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From: liberte@uiucdcsb.CS.UIUC.EDU
Newsgroups: net.cse
Subject: Re: working programs
Message-ID: <13500007@uiucdcsb>
Date: Sun, 16-Mar-86 20:27:00 EST
Article-I.D.: uiucdcsb.13500007
Posted: Sun Mar 16 20:27:00 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 18-Mar-86 07:38:05 EST
References: <9431@ritcv.UUCP>
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Nf-ID: #R:ritcv.UUCP:9431:uiucdcsb:13500007:000:2073
Nf-From: uiucdcsb.CS.UIUC.EDU!liberte    Mar 16 19:27:00 1986


I agree strongly with Beth's idea of having students fix their mistakes.
As she says:

/* Written  9:45 am  Mar 13, 1986 by beth@umcp-cs.UUCP in uiucdcsb:net.cse */
...
I decided to describe the
failures and ask them to fix them.  I hope that's a better learning
experience.
....
Maybe having students fix the faults in their programs would be good
for them.
...
				Beth Katz
				Univ. of Maryland C S Dept.
/* End of text from uiucdcsb:net.cse */


I firmly believe that we need to move the entire educational system
(especially at the lower levels) towards a corrective approach.  There
are many reasons I feel this way.  All in all, the goal is better education.

If students need to learn
something in order to understand something else, why let them get away with
less?  However, some students will need more time than others.  So give them
time, as long as they are making progress.  At the same time, some students
are prepared to zoom on through the material, so why slow them down?
This path leads towards more independent study as opposed to rigidly timed
class study.

My feeling when I get a graded assignment or test back is primarily
frustration.  I am sloppy, I admit, and almost always make dumb mistakes.
Depending on the grader, a mistake early in the solution to a problem
may result in everything dependent on that mistake being marked wrong.
Does this mean I dont understand how to solve the problem?  Sometimes yes.
But if I misunderstood, dont I need to learn the material anyway?  And if so,
shouldnt I be given the chance to prove that I have learned the material?

Teachers and TAs make mistakes too.  They ask ambiguous questions, or
forget to cover some material in class, or run out of time and do a
sloppy job.  By not making grades so final, no one loses quite so much
by anyones mistakes.  Time is lost, of course, but more time is lost
in the long run by not correcting mistakes early.

There is much more to say on this subject, but I will save it til later.


Dan LaLiberte
liberte@b.cs.uiuc.edu
liberte@uiuc.csnet
ihnp4!uiucdcs!liberte