Parmita's Blog

Everybody learns a little differently   In a past post, I talked about how I tutor a kid named Max. When I gave Max algebra problems to solve, I noticed that he took the right steps--but in the wrong order. For example: After correcting him, and guiding him through some sample problems, I asked him to again try some algebra problems on his own, but he made the same mistake. I realized that now, I shouldn't just explain  how  to solve it the right way, but  why  we do it the way we do. So I spent a couple minutes thinking of the best way to explain why we do certain operations first. I talked about the order of operations, and isolating the variable. Max seemed to understand this, but when given another problem, he froze again. So I tried adding visuals: I turned the problem into an onion! With many different layers: the middle layer was the one closest to the variable, and the outer layers were farther from the variable. To solve the problem, you have to tackle th

A lot of hard work!  Me and my fellow Girl Who Code officers have decided to hold a Summer Camp for girls in 4th through 6th grade. And of course, as president, this means I have had a lot of work to do. So many things had to be taken care of: How should we advertise and promote publicity? Where can we book a place with 50 computers? When should we hold it--what time and dates? How much should we teach? What topics should we cover? How do we explain these topics to 4th, 5th, and 6th graders? It took a lot of hard work, late nights, and determination, but we've planned nearly everything out! Here's a flyer I designed with my officer team and created on my own (with Photoshop): This was a lot of work! I'm really proud of how much we've accomplished and I will update more on how the camp goes.

An absolutely amazing experience  I just got the amazing opportunity to teach kids aged 5 to 12 coding at LinkenIN's super fun Inday Event.  Though I was slightly nervous at first, the moment I got up there and started, I felt so awesome! I was so glad that the kids found coding as fun and interesting as I did.  It was so incredible speaking in front of so many people. The kids were all really engaged and came up with smart, thought-provoking questions.  As a bonus, LinkedIn also gave me a whole bunch of cool swag for coming in to teach! I'm so incredibly grateful that I got this wonderful opportunity to share my knowledge and passion with so many other people. I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did!

How teaching helped me learn  For a couple weeks now, I've been tutoring a student, named...well, for the sake of confidentiality, let's call him "Max." Max has been having trouble with algebra for a while and his dad thought it might be helpful to have me help him so he's prepared for school next year. A lot of times, when I asked if he understood a concept, he said yes, but in reality, he didn't really get it at all. I told him that it was totally fine if he didn't understand a concept right away. It would be better to tell the truth and have me re-explain it than to lie and then struggle with the topic in the future. However, he kept lying and saying he understood things when he actually didn't. I had to change my strategy and start assuming that when he said that he understood something, he really didn't. I was getting kind of irritated and annoyed when I realized... I do this too!!!!! I was being such a hypocrite, when in fact, I often