I am involved in teaching OOP and C++ to a set of students who have gone through a course on C earlier. I am quite aware of the Curse of Knowledge, through some bad experiences by being on either side of the table. I have consciously made an effort to not assume knowledge of concepts like separation of concerns or coding conventions or error handling while teaching.
What I had not prepared for was the curse of knowledge on the other side. Having gone through a course on C, they had build their own perceptions and understandings. Having known that they had gone through a course on C, I had built my perceptions about them. Not that that any of them were wrong by themselves, but they sure were not helpful in learning OOP. The curse of knowledge makes us assume things and when there are assumptions on both the sides it can cause chaos. What is worse is half-knowledge, that can rip apart any guard you can have. The best way to avoid these things is to unlearn and keep an open mind.
I have always thought that learning C can help learning C++, but it is more important to shift from the procedural programming to OOP paradigm. I have had my share of doubts with such shifts. Knowledge of the Curse of Knowledge has definitely helped both of us lose some assumptions and beliefs. I think identification of when knowledge can be a curse can be instrumental in effective teaching and learning.
February 21st, 2007 at 4:48 pm
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