My screencast seeks to provide a brief introduction to the python dictionary. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize until after I had completed the screencast that the primary focus of assignment was on motivating, rather than explaining, topic.
One time I remember feeling demotivated in an academic setting was in a quantum mechanics class in college. The professor sought to explain quantum tunneling, a counterintuitive result in which a particle crosses an energy barrier in a manner that contradicts tenets of classical physics. In presenting this result, the professor plowed through the math, merely manipulating symbols, and didn’t even slow down to comment or exclaim on the significance of what he had worked out. I didn’t even realize until after the class that we had covered the quantum tunneling result that I’d be so eager to learn about.
In this case, the professor could have better motivated the subject by conveying enthusiasm and by taking a pause from the boardwork to point out how significant and surprising the result was.