In many ways, technical subjects are not like this. I know of no way to actually teach mathematical maturity to someone besides saying “pick some rigorous math and bang your head against it for long enough until it becomes clear that you have the basic general rigorous math skill now, and rejoice about how every other part of the basic rigorous math canon will be much easier” (example: I have yet to read a book I found as difficult as Rudin’s infamous Principles of Mathematical Analysis, in great part because after that book I had the thing).
It looks to me like programming classes, much like writing classes, do not know how to teach their students the fundamental skill and so have to default to just having them do it a bunch and hoping some of them get it; though programming classes do at least have specific knowledge they can teach, I really don’t think “what’s a for loop?” is actually the thing that distinguishes the student that can code from the one that can’t.
(not a teacher—all these are from talking to grade-peers at various grades)
In many ways, technical subjects are not like this. I know of no way to actually teach mathematical maturity to someone besides saying “pick some rigorous math and bang your head against it for long enough until it becomes clear that you have the basic general rigorous math skill now, and rejoice about how every other part of the basic rigorous math canon will be much easier” (example: I have yet to read a book I found as difficult as Rudin’s infamous Principles of Mathematical Analysis, in great part because after that book I had the thing).
It looks to me like programming classes, much like writing classes, do not know how to teach their students the fundamental skill and so have to default to just having them do it a bunch and hoping some of them get it; though programming classes do at least have specific knowledge they can teach, I really don’t think “what’s a for loop?” is actually the thing that distinguishes the student that can code from the one that can’t.
(not a teacher—all these are from talking to grade-peers at various grades)