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Homework Forum
#1
Lately there have been several posts in the Homework forum where the students are under significant restrictions about how to get the task done. Some of the restrictions I think are pretty silly, but they are there, and the student have to work with them.

Meanwhile, people have been posting answers and suggestions in these threads that in no way take into account the restrictions that the student has stated. This is not helping the students get their homework done, it is probably confusing the students, and it is clogging up the threads.

I (and probably the students) would appreciate it if people would be aware of when they are posting in the Homework forum, and to read the whole thread so that they can be aware of the restrictions the student is working under. It's the forum for homework, not the forum for theoretical discussions or fancy Python techniques.
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#2
Sometimes i like to put a real world example in to show the true process.
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#3
You can eat your cake and have it too!
Both apply.
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#4
Sometimes I see it as, "I can show real Python without helping someone cheat."

Beyond that, I agree, it's not helping with their homework, which we should be doing.
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#5
if the student has not yet been taught dictionaries i would guess not using dictionaries is an implied restriction the student may not be aware of and not include in their post.  i do remember once helping a friend in a programming class (not python) and showing him something more advanced, which he learned right then and used in the code he turned in.  he got an F for that one because of that.
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#6
I dont think that would be our fault. If the student didnt specify the restrictions then there is no way we can tell what is required by what method. And usually if they say the restriction, they would either A) know that it is out of their realm, or B) the responder should tell them that their code is not within their restrictions.
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#7
(Oct-20-2017, 01:21 PM)metulburr Wrote: B) the responder should tell them that their code is not within their restrictions.

I think this would be the better response. My usual thought is if the instructions do not include an 'import', I try to supply an answer that doesn't require one. The same holds true with functions, classes, comprehensions, etc. Though to be honest, it's also a gut feeling in that in many cases you can tell from the instructions, just how advanced the student is their studies. If it is ambiguous, I try to keep it basic and then as you say, add something like "If you can use this ..., try this"
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#8
in many courses in college, i read ahead of the current level.  i think many students who do have an interest in the subject do that.  i did that to an extreme in physics.  for one course i read the entire text before the first class.  i think instructors/professors should give encouragement to a student that does that, not an F (unless assignment restrictions were clearly made and meant to have students explore certain alternatives).
Tradition is peer pressure from dead people

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#9
I go back and forth on this...

Quote:"If you can use this ..., try this"
I kinda find it annoying to have to put this every time i would answer an ambiguous restricted homework question. I think it would be the students responsibility to weed through responses or at the very least respond back and say they cant use that.

Yes its a problem if 10 people respond and all are not giving a decent example because they all are restricted. But i dont think there is a problem if 10 people respond and one of those shows the real ways people program it . I mean you wouldnt want these students programming some of these ways in the cubicle next to you at work. Granted if they dont know now, they will at some point, but why not just tell them now. At least they could compare and contrast the two ways.
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#10
(Oct-21-2017, 02:22 AM)Skaperen Wrote: instructors/professors should give encouragement to a student that does that, not an F

Instructors tend to teach to the median of the class, providing more attention on those below and less on those above. I wouldn't think they would punish those in any of the three groups for trying to do better. I do think, however, that they would do so if the student(s) were given a clear set of instructions for a particular problem and the student failed to follow those instructions. How else is the instructor to gauge the overall progress of the class? It is up to the student to follow the instructions, if they feel there is a better way, then they can submit that answer as well.

I don't feel it is the purpose of this forum to disparage or subvert how a particular instructor chooses to teach, nor to teach advanced topics to a student that clearly doesn't even understand the basics (a situation, I'm sure, we've all seen in all forums, not just Homework).  It is why we say, ad nauseam, "Show us what you've tried". To my way of thinking, it's our way of determining what level of expertise a person is at so we can provide the most appropriate answer.

Many of you have the knowledge and tools at your disposal that boggles my mind at times and I've learned a lot being a member of this community. Perhaps, though, it might be prudent to remember not everyone is at your level of expertise.

I suppose in the end, we will each continue to respond in our own fashion, but one of the things I like about this forum is the opportunity to voice an opinion.
If it ain't broke, I just haven't gotten to it yet.
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