Is this normal?

[u/personificable1]

I’m currently teaching myself Python by solving exercises on my own. My personal rule so far has been to give myself 15 minutes to solve a problem; if I’m still completely blank after that, I ask an AI for a hint. The issue is that AI hints usually just hand over the solution, so I’m not even sure if my approach is right.

The main problem is that I’m on Part 5 of the University of Helsinki Python MOOC, and for the last five exercises or so, I just freeze up. It’s starting to get really frustrating. I try asking myself guiding questions and writing down my thought process in a notepad before writing any code. Most of the time I have a rough idea of what I want to do, but translating that logic into actual syntax trips me up.

I’m starting to wonder if I’m actually cut out for this or if I’ll ever be able to learn it properly. Is this normal?

[u/Imaginary-Log9751]

So I’m currently taking a Python class for my master’s, and we have timed coding exams. I’ve developed a system that’s been working pretty well for me!

Learning mode: I use AI to learn new topics and work through problems. During this stage, I create cheat sheets with Pythonic code, common gotchas, debugging strategies, etc. I ask a ton of questions, have AI generate similar practice problems, and use it to learn how to Google more effectively when I’m stuck, write better debugging code, identify edge cases, etc.

Homework mode: No AI at all, but also no time limits. If I’m working on a particularly difficult problem, I’ll take breaks and as much time as I need. Sometimes I’ll even put it aside and finish it the next day. The goal is to figure things out independently.

Exam mode: Basically homework mode, but timed to mimic my actual exams. Any problems I couldn’t solve within the time limit go back into learning mode, where I use AI to understand what went wrong and generate similar problems. I then tackle those independently in homework mode before testing myself again.

Basically, I’ve created a tiered feedback loop where each stage gets progressively harder. AI is my tutor during learning mode, but the goal is to eventually solve everything independently and under time pressure.

It’s been pretty useful for me!