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From: ed298-ak@violet.berkeley.edu (Edouard Lagache)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: programming contest for beginners? - (nf)
Message-ID: <4873@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Mon, 24-Aug-87 23:42:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: jade.4873
Posted: Mon Aug 24 23:42:34 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Aug-87 05:00:32 EDT
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Reply-To: lagache@violet.berkeley.edu (Edouard Lagache)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 23
Summary: What about programming parties?


	My thesis advisor (Prof. Charles Woodson, of the School of Ed,
	 UCB) has uses a variant of the contest idea for his introductory
	 LISP classes.  He has held "programming parties" where the class
	 will meet in the evenings, have a pizza, and then spend the remaining
	 part of the evening trying to solve a problem.  It has a number of
	 nice features: it helps build up a help network among students,
	 allows students to compare notes on individual problem solving 
	 styles, and puts students in a situation will with time 
	 constraints without excessive competition.

     Programming parties work in his classes becuase is classes are somewhat
	unique.  Classes are small (around 10), include both beginner
	and intermediate LISP programmers, and contains a good fraction
	of graduate students.

     Nevertheless I like the concept and think it well worth trying if an
	appropriate class setting can be arranged.

					Edouard Lagache
					School of Education
					U.C. Berkeley
					lagache@violet.berkeley.edu