Lessons Learned in Teaching Python by Sandy Strong and Christine Cheung

Transcript

1. Lessons Learned in Teaching Python Sandy Strong and Christine Cheung PyCon 2013
2. About the Speakers Sandy Strong Sandy Strong (@sandymahalo) Systems Engineer at DreamHost Tutoring and workshops for high schoolers and adults Christine Cheung (@plaidxtine) Freelance web developer Workshop organizing/teaching for local user groups • • • • • •
3. Why Teaching? Passion for sharing Contribution to the community Diversity efforts “Teaching is learning twice” • • • •
4. Expectations What do YOU want? Reasoning for teaching Determine motivation and goals WHO do you want to teach? Target a specific type of audience • • • • •
5. Entry Points Volunteer for user group Form your own Tutoring For-profit training • • • •
6. Lesson Planning
7. Making Lesson Plans Adapt from existing don’t “read from book” Write your own • • •
8. Know Your Material Be prepared Review your slides Functional code demos Answers you don’t know Be honest, figure it out together • • • • •
9. Time Constraints More material than time Omit/edit parts during teaching Flexible ending points • • •
10. Know Your Audience
11. Are they... 1. Beginners 2. Intermediates 3. Experts 4. Mix of skill level
12. Assess Skill Level Do it early Survey Gauge pacing of class While teaching Interact + listen • • • • •
13. Classroom Demographics Age Groups Gender Career Backgrounds • • •
14. Student Environment Plan for an hour of setup time List requirements early Offer early setup time List minimum requirements • • • •
15. OS Challenges Windows Have documentation ready Environment variables Older OSes Dependencies may not be met Consider “loaner laptops” • • • • • •
16. Python Versions Standarize 2.7 or 3? Do not mix and match Consider virtualenv • • • •
17. Engaging With Students
18. Three Types of Students Falling behind Right on track Zipping ahead • • •
19. Types of Beginners Younger beginners More adventurous / experimental Older beginners More conservative Stay within bounds of exercises • • • • •
20. Absolute Beginners Don’t make assumptions everyone learns differently Explain concepts in different ways Take it slow Encourage questions • • • • •
21. Identifying Struggle Less likely to engage May “give up” silently Beginners in an experienced room intimidated / shy utilize mentors to help them • • • • •
22. Identifying Boredom Engaged but work ahead Will utilize mentors Bonus exercises • • •
23. Keep Them Interested Encourage them to work with neighbors Group work Short social breaks Anecdotes and humor Demo interesting projects • • • • •
24. Common Beginner Questions Using the shell vs. interpreter String formatting Types of data structures List vs Tuple Math Boolean logic Order of operations • • • • • • •
25. More Common Questions Debugging (pdb) OOP class design Application deployment • • •
26. No Questions? Beginners may be shy Use relatable stories Ask questions: “Can anyone tell me why ____ worked the way it did?” • • • •
27. Dealing With Difficult Students Answer questions ...but don’t feed the troll(s) offer to talk later Class disruption Handle during break • • • • •
28. Location
29. Venues Decide the type of venue Getting a venue existing group businesses / hackerspaces / school rent a venue (for profit) • • • • •
30. Knowing Your Venue Internet Power outlets and capacity Tables and chairs Projector Backup plans (extra supplies) • • • • •
31. Know the Neighborhood Travel Options Parking Restaurants / Bars Conflicting events • • • •
32. Retention Enthusiasm fades quickly Have another session planned Extra assignments Community resources Communication channels Meetup, Facebook, Twitter, etc. • • • • • •
33. Wrap-Up
34. Questions?