[teddyh]

I always felt cheated when teachers do this. Either I’m the better one in the pair, and I’m forced to waste my time doing the teacher’s job teaching simple concepts instead of learning anything new myself, or I’m the less knowledgeable in the pair, and instead of listening to a professional I’m stuck being tutored by an amateur who doesn’t know how to explain anything.

[recursive]

This was my feeling too, and so I always found a way to weasel out of groups. In the decades since though, I have come to think that it was a mistake.

In the ways you describe, academic group work is pretty similar to being a professional developer, unless you're in a solo project. The experience of dealing with people would have been more instructive (for me) than whatever ostensible subject material we were covering at the time.

[pinton]

My first-year CS student self would have agreed with you; I had several experiences where I (a minority student in CS) had to work with overconfident white male students who always felt the need to explain things to me that I already knew. Looking back though, these experiences have made me a more resilient person when dealing with difficult colleagues and peers I'm forced to work with.

I've always loved teaching peers because it reinforces my knowledge of the concepts being taught and gives me a sense of satisfaction. On the flip side, I feel small and maybe a bit ashamed if I'm less skilled than my partner, but if my partner's nice enough to explain things to me, then I come out with a better understanding of the concepts and a good relationship with my peer. Either way, it's a win-win situation, even if it doesn't feel that way in the moment.

[barry-cotter]

> Either I’m the better one in the pair, and I’m forced to waste my time doing the teacher’s job teaching simple concepts instead of learning anything new myself,

Nothing will expose the gaps in your own understanding faster than trying to teach another person. Just being forced to verbalise your own understanding helps you remember things better, even if you already had a good grasp of the material.

> or I’m the less knowledgeable in the pair, and instead of listening to a professional I’m stuck being tutored by an amateur who doesn’t know how to explain anything.

If they understand what they're talking about you can ask questions until you understand as well as they do.

[ModernMech]

> I’m forced to waste my time doing the teacher’s job teaching simple concepts instead of learning anything new myself

IMO you can't say you really understand a thing until you've taught it to someone else. Your teachers gave you the opportunity to hone your own teaching skill, something you will use your entire CS career. Just wait until you are a senior dev holding the hand of someone more junior than you. If you think there is a skill gap between you and your peer in the same class, imagine the experience gap between you and someone 20 years younger than you.

[teddyh]

> Your teachers gave you the opportunity to hone your own teaching skill

If I wanted a lesson in teaching, I would take a class in it. Teachers should teach the subject as advertised.

http://www.machall.com/view.php?date=2005-01-26

[recursive]

Doing group work is a very normal part of software development. Lacking any particular "advertisements", it seems entirely reasonable for a software course to provide experience that is consistent with that.