I haven't posted in a while -- forgot to reply-to-edu-sig :)
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lloyd Hugh Allen <chandraki...@gmail.com> Date: Tue, Apr 7, 2009 at 09:26 Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] Do we "teach computers" when we write code? To: kirby urner <kirby.ur...@gmail.com> As a math teacher, using the particular example of summing a finite set of consecutive integers: To give students a formula, in particular n(1+n)/2, and then have them do a set of practice problems where they apply that formula, is not teaching. It might be training. Instead, consider the case of telling students that: when Gauss was in elementary school, his teacher needed time to work on some other matter and so told the students to add all of the numbers from 1 to 100; and that Gauss instantly looked up and said 5050; and the teacher hadn't actually yet done the problem himself and so denied Gauss' answer. Gauss, as an ~8 year old, said, no, look, and wrote 1 + 2 + 3 + ... + 100 and then below that wrote 100 + 99 + 98 + ... + 1 and showed that there were 100 columns, and that each column summed to 101. However, he then noted that he had written the series out twice, and so had to divide that product by two. The 100 columns is the n; the sum of the first and last number is 1+n; and then divide by two. And then to have the students try to represent a similar problem, and to check their answer against the formula, and THEN to have them do a set of practice problems, that might be teaching. If the computer were able to understand the story about young Gauss, then we could teach it. Instead, we can use it to confirm that the formula seems to work (because computers can add numbers in the fashion that Gauss' elementary school teacher expected just as fast as we can apply the formula), and we can show that using the formula is still faster for the computer than actually summing the list, but no, we are not teaching the computer. Perhaps if the computer were then able to, of its own volition, wonder what we would get if we were to sum consecutive squares, then we could teach it. As hard as it is to get students to wonder about things, it's even harder to create that state in computers. -Lloyd On Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 18:05, kirby urner <kirby.ur...@gmail.com> wrote: > I'm wondering what others on this list think of this non-standard use > of "teaching" when talking about programming a computer. > > The authors say we're "teaching" the computer.... _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
