What Happened When I Ran a Coding Bootcamp at Yale

Sometime around December 2015, my computer science professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst referred me to a summer program called Explo at Yale University. He mentioned that although I was only 18 years old, my years of experience and passion for computer science was more than enough for him to refer me to become a summer instructor. I submitted my application and met with several interviewers. Within a week I had the job. But little did I know that this summer would change my life as a teacher.

I arrived to Yale Old Campus on June 20th, looking forward to teach computer science to young, eager minds. I grabbed my daily schedule, which outlined two classes a day with sixteen students in each class. Anxiously, I looked over my curriculum and prepared for class, I practiced my lecture repeatedly, until I was confident that I was ready for my first day. Soon enough, it was June 27th and my journey had begun.

My class, 174 Mobile App Development, was a coding boot camp for complete beginners. The class covered Java, the Android SDK and an introduction to swift and xcode. The class was designed to teach students enough to make their own original apps by the end of summer. I took my responsibility as a teacher very seriously, so my curriculum covered everything from how to add a button to a view, all the way to how to pull data from a Restful API and parse JSON files.

The first day of class was a bit tough. I showed up early, set-up my presentation on the projector, and got ready to start giving the students an idea of what they would be able to make by the end of the summer. As the first students entered the room, I came to realize that most of them were around my age, which they found rather mind-blowing. However, after I explained my background, experience with app development and education, they understood that I was qualified to be their instructor. In the blink of an eye, day one ended and, with it, a summer of non-stop coding had begun.

My class was extremely fast paced. My curriculum could be broken down into two lists.

Things I teach my students:

• Intro to programming (What are programming languages, what is coding, what is a compiler)
• Java basics (Strings, ints, arrays, variable scopes)
• Android Basics(Activities, Intents, listeners, UI elements)

Things my students make after learning new concepts:

• Quote Generator App (Teaches them how to use arrays to store data and how to randomly access it)
• Flashcard App (Teaches them how to use a simple data structure to store multiple sets of information and display it)
• Tap Tap Game (Teaches them how to create a simple two player game in which the goal is to tap a button faster than your opponent)
• Log In App (Teaches them how to create a log in screen, hash passwords, and transfer data between screens)

As you might be able to tell, my class was not your typical computer programming class. There were no test, final exams, or worksheets. My class was meant for students who had no programming experience, but possessed the drive to work hard in order to learn a great deal of information in a short period of time and then instantly apply it to make their own app.

It was not an easy task to be one of my students. Here are some of their thoughts on the class:

“My name is Cecilia Martin and I am from Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to my three weeks at Yale this year, I had taken a few coding courses focusing on different programming languages such as HTML and CSS, Java, Ruby and others. However after those experiences I rarely had a solid base of knowledge on the particular language, or the capacity to produce any material on my own. Upon arriving at Yale, I was not sure what to expect. One thing that I was unfortunately certain of was that the class would mostly be comprised of boys… We still need to work on getting girls into STEM. I thought the class could either be taught by a young and thriving CEO who would be too careless to show us anything beyond a free internet platform that made templates for you. Or, by a crippled teacher whose knowledge on mobile app designs would not surpass those of the 1960s. Surprisingly, Brian fit into neither of those categories. He is most certainly not a crippled old man, but rather a young individual who is happy and excited to share as much as he knows to students. Being apart of his class was extremely exciting. Since he is only a few years older than us, he approached us as friends rather than ignorant children. The atmosphere that emerged from this original bond was thrilling and reflected in the material that was produced during his class. The apps designed during the course varied from Rickrolling apps to more serious ones that contributed to our common good. A very impressive one dealt with stress management and anxiety. We covered many aspects of the language and learned the basics of Java in fun ways and through making more apps. Although waiting for our emulators to download was dull at times, the class never ceased to interest us all. Brian taught us how to turn pizza and energy drinks into code because coffee is too bitter!”

“My name is Havi Nguyen and I’m from Baytown, Texas. Prior to the camp, I struggled with coding due to my inadequate teacher and had little to no experience in programming. However, Brian was able to cover the basics of Java in a short amount of time and presented his lessons in a digestible manner, which I found to be extremely helpful. Unlike traditional teachers, he also taught us important app development skills that goes beyond just grasping the syntax of Java. Brian’s course was hands-on and it allowed the students to modify and change the curriculum to fit their needs and understandings. Overall, the class was phenomenal and stupendous. Having Brian as my instructor showed me that age is not a barrier to accomplishments and I look forward to publishing my first app.”

“My name is Marisa Senkfor and I’m from Denver, Colorado. Before Brian’s class I had no previous experience in coding. I always wanted to learn but never had the chance. So, I decided to take my first coding class. Brian’s mobile app bootcamp sounded interesting and challenging. I absolutely loved it! Brian created an environment that I felt comfortable learning in. At no point did I feel intimidated since it was my first time coding. Brian always made every student in the class feel welcomed no matter their skill level. I learned so much from the simple things to the more challenging ones. Whether it was how to create an onClickListener or to design an app where every time you pressed a button a new quote appeared. I never felt lost or confused about a certain concept in his class. From the skills I gained from his class, I was able to create an app of my own. So far, I’m working on an app that gives you your own Runes reading. By taking Brian’s class, I realized my passion for coding. I plan to continue to learn to code and might pursue a future career in this field. Brian was an excellent teacher, role model, and motivator. I loved him as a teacher.”

“ My name is Ilan and I was born and still live in Montevideo, Uruguay. I attended the summer bootcamp at Yale with Brian as my instructor and I had never coded before this summer, yet I was very anxious to learn. It was a very enriching experience; in just weeks Brian managed to teach us the basics of Java programming language, specifically the basics required for app development. He taught us a little bit about the Dos and Don’ts of app making, referring to visuals and practicality, and all of this in a very fun and friendly environment. He took us through the coding and design of various app examples, explaining with perfect clarity each step, but at the same time letting us change these apps to our own liking. It was very clear from the first class that Brian really knows his topic, and I believe I can say all his students were very impressed by his achievements being so young, and were delighted to have him as a teacher. Now, since summer is over, I’m working towards publishing my first app.”