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Ask HN: Strategies to encourage students to attempt programming assignments?
1 point by burhanrashid52 10 months ago | hide | past | favorite | 8 comments
Currently, I am teaching programming on weekends. With my years of industry experience, I understand the significance of hands-on coding experience. However, I am facing the challenge of motivating students to take on and complete assignments, regardless of correctness. My goal is to ensure they engage in practical coding after covering the theoretical aspects in class.

I have tried several approaches, but the results have been not that good:

1. Explaining the importance of assignments and motivating students to attempt them.

2. Ask for assignment updates regularly.

3. Introducing a reward for assignment completion; for instance, offering a gift to those who attempt all the assignments.

During my research on the topic, I came across the book "Why Don't Students Like to Go to School?" In that, the author suggests that the difficulty level of assignments should be just right—not too easy, not too hard. However, in my classes, students seem reluctant to attempt even simple problems. When I ask, they often respond with, "Sorry, I am not able to find time for it."

I would appreciate any suggestions for a more effective solution to this issue.




Create some low hanging fruits maybe? Perhaps you could do this by breaking assignments down into even smaller and simpler components?

It wasn’t programming but… For one of my courses that required me to use a lot of statistics (which is not my forte as someone who struggles with dyscalculia) I had to complete little bits at a time which then came together to complete one whole (basic level) statistical data analysis… and the beauty of it was that as I completed each component I started to understand actually why the statistics were important instead of viewing them as rather abstract numbers that previously meant nothing to me.


So making assignments small in incremental pieces might help. However, in my class, there was a small assignment that students did not take up. Except for a few exceptional students.


I also found students studying at night and after work had low compliance to set work. This was 40 years ago.

They're tired and time poor. It may be better to repace things to do the work in class time not home time. Pair programming maybe?


Yeah, I think grouping students in class to solve the problem might help. However, doing this online comes with its own challenges.


Some suggestions:

- Don't ask students to start from a "blank" slate. Give them a working project that is simple to modify.

- Start modifying the project together in class: starting is half the battle! (Stop as soon as it gets "interesting.")

- Find out what your students are interested in, and cater to those interests.

- Add some competition to the mix.


What level of schooling? It sounds more like they are taking advantage of you instead of lack of motivation.


Its a paid course. No question of taking advantage.


I have paid for several courses. I was amazed by how many students don't even show up for a single class, but I guess this is normal (especially for online courses).

One course had weekly assignments. Hundreds of students; less than half did the first assignment. Each week even fewer students did the homework. (We all submitted our homework to a publicly shared google drive folder)




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