Jaskarn's Blog

The video I found and found to be really good for our topic of coding is called “Learn To Code Like a GENIUS and Not Waste Time”. Now while the video doesn’t exactly show you how to code and teach you all the syntax and what not. It dives deeply into the mindset needed in order to start coding and excel at coding. The kind of video developed well not just for beginners but also those with some experience. Making it a perfect video for teaching not what coding is, but what it’s about.

The video makes the students respond to the video not with answers to questions but rather with reflection. In the video it’s explained that there’s no point in spending time on trying to memorize or learn everything, from every command, to the structure. Rather to spend time on actual practice. Now how this becomes more so a topic of reflection is that many students may be more used to figuring out the concept deeply and have a solid concrete idea, which although is great, when coming into practice, coding has many things which are not simply memorized. It requires experimenting, working around core concepts. So this pushes the answer of what a beginner should do, which is to go experiment.

The activity that can be suggested after this video is the Sprite Labs on Code.org that we have set up, since the video leaned more so the mentality of coding, and teaching how practice oriented learning will be what makes a successful coder. This would make them put this learning theory into practice with sprite labs and use the mentality that was taught.

The feedback in the sprite labs activity comes from the trial and error process of trying to navigate the sprite through the obstacle. With each error given, it tells the learner something in the code may not be correct, which results in them debugging their code creating better understanding of programming.

The code.org sprite lab activity can easily be scaled as its more of an individual component where one works through constant experimentation until they not only succeed but also grow their logical thinking skills. The work is definitely manageable since it is self paced, the student starts teaching themselves as a result of the trial and error process.

Considering that our interactive learning resource is mainly utilizing Code.org’s sprite lab to introduce and teach coding, it’s important to think about the barriers that can cause problems for learners. Since code.org runs on a website many technical issues can prevent learners from being able to access the proper material. Another issue is with the experimental learning design can maybe discourage some students if they’re getting too many errors and find themselves stuck. 

Starting with the technical barriers, appropriate devices and a stable internet connection may be an issue for some users. Since code.org ‘s sprite lab may be best used on a desktop or laptop, those who may not have access to those devices may have a difficult time navigating or even accessing the website through other devices such as their phones. Wifi connection if not stable enough for web browsing may make accessing the lab frustrating if at all possible. For these circumstances the use of printable practice sheets will be available in which students will be able to practice their coding logic. Prioritizing building up coding logic would be the focus for those since trial and error would be best used on the sprite lab itself. 

Second, the issue with experimental style learning is that when there are constant repetitive errors, students may feel more discouraged as nothing may be working for them. In these cases having cheat sheets and video examples of similar problems will be made available so students have some sort of reference when needed. In this way we can encourage that the experimental style of learning works efficiently without taking away from the freedom and creative approaches to their own solutions. 

Since now addressing both the accessible side and motivational side of the potential barriers, our interactive learning design provides more pathways to success. Whether its from Sprite labs or offline materials, our students have the necessary learning materials in order to understand programming. 

Experimental learning is the method of how learning can happen through direct experimentation, rather than given some sort of solution instruction set. Rather than having formulas, or theories, or memorizing structures, the problem given can be solved in many ways. This allows the concept of testing many different ideas to see what works. Here the errors don’t mean you’ve failed it just means simply those puzzles didn’t fit there so it’s time to see where they could go. 

Experimental learning fits best with our topic focusing on learning how to code. Programming is entirely an experimental process where you just have to see what works where and what doesn’t, essentially trial and error. When writing code students will see that there isn’t just one solution to a problem, this allows the students the freedom of approaching the problem in any way, encouraging creativity and critical thinking. Where if an error pops up they will know that something in their solution needs some tweaking. 

For the context of our learning resource code.org being the primary one. Students will be building algorithms to solve problems, where instead of heavy focus on syntax, theories, and more complex concepts such as time complexity. The focus will remain on a given problem’s experimentation, using given blocks to see what certain block commands can solve the problem. We are using sprites (2d characters), which you are required to move around solving some sort of problem, such as navigating a maze or obstacle. Trying to figure out how to get the sprite through the obstacle will spark the motivation in students to learn how to solve the problem.

This way students will go through a lot of trial and error, and be given immediate feedback in the means of errors or unsuccessful runs, where students can fix the issues within their logic and improve their overall thinking process. This strengthens the students ability to problem solve and learn how to build algorithms using refined logical approaches. 

My best learning experience happened after a few semesters of trying to keep up with professors, where inconsistencies in timing became a problem. Some professors would go way too quickly over more complex concepts, and others would spend too much time on the material that was easily if not already understood. This would always leave me leaving the lectures with none of the information properly grasped or understood, Leaving study sessions becoming more learning everything from scratch than revising. This was slowly weakening my focus and motivation to study and learn at all. 

The real shift happened in the fall semester of 2024, where the overload in assignments and me missing many lectures just so that I could keep up with deadlines. At first it seemed like I would’ve ended up falling behind but instead, I found myself being forced into a new system of learning. Rather than stressing about missed lecture notes, I started studying on my own. This is where I learnt how to break down concepts directly and at my own pace, thoroughly learning the concepts and eventually teaching myself more. With the added pressure of assignments I was always held under a time constraint with understanding the lessons and then working on the relevant assignments, this pressure helped me not just figure out what to focus on but also how to quickly learn and adapt the material. 

One of the major changes this switch resulted in was that the material I was learning actually stuck, rather than being easily forgotten. I realized when studying for major assessments, I had a much easier time since there wasn’t much I had to relearn from scratch, rather it felt like a proper revision. Now looking back at this, this learning experience changed how I ended up learning and looking back I can somewhat relate this to behaviorism, since the constant pressures of deadlines, and trying to balance my own personal life acted like reinforcement. Each time I finished an assignment or figured out a concept, it rewarded me with more time to allocate to the other things in my life.

This became my best learning experience because it allowed me to learn more efficiently, where the information learnt stuck with me long term. I was able to use this to balance school with everything outside of it.