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Ever caught yourself dictating code to a junior dev, rather than pairing? Or resorted to saying “best practice”? Kill two birds with one stone: use “dialogic teaching,” an adult-education technique. Let’s turn “technical leadership” into a two-way process that surfaces tradeoffs and gets buy-in. By Betsy Haibel https://twitter.com/@betsythemuffin Betsy Haibel is the founding CTO of Cohere. She writes fiction and nonfiction in English, Ruby, and Javascript – among other languages – and co-organizes Learn Ruby in DC. Her lifelong ambitions? To meet a red panda, and to break down barriers between “developers” and “users.” https://rubyonice.com/speakers/betsy_haibel
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**Teach by Learning; Lead by Teaching** explores the concept of dialogic teaching, designed to improve the teaching and learning dynamic between developers of varying experience levels. Betsy Haibel emphasizes that effective knowledge sharing in engineering is a two-way street, breaking down the traditional one-sided approach often seen in technical leadership. Key points include:** - **Understanding Learning Needs:** Haibel highlights adult learning, especially through 'emergency learning'—the phenomenon where individuals seek knowledge in response to immediate needs, rather than abstract concepts. - **Dialogic Teaching:** This Brazilian educational approach, rooted in Paulo Freire's philosophies, views education as a dialogue rather than a monologue. Freire's methods foster respect for individual experiences and create relevant learning contexts. - **Collaborative Teaching Dynamics:** Haibel stresses the importance of treating junior developers with respect and valuing their input, underscoring that a collaborative environment allows for mutual learning amongst developers of all levels. - **Real-World Examples:** She shares anecdotes from her experience at a financial technology startup where she fostered a culture of inclusivity and collaboration, leading to greater success than more traditionally organized competitors. - **Teaching Techniques:** The talk includes practical teaching strategies for both early-career and more experienced developers, focusing on how to effectively assess skill levels, ask guiding questions, and foster a respectful dialogue while avoiding a knowledge-dominance hierarchy. - **Adapting to Context:** Haibel argues that the approach depends heavily on understanding the context of the developers involved, advocating for tailored methods that respect individual learning processes and existing biases. In conclusion, the central message of the talk is that successful teaching and learning in software development hinge upon respect, dialogue, and collaboration. Building technical confidence and judgment in developers is paramount, and facilitating this process fosters a more skilled and empowered team. Haibel’s insights encourage developers to embrace shared knowledge as a path to improving practices and overall software quality. Overall,
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