1. Mar-21 Phase1 MetaCog
1.1. Feedback from
1.1.1. Mihai
1.1.1.1. overall
1.1.1.1.1. you tell beautiful stories
1.1.1.1.2. i was ready to be wowed or feel the positives, but that didn't happen as much
1.1.1.2. content
1.1.1.2.1. time concern initially may have lessened importance
1.1.1.2.2. "it's not about the typing; it's about the thinking"
1.1.1.2.3. thumbs up on why, still not sure what we're going to talk about (but I may have been not paying attention fully)
1.1.1.2.4. really love "that voice is trying to protect you from failure"
1.1.1.2.5. "repeaters see the future"
1.1.1.3. presentation
1.1.1.3.1. volume a bit low today (hard to hear for me in the back, also afraid recording won't be useful)
1.1.1.3.2. humor/lightness
1.1.1.4. relationship
1.1.1.4.1. nothing really hit me as a positive here, so perhaps something was missing?
1.2. Content
1.2.1. Start by checking in with them, before lecture
1.2.1.1. why
1.2.1.1.1. to make them comfortable
1.2.1.1.2. to have them speak in the space, expand their comfort zone
1.2.1.2. what
1.2.1.2.1. how they're doing
1.2.1.2.2. did they have any a-ha moments?
1.2.2. Key points
1.2.2.1. what is the topic
1.2.2.2. what is not the topic
1.2.2.3. "if you only walk away with two things from this..."
1.2.2.4. give them at the beginning and again at the end
1.2.3. Talk about 'why'
1.2.3.1. whenever possible, especially if audience seems at all disengaged
1.2.4. Definitions
1.2.4.1. Don't use jargon without introducing first
1.2.4.1.1. they'll be lost
1.2.4.2. Show your slides to a 5-year old
1.2.4.2.1. "Mommy, what's ActiveRecord??"
1.2.5. Clarity
1.2.5.1. Underscore non-obvious things & common mistakes
1.2.6. Demonstrate Knowledge of Topic
1.2.7. Give concrete examples
1.2.7.1. Use standard examples used in docs: Users/Posts etc.
1.2.8. Topics Balance, Flow, Time Management
1.2.9. Meta Learning
1.2.9.1. anything you taught beyond the specific technical topic
1.2.9.2. possible examples
1.2.9.2.1. how to be a DBC student
1.2.9.2.2. EE / feelings
1.2.9.2.3. how to learn
1.2.10. What's Next?
1.2.10.1. feed the overachievers
1.3. Presentation
1.3.1. Voice
1.3.1.1. Volume
1.3.1.1.1. Loud and consistent vs. low and trailing off
1.3.1.1.2. be loud
1.3.1.1.3. check
1.3.1.2. Tone
1.3.1.2.1. Dynamic vs. monotone
1.3.1.3. Speed
1.3.1.3.1. Varied and generally slower
1.3.1.3.2. Slowing down vs. using fillers ('uh', 'like')
1.3.2. Lighten/change it up
1.3.2.1. why
1.3.2.2. how
1.3.2.2.1. add humor, like Jen's animals
1.3.2.2.2. share quirky/unexpected info
1.3.2.2.3. Sherif's "let's look at 5-10 things, 5 seconds on each"
1.3.2.2.4. (calculated, mindful) swearing
1.3.3. Visual Aids
1.3.3.1. Slides or no slides?
1.3.3.1.1. If you use someone else's slides, you're likely to get screwed at some point
1.3.3.2. Browse Rails Guides or other docs
1.3.3.3. Live coding
1.3.3.3.1. Start from scratch
1.3.3.3.2. Give a simple example first before more complex ones
1.3.4. Time integrity
1.3.4.1. address time at the beginning
1.3.4.2. request permission or at least apologize if you're going over
1.3.5. Awareness of environment
1.3.5.1. extra noise
1.3.5.2. lights
1.4. Relationship with audience
1.4.1. Getting a feedback loop on audience understanding
1.4.1.1. bad signs
1.4.1.1.1. fidgeting
1.4.1.1.2. using mobile phones
1.4.1.1.3. silence
1.4.1.1.4. confused questions
1.4.1.2. good signs
1.4.1.2.1. engaged questions
1.4.1.2.2. forward lean
1.4.1.2.3. smiles
1.4.1.2.4. buzzing
1.4.2. What do they already know about the topic?
1.4.3. Make it interactive
1.4.3.1. Make sure it's not a monologue
1.4.3.2. At least ask questions
1.4.3.3. Get them to do something
1.4.3.3.1. Code
1.4.3.3.2. Use whiteboards
1.4.3.3.3. Vote understanding thumb-to-5
1.4.3.4. Pair/group time
1.4.3.5. Get them out of their chairs
1.4.4. Answering questions
1.4.4.1. Validate question
1.4.4.1.1. even by merely addressing what they're saying
1.4.4.1.2. ask clarifying questions
1.4.4.2. Give the answer
1.4.4.3. 'Does that make sense'?
1.4.4.4. Cut off excessive or off-topic ones
1.4.4.5. "let me just give it to you so we don't struggle" after 45 seconds
1.4.4.5.1. avoid loss of energy that comes with too many wrong answers
1.4.4.6. "who was helped by that question?"
