Crossing The Canyon Of Cognizance: A Shared Adventure

Most of the four learning stages - unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and unconscious competence - are bridged by acquiring experience. But the gap between unconscious incompetence to conscious competence is where the most discomfort and discouragement occurs.

Helping new developers bridge the void ensures a vibrant, accessible community, and having visible members/mentors in each stage encourages newcomers' learning. This talk illustrates (literally!) how to help new colleagues build this bridge and prevent losing them in the what-do-I-even-Google abyss.

Given at Madison+Ruby 2015

Transcript

1. Crossing the Canyon of Cognizance: a Shared Adventure Madison Ruby 2015 Pamela O. Vickers, @pwnela
3. Jeff Atwood, @codinghorror blog.codinghorror.com/please-dont-learn-to-code “It assumes that more code in the world is an inherently desirable thing.”
4. “It assumes that coding is the goal.” Jeff Atwood, @codinghorror blog.codinghorror.com/please-dont-learn-to-code
5. “It puts the method before the problem.” Jeff Atwood, @codinghorror blog.codinghorror.com/please-dont-learn-to-code
6. “It assumes that adding naive, novice, not-even-sure-they-like-this-whole-programming-thing coders to the workforce is a net positive for the world.” Jeff Atwood, @codinghorror blog.codinghorror.com/please-dont-learn-to-code
7. “It implies that there's a thin, easily permeable membrane between learning to program and getting paid to program professionally.” Jeff Atwood, @codinghorror blog.codinghorror.com/please-dont-learn-to-code
9. ⛔Do Not Learn to Code⛔ • “It assumes that adding naive, novice, not- even-sure-they-like-this-whole-programming- thing coders to the workforce is a net positive for the world.” • “It implies that there's a thin, easily permeable membrane between learning to program and getting paid to program professionally.”
13. not everyone should learn to code…
14. anyone should be able to learn to code
15. Crossing the Canyon of Cognizance
18. “Four Stages for Learning Any New Skill” Noel Burch
19. unconscious incompetence “don’t know what you don’t know”
20. Level 1 The Dark & Foggy Forest
21. conscious incompetence “know what you don’t know”
22. Level 2 The Valley before the Climb
23. conscious competence “know what you know”
24. Level 3 The Steeply Sloping Ascent
25. unconscious competence “don’t know what you know”
26. Level 4 The Hazy & Lofty Clouds
27. The Dark & Foggy Forest Level 1
32. Raven Covington, @_raven_io “As I began learning, I found that there is so much great content out on the internet. That's both awesome and overwhelming. It was difficult for me to chart my own path and figure out where to go next.”
36. Level 4 The Hazy & Lofty Clouds (unconscious competence)
38. <level5ers.png drawing6>
39. Level 5 Vision Beyond the Clouds
40. <tiptopmountain.png drawing5>
41. ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨
42. The Valley before the Climb Level 2
43. (conscious incompetence)
44. The Steeply Sloping Ascent Level 3
45. (conscious competence)
47. (conscious incompetence) (conscious competence)
48. (unconscious competence)
49. (reflective competence)
56. Hi new Friends! How do I get across this canyon? Thanks, Tenderfoot
59. “I want to really dig into programming but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.” /u/Glothr
60. /u/Glothr “I am absolutely lost in the amount of technical jargon…”
61. “…worried about the mathematical aspects of programming.” /u/Glothr
62. “I've struggled for most of my educational career…” /u/Glothr
63. “…with anything beyond advanced algebra.” /u/Glothr
64. “Can anyone give me some insight into what level of math I should be proficient in…” /u/Glothr
65. “…if I want to go anywhere with programming?” /u/Glothr
67. helpful redditor “The first thing you'll want to do is take a look at yourself. Do you like math? Do you like Logic problems?”
68. helpful redditor “Are you good at breaking complex problems into parts?”
69. helpful redditor “If you answered yes to one or more of these, keep reading, if that stuff sounds like a drag, please save yourself some time and look into something else!”
