[Edu-sig] One more thought on paired programming

[Timothy Wilson]

Hi everyone,

I remembered one other point that I wanted to make about using a paired
programming approach in my class.

I was a bit rushed in my first class on the day that I began trying this
approach. As a result, my instructions to the class weren't much more than,
"Work with a partner on this." The results were not impressive. Most of the
pairs worked by having one person do all the typing while the other student
watched passively over his or her shoulder providing almost zero input in
the process.

Not being a *complete* moron, I was much more clear about my expectations in
my other section that day. I explicitly told the students that I expected to
see both students typing (though not simultaneously :-) and that I should
hear discussions as I walked around the room observing. I told them that
one person was not to do all the programming, but that they should use 
ideas from both students. (Since then, I've adopted the phrase "Four hands,
one keyboard" as an unofficial slogan to remind them of these expectations.) 

The difference between the two classes was dramatic. The afternoon section
that had received the more detailed instructions had no trouble with it and
certainly learned a lot more than my morning class. The student-student
interaction was much richer and I think we approached near 100%
participation. It was cool.

What is that, $0.04 by now? :-)

-Tim

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