From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.6 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_40,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: fc89c,97188312486d4578 X-Google-Attributes: gidfc89c,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,baaf5f793d03d420 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,97188312486d4578 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,6154de2e240de72a X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public From: kaelbers@avian.dars.muohio.edu (Randy Kaelber) Subject: Re: Should I learn C or Pascal? Date: 1996/07/26 Message-ID: <4taik0$1o2q@rose.muohio.edu>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 170284841 references: <01bb73e3.1c6a0060$6bf467ce@dave.iceslimited.com> <4sjmtk$e95@herald.concentric.net> <4sntoi$i71@ns1.sw-eng.falls-church.va.us> <4t36d1$37h@news2.cais.com> followup-to: comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.unix.programmer,comp.lang.ada organization: Miami University newsgroups: comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.unix.programmer,comp.lang.ada Date: 1996-07-26T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: John A Hughes (jah@cais.cais.com) wrote: > I think classroom-style instruction for computer science is bogus. The > typical ratio of lecture to lab should be inverted in my opinion-- 3 > labs to each lecture. And lectures should introduce the labs and then > discuss problems in the labs, and the broader significance of problems > people had or differences in various solutions, NOT the other way > around, where labs are some kind of vesigial "illustration" of lecture > concepts. I think I agree with the concepts you're suggesting, but I still feel there is need for lecture... maybe 2 lec/3 lab, especially in more concentrated classes (database, Operating systems, automata, compilers, balh blah blah). But absolutely I tired of having 8 or 9 dinky little assignments through a semester. Give me one or two BIG projects and make it half my grade. > I also think at more advanced levels the labs should really teach > collaborative programming, where everyone must work on a large > project, everyone must discuss how the project should be broken up, > and maybe teams should have to trade software components during > implementation to teach them how to write maintainable code. YES! YES! YES! YES!!! Absolutely! Very little software development happens in a vacuum. The team concept should be highly stressed. Getting a certificate in computer programming from Sally Struthers does not a computing professional make. One needs to be able to maintain code and be able to write maintainable code. I think that's why new programmers get maintenance jobs... so they can see what maintainable and unmaintainable code looks like. Plus, all the experienced people want to develop new systems, not maintain old code. :) > This kind of class would be very hard to design and teach, and would > be a total blast. God knows I'd love to try it! Teach it, take it, I don't care. -- Randy Kaelber: kaelbers@muohio.edu DARS Programmer/Analyst, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056 USA http://avian.dars.muohio.edu/~kaelbers/ Unsolicited commercial E-mail will be spell checked for a fee of $50. Sending such mail constitutes acceptance of these terms.