6 ms·

People Hacks for Technical Leads

172 points by mbellotti 8y ago

mtmickush 8y ago
Are learning styles for various individuals still a thing? I thought that was a well debunked claim a while ago
- wcdolphin 8y ago
  I’ve wrongly assumed it to be real for a long time. Thanks for mentioning this! I just skimmed https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5366351/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5366351/ As it stands, I believe evidence suggests that people may report to prefer a style, but it has no measurable impact on their learning.
  - eximius 8y ago
    Which continually surprises me and I wonder what content they test the learning on. Is it on primary education topics or advanced topics? I certainly can't imagine learning mathematics or coding from a lecture without seeing the symbols. How else would I keep it all in my head[1]? I don't know what the other 'learning styles' are so I can't really comment on them. [1] - Surely some with physical impairments, i.e., the blind are capable of doing this as there are blind programmers who make amazing things. But that belies a lifetime of practice of not relying on one's sight.
    - mattnewport 8y ago
      There is some evidence that different styles work better for learning different topics but not that different individuals learn better with different styles. So e.g. learners might do better on average learning math when visual learning is emphasized and English when auditory learning is emphasized but a given individual will not learn both subjects better if both emphasize their "preferred" style. (Just examples here, not making any particular claims about learning math vs English)
      - js8 8y ago
        Ah, thanks for the clarification! The claim that the learning styles were debunked didn't jive with me because I had a very bad experience being taught German in school using only talking/speaking. And I feel like I need to have things written down to remember them. (For example, I cannot reproduce sounds - like foreign names - very easily, and I have hard time sorting them out. But if you write it down, I can relate it to other sounds and remember it.)
  - fratlas 8y ago
    If an individual prefers a style of learning - wouldn't that enable them to enjoy learning for longer periods of time and deeper? Maybe not more efficiently but overall definitely has an impact.
- mistrial9 8y ago
  for the full breadth and depth of learning, is debunked, end of sentence ? learning includes a lot of things.. behavior in groups, another massive topic .. this seems dismissive in a startling way
robax 8y ago
I agree with a lot of this, disagree with "multichannel" bit. The idea of "learning styles" is dead in the field of psychology and the advice isn't actionable in the context of a presentation or meeting anyway (how does your average powerpoint aid these supposed "kinesthetic" learners?"). I'd never heard of back-briefing but see that as something my company could benefit from, however. So thanks for that!
- mistrial9 8y ago
  it may not be fashionable in the field of psychology currently to acknowledge "learning styles" but.. "is dead" seems to say "we can prove this does not exist" .. the strongest possible statement about it, in the field of psychology... psychology is accepted as a science, I guess, but really.. the mind is a massive thing.. which mind ? the one that responds when you drop a weight on your foot ? the one that responds after talking to a dear friend ? really.. this is so closed minded..
  - anoncoward111 8y ago
    I agree with you so much. I am the type of person that doesn't learn easily from a book. I need to put my hands on something and write it out and listen to it. Reading it is nearly meaningless to me.
  - sdenton4 8y ago
    Well, a study kicked off the area of inquiry, and after years of work, the base studies failed to replicate. Once you throw away rigor, you're no longer a scientist.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
- beyonddream 8y ago
  “The idea of "learning styles" is dead in the field of psychology” - can you point some reference or research supporting this claim ?
wolfspider 8y ago
I'm glad there are articles like this and people out there trying to figure out what it really takes to build a great dev team. Still, after all this time trying to find the equation for getting into that magical state I call "the groove" is insanely difficult. It could be compared to a band that put out a really great first album but needs that same energy for another one. I've spent a lot of time around professional musicians and their struggles mirror development ironically. Once I saw 1/2 of a band audition two studio musicians and hit a groove then mint two contracts for a tour in about the span of 30 minutes. That was magical and that was rare- dev teams sort of operate the same way and sometimes when no one is looking that groove happens.
mzanchi 8y ago
One comment regarding the "embedding". This is similar to the Toyota concept of the gemba, or being where the value is produced. For automobiles, that's the factory floor. For software shops, that's with the developers, testers and BAs. You want to be able to understand the work flow of your staff in order to catch opportunities for continuous improvement, and the best way to do this is to observe the work being done, but in a respectful way, that is, respecting the staff space and making them comfortable that you are not there to observe them, but the work. I really don't understand why a manager would want to have an office in the 21st century.
- Scarblac 8y ago
  As a dev I would really appreciate an office though, but those jobs don't exist anymore.
edmundhuber 8y ago
No one has mentioned groups chats from the article. It's kind of scary to think there's a manager out there that is mindfully siloing conversations instead of letting smart people figure it out.
ChuckMcM 8y ago
Back briefing, very important point. It is one I still slip up on when I'm busy and there are a lot of moving pieces in play.
MacroChip 8y ago
Great article. Threading in a chat tool is an absolute necessity for me. Regarding embedding, I like to wave and smile without talking to makers while they are working. I say hello and maybe chat with managers. Waving and smiling is friendly without interrupting a maker. It still gives them an opportunity to start conversation.

