38
votes
Accepted
Assisting students with large programming assignments takes too long in class
The problem, in my view, is a misplaced assumption that students should never see one another's code and that seeing it would somehow or other "pollute" the student's mind in some way or make grading ...
- 36.8k
38
votes
How do you deal with Lone Rangers in group projects?
This is really a separate approach from my first answer, which has received some push-back.
It's worth noting that many of these loners are simply students who are substantially ahead of the curve. ...
- 34.3k
31
votes
How to stop being The Oracle
Rubber Duck Debugging.
A few years ago we bought a bunch of cheap rubber ducks. Students with questions have two options. They can either ask their neighbor or explain to the duck what they're trying ...
- 3,009
20
votes
Assisting students with large programming assignments takes too long in class
Smaller Chunks: Students should be working in smaller chunks of code.
They need to write as small a chunk as possible (one function or even one line of code), then compile, run, and test that. This ...
- 5,430
19
votes
How to handle students who excel at coding but aren't interested in theory
I suggest 2 possibilities:
Talk to them. Explain that at some point, they won't be able to rely on just being able to code well. For AI theory, at some point the algorithms are dependent on so many ...
- 6,312
13
votes
How to handle students who excel at coding but aren't interested in theory
It sounds like these students may be perfectly suited to a wide range of roles in a professional environment, just not the most glamorous or 'obvious' jobs. Ultimately, everyone finds their level and ...
- 1,672
12
votes
How to handle students who excel at coding but aren't interested in theory
Just like any field, the theoretical aspects of it can be inaccessible and a bit dry, I would say especially to kids this age. AI, automata, and computational theory are often college masters level ...
- 591
11
votes
How do you deal with Lone Rangers in group projects?
I might push back against the core idea here, and this gets to the idea of the central mission of the course of study. Within my course, teamwork is not a primary goal upon which I will assess my ...
- 34.3k
10
votes
How to handle students who excel at coding but aren't interested in theory
Don't try to handle them.
Give them exceedingly hard problem that you think cannot be solved without understanding the theory. When they come back to you, unable to solve the problem, then explain ...
- 201
9
votes
What to do when pupil destroy lab equipment?
How should I prevent damage to equipment?
Number each piece of equipment, assign each student (or each group of students) a number, and instruct students (or groups of students) to use only their ...
- 291
8
votes
Do your students pay attention when you speak?
As thesecretmaster once intoned, "Just from my experience as a student, computer out == doing whatever you want."
Kids won't learn from you if they won't give you their attention. And a quick ...
- 34.3k
8
votes
Do your students pay attention when you speak?
Ask them to switch their screens off.
They don't like it if you do it too often or for too long but it's surprisingly effective, saves you having to repeat yourself unnecessarily and forces you to ...
- 806
8
votes
How to handle students who excel at coding but aren't interested in theory
Performance is definitely a good angle, in addition to some of the great answers here discussing e.g. regular expressions as a way to deal with automata. It's a way of relating the more practical ...
- 1,063
8
votes
How to handle students who excel at coding but aren't interested in theory
Does a good car mechanic have the ability and talent to forge a good wrench? Does a good doctor have the ability to build an X-ray machine?
Computer coding is like any other discipline. There are ...
- 249
8
votes
How to stop being The Oracle
(You didn't say what ages your students are, so this answer is necessarily a little nonspecific. There is also an article here that you may find helpful.)
First and foremost: don't expect total ...
- 34.3k
7
votes
How to handle students who excel at coding but aren't interested in theory
One approach that seems to work relatively well with a course I helped TA was to have students work on several homework assignments that put the theory they were learning to practical use.
For ...
- 4,005
6
votes
Thoughts on copying and pasting code?
I let the kids cut and paste code but with the following caveats:
They must cite the source (be it a classmate, another student or a site like StackOverflow)
There has to be enough of their project ...
- 1,572
6
votes
Assisting students with large programming assignments takes too long in class
It sounds like the students were not really ready for these assignments in the first place. If students are coming with runtime errors (instead of logic errors), then they are not testing their code ...
- 34.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Making Technical Presentations Safe for Novices
You need to start early
You can not expect them to just one day, stand up in front of the class. You need to prepare them for it.
Encourage mistakes
Encourage students to take risks. Give permission ...
- 10.8k
6
votes
Best way to install and maintain windows 10 in a computer lab
I have experience managing a lab for student-use. We utilized Deep Freeze. I was not responsible for configuring it, but based on what you say you would like to have in terms of OS management, I ...
- 9,112
6
votes
Reduce Grading & Improve Assignments
Autograding doesn't have to be all-or-nothing
How can I reduce the amount of grading for the assignments?
The term "autograding" implies end-to-end work taking a zip file of submissions ...
- 838
5
votes
How to handle students who excel at coding but aren't interested in theory
Point of view from someone like them
I'm someone who's similar to the students you're describing, so I'd like to share my views on this topic. I'm slightly older, so I have more experience ...
- 170
5
votes
What is the best layout for a Middle School computer lab?
The features that should guide your classroom layout are visibility, accessibility, and distractibility — maximizing the first two, and minimizing the third.
Visibility is simple: every student ...
5
votes
Video Games during class
I semi jokingly tell my students at the beginning of the year they can play any game they want on the computers, as long as they write it first. It at least gets a laugh.
For me it takes two things.
...
- 3,009
5
votes
Accepted
Do your students pay attention when you speak?
As I am not a teacher, I can't tell you any experiences, so I'll just give my thoughs on how I would deal with such a situation. I know this is not exactly what you asked for, but I hope it can be at ...
- 1,011
5
votes
How to communicate expectations around "rabbit holes"?
There is another sort of rabbit hole, one that your best students can fall in to. I once had a situation in which students were programming with a certain library that provided a simulation - a ...
- 36.8k
5
votes
Avoiding difficulties when teaching with metaphors
I love to make jokes and allusions. Here are some examples of ways I handle my increasing age difference from my students:
Explaining the reference
When describing how assembly language programmers ...
- 7,680
5
votes
How to stop being The Oracle
Students will act according to the habits they have built up. The one they have isn't terrible, but you can work to improve it. This answer won't save you much time, initially, but if you can change ...
- 36.8k
5
votes
Accepted
Using online courses instead of / in addition to traditional lecturing
What you have described is about half of what is known as a flipped classroom. This concept has been explored in other questions here and at the Academia forum. The idea is that instead of lecturing, ...
- 36.8k
4
votes
Thoughts on copying and pasting code?
I think it is fine, as long as it isn't an essential part. It saves time, and the students can learn from professionals, and can learn new ways of doing something that they never would have thought of....
- 141
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible