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Working With Students

Blake Mills edited this page Jul 15, 2019 · 16 revisions

Communication

Positive and productive communication between instructors, TAs, and students is vital to a successful class.

Be Empathetic and Positive

Students will be looking to instructors, TAs, and the curriculum for knowledge and guidance. Have empathy when speaking to students, remember that learning to code is not an easy task. Keep in mind that we all learn at different speeds and in different ways. Be supportive and patient as the students demonstrate and describe their issues.

Stand By the Curriculum

Help LaunchCode make the course better and maintain the students trust in curriculum by following these rules.

  • Please send feedback, suggestions, and bug reports to a LaunchCode staff member
  • Do not speak negatively of the curriculum in front of the students
  • Do not teach topics or tools that are not in the curriculum
    • It's ok to mention other topics or tools to enrich the students

Student Status in the Class

LaunchCode staff controls student enrollment. If there is a question about a student's enrollment status, please contact a LaunchCode staff member. If a student is asking about their status, they should also contact a LaunchCode staff member.

Common Student Issues

Students Falling Behind

Students fall behind for many reasons. When students fall behind they tend to try and catch up DURING class and that only makes the problem worse. Students should focus on the in person instruction and studio. Students can catch up on the reading and exercises at home.

Skipping Course Activities

Often students will fail to do the prep work BEFORE class. The in person instruction is meant as a review and NOT a replacement for the prep work. This causes the student to fall behind on the concepts. This can cause the student to NOT participate in the studio assignment. That causes a cycle of the student missing multiple steps of a designed learning path.

TODO: more on skipping studio to work on assignment

Poor Attendance

Keeping Advanced Students Engaged