There needs to be better notes and examples.

Austin Coding Academy

1. I have some appreciation for the ‘differentiated learning’ philosophy but mostly favor traditional learning. I like that there are videos within the lessons but the notes seem to be all over the place. I hope in the next part of this boot camp we actually learn JS from the ground up and not flip flop all over the place learning different methods, for loops out of nowhere without going over parameters, not properly learning how to set up a function, etc. Is this just an intro to that? For example, on my last assignment I had no idea what to do and the notes didn’t really help.. I had to dev tool a students to get a better idea. Where are all the examples for these problems that we have to do? There should be videos and then example problems that use arbitrary data as well as real life data. I am still in favor of traditional learning because that’s how I grew up and learned.
2. When I get frustrated, I will usually go for a walk or play video games for a bit until I calm down. Playing the bass guitar or drums also helps. Anything to take my eyes away from the screen for a little while.
3. I understand teaching to the whole person but it’s honestly leaving out the people who learn traditionally. I like to watch a video, see notes and examples and then duplicate it. Furthermore, that holds more retention in the person and it builds layers upon the complexity of the topic. Start off short and simple and then get more complex. I think that differentiated learning is better in grammar, middle, and HS. I used to be a teacher so I know. However once college comes and after that, I only really believe in one method of teaching really. Everyone learns different, I understand, but this textbook needs more examples specific to the HW. IT should also be a bit more extensive with the notes before even getting to W3 or MDN. I feel like differentiated learning just give the person an ‘idea’ if the lesson or topic where they can use their mind to explore some more, but we are all VERY new to this and need to be told what to do and when in the coding.
4. I feel great about working with a new person and confident about the upcoming project because I learn a bit from the notes and videos and then research a lot on W3 and MDN to get an even better understanding. I have taken a pre-course in JS where I learned a lot (especially the traditional method of coding) so I feel like I can show that to another student who doesnt understand the material sometimes.
5. We can always learn from each other. If I am confused on a topic maybe the other person can shed some light on it and vice versa. Furthermore, someone might have an easier or simpler way of doing problem (less steps) as opposed to what I was doing. We can also share html and css code from previous projects to get better ideas on improving our websites.
6. A challenge could be distraction (getting little done) or being on total opposite spectrums of learning. Also, not agreeing on everything or having conflicting schedules. Having different personalities or if someone doesnt have the motivation like you do.