Could be interesting.

Post #120,579

10/9/03 2:12:58 AM

But I think you'd need to police it, especially if they're not on the same PC.

What I found works for pair programming:
* 1 PC, two programmers.
* The person who isn't on the keyboard needs a pad and pencil.
* Similar skill levels helps.
* For actual programming, the person least familiar with the code should be on the keyboard.
* For learning to program, I'd put the person least familiar with the language on the keyboard.

Wade.

Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed

Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please

-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

Post #120,599

by tjsinclair

10/9/03 8:46:30 AM

Good points

>* For actual programming, the person least familiar with the code should be on the keyboard.

Why is this?

Tom Sinclair

"Man, I love it when the complete absence of a plan comes together."
- [link|http://radio.weblogs.com/0104634/|Ernie the Attorney]

Post #120,605

by drewk

10/9/03 9:26:47 AM

Like Alex says below

Watching something happen is not the same as working the grey matter to figure things out.

You retain far more just by typing it in than by watching. That's why frequently if you take notes you find you don't need them when you'e done, but if you don't take them, then you need them.

===

Implicitly condoning stupidity since 2001.

Post #120,613

by tjsinclair

10/9/03 10:45:37 AM

Got it

I've been talking to the instructors who usually teach this class and they've told me that the main hump for newbies to get past is to just jump in and start coding, not worrying if it works right the first time.

I thought that it would help if they didn't feel like they were going into this all by themselves. In addition, by having students take turns coaching each other on the material, I can give them all a chance to get a better handle on the concepts.

I got the idea from a course I'm taking where the instructor encourages this kind of behavior, even to the point of having an online discussion board where students can share tips and tricks and ask questions if they get stuck on homework or projects. (He monitors the board so that students aren't just passing the answers around.) It works very well for me and I find I like the open community feel.

Tom Sinclair

"Man, I love it when the complete absence of a plan comes together."
- [link|http://radio.weblogs.com/0104634/|Ernie the Attorney]

Post #120,703

by static

10/9/03 11:27:17 PM

Separation of thinking and typing.

Ideally, you want one person thinking about the algorithm and the other person thinking about how to code. In practice, there is considerable overlap, of course, but if the person not on the keyboard is the most familiar with how the code in question already works, he is forced to communicate this to the person driving. This puts the programming->coding communication out in the open where both heads can think about it.

It's also damn hard to do right. :-) But making the effort is usually good enough.

Wade.

Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed

Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please

-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

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