Homework Forum

[Skaperen]

aside from what we (intend to) do elsewhere on this site, what do we intend to do in the Homework forum?  1. help people with their homework related to Python programming -or- 2. teach them how to program in Python (the right way)?

[metulburr]

I would say make your answers conform to their restrictions for the most part. But there doesnt seem to be a definite line in the sand either.

[Skaperen]

at the very least we should not (try to) imagine restrictions that are not there.

[metulburr]

well yeah, there is not much you can do then

Initially the homework forum was more a place to put homework questions so people answering them understood that it was homework, and to not give the answer away like they may in other threads on the forum. Restrictions was more of a compliment to the homework questions, not a stipulation of answering them. But i guess times have changed.

Not to say im fully against it. I do like the fact that instructors can come here in advance, see our rules, see how we look down on giving answers away, and limit responses to their restrictions. It would mean our forum is a safe forum for instructors to give to their students.

[sparkz_alot]

aside from what we (intend to) do elsewhere on this site, what do we intend to do in the Homework forum?  1. help people with their homework related to Python programming -or- 2. teach them how to program in Python (the right way)?

I don't see why they need to be mutually exclusive. The right way? A basic example is that in Python, indentation matters, so any number of spaces is the "right way" but 4 spaces is the common practice. You can name variables pretty much anything you want, so naming a variable 'x' would be the right way, but again, common practice is to use descriptive names and not single letters.

I don't think the intent of the Homework forum has changed since the old forum. That being, we will assist and guide you, but we will not do the work for you.

I believe the intent of Ichabod's original post (correct me, Ichabod, if I'm off here) was that in the Homework forum we need to constrain our responses to the assignment given. I agree with that whole heartedly and without reservation.  After all, we did not create the assignment nor is the final grade received by the student our grade. So in that regard, I suppose your option 1 would be the best fit. Since I do not know of any member in any forum deliberately sabotaging code, I think option 2 is rather moot.

[Skaperen]

by right way i mean best practices.  that would include indenting a multiple of 4 spaces unless there is a specific reason not to.

[nilamo]

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).

On the other hand, trying to get students to think outside the box will help later on.  If you immediately train people that there's a max() function, for example, then later on, they might be hopelessly lost without a builtin function that already does what they need.  And getting someone new to programming to think about how to solve the problem is much harder/important that just getting them to write code in a language (imo).

I like to think about it in terms of other skilled trades.  If you start by teaching HVAC by describing how a certain model can handle something fairly easily, then when they see any other model they might have no idea how to even start (bad example because I know nothing about hvac).  Or if a pipe fitter was trained to use a certain tool to do the job, they might bungle the job when it comes to a tight space where that tool can't fit.  Or if a doctor thought they needed to know everything, and never got a consult (!).

[Skaperen]

development best practices for many decades has been to work less by using readily available tools, especially standard ones.  i've gotten the insight for Pythonic coding along the same lines.