. I work as an lab demonstrator and
help other students get when they need it. Often it is great fun,
when you explain something and you get a response along the lines
of "Oh, yeah, of course!" or they get something working and get
really excited. Other times it is frustrating to see people
answer the question "You need a variable of type int, call it
foo or something" with a look of utter confusion and resitance
to learn.

> Cheating on the assignments can provide an
> opportunity to be ensured a passing grade (and thus avoid the necessity
> of halting one's other eduction for a year); a responsible student will
> then use this opportunity to learn programming at his/her own pace.
>
> Should one demand morality of students in the face of an unfair system?

It is more likely to be caused by incompetent students than by
an unfair system. Since I got here other students have asked me
how I got good at programming and for some advice on how to improve.
My answer is always "by doing a lot of programming". Then I suggest a
few books with exercises if they can't come up with anything to do.
9 out 10 answers me with shock and horror. How can I suggest that
they do some work that is not directly course related?

Some people get the idea. Last semester there was one student who
was absolutely clueless (in one of the classes I demonstrated). I gave
him some advice. By the end of the year and after some frustration he
ended up with 40 out 45 for the coursework. For that he deserves
respect, not because he put in extraordinary effort, but because
he realised that the problem is not with programming or the way it
is taught, but with him and then decided to do something about it. Why
this is so hard to realise for some I cannot really comprehend. If a
problem is everyone elses fault, how can it be resolved by you?

> In earlier decades, one would have argued that this provided incentive
> to stand up and protest and change the system, but given today's
> climate, this idea seems impractical.

I have seen plenty of anecdotal evidence that demands on students in
computing were heavier in earlier decades. Maybe unreasonable,
but then again I am of the opinion that university is for those
with a deep interest in subjects, not for those with a passing
fascination. If the weaker students are always protected from
knowing that they aren't as good academically as the stronger students,
then the strong students will be held back. Why is it ok to give
someone a false sense of competence at the cost of depriving someone
else of true competence?

Rant over! :) 

-- 
Thomas.

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