Re: PedagogyCarl Mungan tangentially made an important point that certainly happens in my teaching... students asking questions about easy problems on the day before they are due.
What this boils down to is not about a student with a conceptual problem, but rather a student with a time problem.
One answer I would give for Carl's question about how to help students is to get them to start on the assigned problems sooner. Of course this might be an impossible task.
I typically assign problems at least three days in advance and often as much as a week in advance. I rarely get questions until late afternoon before the 8:00 AM next-day due time. Problems become a lot more difficult when you are out of time to solve them. On the other hand, if you can try the problem, get stuck, but have time to let it go, then come back... and also have time to talk to others... and also have time to read the textbook...
You get the point. I wish students would get the point.
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Physics and Chemistry
Bluffton College
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu