Curriculum to Command Line: Why Teachers Make Great Coders, and What Your Team Can Learn from Them

Perhaps you’ve heard the oft-quoted statistic that teachers make 1500 decisions per day in their classrooms. How do they do that?! Don’t you think a mind with that kind of training would be great at writing algorithms and defining edge cases? Well, it turns out that they are! Find out why former educators make awesome coders, communicators, teammates, and leaders. And, perhaps more importantly, learn what your teams can do to hone those same skills.

Transcript

1. Curriculum to Command Line Why Teachers Make Great Coders, and What Your Team Can Learn from Them
2. hello! Christine Zekis @tinezekis she/her/hers Software Engineer Former High School Math Teacher ‘Tine
3. Warm-Up Who was your favorite teacher and why? @tinezekis
4. Warm-Up Who was your favorite teacher and why? 1. Consider your answer and write/type it in your notes 2. Discuss your answer with the person next to you 3. Let’s share out one or two responses for the group @tinezekis
5. Warm-Up My favorite teacher was Ms. Hardin, high school geometry ✘ Good sense of humor ✘ Able to break down logic and explain reasoning ✘ Related the content to our lives ✘ Committed to the students @tinezekis
6. The Argument Why (awesome) teachers make awesome coders @tinezekis
7. 1. Learning Objectives What will students be able to do? (As a ___, I can __________) @tinezekis
8. 1. Learning Objectives What will students be able to do? (As a ___, I can __________) Stories User users @tinezekis
9. Learning Objectives 1. As a programmer, I can improve my comprehension and hone my problem-solving skills by creating and taking opportunities to teach others User Stories @tinezekis
10. Learning Objectives 1. As a programmer, I can improve my comprehension and hone my problem-solving skills by creating and taking opportunities to teach others 2. As a team member, I can improve my communication skills by breaking down concepts for a variety of audiences User Stories @tinezekis
11. Learning Objectives 1. As a programmer, I can improve my comprehension and hone my problem-solving skills by creating and taking opportunities to teach others 2. As a team member, I can improve my communication skills by breaking down concepts for a variety of audiences 3. As a leader, I can help my team to become better collaborators by creating a culture of teaching and learning User Stories @tinezekis
12. Learning Objectives 1. As a programmer, I can improve my comprehension and hone my problem-solving skills by creating and taking opportunities to teach others 2. As a team member, I can improve my communication skills by breaking down concepts for a variety of audiences 3. As a leader, I can help my team to become better collaborators by creating a culture of teaching and learning 4. As a hiring manager, I can appreciate the skills that former educators and other career changers may bring to the table User Stories @tinezekis
13. Learning Objectives 1. As a programmer, I can improve my comprehension and hone my problem-solving skills by creating and taking opportunities to teach others 2. As a team member, I can improve my communication skills by breaking down concepts for a variety of audiences 3. As a leader, I can help my team to become better collaborators by creating a culture of teaching and learning 4. As a hiring manager, I can appreciate the skills that former educators and other career changers may bring to the table User Stories @tinezekis
14. 2. Write the Assessment How do we know we met our objectives? @tinezekis
15. 2. Write the Assessment How do we know we met our objectives? Tests it does what we say it does @tinezekis
16. Write the Assessment ◦ Solution is positive Tests @tinezekis
17. Write the Assessment ✘ Happy Path ◦ Solution is positive Tests @tinezekis
18. Write the Assessment ✘ Happy Path ◦ Solution is positive ◦ Solutions that are negative, zero, very large, decimals, etc. Tests @tinezekis
19. Write the Assessment ✘ Happy Path ◦ Solution is positive ✘ Edge Cases ◦ Solutions that are negative, zero, very large, decimals, etc. Tests @tinezekis
20. Write the Assessment ✘ Happy Path ◦ Solution is positive ✘ Edge Cases ◦ Solutions that are negative, zero, very large, decimals, etc. ◦ Finally, determine what students will need to learn to be able to solve the problem (in education, this is called Backward Planning, or Outcome-Base Education) Tests @tinezekis
21. Write the Assessment ✘ Happy Path ◦ Solution is positive ✘ Edge Cases ◦ Solutions that are negative, zero, very large, decimals, etc. ✘ Red-Green TDD ◦ Finally, determine what students will need to learn to be able to solve the problem (in education, this is called Backward Planning, or Outcome-Base Education) Tests @tinezekis
22. 3. Teaching the Lesson Here goes nothin’! @tinezekis
23. 3. Teaching the Lesson Here goes nothin’! Deployment this. @tinezekis
24. 1,500 decisions per day @tinezekis Teacher make
25. Every 15 seconds @tinezekis That’s one decision
26. 4. Lifelong Learners Teachers are constantly growing, adjusting, and learning new things @tinezekis
27. 4. Lifelong Learners Teachers are constantly growing, adjusting, and learning new things Coders I got nothin’ @tinezekis
