February 6, 2020
I…read moreleft in the last two weeks due to no more new material, poor instruction due to three instructor changes, and choosing a job in the industry.
Pluses
First we'll start with the positives from the physical to the logical and qualitative.
Location
The GA campus in DC is clean, serviceable and well stocked with excellent Frontlines support. I would give it as near as 100% as possible. Classrooms always have working projectors, enough seats and whiteboards. Coffee, Peanut Butter and Jelly and tea bags are always plentiful.
Outcomes
The outcomes team gives the students most of the skills I learned in this industry at dozens of customers and clients over 20 plus years. As much as the students complained about the long sessions to me, those that follow its rigors will secure a position quickly.
Curricula
The curricula as defined in the GA SEI Syllabus compares well with Flatiron, CodingDojo, Trilogy and others.
Instruction
All lead instructors seemed knowledgeable of the material covered. All instructors were approachable and inviting of the material.
Delivery
The Google calendar was updated weekly with relatively accurate material to be presented and learned. Labs and software functioned as expected. Installfest saved the students trouble that they will quickly learn in the field. Compatibility and libraries are key from development to deployment.
Minuses
Now, some constructive guidance
Location
Those stairs are extremely steep and elevator access restricted. Heat in these historical buildings often has trouble on those frosty days. This one is no different, a space heater or two might help if compliant ones are available.
Outcomes
Only one thing I might recommend here are interview dry runs. We had one or two examples of interviews, and I imagine hiring panel next week will be equally excellent. But as mentioned below, practice, practice practice! All candidates I have ever met benefit from practicing the interview questions and the discomfort. I mentor all of my charges in this area. We even do professional development sessions on it.
Curricula
The curricula was not taught completely. For example, one of the reasons, that I, an experienced Engineer chose GA were the Algorithms and Data Structures courses as shown in the screenshots below.
These courses were not available until after the course opened and even worse were never addressed. This pattern of missing core material as we moved forward forms part of the basis for my letter and departure.
Instruction
Our lead instructor changed three times. None of them covered all of the material separately or together. For new students this gap will carry over into their new careers. Although I mentioned this before and in tickets, it has not been addressed adequately. It cannot be rectified at this late stage.
Delivery
Furthermore there was often a lack of respect for the difficulties that the students faced. Comments such as the students are "lazy," "do not want to work," or "do not like to read have been heard." While I encourage constructive criticism it must be backed by instructional excellence.
Instructional Excellence
Although very personable as a whole the instructional style was far too loose to give new students the comfort they need in this difficult, challenging and dynamic field. Like sport and music, training for novices is about learning patterns and executing them repeatedly and in combination. As the student grows, these patterns or katas inspire the artists to create their own symphonies.
Not enough structure was provided for training the students muscle or neurological pathways to allow for confident improvisation. This is my number one guidance. When teaching new material it is vital that it is taught, demonstrated, practiced and reviewed. Although much of the material had this character, it has not been consistent enough to train the students.
On my final day I was directly criticized for the instructional failures of this cohort. I was told that I was pushing and telling the students what to do when in reality all that I did was:
Describe the concept.
Demonstrate the concept.
Allow the students to choose issues to tackle.
Reviewed them as a whole.
The instructor who arrived later to try to guide us was disrespectful to me and to the classroom in his behavior.
Summary
I chose GA over the alternatives for several reasons. First, the curriculum met most of the baselines of each of the other bootcamps in the area, although it was slightly pricier, the vibe and location seemed worth it. I was 100% accurate on the location and vibe, you are a warm and welcoming team that open your hearts to all students.
Please structure the courses more. I mentioned this in my ongoing ticket
