Subj : Re: Good examples of programming course lecture notes
To   : comp.programming,comp.lang.java.programmer
From : Chris Uppal
Date : Wed Sep 21 2005 08:31 am

clemenr@wmin.ac.uk wrote:

> Well, research in education shows that a certain amount of note-taking
> is an important part of learning.

I don't dispute that.  What I /am/ saying is that it isn't possible (at least
it isn't possible for me, and apparently not for Patricia either) to
listen/think at the same time as writing.

Say you give a 40-minute lecture; how long (in aggregate) would you expect your
students to be writing ?  Bearing in mind that writing speeds vary.  5 minutes
?  15 minutes ?  40 minutes ?  The difference between 40 minutes and the
aggregate time is how long your lecture /really/ is.


> The students will receive notes which are mainly code, and the amount
> they will need to write down will not be that large, and the students
> should be able to keep up easily. The notes turn "traditional" when
> theory is covered, but then go back to code. The slides have references
> numbers (in grey-bordered cream circles) that are also present on
> formatted paper I will be giving out, with one number per crucial
> point. Not all slides have crucial points. Tutorials emphasise not just
> programming but how to revise various types of documentation when
> writing programs.

Doesn't sound too bad.

(Just a thought -- not a serious suggestion.  It would be interesting to try an
approach where you gave out notes that had key words and phrases missing, but
were otherwise comprehensive.  The students would fill-in-the-blanks as you
went along, and the tutorials would provide an oppurtunity to discuss and
correct errors.)


> Notes taken by students will be reviewed during
> practical classes, and feedback given.

It sounds (please don't take this as an insult) as if your students are in the
"don't [yet realise that they] want to learn" category.  Fresh out of school
and still expecting to be "forced" to work.  That would certainly make a
difference to how you present material, and how you organise the whole teaching
process.

Unfortunately, to the detrmiment of those who do want to learn.


> There is also the major real-world problem that if notes are too
> complete, then certain types of students will decide that they don't
> need to attend lectures. Non-attendance at lectures has become a very
> very major problem in the UK.

So let 'em fail...

(Yes, I know the current UK university system makes that approach, um,
infeasible).

    -- chris

.