At 1:40 PM -0400 7/8/07, Urb LeJeune wrote:
I gave this problem to people
in a first programming class over a period of 15 years. Maybe 10
people solved it correctly in the approximately 1,000 students who
took it.
Urb:
No offense, but I've taught computer programming (and other
disciplines) and I believe that most people who are taking a course
in programming have a better than average intelligence.
If I presented a question to 1000 students and had less 10 people
provide a correct answer over 15 years, then I would be examining the
question, not questioning the ability of the students. Especially, IF
the question might had been presented differently would have rendered
a larger number of correct answers. What did the 990 students learn
from your question?
As you know, the most important part of any solution is to understand
the problem.
If I asked you "Why are manhole covers round?" -- would you get the
answer right away?
Conversely, if I asked what shape would best stop a cover from being
dropped down a hole? -- would you better understand the problem and
find the answer quicker?
And most importantly, would you be better off for being asked a
straight forward question and discovering the answer or a tricky
question and getting it wrong? From my perspective, the point is to
teach, not to confuse.
Cheers,
tedd
PS: As for flow charts, never used them and never will. For some
people it's a complete waste of time, like pen and paper vs the
keyboard -- I haven't the time to waste to do it twice.
--
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http://sperling.com http://ancientstones.com http://earthstones.com
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