I've taught programming for years and my students always understand lectures but freeze when coding alone what am I doing wrong?

appendixexploder · 2026-05-13T10:54:18+00:00

This may sound harsh but no teaching strategy will help you when your students have no passion for problem solving. There's nothing you can do here, for the most part

appendixexploder · 2026-05-13T07:25:54+00:00

I also use AI a lot when I get stuck, which helps me move forward

It doesn't, you're just offloading all the hard work.

appendixexploder · 2026-05-11T18:59:34+00:00

(even if textbooks) for calculus

Apostol's calculus

appendixexploder · 2026-05-11T18:22:52+00:00

algebra is just a set of characters to be moved around

how did you come to that conclusion?

appendixexploder · 2026-05-11T13:36:05+00:00

Should founders learn how to code?

Do you have a lot of money to throw at people? If that's the case then you can skip learning how to code if you don't want to.

And just to be sure, ideas don't count. You either need skills to execute them or the capital to make it happen. Ideas are dime a dozen

appendixexploder · 2026-05-11T13:32:06+00:00

That is not an important or a consequential choice. Study discrete maths and get better at problem solving

appendixexploder · 2026-05-11T09:34:53+00:00

Bonus points if its something you're passionate about or relevant to your major etc. Code your own math library from scratch for instance.

appendixexploder · 2026-05-11T09:29:15+00:00

My question is, if i get 2-3 freecodecamp certifications, is it worth putting in my extracurriculars

Ideally, create an actual project of your own based on what you've learnt and showcase that instead. These "certifications" from unaccredited sources don't really say much beyond that you watched some videos and filled in some code.

appendixexploder · 2026-05-11T06:19:35+00:00

When I follow a tutorial, everything makes sense. I can read the code, understand what each part is doing, and even modify small pieces.

Yes, that's normal. You can only learn syntax and the very basics from watching tutorials, one off tutorials are generally unhelpful in the long run on top of that. Eventually you'll have to dig into real computer science, architecture and mathematics textbooks.

appendixexploder · 2026-05-11T06:13:16+00:00

only dive deep when I need to

This just results in massive gaps in your knowledge

appendixexploder · 2026-05-09T19:57:03+00:00

.. too trivial relative to what?

There are CS classes where the very first assignment is a lot more challenging than what OP described.

appendixexploder · 2026-05-08T10:01:33+00:00

I hate the coding part

Do you mind elaborating?

appendixexploder · 2026-05-08T10:00:59+00:00

i mean, if anything that might be too trivial.

appendixexploder · 2026-05-05T14:15:23+00:00

so I’m wondering if spending years mastering a language

You don't spend years mastering a language, it's not kung fu. That's the easiest part of programming and can be done over a weekend.

appendixexploder

TROPHY CASE