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by ModernMech 1560 days ago
> Then when TAing with him I saw how students could creatively misinterpret instructions, even when I could not imagine how to make them more precise.

The best part is if you do make it more precise by specifying the problem in more detail, they will just not read it and ask questions that you answered explicitly in the assignment.
2 comments
leetcrew 1560 days ago
sometimes "precise" in the mind of the instructor is "unintelligibly technical" to the student. I'm tutoring an (ESL) friend through an intro to programming course right now, and every time she gets an assignment she sends me the full text of it just to ask me what the instructions mean. to me, the instructions are almost describing line-by-line exactly what to write. but to someone who isn't already at the level where they can just read and understand random pages on cppreference, it's basically impenetrable. this is a course designed for people who not only have zero programming experience, but also don't even intend to pursue a CS major/minor.
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bee_rider 1559 days ago
At least if it is in the assignment, you can passive-aggressively copy-paste the text of the document to them.
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ModernMech 1559 days ago
My favorite phrase is "As per the syllabus..."
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bee_rider 1559 days ago
OTOH, I've definitely taken classes with years out-of-date syllabi. It is a funny thing, where some instructors consider it to be the fundamental contract between them and the student, and others consider it to be an annoying bit of extra busywork.
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