[ska]

> but can you imagine what a freshman/sophmore student would do if faced with this situation?

Learn, in my experience.

Getting people to leave a mere "answer getting" mindset and engage with the "technique and problem understanding" mindset is one of the most important parts of the job of teaching freshmen and sophomores (particularly in mathematics). They've often been rewarded for this approach in high school and have trouble letting it go -- but it really constrains the ability to understand things.

The really sad cases are the ones who are really good at it, good enough to survive all the way to grad school sometimes. They aren't doing themselves any favors, and invariably get left behind by people who may have less innate talent but engage more. Hopefully recoverably.