My Teaching Philosophy

These are the principles I want/try to follow when creating courses. This version is specifically intended for programming courses, so it includes elements that are obviously not relevant for other types of courses.

At the heart of this course lies a commitment to effective, engaging, and practical learning. We’ve designed our approach based on proven techniques and modern educational theories to ensure you not only acquire knowledge but also develop applicable skills.

Foundational Principles

Our course is built on three core principles:

1. Getting Started, Building Fundamentals & Self-Correction Skills
2. Structured Knowledge Acquisition & Connecting Knowledge
3. Unified Project Approach: Learn, Apply, Expand

Getting Started, Building Fundamentals & Self-Correction Skills

Inspired by Josh Kaufman’s TED Talk “The First 20 Hours,” our course aims to get you “pretty good” in a relatively short time. Here’s what we mean by “getting pretty good”:

1. Getting Started: We’ll help you take that crucial first step out of your comfort zone. Often, starting is the hardest part, but once you begin, you’ll gain momentum.
2. Building Fundamentals: We’ll provide you with the basic knowledge and fundamental concepts. This will demystify the subject, expanding your comfort zone and making it familiar territory.
3. Self-Correction Skills: Perhaps most importantly, we’ll teach you how to identify when you’re making mistakes or lacking knowledge, and how to find answers to correct yourself. This skill will make you autonomous, allowing you to improve at your own pace and explore different aspects of the subject according to your needs and curiosity.

📺 You can watch Josh Kaufman’s TED Talk “The First 20 Hours”.

Structured Knowledge Acquisition & Connecting Knowledge

We incorporate two key learning principles that have been widely recognized in educational psychology:

1. Structured Knowledge Acquisition: We start with core concepts before moving on to more specific topics. This approach, sometimes visualized as a “knowledge tree,” ensures you have a solid foundation upon which to build more advanced knowledge.
2. Connecting Knowledge: We emphasize making connections between different concepts and topics. This not only aids in memory retention but also deepens your understanding by revealing how different aspects of the subject relate to each other and to other areas of knowledge.

These principles are supported by research in cognitive science, and have been advocated by many successful learners and educators, including tech entrepreneurs like Elon Musk.

📺 You can watch Elon Musk’s 2 Rules For Learning Anything Faster.

Unified Project Approach: Learn, Apply, Expand

To give the course a thread of continuity and practical application, we’ve adopted a project-based learning approach. Here’s how it works:

1. Continuous Project: We’ll introduce a single main project at the beginning of the course. This project will serve as path towards mastery.
2. Step-by-Step Building: As we progress through the course, we’ll teach you how to build this project step by step. Each new concept will be immediately applied to developing a part of the project.
3. Real-World Application: This approach ensures that you’re not just learning theory, but actively applying your knowledge to create something tangible and useful.
4. Scalability: The project is designed to start simple and gradually increase in complexity, mirroring your growing skills and understanding.
5. Customization: While we provide a structured project, we encourage you to customize and expand on it. This fosters creativity and helps you explore beyond the course material.

Multi-Speed Teaching Approach

We all learn at different paces, influenced not just by intelligence, but by factors like prior knowledge, interest in the subject, mental state, focus, and even fatigue—or simply whether the material clicks for us.

• As a fast learner, I often get bored when things move too slowly, leading me to lose focus and fall behind.
• As a novice, encountering an unexplained concept can leave me feeling lost, which undermines my understanding of the rest of the material.
• As a curious child, when a subject really captures my interest, a surface-level explanation leaves me unsatisfied, eager for more depth.

To address these varying needs, we adopt a multi-speed teaching approach:

1. Source Code: We start by presenting well-crafted source code.
   • For those with experience, it may be as easy to understand as reading plain English. No need for further explanation, and you’re ready to move on.
   • For others, this is a chance to sharpen your skills in code analysis. Treat it like a puzzle, and try to grasp it before moving forward.
2. Concise Explanations: Next, we provide brief yet precise explanations, like adding comments to the code.
3. Detailed Explanations: For those who need or want more depth, we offer thorough explanations, similar to more traditional courses.
4. Further Resources: For the deeply curious, we include links to references and additional resources to help you delve deeper into the subject or explore broader areas.

Learning Cycle: Theory, Practice, Review

At each step of the learning process, for each new concept, we iterate through the following cycle:

1. Theory: Learn new concepts and techniques.
2. Practice: Apply that theory on a concrete real-world case.
3. Review: Integrate the results of having applied concretely that new knowledge.

