John RegehrFeb 9

something I've been thinking about is how, when I teach a class, I tell the TAs to never, ever touch the keyboard when they're helping a student with an assignment. not even once! because as soon as someone else is driving, it becomes real easy for the student to stop thinking and just let things happen.

kind of like what happens when we use a coding assistant.

Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧Feb 9
@regehr i wonder how much of this is because students don't really want to be there, and how much is because they don't (yet?) know how to zealously fight for understanding
Show threadkulupu jyn

@whitequark @regehr well I think it’s also quite easy to overestimate how well you understand something if you’re not forced to recreate it from scratch

kinda like that study where people knew what a bicycle looked like but not how to draw one

Feb 9 at 5:57amWeb
Show threadwiedmamaFeb 9
@jyn @whitequark @regehr Regarding coding assistant: I guess this is only true if you assume the assistant is better than you.
Show threadkulupu jynFeb 9
@wiedmama @whitequark @regehr I don’t like the framing of programming as a linear scale from bad to good. AI can legitimately be good at creating prototypes while being bad at ongoing maintenance. being better than a single person in a single dimension isn’t that hard.
Show threadkulupu jynFeb 9
@wiedmama @whitequark @regehr also like, half the way you get good at programming is by struggling with problems until you understand them better
Show threadaburka 🫣Feb 9
@jyn @wiedmama @whitequark @regehr ding ding ding
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧Feb 9
@jyn @regehr that would fall under the second half of my question
Show threadkulupu jynFeb 9
@whitequark @regehr I don’t disagree, but by that standard I think very few people in the world live up to your standard of “zealous”
Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧Feb 9
@jyn @regehr I mean, yeah