CP4E was Re: Deitel and Deitel Book...

[Jeff Hinrichs]

"Geoff Gerrietts" <geoff at gerrietts.net> wrote in message
news:mailman.1015473913.28082.python-list at python.org...
[...snip..]
> Maybe a slight switch in topic: if the logical constructs are
> disorienting, how would we approach instruction? Hello World seems to
> go okay, right? (Do we have anything like a consensus from this?) But
> then where do we go? More examples?
With respect to teaching in python....

After Hello World would be Echo.
Echo is simply a single iteration of raw_input then print.  Now the student
interact with their code.  Teaching has always gone from Hello to If/Then
the true amazement of computers for pristine newbies is interaction. So
Echo.py would be the next step and one that would be built on for a few
iterations as control structures and type conversion and formatting were
introduced.  At every step an example that interacts with the user is
presented.

Next would be an example This.py.  The concept of the If/then statement is
presented.  Else is ignored for now.  The program would echo input that
matched the If statement otherwise it would output nothing.
and so on...

> I'm not sure what my goal is here, but it seems like we started with
> an idea on how we could make computer programming more accessible for
> everyone, including those whose relationship with logical thought can
> only be described as "dysfunctional", but starting with those who are
> at least making occassional sallies at the task of learning.

> So where do we go next? If not "if", then what? Or do we go ahead with
> "if" and "else", but abuse it with lots of examples?

> Looking back at the pieces of pedagogical literature I've been exposed
> to, I'm led to believe that learning (at least in children) occurs in
> response to encountered frustrations with the limits of the current
> knowledge base. Can we assemble something that looks like a cooked
> series of examples or sample problems that exploit this?
I think that we can, if we start by jumping from Hello World to another
equally simple example such as Echo.
I've suggested a beginning.  It should introduce only one or two new things
at a time.  Always looking to "shy away" from exceptions.  The concept of
over-generalization that can be refined as the examples progress.

Would you be interested in pursuing this further?
> --G.
>
> --
> Geoff Gerrietts             <geoff at gerrietts dot net>
>   I AM YOUR KING! BOW BEFORE ME, PEASANT!   -- Dogbert
>