Tips for Getting Started to Code and Teaching Coding

I got a friend (Alice), Alice is an artist with a non-tech background in her career at all. I recently started to teach her coding online now. From this experience I would like to share some suggestion for the new coders.

For Myself

Explain Tech Terms in Detail

For individuals like Alice, who are navigating the technical landscape with some unfamiliar terms, breaking down these concepts can make a significant difference.

For example,

def sum(a,b):
  return a+b

My explanation is like

• The whole function is to get sum of two numbers
• sum is the function name
• a, b are 2 parameters
• return is to return the output to the caller

parameter, call, return these words gave Alice a bit confusion in the beginning.

So these kind of technology terms need to be explained when teaching.

For Alice (the new coders)

Try, Fail but Keep Curiosity

Curiosity is a good teacher, for an engineering work, there are a lot of pattern and best practices to follow. You need to be curious about why having the pattern or best practices.

At the same time, you may need to try and fail, not directly asking why or Google.

So my suggestion would be,

Try it, no matter it is in good or bad practice, after doing it a few times, you will have a better understanding of the why

Alone Time

In a collaborative workspace, being a lone wolf isn't always ideal., but for practicing coding, sometimes you need to become a lone wolf. It's not about shunning collaboration, but acknowledging the value of tackling challenges independently. Struggling through problems solo often fosters a deeper understanding and skill development.

Google It

There are many resources online, to search, to get the answers. Today, resources like ChatGPT offer incredible support for coding queries. With LLM models adept at comprehending complex questions, accessing varied tones and formats becomes easier. Utilize these tools not just for answers but also to diversify your learning experience.