70. helpful redditor “That is all that programming is, and if you delve deeper you will find just that.”
72. “People with a math background did fine, of course…”” Sarah Mei, @sarahmei sarahmei.com/blog/2014/07/15/programming-is-not-math
73. Sarah Mei “…but people with a heavy language background often did better.”
74. Sarah Mei “…and I finally figured it out. Programming is not math.”
75. helpful redditor “…if that stuff* sounds like a drag, please save yourself some time and look into something else!” *math
78. Tenderfoot, Haven’t you heard of a bridge? Later, NinjaCoder10x
81. “Why are experienced programmers so hostile toward beginners?” /u/Epsilon1472
82. /u/Epsilon1472 “It's usually assumed that I haven't done my own research, which is never the case.”
83. “For every helpful reply, it seems like I'll get 4-5 useless replies attempting to call me out for my own laziness.” /u/Epsilon1472
84. ❤❤
85. Tenderfoot, Haven’t you heard of a bridge? Later, NinjaCoder10x
87. Hi Tenderfoot, Are you asking how to build a bridge? Best, pizzapartypuppy
88. ❤❤❤❤
89. Asking the ✨Perfect Question✨
90. • The Golden Rule: Imagine You’re Trying to Answer the Question Asking the ✨Perfect Question✨
91. • The Golden Rule: Imagine You’re Trying to Answer the Question • Provide enough context Asking the ✨Perfect Question✨
92. • The Golden Rule: Imagine You’re Trying to Answer the Question • Provide enough context • Frame the problem Asking the ✨Perfect Question✨
93. • The Golden Rule: Imagine You’re Trying to Answer the Question • Provide enough context • Frame the problem • Provide sample code and data Asking the ✨Perfect Question✨
94. • The Golden Rule: Imagine You’re Trying to Answer the Question • Provide enough context • Frame the problem • Provide sample code and data • Take time to write something articulately Asking the ✨Perfect Question✨
95. Providing the ✨Perfect Answer✨
96. • The Golden Rule: Imagine You’re Receiving the Answer • Provide enough context • Frame the solution • Provide sample code and data • Take time to write something articulately Providing the ✨Perfect Answer✨
98. Hello, I’ve just found this canyon and would like to cross it. I don’t know how wide or how deep it is, but I see that some of you have made it across. Can you tell me what you did in order to get there? I would like to build a bridge, but I’m not sure what materials to use. <3 Tenderfoot
100. Hi Tenderfoot! Crossing the canyon is super easy! All you need to do is grab your foo and then bar the baz. (Make sure you don’t baz the bar or else the foo will bazizzle.) See you soon! mechanical_keyboard_kid42
114. EASY, RIGHT?
115. Seven Months Later Sara Simon, @sarambsimon blog.turing.io/2015/01/29/seven-months-later/
116. Sara Simon “Trying to understand something […] without having the vocabulary to speak coherently about it is a lost cause.”
117. Sara Simon “By building fluency, you allow connections to fall naturally into place. Then, with fluency, you’ll be able to do incredible things.”
120. Hi Tenderfoot! Crossing the canyon is super easy! All you need to do is grab your foo and then bar the baz. (Make sure you don’t baz the bar or else the foo will bazizzle.) See you soon! mechanical_keyboard_kid42
122. Installationception
124. Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
125. • Difficult Question: Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
126. • Difficult Question: 
 
 “How do I get RVM installed on my 1995 ThinkPad?” Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
127. • Difficult Question: 
 
 “How do I get RVM installed on my 1995 ThinkPad?” • Horrible Answer: Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
128. • Difficult Question: 
 
 “How do I get RVM installed on my 1995 ThinkPad?” • Horrible Answer: 
 
 “Get a new Macbook Pro” Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
129. Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
130. • Difficult Question: Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
131. • Difficult Question: 
 
