How Not to teach a computer language

Re:How Not to teach a computer language by FuzzyDunlop on Sunday November 06, 2011 @09:18AM (#3202701)

It was a poorly written sentence but I think he's trying to say the tests themselves are irrelevant. That's to say, the students aren't being taught anything they can later use in the real world, only how to pass the test.

Knowing how to pass a test isn't particularly valuable.

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Re:How Not to teach a computer language by mwgriffith on Sunday November 06, 2011 @04:46PM (#3203968)

That's exactly what I was trying to say. Don't get me wrong knowing the terminology is a good thing to have, but if you don't have the skills, how can you be a programmer?

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Re:How Not to teach a computer language by shabble on Sunday November 06, 2011 @10:17AM (#3202834)

> Knowing how to pass a test isn't particularly valuable.

On the contrary; a huge number of job opportunities these days are off-limits to those without a bit of paper saying they passed a certain (set of) test. Whilst the actual knowledge/skills are ultimately far more valuable, you still need the opportunity to use them.

Test-taking is itself a skill, and one that can ultimately provide quite a bit of value.

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Re:How Not to teach a computer language by FuzzyDunlop on Monday November 07, 2011 @06:18PM (#3208626)

Indeed. The question from there is, does it get you the job you want? If you only have the skill to pass a test, how valuable will the work you get be to you? Just a means to an end maybe?

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