vga256 on Nostr: those are good indicators. it's safe to assume that these folks either didn't pass ...

those are good indicators. it's safe to assume that these folks either didn't pass high school algebra, or took it 20 years ago and can't remember a single thing about it. that's totally fine - it just requires a real about-face when it comes to dealing with programming.

thinking out loud:

with those folks i almost always switch to teaching with physical objects, because they're *usually* concrete thinkers. working with text (e.g. symbolism) might as well be asking them to walk into a lake of lava for fun. their anxiety goes through the roof the second they see Let A = 1.

it doesn't matter what i use - fruit or wood blocks or anything on the table - it's just easier for them to grip the concepts when it's in front of them. i do a few one-on-one lessons (it would totally work in a small group as well) showing how variables work with physical things. for example - the "how do you swap values between two variables?" problem (using a third variable) - is something you can demo physically.

once those demos sink in, i switch over to writing it all out by hand. the exact same operations using symbols instead of the physical objects. it is way less intimidating.

after that, they're a much more amenable to encountering symbolic text on a screen. once they begin to understand that the computer is a big shitty player piano with a roll of script, it's much less intimidating.