Lessons Learned in Teaching Python by Sandy Strong and Christine Cheung

Transcript

1. 1.

   Lessons Learned in Teaching Python Sandy Strong and Christine Cheung

   PyCon 2013
2. 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 • • • • • •
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   Why Teaching? Passion for sharing Contribution to the community Diversity

   efforts “Teaching is learning twice” • • • •
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   Expectations What do YOU want? Reasoning for teaching Determine motivation

   and goals WHO do you want to teach? Target a specific type of audience • • • • •
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   Entry Points Volunteer for user group Form your own Tutoring

   For-profit training • • • •
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   Lesson Planning

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   Making Lesson Plans Adapt from existing don’t “read from book”

   Write your own • • •
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   Know Your Material Be prepared Review your slides Functional code

   demos Answers you don’t know Be honest, figure it out together • • • • •
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   Time Constraints More material than time Omit/edit parts during teaching

   Flexible ending points • • •
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    Know Your Audience

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    Are they... 1. Beginners 2. Intermediates 3. Experts 4. Mix

    of skill level
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    Assess Skill Level Do it early Survey Gauge pacing of

    class While teaching Interact + listen • • • • •
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    Classroom Demographics Age Groups Gender Career Backgrounds • • •

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    Student Environment Plan for an hour of setup time List

    requirements early Offer early setup time List minimum requirements • • • •
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    OS Challenges Windows Have documentation ready Environment variables Older OSes

    Dependencies may not be met Consider “loaner laptops” • • • • • •
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    Python Versions Standarize 2.7 or 3? Do not mix and

    match Consider virtualenv • • • •
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    Engaging With Students

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    Three Types of Students Falling behind Right on track Zipping

    ahead • • •
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    Types of Beginners Younger beginners More adventurous / experimental Older

    beginners More conservative Stay within bounds of exercises • • • • •
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    Absolute Beginners Don’t make assumptions everyone learns differently Explain concepts

    in different ways Take it slow Encourage questions • • • • •
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    Identifying Struggle Less likely to engage May “give up” silently

    Beginners in an experienced room intimidated / shy utilize mentors to help them • • • • •
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    Identifying Boredom Engaged but work ahead Will utilize mentors Bonus

    exercises • • •
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    Keep Them Interested Encourage them to work with neighbors Group

    work Short social breaks Anecdotes and humor Demo interesting projects • • • • •
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    Common Beginner Questions Using the shell vs. interpreter String formatting

    Types of data structures List vs Tuple Math Boolean logic Order of operations • • • • • • •
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    More Common Questions Debugging (pdb) OOP class design Application deployment

    • • •
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    No Questions? Beginners may be shy Use relatable stories Ask

    questions: “Can anyone tell me why ____ worked the way it did?” • • • •
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    Dealing With Difficult Students Answer questions ...but don’t feed the

    troll(s) offer to talk later Class disruption Handle during break • • • • •
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    Location

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    Venues Decide the type of venue Getting a venue existing

    group businesses / hackerspaces / school rent a venue (for profit) • • • • •
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    Knowing Your Venue Internet Power outlets and capacity Tables and

    chairs Projector Backup plans (extra supplies) • • • • •
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    Know the Neighborhood Travel Options Parking Restaurants / Bars Conflicting

    events • • • •
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    Retention Enthusiasm fades quickly Have another session planned Extra assignments

    Community resources Communication channels Meetup, Facebook, Twitter, etc. • • • • • •
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    Wrap-Up

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    Questions?