 “I’m having issues installing ______ on my Windows/Linux machine. Any ideas why?” Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
132. • Difficult Question: 
 
 “I’m having issues installing ______ on my Windows/Linux machine. Any ideas why?” • Horrible Answer: Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
133. • Difficult Question: 
 
 “I’m having issues installing ______ on my Windows/Linux machine. Any ideas why?” • Horrible Answer: 
 
 “Because everything is harder on Windows/ Linux.” Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
134. • Difficult Question: 
 “I’m having issues installing ______ on my Windows/Linux machine. Any ideas why?” • Horrible Answer: 
 “Because everything is harder on Windows/ Linux. Don’t do this. Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
135. • Difficult Question: 
 “I’m having issues installing ______ on my Windows/Linux machine. Any ideas why?” • Horrible Answer: 
 “Because everything is harder on Windows/ Linux. Instead: Horrible Exchanges in “Mentoring” History
139. <tenderfoot drawing2>
140. Hi friend, Sorry, what is a foo? I can’t seem to find one. Sorry to ask so many questions, Tenderfoot
141. Hi Tenderfoot! Oh goodness, did I say a foo? I meant to say a norf. Have a great day! mechanical_keyboard_kid42
142. foo != norf
143. How’s it going? Did that work for you?
146. 1) grab your foo 2) bar the baz
147. 1) grab your foo 2) bar the baz norf
155. Hello friends! I have successfully barred the baz!! I have a step of my bridge now. Thank you so much! What do I do now to finish my bridge? Thanks again, Tenderfoot
157. Hi Tenderfoot! Great news! Now just keep at it! You have to bar a lot of bazzes to finish building your bridge across this canyon. See you soon! mechanical_keyboard_kid42
162. “Is it ok if I'm successfully going through code academy lessons while not fully understanding some of them?” /u/MathTheUsername
163. /u/MathTheUsername “…it’s not quite clicking yet.”
164. /u/MathTheUsername “…it will be correct, but I'll not understand why it worked.”
165. /u/MathTheUsername “Should I just keep going…?”
168. (unconscious incompetence) (conscious incompetence)
169. “…I didn't realize how easily you can type something wrong and break your program.” Raven Covington, @_raven_io
170. “I was missing a comma or something.” Raven Covington, @_raven_io
171. Learn Code the Hard Way Zed Shaw, @zedshaw
172. Zed Shaw “ …keep at it. Force yourself.
173. Zed Shaw “At first, you will not understand anything.”
174. Zed Shaw “BANG”
175. Zed Shaw “your brain will snap and you will suddenly ‘get it.’”
177. “BANG”
183. Crossing the Canyon of Cognizance
184. Crossing the Canyon of Cognizance: Pioneer Expansion Pack
190. Institutional Barriers for Women of Color at Code Schools Stephanie Migdalia Pi Herrera, @pi_inthecloud Model View Culture
191. Stephanie Migdalia Pi Herrera “Prospective and current students need to be able to see people like them…”
192. Stephanie Migdalia Pi Herrera “…at every level of these organizations, from boardrooms to HR”
193. Stephanie Migdalia Pi Herrera “The value of this kind of presence is immeasurable.”
195. “We are here, and we want to get caught coding while black.” Dominic M. Liddel, @dominicmliddell Model View Culture
197. On Heroes Ashley Nelson-Hornstein, @ashleynh blog.ashleynh.me/on-heroes
199. Ashley Nelson-Hornstein “Having visible examples of people that look like you in an aspirational professional field is powerful.”
200. Ashley Nelson-Hornstein “By merely existing, these examples prove there is an achievable pathway to that field.”
205. Y’all saw Anika’s talk, right?
212. Thank you.
213. Special thanks to Tam Vo, illustrator & pioneering bridge builder extraordinaire. @tamiam
214. Stay in touch:
215. Pamela O. Vickers @pwnela (everywhere) Software Engineer at Blue Bottle Coffee Co-organizer of Rails Girls Atlanta