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Java Java Data Structures - Retired Exploring the Java Collection Framework Lists

amathiaitishar
amathiaitishar
13,229 Points

Remark on the methodology of the tutorials...

Remark on the methodology of the tutorials...

2 Answers

Craig Dennis
STAFF
Craig Dennis
Treehouse Teacher

Cool thanks for the feedback!

Did you understand those terms in the Java doc? I was trying to convey that if you were just beginning coding in Java (or any language), that you probably would not understand if you just went to look for yourself. Maybe that documentation was more clear than I made it out to be. Do you feel that way?

I did have several students reply positively to that method, so I do know that it was effective in stating that the documentation is sometimes hard to swallow, and that it is okay to look elsewhere. I do follow up and not do that for all of the documentation in the package.

My goal here in almost all that I am teaching is how to get more information when you need it. It's pretty obvious we are not going to be able to cover the plethora of paths you will need to follow. Learning how to learn is crucial, and understanding that it's okay to not understand, is the first step in that direction IMO.

Can you keep me posted on how you feel about the rest of the less documentation walking heavy videos that are coming up?

Thanks!

Brent Mayberry
Brent Mayberry
1,029 Points

I'm a coding noob, and I appreciate the documentation walk-through because I can compare my thought process to someone else's. I get to learn how more experienced developers attack problems and questions, so even though it's time consuming, I find these kinds of videos to be very helpful.

To me, this was one of your most important videos.

When I read the documentation I struggle to understand half of the words and what you showed is a healthy approach instead of avoiding it or beginning to see black spots which I have experienced.

It's really nice to be comforted about not being alone in this and get insights about how to approach comprehension issues.

I've always shied away from reading the documentation thoroughly simply because of the obtuse vocabulary and always looked for easier explanations. This video gives a very handy insight on how to approach reading documentation and make the most of it.

Harry James
Harry James
14,780 Points

I also just wanted to say that this video was extremely useful for me. I find vocabulary the trickiest part of learning a language since there's so much of it and when getting started, it's super easy to mix words up so a video where you go through the vocabulary a bit more really helps out for someone like me :)

Rachelle Wood
Rachelle Wood
15,362 Points

This simulation was exactly my experience two weeks ago when I jumped headlong into trying to code a Roman numeral to digital number conversion program in Java. I felt so lost reading the oracle documents that I started googling questions and ended up on stackoverflow and other sites. I felt really dumb and actually rather discouraged but watching this video makes me feel a lot better. As an aside, I hope that Craig can also eventually get into describing how to make algorithms and logic. I believe that Computer Science courses go over this? Is there any possibility of having such a course on Treehouse? I think this is important for a complex language like Java, but is useful for any programmer.

Loved it; reminded me that its fine to be lost every now and then, because even though I possess the ability to simply power through stuff sometimes one needs that little chin nod to let you know that even while lost one is not alone . . Thanks Craig dude.

Best, Frank

Sølvi Qorda
Sølvi Qorda
14,194 Points

As someone who is really fresh to the concepts of programming, I find it really useful when you talk through your thoughts when you're searching documentation and working through code, especially when you state why you're using a certain function, what you're inputting and what you're trying to get out.

I think that your approach is really accessible, and I've really been enjoying the course. I guess it would be useful to have more digital literacy courses on Treehouse, and perhaps some courses on pedagogy and self-study. Even though I understand those concepts from working as a SEN teacher, I would really value guidance on it from the perspective of coding and programming.

Thanks again for this course though, your approachability and the way you listen to learners, is really valuable.

Dustin Bryce Flanary
Dustin Bryce Flanary
17,663 Points

Thanks for walking us through that. I'm one of those new students who can get overwhelmed so it's nice to know that even experienced developers have and had many of those moments and that sticking with it and gleaning what's important and what's not can help you move forward and not get mired in the muck.