Lecture 4

Lecture 4, Thu 04/26

Practice with 1-1 explanations (Diba)

Assign Project 01 (one-on-one teaching observation)

Have you scheduled your observation with your instructor?

Practicing 1-on-1 explanations

Flashcard Topics

Explain the different uses of const in C++
How do I define a Python function?
What is all this unit testing stuff?
Explain return vs. print
Explain the git workflow add/commit/push
Why use git at all?
Explain C++ pointers
Explain recursion
Help - I don’t understand all that command line stuff
How do Makefiles work?
What are .o files?
Explain member functions and variables in C++
Explain the use of . vs ->
Re-explain reference vs de-referencing (& vs * ) and different use cases
How can I access a private member variable in a member function? Don’t I need to declare it?
Why would a function be void?
Why do I need to compile my code everytime?
What is the difference between .h and .cpp files

Tips for promoting discussion

Get on the same page: Ask: What is the goal?
Start with a common experience or analogy
Rephrase the question (specially if the question is unclear)
Start by asking a question to contextualize the question
Ask the student a question during your explanation, phrase your question as “How does the idea that __ apply to __ ?
Ask the student to describe their problem using a diagram
Visualize the problem for the student on the whiteboard
Express your own curiosity - say “what if ….”, wonder
Start your explanation with an example problem
Ask a question to clarify the problem
Ask a general question during your explanation, such as “How do you feel about this?” or “How does this look to you?
Be sensitive to confusion - pause if you feel the student is lost
Build on the other’s response to increase their motivation

The two main goals for this session are:

practice explaining concepts in different ways
explore important elements of one-on-one interaction with student (we will specifically focus on how to engage with students and promote discussion using a few techniques)

To practice, we will play a game with flash cards

Break into small group
Individuals take turns explaining the same concept to one other person in the group
In the first round focus on explaining the same problem in different ways. Observe others and take notes about their explanation.
In the second round, repeat the same process as before and with the same topic. The person explaining a concept should additionally pick a “Tip card” and try to incorporate the tip in their interaction.
Debrief

Scenarios to contextualize questions

We will wrap up the class with a debrief. Students will also be asked to provide a context for each of the questions on the flashcards. We’ll use these scenarios in our activities for next class.