28. Bringing It Back Would your favorite teacher make a great coder? Why or why not? @tinezekis
29. Bringing It Back Would your favorite teacher make a great coder? Why or why not? 1. Consider your answer and write/type it in your notes 2. Discuss your answer with a different person sitting near you 3. Let’s share out one or two responses for the group @tinezekis
30. Bringing It Back Reasons a teacher might make a great coder ✘ Adjusts well to changing situations ✘ Good at predicting what might go wrong ✘ Enjoys solving interesting problems ✘ Can break down problems into smaller steps ✘ Thinks outside the box ✘ Cares deeply about students (users? teammates?) @tinezekis
31. So What? Why should I care about this? @tinezekis
32. Lifelong Learners Teachers are constantly growing, adjusting, and learning new things Coders @tinezekis
33. “ Teaching is the highest form of understanding. —Aristotle @tinezekis
34. The Protégé Effect The improved comprehension experienced as a result of teaching a new concept @tinezekis
35. Want to learn it? Teach it. @tinezekis
36. The Protégé Effect ✘ Increased metacognitive processing (awareness of your learning process) Source: https://effectiviology.com/protege-effect-learn-by-teaching/ @tinezekis
37. The Protégé Effect ✘ Increased metacognitive processing (awareness of your learning process) ✘ Increased use of effective learning strategies (organizing the material, seeking out key pieces of information, etc.) Source: https://effectiviology.com/protege-effect-learn-by-teaching/ @tinezekis
38. The Protégé Effect ✘ Increased metacognitive processing (awareness of your learning process) ✘ Increased use of effective learning strategies (organizing the material, seeking out key pieces of information, etc.) ✘ Increased motivation to learn (responsibility for others) Source: https://effectiviology.com/protege-effect-learn-by-teaching/ @tinezekis
39. The Protégé Effect ✘ Increased metacognitive processing (awareness of your learning process) ✘ Increased use of effective learning strategies (organizing the material, seeking out key pieces of information, etc.) ✘ Increased motivation to learn (responsibility for others) ✘ Increased feelings of competence and autonomy Source: https://effectiviology.com/protege-effect-learn-by-teaching/ @tinezekis
40. The Protégé Effect ✘ Increased metacognitive processing (awareness of your learning process) ✘ Increased use of effective learning strategies (organizing the material, seeking out key pieces of information, etc.) ✘ Increased motivation to learn (responsibility for others) ✘ Increased feelings of competence and autonomy ✘ Improved communication skills, confidence, and leadership ability Source: https://effectiviology.com/protege-effect-learn-by-teaching/ @tinezekis
41. The Protégé Effect ✘ Increased metacognitive processing (awareness of your learning process) ✘ Increased use of effective learning strategies (organizing the material, seeking out key pieces of information, etc.) ✘ Increased motivation to learn (responsibility for others) ✘ Increased feelings of competence and autonomy ✘ Improved communication skills, confidence, and leadership ability Source: https://effectiviology.com/protege-effect-learn-by-teaching/ @tinezekis
42. Ways to Benefit from the Effect Prepare to Teach It Organize the information, answer potential questions @tinezekis
43. Ways to Benefit from the Effect Prepare to Teach It Organize the information, answer potential questions Pretend to Teach It Go through the content out loud, as if you are teaching @tinezekis
44. Ways to Benefit from the Effect Prepare to Teach It Organize the information, answer potential questions Pretend to Teach It Go through the content out loud, as if you are teaching Teach It! The greatest benefits of the Protégé Effect are experienced by those who actually carry out a lesson @tinezekis
45. Many Ways to Teach Give a Talk @tinezekis
46. Many Ways to Teach Give a Talk Write It Down @tinezekis
47. Many Ways to Teach Give a Talk Mentor a Colleague Write It Down @tinezekis
48. So, What… …can I do differently on Monday? @tinezekis
49. Homework What Can I Teach? ✘ A fun side project ✘ A new technology ✘ That problem I finally figured out @tinezekis
50. Homework What Can I Teach? ✘ A fun side project ✘ A new technology ✘ That problem I finally figured out What Else Can I Do… …in my current role to engender a culture of teaching and learning? @tinezekis
51. Homework What Can I Teach? ✘ A fun side project ✘ A new technology ✘ That problem I finally figured out What Else Can I Do… …in my current role to engender a culture of teaching and learning? What Would Teacher Do? What’s something that made your teacher awesome? Could you do that thing in your role? @tinezekis
52. thanks! Any questions? You can find me at: @tinezekis tinezekis@gmail.com
53. Resources Special thanks to all the people who made and released these awesome resources for free: ✘ Teacher statistics from Concordia University, St. Paul ✘ Aristotle quote from TeachThought ✘ Protégé Effect summary by Effectiviology ✘ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival ✘ Photographs by WOCinTech Chat on Flickr @tinezekis