I've been thinking about how it's hard to share things and ask questions and put work out in the world when you're a beginner, and I have some suggestions for ways we as a community of teachers (yes I mean literally everyone who teaches anyone anything) to do better.
1. A common fear among beginners is that the solution/path they took was somehow incorrect, even if they got a good result.
Not helpful: "Why'd you use XYZ? It seems like overkill for this."
Helpful: "Ooh, nice! I've never seen XYZ used in this way. For these problems I use..."
Not helpful: "Why'd you use XYZ? It seems like overkill for this."
Helpful: "Ooh, nice! I've never seen XYZ used in this way. For these problems I use..."
2. We need to stop overexplaining. I struggle with this a lot because I'm a big nerd and I think everything is interesting, but most beginners aren't in a place where thorough explanation is helpful -- mostly just annoying. Get to the win first, then elaborate.
3. We need to share our processes and, importantly, our failures. Share your work when it's your first attempt and it barely works. Write about how you rely on Google and Stack Overflow many times a day. Talk about the 4 hours you lost because of an errant semicolon.
4. Know when the moment is not about you and shut the hell up. I can't tell you how many times I've shared something cool or asked a specific question and gotten a bunch of irrelevant replies from folks flexing their knowledge. That is not useful. This isn't about you.
5. And to follow on that: don't give unsolicited critique. Asking questions is alright: "Interesting, why did you choose this dataset?" But remember that you don't know the scope of the project, their limitations, their goals. Your context does not equal theirs.
6. Just because this person is a beginner in your area of expertise doesn't mean they are not technical/knowledgeable/competent/capable. Maybe they have knowledge from elsewhere that can help in this new context. Help them figure that out.
