Lab Structure and Technicalities:
This semester I returned to running the Python Open Labs with another student intern and upon started, we had some discussions about our ideas for structuring the labs over the next few months. We decided to stay consistent with the formatting of the lab: started the semester with the starter kit (Python fundamentals), and continued to build on those fundamentals every week (see weekly blogs here).
The first change we implemented was switching to Jupyter notebooks as opposed to running the labs on the console itself. For me, this was quite a challenge! I had never used Jupyter notebooks, it seemed like a strange and abstract way to code, one that was definitely built with user experience in mind and something that was unfamiliar to me on all fronts. I spent a few weeks playing around with its functionality – the headings and commenting features as well as common errors that can happen (e.g. running every cell to ensure the code works). Once I got the hang of it though, everything changed! I have tasted and enjoyed the Jupyter notebook kool-aid and there is no going back.
One of the best features of the Jupyter notebooks is the UX of its layout. The simplicity of its layout makes the code that much easier to parse out and build upon. Organizing the code, or in our case, entire lesson in the Jupyter notebooks meant that we could share the lessons with the class at the end. Prior to the lesson, we would come up with the content and create the notebook in full. Then, we would go back and recreate another lesson without the completed cell blocks so that we could use the prompts and live code. At the end of the lesson, we shared the lessons in full with the class to ensure that students could spend time going over and reviewing the examples and problems with the full code (i.e. all answers) readily available.
That being said, we also changed how we shared the lessons with the students. This semester, we maintained a google folder with all the Jupyter notebook lessons and .pdfs and shared it with the students that came. A welcome change considering the amount of paper it took last semester to print and share each lesson! We also received great feedback on the organization and sharing of the Jupyter lessons so that’s definitely something we will keep in mind and hope to continue next semester.
Students:
This semester, the range of programs represented by the students who attended the labs were incredibly diverse. Students from the School of Professional Studies and the School of International and Public affairs were the most consistent, however we did encounter students from Journalism, Economics, and Latin American Studies as well. Although it’s a challenge to encourage students to attend on a regular basis, we were able to see some faces week after week, and sharing the lessons on an accessible drive folder ensured that those who were not able to make it in person but interested in continuing to expand their coding horizons could keep up.
Most enjoyable Lab:
The lab we held on python classes in early April was my favorite lab – partly because I taught the entire session on my own, but mostly because I structured the lesson in a way that focused on fewer and more intense practice problems. Instead of going through quicker and shorter sample problems I thought I would try create problem sets that incorporated functions as well to keep things interesting and to offer students a challenge. The class was well received and you can find the lesson on the DSSC blog if you want to check it out!
Ideas for future labs:
To conclude this post, I will underline two suggestions for future lab lessons:
- Plan out lessons before the labs
It would be great, in my opinion, to post a description of each lab before it happens to outline the structure of the lab and the concepts covered. This was the route we took for the R open labs towards the end of the semester and it worked really great – I am excited to try it out for Python as well!
- Continue to market to a diverse group of students
Before commencing in the fall, I would like to spend some time strategizing on how to market to different departments. The open labs are such a great way to learn a coding language – they are free (!!!), but more importantly the communal vibe is optimistic and welcoming and a great space to learn.
I have learned so much this year in preparing and leading labs and now that they have wound down for the summer, I feel motivated to continue to market the space and engage students across all departments.