Good examples of programming course lecture notes

[Patricia Shanahan]

Patricia Shanahan wrote:
...


...

Some teachers don't like tape recorders, although I suppose you could
be surreptitious about "bugging" the class. Do you get objections from
the teachers about the camera?

-Thufir

No objections. Each time I requested and received permission at the
start of the course.

Patricia

 

[JESSE.SAMUELS]

Patricia Shanahan wrote:
....

....
No objections. Each time I requested and received permission at the
start of the course.

....

cool. What kind of phone is it? 4mega pixel? 3x optical zoom?


-Thufir

 

[hawat.thufir]

Patricia Shanahan wrote:
....

....
No objections. Each time I requested and received permission at the
start of the course.

Patricia

cool. What kind of camera and what are the specs?



-Thufir

 

[Patricia Shanahan]

Patricia Shanahan wrote:
...


...

cool. What kind of phone is it? 4mega pixel? 3x optical zoom?

I used an actual digital camera, not a phone, a Sony Cybershot 5.0
megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom, and 128 MB memory stick, but I'm
sure other choices would work equally well. 128 MB was plenty for a
few lectures, but would not have done a whole course - I had to transfer
files to hard disk regularly.

It requires a combination of light collecting power, to take indoor
photos without using flash, and image resolution, to be able to read
details such as superscripts and subscripts. I made sure I bought the
camera at a shop with a 15-day no-questions-asked return policy.

I got much better grades on mathematical courses such as theory of
computation taken in my mid-50's than I did on mathematics courses I
took in my late teens. I'm sure some of the difference is grade
inflation, but the camera helped a lot, by letting me listen and
think in lectures. Pity digital cameras didn't exist in 1967 :-(

Patricia

 

[Andrew Thompson]

Pity digital cameras didn't exist in 1967 :-(

<compeletely off-topic, but..>
Digital Cameras are the best thing since sliced bread.

I had not broached photography until about three yers ago,
and since then must have taken 15,000+ shots*.

The low cost of 'processing' allows you to play with it
until you begin to get the hang of it, though the smarts
they put into modern cameras is usually enough to get
reasonable images 'straight out of the box'.

* A small selection of my better pics ..
<http://www.lensescapes.com/photo/thumbnails.php?album=search&type=full&search=andrew>
</compeletely off-topic, but..>

I could not imagine attending lectures now, without my camera.
I take it just about everywhere, in any case.

[ Follow-Ups to this post set to c.l.j.programmer only ]

 

[clemenr]

Thanks to everyone who responded on this thread. From this and other
sources I found a lot of interesting information that have allowed me
to (I believe) make better slides than before.

A summary of sorts.

(i) Lots of programming. I had headed in this direction myself before.
But I've kept my notes highly program orientated, with about 60% of the
content being code.

(ii) Make the students write notes. The slides are not complete. The
students are given basically blank paper formated with cross-references
to the slides. They wll have to write down what I say.

(iii) Showing what happens when things go wrong. I have a split between
lectures and labs, and the labs are where I'll get students to
deliberately introduce mistakes into code so that they can see what
happens. I'll also be there while they are trying to rewrite sample
code from memory, and give them help then. This is similar to what I've
done before, but I'm going to emphasise errors and debugging a bit more
than before.

(iv) Syntax colourisation. Hmmm.... I've sort of missed this one this
year. I think it's a good idea, but couldn't find a simple piece of
software to do this so that I could cut and paste syntax colourised
code into my slides. At least not in a short search. Though upgrading
the notes to use syntax colourisation will be something I could do for
"next year".

(v) Comp.edu. I'll be posting there in a few minutes.

(vi) The online Java book. Will be one of my prescribed texts.
Partially because I prefer to minimise expense for students, and this
allows me to make two texts prescribed texts.

Cheers,

Ross-c

 

[Patricia Shanahan]

(ii) Make the students write notes. The slides are not complete. The
students are given basically blank paper formated with cross-references
to the slides. They wll have to write down what I say.

No, no, no! Some people learn best by writing notes, but by the time
those people are students in your course, they should know that, and
take notes without being forced.

On the other hand, taking notes in class just doesn't work for me. I
don't write fast, and whenever I'm writing I'm not listening and
thinking. A class that tries to force note taking leaves me with a
difficult choice between two unsatisfactory alternatives:

1. Go for notes. Don't actually learn anything in class. Try to get all
the information down, and read it over afterwards to try to understand
it. This makes the class, at best, equivalent to learning from a book.

2. Go for understanding. Try to listen and absorb the material in class,
without taking notes. Because of the deliberate gaps in the distributed
materials, anything I don't get in class or forget is lost data.

In practice, I've been able to work around this nasty behavior on the
part of lecturers by using a digital camera to capture everything that
goes on the blackboard.

