[plt-scheme] Re: HTDP - evidently not for everyone.

On Wed, 10 Feb 2010, Raoul Duke wrote:
>> it. Then I ask them to define a time data structure and write
>> something like time=? and some of them can't write the template (none
>> of them managed to write the program). There is a complete inability
>> to see the similarity between the way the different data structures
>> they have been shown have been manipulated. After about 80 hours of
>
> i'm curious about this.
>
> what it tells me is that to reach those folks, one has to go "further"
> and explicitly demonstrate the inventive behaviour a few times, all
> the while explicitly saying "i am now demonstrating how to apply what
> we've seen in a new situation".
>
> in other words: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It

YES.  More generally, in teaching math classes I've found it's usually *well*
worth the time spent teaching metacognitive skills, because many students
haven't ever really spent time analyzing their process of solving a problem
(or even answering basic academic questions like, "How do I decide what to
write in my notes?" or "How can I be confident I understand what happened in
class today?").  I don't have the research handy, but I remember encountering
some work a few years back that seemed to corroborate my experience.

Best,
jmj