172 points by mbellotti 8y ago

mtmickush 8y ago

Are learning styles for various individuals still a thing? I thought that was a well debunked claim a while ago

wcdolphin 8y ago
I’ve wrongly assumed it to be real for a long time. Thanks for mentioning this! I just skimmed https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5366351/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5366351/ As it stands, I believe evidence suggests that people may report to prefer a style, but it has no measurable impact on their learning.
- eximius 8y ago
  Which continually surprises me and I wonder what content they test the learning on. Is it on primary education topics or advanced topics? I certainly can't imagine learning mathematics or coding from a lecture without seeing the symbols. How else would I keep it all in my head[1]? I don't know what the other 'learning styles' are so I can't really comment on them. [1] - Surely some with physical impairments, i.e., the blind are capable of doing this as there are blind programmers who make amazing things. But that belies a lifetime of practice of not relying on one's sight.
  - mattnewport 8y ago
    There is some evidence that different styles work better for learning different topics but not that different individuals learn better with different styles. So e.g. learners might do better on average learning math when visual learning is emphasized and English when auditory learning is emphasized but a given individual will not learn both subjects better if both emphasize their "preferred" style. (Just examples here, not making any particular claims about learning math vs English)
    - js8 8y ago
      Ah, thanks for the clarification! The claim that the learning styles were debunked didn't jive with me because I had a very bad experience being taught German in school using only talking/speaking. And I feel like I need to have things written down to remember them. (For example, I cannot reproduce sounds - like foreign names - very easily, and I have hard time sorting them out. But if you write it down, I can relate it to other sounds and remember it.)
- fratlas 8y ago
  If an individual prefers a style of learning - wouldn't that enable them to enjoy learning for longer periods of time and deeper? Maybe not more efficiently but overall definitely has an impact.
mistrial9 8y ago
for the full breadth and depth of learning, is debunked, end of sentence ? learning includes a lot of things.. behavior in groups, another massive topic .. this seems dismissive in a startling way

robax 8y ago

I agree with a lot of this, disagree with "multichannel" bit. The idea of "learning styles" is dead in the field of psychology and the advice isn't actionable in the context of a presentation or meeting anyway (how does your average powerpoint aid these supposed "kinesthetic" learners?"). I'd never heard of back-briefing but see that as something my company could benefit from, however. So thanks for that!

mistrial9 8y ago
it may not be fashionable in the field of psychology currently to acknowledge "learning styles" but.. "is dead" seems to say "we can prove this does not exist" .. the strongest possible statement about it, in the field of psychology... psychology is accepted as a science, I guess, but really.. the mind is a massive thing.. which mind ? the one that responds when you drop a weight on your foot ? the one that responds after talking to a dear friend ? really.. this is so closed minded..
- anoncoward111 8y ago
  I agree with you so much. I am the type of person that doesn't learn easily from a book. I need to put my hands on something and write it out and listen to it. Reading it is nearly meaningless to me.
- sdenton4 8y ago
  Well, a study kicked off the area of inquiry, and after years of work, the base studies failed to replicate. Once you throw away rigor, you're no longer a scientist.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
beyonddream 8y ago
“The idea of "learning styles" is dead in the field of psychology” - can you point some reference or research supporting this claim ?

wolfspider 8y ago

I'm glad there are articles like this and people out there trying to figure out what it really takes to build a great dev team. Still, after all this time trying to find the equation for getting into that magical state I call "the groove" is insanely difficult. It could be compared to a band that put out a really great first album but needs that same energy for another one. I've spent a lot of time around professional musicians and their struggles mirror development ironically. Once I saw 1/2 of a band audition two studio musicians and hit a groove then mint two contracts for a tour in about the span of 30 minutes. That was magical and that was rare- dev teams sort of operate the same way and sometimes when no one is looking that groove happens.

mzanchi 8y ago

One comment regarding the "embedding". This is similar to the Toyota concept of the gemba, or being where the value is produced. For automobiles, that's the factory floor. For software shops, that's with the developers, testers and BAs. You want to be able to understand the work flow of your staff in order to catch opportunities for continuous improvement, and the best way to do this is to observe the work being done, but in a respectful way, that is, respecting the staff space and making them comfortable that you are not there to observe them, but the work. I really don't understand why a manager would want to have an office in the 21st century.

Scarblac 8y ago
As a dev I would really appreciate an office though, but those jobs don't exist anymore.

edmundhuber 8y ago

No one has mentioned groups chats from the article. It's kind of scary to think there's a manager out there that is mindfully siloing conversations instead of letting smart people figure it out.

ChuckMcM 8y ago

Back briefing, very important point. It is one I still slip up on when I'm busy and there are a lot of moving pieces in play.

MacroChip 8y ago

Great article. Threading in a chat tool is an absolute necessity for me. Regarding embedding, I like to wave and smile without talking to makers while they are working. I say hello and maybe chat with managers. Waving and smiling is friendly without interrupting a maker. It still gives them an opportunity to start conversation.