1.4.5. Intangibles
1.4.5.1. Be Yourself
1.4.5.1.1. Use your own slides so you can be more comfortable
1.4.5.1.2. But play the role of yourself with enthusiasm! They're watching...
1.4.5.2. Empathy
1.4.5.2.1. You get what it might be like to be them
1.4.5.3. Communicating self-confidence
1.4.5.3.1. this is why tone matters
1.4.5.3.2. try to be loud and emphatic with your thoughts
1.4.5.3.3. example
1.4.5.4. Care about whether they learned something
1.4.5.4.1. if they had a simple quiz right after, how would they do?
1.4.5.4.2. ask them fist-to-5 how comfortable they feel with it
2. Archive
2.1. Mar-17 ActiveRecord
2.1.1. Overall
2.1.1.1. Your teaching is a fucking masterpiece
2.1.1.1.1. I think I learned a lot
2.1.1.1.2. really wish I had videotaped it (thought about it)
2.1.1.2. At the same time, I tried hard to offer at least some constructive feedback or at least question things
2.1.1.3. how this same cohort was/behaved in your lecture was stunningly different than they were in past lectures
2.1.1.4. you constantly direct their focus
2.1.1.4.1. why don't I do that more?
2.1.1.5. you teach them how to learn
2.1.2. Content
2.1.2.1. Start by checking in with them, before lecture
2.1.2.1.1. why
2.1.2.1.2. what
2.1.2.1.3. "what do you guys know abut AR?'
2.1.2.1.4. checking in with your cohort
2.1.2.2. Key points
2.1.2.2.1. what is the topic
2.1.2.2.2. what is not the topic
2.1.2.2.3. "if you only walk away with two things from this..."
2.1.2.2.4. give them at the beginning and again at the end
2.1.2.2.5. you didn't really give any of this
2.1.2.3. Definitions
2.1.2.3.1. Don't use jargon without introducing first
2.1.2.3.2. Show your slides to a 5-year old
2.1.2.3.3. who doesn't understand index?
2.1.2.4. Clarity
2.1.2.4.1. Underscore non-obvious things & common mistakes
2.1.2.5. Knowledge of topic
2.1.2.5.1. funny - you clearly know it but somehow that's not front and center. much more Socratic in your method. reduces the teacher-student gap
2.1.2.6. Talk about 'why' whenever possible
2.1.2.6.1. especially if audience seems at all disengaged
2.1.2.7. Give concrete examples
2.1.2.7.1. Use standard examples used in docs: Users/Posts etc.
2.1.2.8. balance of topics, flow and time management
2.1.2.9. What's next?
2.1.2.9.1. feed the overachievers
2.1.2.10. meta learning
2.1.2.10.1. how to browse docs
2.1.2.10.2. not about complete coverage
2.1.2.10.3. referenced feelings a lot
2.1.2.10.4. how to be a DBC student
2.1.2.10.5. huge strength of your style
2.1.3. Presentation
2.1.3.1. Voice
2.1.3.1.1. Volume
2.1.3.1.2. Tone
2.1.3.1.3. Speed
2.1.3.2. Lighten/change it up
2.1.3.2.1. add humor
2.1.3.2.2. share quirky/unexpected info
2.1.3.2.3. swearing
2.1.3.2.4. "let's look at 5-10 things, 5 seconds on each"
2.1.3.3. Visual Aids
2.1.3.3.1. Slides or no slides?
2.1.3.3.2. docs
2.1.3.3.3. Live coding
2.1.3.4. Time integrity
2.1.3.4.1. address time at the beginning
2.1.3.4.2. request permission or at least apologize if you're going over
2.1.3.5. awareness of environment
2.1.3.5.1. extra noise
2.1.3.5.2. lights
2.1.4. Relationship with audience
2.1.4.1. Getting a feedback loop on audience understanding
2.1.4.1.1. bad signs
2.1.4.1.2. good signs
2.1.4.1.3. who's feeling overwhelmed?
2.1.4.2. What do they already know about the topic?
2.1.4.3. Make it interactive
2.1.4.3.1. Make sure it's not a monologue
2.1.4.3.2. At least ask questions
2.1.4.3.3. Get them to do something
2.1.4.3.4. Pair/group time
2.1.4.3.5. Get them out of their chairs
2.1.4.4. Answering questions
2.1.4.4.1. Validate question
2.1.4.4.2. Give the answer
2.1.4.4.3. 'Does that make sense'?
2.1.4.4.4. Cut off excessive or off-topic ones
2.1.4.4.5. "let me just give it to you so we don't struggle" after 45 seconds
2.1.4.4.6. lifecycle question
2.1.4.4.7. invited questions (about your friend AR) at 9:45
2.1.4.4.8. "who was helped by that question?"
2.1.4.5. Intangibles
2.1.4.5.1. Be Yourself
2.1.4.5.2. Empathy
2.1.4.5.3. Communicating self-confidence
2.1.4.5.4. Care about whether they learned something
2.1.4.5.5. it's really interesting... the feel was warm, connected... you make it very safe for them to be vulnerable... at no point though do you show vulnerability. probably a personal style choice (and i just got dinged in a 1-on-1 for showing some, lost some trust) but i wonder if this is a conscious choice and if so, why you choose it