I have noticed good instructors often will start a
training session with something like "don't be afraid to ask
questions, the chances are every-one else is thinking it as
well".
I've taught a number of undergraduate programming labs
(not quite what you're talking about, but I think
close enough). These labs have had a lecture component
(I stand in front of three rows of computers and talk at
the students for half an hour or so) and a "work" component
(students work for two and a half hours while I go around
answering questions). It's very difficult to get
people to ask questions in front of a crowd, mostly (I
believe) because it's scary to run the risk of being
wrong in front of your peers. (It's also difficult
to get a reasonable answer if you stop a lecture and quiz
someone -- most people will duck the question. "I don't
really know" is much easier to take than being shown wrong.)
This sucks really, really hard. It's terribly frustrating
to try to explain something and to know that at least
a dozen people don't understand, that they're going to
ask you the same kind of questions when it's "safe to
do so" (when they can ask just you, rather than ask in front
of everyone), and not be able to easily field their questions
where it'll do the most good. (Sure, I can try to answer
their questions before they ask, and I've done so in the
past -- but it doesn't work as well because they haven't
thought the questions through as thoroughly. Thinking about
a question, how to phrase it, what sort of examples to give,
that sort of thing helps you understand the problem and
makes it easier to learn. I've abandoned about half of the
SoPWs I've started because the act
of phrasing the question revealed the answer.)
I'm sort of hoping that someone on PerlMonks knows how to
counter this fear of failure. I'd love to have some
more tricks up my sleeve the next time I ask, "Any
questions?" and get a lab full of silence. But more than
that, I think we need to re-think our collective attitude
towards "mistake nodes" if people are constantly trying to
consider their own "unworthy" nodes for deletion. Fewer
"no effort" considerations, maybe. Fewer off-the-cuff
downvotes for "dumb" posts. I don't know The Answer(tm);
I've just barely started thinking about the problem.
Finally, a big heartfelt "thanks!" to monks like tye,
Ovid, and merlyn (by no means a complete list)
who seem to have a limitless capacity for answering even the
most basic questions over and over and over again. You
folks make the Monastery a great place.
--
The hell with paco, vote for Erudil!
:wq
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