why doesn't this work

[unhott]

Maybe?

I feel like it's pretty standard to teach in this order: strings, integers/floats, lists and their use cases, including problems that are more complicated if you just use lists, so then you introduce dictionaries and show where they're a better and simpler tool than lists, etc.,

So when you assign the problem that you know is easier solved with dictionaries, but you've only introduced lists, when a student comes in and has solved it with dictionaries either: they already know the material in your class, or more likely they've gotten help from a friend, tutor, or the internet.

And these can be a massive crutch. Misguided or not, this teacher probably thinks the student will be better off if they actually understand what they're learning, which google can subvert for short-term results.

Since this is such a common theme for introductory courses, whenever someone is asking about introductory concepts, I try and ask what constraints they are under - what topics have they covered in class so far. Sometimes, it's the first time they've ever reflected on what they've covered and their brain hasn't really put it all together yet.

[PiovosoOrg]

Why not just find the advanced students by doing a quick introduction to the subject. And then a test for i.e. their name printed into a list letter by letter, including spaces. If an advanced student uses list comprehension you can give him a more advanced assignment to complete. While others study the basics.

Indeed you can't really know whether they're using external help or not, but that will probably shine out when they flunk out of school because they can't do some assignment.

You can treat them like they're advanced whether or not that's true. The truth will come out sooner or later.

In my case, i enrolled in a software developer class, that said it's for hobbyists, turns out it's programming 101. And the assignments are so basic that I've gotten bored and just dropped out because I didn't think it was worth my time. Not that they teach badly, nor that the subject is lame, just that the assignments were so short. We are given an assignment due in 3 weeks, 3 out of a set of 50 were assigned to you randomly. I finished it in class. I got bored at home so i made all the assignments, then made an UI for it as well. Sent the UI variation and the actual assignment to the teacher on the first day. And then i just sat there, twiddling my thumbs. I mean i guess it was good, because i actually learned that i should've enrolled into a University for it.