[Edu-sig] assigning homework

[Mats Wichmann]

Drifted a bit from the subject line, but...

At 02:24 PM 9/9/2001 -0400, Jeffrey Elkner wrote:

 >I cut the number of computers in my lab in half this year, so that two
 >students share each computer rather than having each student have their
 >own.

The training outfit I teach for (and developed the Python course for)
has used this model successfully for many years.  Our environment
is somewhat different - four or five intensive days, and you're hitting
up against the limits of what people can absorb.  Learning with a
partner, if managed a bit (making sure both students type, and that
they really /do/ collaborate: we keep instructing them to READ the
problem out loud and talk about it) takes some of the focus off of
syntax and typing mechanics and puts it onto understanding the concepts.
And it's just plain more fun. In effect, the partners teach each other,
as they "get" different things at different times. There are a number
of studies that back this up; my comments are based on my own
observations, however.

Mats