Effective Learning Strategies for Programmers

Effective LearningAllison Kaptur

@akaptur

Recurse Center

1. Mindset2. Strategies

What to get out of this talk

Growth mindset: Carol Dweck

These theories cause differences in effort

"Praise that backfires"

Response to confusion

Response to confusion

"How can one best describe the nature of people who will most of all be that way which will make the imitating of others happen most often? Is it that these are the poeple we want to be like because they are fine or is it that these are the people we want to be liked by?"

Programmers need a growth mindset

Does anyone believe in a fixed mindset?


10x engineers


Hero worship

Can you change a fixed mindset?

Heck yes

How do you identify a fixed mindset?

"I am ..""Some people are

just ..."

How do you change a fixed mindset?

Reframe praise & success


Reframe failure


Celebrate challenges


Ask about processes

Confidence & imposter syndrome

Confidence doesn't help you

respond to challengesHenderson & Dweck, 1990

Break the framework

Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and

developmentMindset

Strategies

Make it Stick

Learning is an acquired skill

1. Effortful retrieval>

rereading

2. Spaced practice>

massed practiceSpaced - Varied - Interleaved

3. Difficulty is (usually) desirable

This all feels terrible

Implementing

Effortful retreival

Implementing

Spaced practice

Implementing

Difficulty & errors

Recap

Growth mindsetEffortful retrievalSpaced practice

Desirable difficulties

Thanks!My thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on early versions of this talk: - Maggie Zhou - Amy Hanlon - Alyssa Frazee - Julia Evans

Thanks to the Kiwi PyCon organizers for inviting me!

Slides by Deckset

Q & A / Pop quiz!• What impact does confidence have on success?

• What are some ways to create spaced practice?

• What are two strategies for turning a fixed mindset into a growth mindset?

Technology

Effective Learning Strategies for Programmers