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91. How to Learn Programming Skills

We continue our dive into how to learn things while Michael’s voice sounds an awful lot like Joe’s, Joe says it’s a square, and Allen says it’s as triangle … oh, and Google Feud is back!

Using your podcast player to read these show notes? You can view this episode’s full show notes and participate in the discussion over at https://www.codingblocks.net/episode91.

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How to Get Better at Getting Better

The 5 models

  • Deliberate Practice
  • Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition
  • Four Stages of Competence
  • The Learning Pyramid
  • 7 Learning Styles

Setting goals

  • Uber or Graph Database?
  • Picking what is important to you…
    • Play to strengths?
    • Strengthen your weaknesses?
    • Focus on highest ROI?

Deliberate practice

  • Understand your goals, your aptitude, and execute custom exercises
  • Tailored towards advancing skill, ignores knowledge
  • Listen to episode 78 for a deep dive on deliberate practice.

Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition

  • Controversial
  • The optimum way to learn changes as your knowledge and skill grow

Novice

  • Understand the tools / philosophy
  • Explore ecosystem
  • Define learning goals
  • Getting started

Beginner

  • Training course
  • Buy a book
  • Playground project

Intermediary

  • Experiments
  • Documentation
  • Reading

Advanced

  • Teach others

Four Stages of Competence

The square, er, triangle, wait square? Diagrams are hard.

  1. Unconscious incompetence
    • Don’t recognize the deficit
    • Often undervalues the skill
  2. Conscious Incompetence
    • You know you’re bad 🙂
    • Making mistakes and learning from them is important
  3. Conscious Competence
    • Using the skill requires attention and effort’
  4. Unconscious Competence
    • Skill becomes second nature
    • Teaching can be tough, depending on how you learn

The Learning Pyramid (aka cone of learning, or cone of experience)

The Learning Square, no wait, this one’s a triangle.

  • Passive Teaching Methods
    • Lecture 5%
    • Reading 10%
    • Audio Visual 20%
    • Demonstration 30%
  • Participatory Teaching Methods 50%
  • Practicing by doing 75%
  • Teaching others 90%
  • Well, it’s controversial.

7 Learning Styles

  • Visual (spatial):You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.
  • Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.
  • Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.
  • Physical (kinesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.
  • Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.
  • Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.
  • Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self-study.
  • Also controversial.

Resources We Like

Tip of the Week

  • DevTube – Find curated programming videos by topic, speaker, and popularity.
  • Code Sharing with Serverless Functions using NPM or Node packages.

Episode source