Description

I worked at Code Ninjas while also taking classes in high school. At Code Ninjas, I mentored young students in developing their coding skills by teaching foundational programming concepts and problem solving techniques. I guided them through beginner projects using JavaScript and Python, focusing on building their confidence while also teaching them how to break down problems into simpler steps. The projects mostly involved creating games where students had to program collision logic, score logic, and map creation.

Reflection

I learned a lot about teaching others and problem solving when working at this job. I realized that when teaching others, one solution which may work in your own head doesn’t always make sense to the person you’re teaching. This taught me to look at problems from multiple angles, and present multiple solutions to try and find one that sticks with the student.

I have been able to apply this concept to other places in my life when I’m trying to solve a problem. Specifically, in my internship I ran into problems when trying to learn the company’s tech stack and how their systems are designed. I found that when taking a step back and looking at the problems I had from other angles, I was able to come up with new solutions which I could then apply to the problems. When I felt that I had exhausted all of my possible solutions, I would then ask for help from the more senior engineers. I felt that this technique helped to balance how often I asked for help with my ability to solve those problems on my own.