I have objective evidence to support my position. I got a 3rd. class
honours degree in mathematics, for courses I took between the ages of 18
and 21, in the late 1960's, when digital cameras did not exist. I have a
4.0 GPA for computer science Ph.D. classes, including Theory of
Computation and Algorithm Design, taken in my 50's, but with a digital
camera. Mathematical ability is more likely to decrease between the late
teens and early 50's, not increase drastically.

Whatever you do in the way of notes should be designed to allow for a
range of learning styles and strategies, not just for the people who
learn by writing.

Patricia

 

[Chris Uppal]

On the other hand, taking notes in class just doesn't work for me. I
don't write fast, and whenever I'm writing I'm not listening and
thinking. A class that tries to force note taking leaves me with a
difficult choice between two unsatisfactory alternatives:

1. Go for notes. Don't actually learn anything in class. Try to get all
the information down, and read it over afterwards to try to understand
it. This makes the class, at best, equivalent to learning from a book.

2. Go for understanding. Try to listen and absorb the material in class,
without taking notes. Because of the deliberate gaps in the distributed
materials, anything I don't get in class or forget is lost data.

I'm exactly the same. If the material is "easy" enough that I can spend most
of my time listening, and jot down just the occasional note to aid memory
later, then I end up with perhaps a page of notes per lecture, and good
understanding. If the material gets just a /little/ more difficult, so that I
can't follow everything (or nearly everything) then I have to start making
notes in earnest. I cannot then listen, so I have to copy down /everything/.
Result many more notes, poorly written notes, and /much/ lower comprehension.
(And these days I'd hope I'd have enough sense to stop wasting my time by
attending those lectures and spend the time with a book instead).

The only ways out of this dilemma are EITHER for the lecturer to provide (in
some way) sufficiently comprehensive notes that I can just mark the stuff that
didn't make sense the first time around, OR for the lecturer to stop dead for
long periods of time (say half the lecture) so that I have a chance to both
write /and/ think.

Whatever you do in the way of notes should be designed to allow for a
range of learning styles and strategies, not just for the people who
learn by writing.

Yup!

-- chris

 

[clemenr]

Well, research in education shows that a certain amount of note-taking
is an important part of learning. I don't have the references with me
that I was looking at when I decided to make note-taking necessary, but
see:

http://www.education.ex.ac.uk/dll/studyskills/note_taking_skills.htm

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

If I forced the students to write down all the code examples then the
lectures would be a frantic writing fest. And I have taken modules
during my own undergraduate days with no notes handed out and
continuous writing from start to finish.

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.

There are also other points that I will only say to people by email.

Cheers,

Ross-c

 

[Thomas Hawtin]

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.

That's a positive way to deal with the problem.

It shouldn't be surprising that students don't want to attend lectures
the point of which is copying down notes. It might not stroke the ego so
much, but perhaps sticking to a standard text would allow lectures to
serve a useful purpose.

Tom Hawtin

 

[Duane Bozarth]

...Non-attendance at lectures has become a very
very major problem in the UK.

....

I thought the UK model tended to not use lectures, anyway? (At least
that's what the only prof I had told us as an excuse as to why he was
such a poor lecturer!)

Was he "just spoofin'" us?

 

[clemenr]

Well, in the places I have taught in there is typically a mixture of
formal lectures, and set laboratory work. It is "fashionable" to say
that it would be better to have 100% tutorials. But in reality that's
just too inefficient.

In response to Thomas, it's very easy to say that if the lectures were
slightly different then everybody would suddenly attend. From what I've
seen both in my own lectures and in other people's lectures, it's a far
more deeper rooted problem than that. Just because it's necessary for
students to write down some notes doesn't make the purpose of a lecture
"writing down notes". I shouldn't jump to conclusions based on a short
paragraph you write in a newsgroup, but an allergic reaction to taking
notes strikes me as being symptomatic of an attitude I sometimes see
among students who are only prepared to be passive learners, not active
learners. These students do things like asking for model answers for
all practice problems, so that they can read them and pretend that they
are studying. It is possible for note-taking to overwhelm everything
else in the lecture damaging the learning experience as a whole. But
the other extreme of supplying such detailed notes that students do not
need to write anything down is equally damaging as it allows students
to believe that they've gotten everything that they need from a lecture
without them ever actually switching on their brains during the whole
process.

Cheers,

Ross-c

 

[Duane Bozarth]

Well, in the places I have taught in there is typically a mixture of
formal lectures, and set laboratory work. It is "fashionable" to say
that it would be better to have 100% tutorials. But in reality that's
just too inefficient.

....

The (again I only had one prof w/ a British background and this was
roughly 40 years ago) chap ( ) we had implied simply a syllabus was
provided and we were expected to "read" the material. Office hours were
posted.

Needless to say, for a bunch of 4th/5th year undergraduates w/ a few 1st
year grad students, this was a real shock to us to hear that was how he
proposed to teach the class. Only time I was ever a part of a "student
rebellion" when we marched en masse dragging him along to the Dean's
office where he was told that in the US he <would> lecture....

