开云体育

Jerry:

Exactly right! One approach to teaching works for some, but not for others. I was in SF at the Software Development Conference (1987?) when Bjarne Stroustrup was the keynote speaker. With 750 of us in the main ballroom, he gave his paper "C With Classes" presentation. About an hour later, 749 of us walk out mumbling "What the hell was that all about?" Bjarne is one of those gifted people who see everything as so simple, they can't understand why you "don't get it". Honestly, for five years I did not see what Object Oriented Programming brought to the table. Then one night--literally in a flash of light--I understood what OOP was all about. For me, the concept of Encapsulation brought it home for me. For others, it was Inheritance or Polymorphism that set the lightning off. Triggers are different for different people. That's why so many books on C persist in the market...each one has the ability to resonate with certain individuals.

I also think that trying out explanations in front of 150 students really helps. Some examples I tried left the students looking like a still-life painting. Others draw a response. Back in the 1970's when I was teaching Intro to Econ to freshman, the War on Poverty had just started. A family of 4 with less than $9600 was considered to be "in poverty". I told my students I could end poverty overnight. After some urging, I told them it's simple: "You get all of the people making $9600 or less into one place and you shoot them." The student's eyes went as big as hubcaps. Then I asked: "How long before the person making $9601 starts bitching because they are the poorest person in the country?" We then had a meaningful discussion about income distribution and possible solutions. Other profs teaching Intro Econ would use other examples to fall into a discussion about income distribution.

And so it is...We are all different and the best one can do to explain something is to find an example that clarifies things for their reader.

Jack, W8TEE