Here’s the full video where I discuss the same content in detail: How a Student Changed his Strategy to Ace USACO Bronze!
Hello, I'm Riya, and in this blog, I'm excited to delve into the strategies that transformed a former USACO bronze competitor's performance from average to perfect. In less than a month, this student went from struggling with bronze-level problems to acing the USACO bronze contest. I'll share the key strategies that led to this remarkable improvement.
Understanding the Challenge:
Initially, our student had diligently solved every bronze-level problem during practice, but consistently fell short in the actual contests. The critical issue was his reliance on solutions for the harder problems. This common pitfall is discussed in more detail in one of my recent videos, which you can find here. The challenge lies in the fact that problems in the newer contests tend to be in the harder 30%, making it difficult to succeed if you're only comfortable with the older, easier problems.
Strategies for Success
Our primary goal was to strengthen the student's problem-solving skills. To achieve this, we devised a simple yet highly effective strategy. After working on a problem, if he couldn't solve it unaided, we encouraged him not to rush to the solution. Instead, we suggested taking a step back and dedicating 10-15 minutes to reflect on what the barrier was, and how he could get past it in the future. This approach turned out to be far more productive than mindlessly tackling more problems and significantly enhanced his problem-solving abilities.
Tracking Progress
One key tool we used was a Notion page (or a Google Sheet) to track all of the problems solved, marking the ones that required the solution to solve, which is a technique widely employed by top USACO finalists, composed of the top 25 Platinum contestants in the USA. The idea was to log what could have led to an independent solution, allowing the student to continually hone his problem-solving skills.
Expanding Problem Sets
Our strategy didn't stop at reflection. To progress further, the student needed a broader range of problems to practice with. We went over how to select problems on Codeforces, emphasizing the importance of filtering for problems that match the current skill level. Then, when the student consistently solved these problems independently, we gradually increased the difficulty level. This approach significantly increased the difficulties of problems that he was able to solve without help, suggesting that this incremental process, through a large quantity of problems, had a substantial impact.
Speeding up the Observation Phase
One of the most crucial aspects we tackled was accelerating the observation phase. A powerful method we discussed was the following process: first, solve sample test cases by hand, carefully noting the process you used to solve them. Then, try to create test cases that your process/algorithm would fail at solving, and create a new algorithm to pass that test case, continuing this process until it's impossible to make your solution fail. This approach refines your problem-solving skills and guides you toward more efficient solutions. However, it's also vital to be aware of time limits, particularly when dealing with problems with tighter limits (where N is large).
Conclusion
These strategies were the most important and effective ones discussed in the original video with the student, which you can watch here. If you're committed to improving your USACO bronze score, I highly recommend watching the video and applying these techniques.