[plt-scheme] Last year students...

On 21/04/06, Jerzy Karczmarczuk <jerzy.karczmarczuk at info.unicaen.fr> wrote:
> Matthias Felleisen wrote:
> >
> > On Apr 21, 2006, at 10:26 AM, Prabhakar Ragde wrote:
> >
> >> programming contests, which from my point of view are counterproductive.
> >
> >
> > AMEN.
>
> All contests in a pedagogical context are a bit ambiguous, but I don't think
> that we should reduce everything to the "productivity". In general, Games
> People Play and Will Forever. And Will Enjoy Them (or not).
>
> When I give programming assignments (the same project for many people,
> working in two-person teams) I state clearly that
>
> 1. they are not in competition, and mutual help and communication is encouraged.
>   - - - but still ... - - -
> 2. The evaluation criteria, and the final notes will be based on the *quality*
>     of their work, which is relative, and based on the *best* solutions.
>
> So, in a sense some spirit of contest is there as well, since it is improbable
> (and would be utterly stupid) to conspire to get everything plain, more or less
> equivalent. They know that the best will be rewarded.
>
> Back to the main subject of this thread.
> I suspect that in general in Europe students are less active than American ones
> in the field of making useful software during their studies. Seems that the
> teaching style is less focused on individual progress, more on "fulfilling the
> teaching/learning contract".
> Or, perhaps I am saying rubbish...
>
>

Thanks for all the interesting input in this frame. In fact, one
awesome things you guys talk about and there is almost no such thing
here are software contests. There is a national competition called
MIUP so that people can then be sent to SWERC (ACM competition) but
still a minority of students participate and I've never heard about
students themselves organizing competitions. Surely there are some
competitions during software development, but usually for the best
grade.

What impresses me the most is that it seems that there is no real way
to make the students more interested in software development besides
trying to make them more interested during classes. Some might say
(I've heard that around here) that if they were given more free time,
they would do it but I do not agree. Most of them would still due the
same thing they currently do no matter what time they have available.
But we will see... here in Portugal the bologna treaty will be
starting in effect next school year. They will probably have more free
time...

Quite curious to know what's the state of UK students... I've heard
that undergraduate and graduate students are a completely different
community. While undergraduates like to party most of the week and
weekends graduate students are so more calm, interest and applied in
their studies... I'll be moving to Southampton University next school
year and one thing folk which have been there told me was to find a
house way from undergraduates residences if I didn't want to be awake
all night hearing their party music. Well, I did... far away,
hopefully!

Cheers,

Paulo Matos

> Jerzy Karczmarczuk
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--
Paulo Jorge Matos - pocm at sat inesc-id pt
Web: http://sat.inesc-id.pt/~pocm
Computer and Software Engineering
INESC-ID - SAT Group