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Yeah, teaching the basics of an abstract concept without first explaining how it fits into the bigger picture is IMO not the best way to motivate some people. I
by seanp2k2 11y ago
Yeah, teaching the basics of an abstract concept without first explaining how it fits into the bigger picture is IMO not the best way to motivate some people. I'm also a person who wants to understand why it's important instead of just trusting someone that it'll be useful "later".
It'd be cool if, once you start your major, there was basically an overview class explaining why each of your courses is important and what concepts (at a high level) you should be grokking with each course and semester; basically some context to frame your learnings.
- navbaker 11y agoI took an automata class where the professor talked into the chalkboard and refused to explain why we were required to learn any of the material. It wasn't until later in the compilers course that we had a teacher who actually took the time to explain how all that mysterious theory actually had a place in the real world. So many light bulbs went off in my head during that class.
- marvin 11y agoI had a similar experience from a different perspective -- I took a course on Theory of Computing, which was 50/50 gate-level CPU design and mathematical work on computability, automata and so on. I found this interesting as an intellectual exercise and to get a grasp on what is computable and what isn't, but then the next semester it proved super useful in the compiler design course.