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Considering where I was in college and my skills at teaching then (and even now to an extent - mentoring is another matter), I would be very concerned about me, or my peers back when I was in college to be responsible for teaching a class on programming. And that was when things were simple (you used vi and make).

While I am sure that there are many individuals who now come in with more code experience than the typical college student in the early 90s, there is a significant aspect of "are you mature enough to teach?" and "do you have enough experience to help students that need help?"

Assisting teaching a class, maybe. But looking at the quality of the code I wrote and the advice I would give based on that code that I wrote, I would be very concerned for the future prospects of anyone who I taught when I was 21 and looking for a summer job.

1 comments

College students often provide paid tutoring of students a year or two behind them on an ad-hoc basis, should that be prevented?

The choice for CCs isn't between student teachers and experienced degree'd teachers. It's between student teachers and no teachers or teachers who know nothing about programming.

> College students often provide paid tutoring of students a year or two behind them on an ad-hoc basis, should that be prevented?

The skills needed to run a classroom and the skills needed to tutor are quite different. I am unaware of any current rules about the education-level of tutors, and I doubt there are or will be any.

> The choice for CCs isn't between student teachers and experienced degree'd teachers. It's between student teachers and no teachers or teachers who know nothing about programming.

Student teachers (unless part of a TA situation and supervised) probably aren't a solution either unless we're talking certificates and not college credits.

Determining Qualified Faculty Through HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices: http://download.hlcommission.org/FacultyGuidelines_2016_OPB....

> skills needed to run a classroom

You have a point for classrooms with kids in them. But for adults? I don't see it. I've taken many classes from adults who've never taught a class before. I've taught classes yet have had zero instruction in classroom technique. Frankly, I don't see a difference in effectiveness between them and people with teaching degrees.

> But for adults?

Yes, for adults. There is a huge difference between good and bad teachers for continued student success. Its an important thing in learning.