Reflection

I chose the concepts I chose because I thought it would be interesting to illustrate a man detached from reality but obsessed with facts. It's hard to explain... He meticulously calculates the number of bullets which were probably fired at his army without really seeming to understand the cause and effect of such a thing. The next problem is also interesting, he doesn't seem particularly concerned with how he gets to his destination as long as he makes a few select stops, yet he still calculates all of the possibilities. A fictional character performing a thought experiment.

I constructed questions I believed were slightly above the level we covered in class. Instead of a pattern, I constructed a layered pattern, almost akin to a fractal. While before we only went so far as to calculate two grid paths, I chose to make a five-grid path. The concept is the same, but it's interesting how quickly the additional grids add up.

Because I was teaching myself, it's not accurate to say that I learned anything. I did however hone previously acquired skills and reinforce previous knowledge. For example, I spent ages trying to figure out why my equation for the ammunition depletion wasn't working before it dawned on me that I was missing the "u" before (n-1). That in itself helped me to understand the value of this exercise.

In the future, I would have given the students one class in which to work on this assignment. One class wouldn't be enough to get it done, but if the class were structured properly it could spur some of the more lethargic students to continue on their own time. I for example was putting this off until I was comfortable with the assignment, then I realized that I would have to make it comfortable because KUROPATWA DOESN'T SPOONFEED. I would actually like to thank you for that Mr. K, because I appreciated my own effort.