Vibe teaching — Python training in the age of AI (PyCon US 2026, Education Summit)

The future, in which people code by telling an AI agent what to do, rather than write the programs themselves? Actually, that's the present: A huge number of companies are encouraging their people to use Claude Code and similar tools in their day-to-day jobs. This raises a lot of questions for us as educators, including:

- What skills do people really need to succeed as programmers? Or to get a job in software?
- How important is knowledge of a particular programming language any more?
- How do our syllabi and lessons need to change in the wake of these shifts?

In this talk, I described how my work teaching Python has changed over the last year, and how those changes have accelerated since the start of 2026. I'll describe the experiments I've been doing with my teaching, what has worked (and what hasn't), and how AI is playing a growing role — but doesn't change the need for mastering the fundamentals.

Transcript

1. Vibe teaching: Python training in the age of AI Reuven M. Lerner • PyCon US 2026 Edu Summit https://LernerPython.com 1
2. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com I teach Python and Pandas Courses • Exercises • Of f ice hours • Discord • Projects 2
3. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com Books! 3
4. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com Q: “How is AI affecting your work?” 4
5. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com A: “People ask me nonstop how AI is affecting my work” 5
6. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com But really? I didn’t think it had much effect. 6
7. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com After all, teaching is teaching. People need to learn to code, right? 7
8. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Use it for better learning • (The techniques I described here last year, which are in my new O’Reilly book) • Use it for feedback and debugging • Pair programming and explanations • But coding? • I wasn’t going to do it myself • I wasn’t going to encourage students to do it, either I didn’t ignore AI! 8
9. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com But things changed. 9
10. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Two Fortune 50 companies gave me some tough love • One: All classes need to include AI • Without AI, people won’t sign up for classes • Without AI, they won’t list the classes • (Course registrations have indeed dropped!) • Another: My courses were irrelevant • Don’t teach the API. Teach the ideas. • Claude Code is writing most of their code nowadays I was out of touch 10
11. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com Ouch. 11
12. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Gergely Orosz (Pragmatic Engineer) • January: Things have changed • March: All companies are using AI to code • April: “Tokenmaxxing” • Simon Willison • January: Within 5 years, coding by hand will be like using punch cards • But no one is waiting 5 years, or even 1 year • AI-based coding (aka agentic coding) is happening now. Con f irmation 12
13. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • “The new coding language is English” • What if the barrier to coding was programming languages? • Write to AI in English, and get out working code • This was called “vibe coding” • It worked… sort of! • People reported coding projects that worked… for a while • The term “vibe coding” got a very bad rap Vibe coding 13
14. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • What if software engineers, with training, vibe code? • What if they know how to specify and constrain AI agents? • Could that work? • My clients seemed to think so. But … 14
15. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Gene Kim and Steve Yegge wrote a book, “Vibe Coding” • Their claim: Software engineers should switch to agentic coding ASAP • Write more, better, faster • Rewrite better and faster • Use best practices, including those we f ind annoying Vibe coding, the book 15
16. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • So, is vibe coding amazing? Or just amazingly dangerous? • In the hands of an experienced coder, vibe coding is a massive accelerant • But if you don’t have experience? You can get yourself into trouble • Compare it, perhaps, with jazz • It’s great, but only from someone who has studied music • If a non-programmer vibe codes, they’ll get the software equivalent of me playing jazz A chain saw… or jazz 16
17. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com The industry is changing. My clients’ needs are changing. I have to change, too. 17
18. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Agentic coding is the new reality. It’s not a fad. • Agentic coding is a new, separate skill set from coding. • It’s changing very rapidly. No one is an expert. • You cannot vibe code if you don’t know how to code. • This will likely change (like compilers and assembly language) • The real skill? Analyzing a problem, breaking it into parts, solving each part, and combining them into a maintainable solution • Budgeting is also important — tokens are expensive! Here’s what I think 18
19. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • This is new! • AI allows anyone to code! But that doesn’t make everyone a software engineer • Al Sweigart: If Lego blocks were free and in f initely available, could everyone be an architect? • We need to double down on engineering skills Software engineering ≠ coding 19
20. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Leg 1: General programming/software understanding • Leg 2: Knowledge of a speci f ic programming language • Leg 3: Knowing how to use AI to write code on your behalf Three-legged stool 20
21. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • A friend once said: • When you’re starting off, you solve problems with code. • When you get more experienced, you solve problems with people. • When you get even more experienced, you solve problems with money. • Today? Everyone in that third camp. You invest the money, and the agents write the code for you. A new-old perspective 21
22. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com Where does this leave us as educators? 22
23. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com No one knows. But we have to try something. 23
24. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Short iterations • Willingness to try things that you don’t completely understand • Willingness to try things despite high degrees of uncertainty • Rapid experimentation • Rapid failure • Constant self evaluation What makes vibe coding different? 24
25. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com Let’s apply those to teaching: Vibe teaching! 25
26. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • I’ve started to do many experiments • Adding new classes • Modifying existing ones • Some experiments have worked better than others • In startup terms, I’m constantly creating new MVPs — minimum viable pedagogies • The alternative is not to do anything • My core idea: Make mistakes before my students do Vibe teaching 26
27. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • The most important part of using AI? Arguing with it. • Don’t accept an answer! • Ask tough follow ups • Ask clarifying questions • Give contradictory evidence • You’ll learn • By formulating good questions • By discussing the topic at length Teaching them to argue 27
28. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • I’ve started to change my courses to include some AI feedback and planning • Strategy sessions and comparing output • Not instead of learning to code, but alongside it • Adding agentic coding to an intro class • My frustrations: • More AI content means less non-AI content. What do I cut? • People need to know coding to vibe code. • How much should I do this, especially with beginners? Change existing classes 28
29. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • I love exercises — that’s the real way to learn! • I’ve always avoided homework, especially in corporate training • No longer — now I can give open-ended homework! • Interview • Find my bug • Plant a bug • Goal: Get comfortable conversing with AI about things Give homework 29
30. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com AI practice feedback 30
31. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Trained on my writing, so it sounds like me • Multiple levels of hints (without giving the answer) • It emphasizes the process of learning, not just the answer • It allows for exploration and asking questions beyond the scope of the exercise itself • A cool side effect: It speaks every language! AI practice feedback 31
32. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • I can’t teach agentic coding if I’m not doing it myself • I used Claude Code to massively revamp and improve my course-setup programs, and publish them to PyPI • Course-setup is far better than it could have been • I’ve learned a lot about what to specify, and how • (And the interactive exercises I just showed you) • Doing this ensures that I encounter problems before my students do Use it myself 32
33. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • In January, I realized everyone is starting to vibe code… • … but no one knows how to do it • I offered two Claude Code classes (one for Python, one Pandas) • Three exercises • First solve, then compare (a) prompts, (b) code • Second iteration: 2 exercises, 1 demo • Third iteration: Advanced Claude Code, Intro OpenCode • I’ll eventually roll these into my membership • I do professional training — and I want to ensure people can get interviews and jobs Agentic coding classes 33
34. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • I’m able to teach from experience • Another reason for people to join my platform • I’m just trying to fail faster than everyone else! • CLAUDE.md (and AGENT.md) improvements • We learned a lot about OpenCode and various models Multiple wins 34
35. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Explicit planning, with a checklist and review • Using uv and everything it offers • Committing to Git regularly • All work in a separate Git branch • TDD (test-driven development) • Type checking • Parallelizing work whenever possible • Bumping and tagging versions Best practices? No, minimum practices. 35
36. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • I’ve been running 8-week, build-your-own-project courses for a year or so • HOPPy: Hands-on Projects in Python • The upcoming cohort? Agentic coding • Normally, I tell people to keep projects small and restricted • This time? The sky’s the limit! Let’s see how far we can get! HOPPy studio class 36
37. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • My 16-week online bootcamp teaches important skills: • Python • Git • Pandas • Now? Agentic coding is crucial, too. • Who will hire someone without vibe coding experience? • New: The f inal two weeks will now be spent doing agentic projects. Changing my bootcamp 37
38. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • I’m trying to keep up with the torrent of ideas and techniques • Software engineers using agentic coding • Books and articles on learning and education • Techniques, prompts, skills What works? 38
39. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Agentic coding only works if you have experience • So, how can people get that experience? • Maybe we have to move to an internship model • Like in law, medicine, and architecture • During that year, work on company stuff? • Maybe work on open source during that time? Challenges for education 39
40. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • AI companies are losing money. A lot of money. • Agentic coding uses thousands of tokens. • This is a budgeting problem, one we’ll hear lots more about • Choosing models, and prioritizing tasks, is (or will soon be) key: • Which for planning • Which for coding • Which for QA • Which for documentation • Which for code review Maybe AI isn’t cheap? 40
41. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Be bold. Do lots of little experiments. • Give AI homework: Strategy sessions. Interviews. Comparing outputs. • Have students do pair planning, not just pair coding • How to break down the problem? • How to know that the agent has succeeded? • Finish a course with several vibe-coding lessons • Have them share prompts, CLAUDE.md, and output • Show places where the AI fails, or is foiled by ambiguity Things to try 41
42. PyCon Edu Summit 2026 • Vibe teaching Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Ask me here! • Or come to my booth at the expo! • Contact me: reuven@LernerPython.com • My site: https://LernerPython.com • LinkedIn: https://LinkedIn.com/in/reuven/ • YouTube: https://YouTube.com/reuvenlerner Thoughts? Questions? 42