Reassess your Learning Plan
Revisiting learning plan with particular focus on learning goals and objectives while on Bootcamp.
What is your long term goal and/or career pathway?
My long term goal is to be able to use the skills of programming to create better services that can contribute to minimising inequity in society. I am passionate about creating a better society for everyone to be the best version of themselves and in order to achieve that, we need an equitable foundation that allows us to do so. I believe technology can play a huge part in that area and although I am not too sure what the specifics would look like, I would like to see myself working on something that can help better society. As a career pathway goal, I would like to see myself transition into a developer role from my current customer facing platform and see myself grow from there. I think there are a lot of different opportunities once in the area that I wouldn't have thought or knew about and it would be great to be able to explore that space as well if I have the chance.
What do you think your biggest strengths and limitations will be in Bootcamp?
I think my strength still lies in the curiosity and passion to learn. This can help me persist in difficult situation and allows me to be open to collaborating and working with others. My limitation initially in Sprint 2 was attention span to certain topics however, this has been well managed throughout foundation with time-box and focusing on the learning outcomes. Since Bootcamp is very intensive with limited amount of time to learn lots of information, sticking to the habit I've learnt in foundation will become even more important.
What do you think your biggest non-technical challenge at Bootcamp will be?
One of the biggest non-technical challenge may be speaking in front of the group which I've never been good at. I know this is all about practice and I would like to really focus on getting better in this area. Another thing would be unnecessary self-criticism which I can get stuck in when things are not going well. I've been focusing on the growth mind concept learnt in foundation and hopefully this will help me through.
What non-technical skills - human skills - would you like to see developed in yourself while at Dev Academy?
I would like to work more on communication, especially to larger audiences. It can give me anxieties depending on the crowd or circumstances and it would be great if I can present myself in a more comfortable and confident manner to better communicate the content.
What are your expectations from the Bootcamp team?
Getting more close technical support when getting stuck and also some feedback on progress and where I can improve. Also more direct interaction in classes to ask questions and clarify things on the spot in a smaller team.
What are your expectations of yourself on Bootcamp?
I'll reach out to my facilitator and peers if I need help depending on the content of support I require. Since the Bootcamp follows a daily rhythm, I will be committed to following these schedules and also make sure to take micro-breaks for focused and productive learning experience. I will respect the people I work with and will clarify things respectfully if uncertain or not clear by asking questions. I will take the time to actively listen to others to avoid miscommunication and will always work towards creating a safe learning environment for everyone.
Foundation Learning Plan
What is your long term goal or career pathway?
My long term goal is to acquire skills in technology which I can use to create services/products that can enhances people's experience to be the best version of themselves. It would be amazing if I can explore the potential of using technology as a tool/way to address housing issues/crisis and also how we can utilise technology to create a better living space/urban spaces.
A description of your strengths and limitations when it comes to learning
My strengths lies in the curiosity and the passion to learn. I am curious of new things, ideas, knowledge and always searching opportunities to learn. This allows me to be open to the world and exposes me to different perspectives, industry/areas of learning which is always exciting. From this strength, I am able to get a bigger picture of the issue/problems that are at hand and can propose different ways of looking at things. However, this can also affect my attention span on certain things. As the curiosity and the desire to 'know everything' can hinder the slow and tedious process of learning and practice. This can become an issue when many things take time to learn well, and often not an easy process.
What skills (non-technical core/human skills) would you like to see developed in yourself while at Dev Academy?
I would like to see my collaboration skills and the ability to speak up develop throughout this course. I've definitely have dealt with fear and anxiety of speaking up in a larger space. I hope the practice of asking questions in the bigger channels, sharing ideas/tips/tricks and working with other towards a common goal can help me get to a place where I can be more open to connect with others.
A commitment to how you will manage your workload in this programme. This should include:
An explanation of how you will manage yourself to work productively and safely with other learners, Facilitators and industry/community representatives
I will listen/observe and ask questions if there's anything that I need to clarify so that I am not going down the wrong path. This can be important especially as a preventative approach on getting stuck and burnt out. It also saves time if you know you're following the right directions. This is also important if there are information that can affect yourself (or others) in a negative way, that we reach out to Facilitators and industry/community representatives reminding them of it's effects. It is important to keep spaces safe for all people to do better, productive work.
What you will do when things are building up and starting to get to you
It will help to get my mind of things that I've been focused on for too long with unrelated activities such as reading, taking a walk or just focusing on my own breathing. Taking consistent breaks, talking to others in the group will remind you that you're not alone in this.
A commitment as to how and where you will seek help in a timely way
I will reach out directly to peers, home group chat and even the facilitators asking for help if I need one. This can involve just talking about it on chat/video to re-organise your worries/anxiety and also clear any issues or uncertainty around the things you're experiencing issue with.
A description of what you expect from the Facilitation team
Both technical and mental support when required. With technical support, it would be questions/clarification related to the learning objectives and submission/final requirements. For mental support, more around mindset on imposter syndrome, managing stress around difficult learning situations and getting better idea of how to mentally manage yourself during this programme.
Any scheduling information such as block-out times when you are committed to other things. For example, you might have whānau commitments like school drop-offs. It's important to plan these in.
During the foundations, as I am working part-time, it's important to manage the time well especially days that I work. I plan all of my studying time in a separate study calendar and block these time out on Google calendar. This gives me a visual overview of how much time I am spending (or lacking) and allows me to adjust and adapt.