title: Ruby On Rails Helpers -- Using instance variables in helpers
body: <p>I have a helper for a controller:</p>
  
  <pre><code>module CourseStepsHelper
    def current_quiz_result
      @course_step.step.step_quiz.quiz_attempts.where(:patient_id =&gt; current_user.id, :step_quiz_id =&gt; @course_step.step.step_quiz.id).first
    end
  end
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>It has access to @course_step which is defined in the CourseSteps controller show "action". Is this common practice to use instance variables in helpers?</p>