[game_edu] Brenda Braithwaite's game_edu rant at GDC

[Bill Crosbie]

On this front, I try to tell my students that becoming a good programmer is
learning to recognize the patterns of errors thrown at you by the compiler,
or to recognize the behaviors of errors in logic.

Too often my students get an error on compilation and then rush back to the
editor to look at the code WITHOUT READING THE ERROR MESSAGE.

I can understand this behavior. Compiler messages are often not helpful
until you understand that the compiler only gives a best guess at the error.
Trying to get my students to slow down, read the message, make a guess as to
why that message was thrown and then my explaining to them why the compiler
couldn't give them a description of the true problem has had some success.
The thing is, you can't really learn this from a book. It's about building
up a sufficient mental database of errors and understanding the way a
computer processes source code so you can make intelligent guesses as to the
cause.

This chapter from How People Learn has informed my thinking on the topic.
It's probably worth a quick read. It's completely available online.
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9853&page=31

And as Simon points out, there are some similarities but some will be
particular to the platform you are developing for...

Any comments on how you deal with this kind of instruction?

bill

On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 11:19 AM, Simon Etienne Rozner <
infonaut at gameonaut.com> wrote:


> Admittedly I struggle along the same lines as Ian. Sitting down one on one

> has slowly become a common activity for me. I try to adress the problems I

> identify in the next class and program examples in class together with the

> students. This really only works in small groups though, less that 10 to 12.

>

> The only consolation I have is that I see more and more the same

>  difficulties all the students have on a foundational level. That is being

> able to plan an implementation in regards to the quirks and difficulties the

> chosen plarforms have.

>

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