How to Successfully Learn in this Bootcamp





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How to Successfully Learn in This Bootcamp

Learning Objectives

  • General advice and how to prepare yourself emotionally
  • Some qualities of the most successful students
  • Classroom culture
  • Overview of "grit"
  • Overview of common student concerns

Emotional Framing

  • Things will not go as you plan
    plan vs reality
  • Deal with chaos in your head. Being confused/lost is NORMAL. No one pays you because you know all the answers. The job is about jumping into confusion and being able to find a solution. Make a friend with discomfort
  • The maximum point of learning is right at the edge of learning and panic.
    learning zone
  • This experience is a rollercoaster.
    informed optimism?

Successful students

  • Have good computer. Would you train to be a plumber with a stick?
  • The most successful students find programming fascinating. They don't think of it as an obligation or chore.
  • The most successful students go above and beyond what we teach. If there is something they feel they should know, they will go and learn it. If there is a problem for which they think they need more information to solve, they go and find that information.
  • The most successful students don't wait for instructors to hand them the answer.
  • Successful students quickly see that programming is not about learning a recipe, it's about developing a mindset to solve unforeseen problems.
  • Hard Work: the equivalent of two full-time jobs (~80 hrs per week).
  • Be open and ready to receive constructive criticism

Classroom Culture

  • Open safe environment
  • Take ownership of your experience
  • Check your ego at the door
  • Empathy
  • Be courteous calm and patient with others. Don't let the stress get to you!
  • Don't compare yourself to others, compare yourself to who you were yesterday

Mentorship / Collaborative Culture in the Classroom

  • Take care of each other
  • Benchmarking: some are good at one thing, others at another. Leverage each other's strengths.
  • Teaching is the best way of truly solidifying your understanding of a concept.
  • Your classmates will be the best foundation for establishing a professional network in tech!

Grit

Jill

  • Jill's example is being used only because of the great photo. Her story is not unique.
  • This is like three months of "cramming for finals"
  • Watch this video on Grit

Common Student Concerns

  • I'm making a lot of mistakes

    • mistakes are a part of life as a developer

  • I don't feel comfortable with the material

    • you probably will never feel the material is easy, but you should be able to do the work
    • by the end of each unit project, you should feel mostly comfortable with the material

  • I feel good during class, but it's difficult to innovate on my own

    • There are three stages to learning something:

      • Imitation (follow along)
      • Assimilation (repetitive simple tasks: homework and labs)
      • Innovation (build something new on your own - project time)

  • Everyone at work will realize I know nothing

    • this is called the imposter syndrome, and it's very common
    • nobody knows everything, it's about how well you learn

  • I don't "do" math

    • that's why we have the computer do it for us!
    • programming is more about thinking logically than doing equations

  • What's the best practice? What's the one "correct" answer?

    • Best practices change constantly and from company to company
    • If you think properly, you'll probably naturally arrive at a best practice

    • All that matters is "Does it work?"

      • A company that hires someone with 3 months of experience doesn't really care about code quality
      • Use your time to learn new technology or strengthen your problem solving

  • I don't have a perfect understanding of everything

    • Class is set up to accommodate students of all abilities

      • We create lecture notes, homework, and projects so that advanced students can have something to work on
    • We make sure you understand at least the most important concepts
    • Only the people who write the specifications for the language understand everything about the language

  • I want an amazing portfolio and to complete all my labs/assignments

    • all projects suck

      • what matters is the ability to think

    • don't worry about completing every lab/homework

      • they're there as an exercise in thinking with enough material for all

      • completing and sleeping for 2 hours is worse than sleeping and not completing