The midterm.. it was definitely something different.
Problem: First of all a major problem for me during the midterm was getting used to not being able to press backspace if I made a mistake. This resulted in a rather messy paper from me as many lines of code were crossed out in pen.
Solution: In preparing for the final exam(assuming it's like the midterm) I feel like instead of coding on a machine it would be better for me to practice 'coding' on paper. In doing this I hope to increase my consistency in getting it right the first time.
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Problem: Following recursive functions is hard, this became painfully apparent at the very first question on the midterm. It just required me to follow the function way too many times, this resulted in my brain exploding.
Solution: I can't really think of any easy solution to this problem, maybe just practice with recursion more perhaps? If anyone has any ideas on what I should do to fix this, input is always valued.
Your solution to the first problem is an excellent way to go. Don't forget to answer some practice finals as well.
ReplyDeleteA potential solution to your second problem: start out with a problem that's simple enough (say, recursive Fibonacci) and trace out the recursive steps for 1,2,3,4, etc. until you feel confident you understand how it works. Once you have a solution for one of these numbers, you do not have to retrace it when you get back to it (take it as given that the recursion will work for it).
For more complicated problems, the best thing to do is just practice. Often, retracing every step will be nearly impossible.