Controlled Bugs

To enhance learning and develop problem-solving skills, we intentionally introduce “controlled bugs” throughout the course. This approach:

• Teaches students what can go wrong in real-world scenarios.
• Provides practical experience in identifying and fixing errors.
• Reinforces self-correction skills.

Additional Learning Techniques

We also incorporate several proven educational strategies:

• Concrete Examples: Abstract concepts are illustrated with real-world examples to make them more relatable and understandable.
• Spaced Repetition: Key concepts are revisited regularly throughout the course to reinforce learning.
• Interleaving: We mix different but related topics to enhance learning and build connections.
• Active Recall: We include quizzes and exercises to help you actively engage with the material.

The Feynman Technique: Mastering Through Teaching

The Feynman Technique is a powerful tool for deepening understanding and identifying knowledge gaps. It’s based on the principle: “If you can’t explain it simply, then you don’t understand it well enough” (often attributed to Albert Einstein). When reversed, this suggests: “If you want to understand something well, try to explain it simply.”

Named after Richard Feynman, a renowned physicist and exceptional teacher, this technique reflects his remarkable ability to explain complex concepts in simple terms (a skill earned him the nickname “The Great Explainer”).

📺 You can watch a quick presentation of the Feynman Technique.

The Process

The Feynman Technique is a three-step learning loop that can be applied to any topic:

1. Speak & Write: Explain the concept in simple language and avoid jargon, as if teaching it to someone with no prior knowledge (ideally a young child). Speak and write simultaneously, like a teacher at a blackboard. Break down complex ideas into their most basic components. Use examples and practical applications to illustrate your points.
2. Identify Gaps: Recognize areas where you struggle, feel uncertain, or where your explanation falters. Look for vague language, complex terms, or unconvincing practical examples. These highlight areas where your understanding might be incomplete.
3. Study More: Go back to the source material. Address the gaps in your knowledge by diving deeper into the subject. Challenge your assumptions to deepen your understanding. Ask yourself probing questions, much like a curious child would ask you many whys.

As you repeat this learning loop:

• Refine and simplify your explanation until it’s clear and concise.
• For each piece of information, ask yourself many “why” and consider how it connects to the broader concept. This helps build a comprehensive knowledge tree.
• Be honest with yourself about your understanding. As Feynman said: “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you’re the easiest person to fool.”

Tips

• Write on Paper: Writing on paper engages multiple senses (sight, touch, movement), activating areas in the brain responsible for fine motor skills, memory, and learning. The physical act of writing helps reinforce information through muscle memory (kinesthetic learning). When applying the Feynman technique, which involves explaining concepts in simple terms, writing by hand forces you to slow down, reflect, and process information more deeply, making it easier to spot gaps in understanding. This can lead to better retention and comprehension compared to typing, which can be more mechanical and less engaging.
• Start Fresh: Set aside your previous version and begin with a blank sheet of paper. Don’t just try to rephrase or repeat; allow yourself to explore new approaches and perspectives. Embrace the opportunity to experiment and think differently. Cherry on the cake, at the end, you can revisit your earlier attempts to see how much your understanding has evolved and deepened over time.
• Share with Peers: We encourage you to share your explanations with fellow learners to spark discussion, gain new insights, and clarify any remaining doubts.
• Face Reality: Once confident, explain the concept to someone else and request brutally honest feedback. This kind of direct feedback is essential for genuine learning, as being polite or “nice” won’t help you improve. Only through clear, honest critique can you identify weaknesses and refine your understanding. Ensure the person understands this and is willing to give you the candid feedback you truly need.

Benefits

By applying the Feynman Technique at the conclusion of major topics, you’ll:

• Solidify your understanding of core concepts
  • Enhance understanding and retention of information
  • Encourage active learning rather than passive memorization
• Uncover any misconceptions or areas needing further study
  • Identify knowledge gaps quickly
• Develop the valuable skill of communicating complex ideas simply
  • Improve ability to explain complex concepts
• Prepare yourself for real-world scenarios where you might need to explain these concepts to others

Incorporating the Feynman Technique into your learning process can significantly boost your comprehension and recall of new information, making it an invaluable tool for lifelong learning.

This practice not only reinforces your own understanding but also develops your ability to communicate complex ideas effectively, preparing you for collaborative work environments where clear communication is essential.

Our Commitment to You

By combining these approaches, we aim to create a comprehensive, engaging, and effective learning experience. Our goal is not just to teach you a new knowledge, but to empower you with the skills and confidence to apply it in real-world situations, solve problems creatively, and continue learning independently long after the course is complete.

Remember, learning is a journey, and every step forward is progress.