 

[clemenr]

...

The (again I only had one prof w/ a British background and this was
roughly 40 years ago) chap ( ) we had implied simply a syllabus was
provided and we were expected to "read" the material. Office hours were
posted.

Hmmmm.... I have heard stories of experiences very similar to yours. I
more or less quote "here's what you have to learn, go away and learn
it." I don't like naming the university involved, but it was an
extremely well-known university in the UK. So rather than being UK
academic culture, it may be a UK academic sub-culture.

Cheers,

Ross-c

 

[Thomas Hawtin]

In response to Thomas, it's very easy to say that if the lectures were
slightly different then everybody would suddenly attend.

I'm trying to say that, in my experience, traditional lectures are
entirely pointless.

From what I've
seen both in my own lectures and in other people's lectures, it's a far
more deeper rooted problem than that. Just because it's necessary for
students to write down some notes doesn't make the purpose of a lecture
"writing down notes". I shouldn't jump to conclusions based on a short
paragraph you write in a newsgroup, but an allergic reaction to taking
notes strikes me as being symptomatic of an attitude I sometimes see
among students who are only prepared to be passive learners, not active
learners. These students do things like asking for model answers for
all practice problems, so that they can read them and pretend that they
are studying.

I would assume requesting model answers indicates a need to understand
what is required. A non-trivial question is unlikely to describe exactly
what is required. For instance, the numerical methods course in my first
year asked for a proof, I took that to mean that shoving some values
into a calculator wouldn't do. Writing in a particular programming
language, I would want to see other people's code.

It is possible for note-taking to overwhelm everything
else in the lecture damaging the learning experience as a whole. But
the other extreme of supplying such detailed notes that students do not
need to write anything down is equally damaging as it allows students
to believe that they've gotten everything that they need from a lecture
without them ever actually switching on their brains during the whole
process.

There's no requirement to have the brain switched on when copying down
notes. But it will disrupt train of thought.

Tom Hawtin

 

[clemenr]

I'm trying to say that, in my experience, traditional lectures are
entirely pointless.

In which way. Given the teaching model I use, I do see people walk into
my lectures knowing nothing of a particular topic, and by the time the
tutorial starts two hours later, they know something, and by the end of
the tutorial, they understand something. Unless your experience is
really unusual, if you find traditional lectures entirely pointless
then my gut feeling is that you haven't learned how to learn from them.
For a lecture to work, it does require the lecturer to have a certain
degree of teaching skill. It also requires a certain level of learning
skill on the part of the student.

From what
I've

I would assume requesting model answers indicates a need to understand
what is required. A non-trivial question is unlikely to describe exactly
what is required. For instance, the numerical methods course in my first
year asked for a proof, I took that to mean that shoving some values
into a calculator wouldn't do. Writing in a particular programming
language, I would want to see other people's code.

My comment was about students requesting model answers for "all*
practice problems. Model answers should be given for *some* practice
problem, but definitely not *all* of them. There are various stages of
learning to solve problems (including programming) and solving problems
without a safety net but still knowing when the answer is correct is
one of the most important ones.

There's no requirement to have the brain switched on when copying down
notes. But it will disrupt train of thought.

It also disrupts looking at a fly walk across the ceiling. Taking notes
implies a minimum amount of attention being paid to what is being said.

From my own experience of being a student up to this year attending a

colleague's lectures and taking notes as an exercise, I know that it's
entirely possible to stay plugged into what is being said and take
quality notes.

Cheers,

Ross-c

 

[Duane Bozarth]

Hmmmm.... I have heard stories of experiences very similar to yours. I
more or less quote "here's what you have to learn, go away and learn
it." I don't like naming the university involved, but it was an
extremely well-known university in the UK. So rather than being UK
academic culture, it may be a UK academic sub-culture.

Well, he was from such an environment and had matriculated there at a
very early age so he was quite a bright young chap and as is often the
case at an early age, pretty full of himself.

(That said, he did do a pretty good job of figuring it out as he went
and I ended up working in his lab for a couple of years and getting
along w/ him quite nicely.)

 

[Thomas Hawtin]

In which way. Given the teaching model I use, I do see people walk into

In that the same length of time spent with a standard text book (and a
syllabus) would be more productive. It only requires that the student
can read. That's not my preferred method of learning, but even that is
significantly more effective than traditional lectures.

It also disrupts looking at a fly walk across the ceiling. Taking notes
implies a minimum amount of attention being paid to what is being said.
colleague's lectures and taking notes as an exercise, I know that it's
entirely possible to stay plugged into what is being said and take
quality notes.

Possible, but far from ideal. It's possible to program with a telephone
conversation going on immediately behind, but I don't recommend it.

Tom Hawtin

 

[Baxter]

Taking notes helps because it involves more of your 5 senses. The more of a
person's senses that can be involved, and the more parts of their brain
involved, the faster they learn.

 

[Chris Uppal]

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