Social Learning at Launch School
From solo study to community engagement
When I started Launch School, I did not engage with “the community” at all. No posts, no study sessions, no questions, no 1-on-1 practice. Nothing. After 3 months, I was tired, felt like I hadn’t learned much, and paused my subscription.
Now? I lead study sessions weekly, comment or ask questions often, and routinely meet with other students. I feel energized, have aced all my assessments, and am close to finishing the back-end of the curriculum.
So, what changed? Why and how did I transition from studying on my own to studying with others? And how can you begin to practice social learning and engagement at Launch School?
In this article, I’ll try to answer the above questions. First off though, studying with others vs. studying on your own is not an either/or. It is a both. In fact, I believe effective self-study sets the foundation for effective community engagement. But I’ll leave the topic of how to study effectively on your own for another time.
In this article, I’ll focus on how you can start to engage with fellow students at Launch School. I’ll start with the narrative of my own journey so far, then some specific steps you can take to practice engagement, and end with a discussion on having good 1-on-1 sessions with other students.
Starting Launch School and going it alone
I first started Launch School in summer of 2021. I was working full-time and hoping to squeak in 2 hours of quality study from 5–7 AM every day before getting ready and heading off to work. I thought of myself as a “serious” student who would learn effectively and efficiently through the “grind” of getting up early. I had imagined and committed to a persona of the silent and solitary monk copying scrolls by candlelight, intent on leaving the cave of the curriculum within a year, miraculously ready to succeed in Capstone and the job hunt.
I had no plans or intention of engaging with other students. I had the following reasons — feel free to raise your hand to yourself if you too have ever thought one of the following:
- “It’s a self-paced program; I should be able to do it myself.”
- “I need to practice working alone; relying on others means I’m incapable.”
- “The curriculum is well-designed, so I shouldn’t need anyone else’s help.”
- “If I’m struggling to learn, it must be my fault and no one else can fix it for me.”
- And — the kicker — “Studying with others will just slow me down”
Oh boy. The above statements are rooted in shame and isolation— they are not healthy, not true, and not helpful to learning.
Even with these beliefs, the first few weeks of 5–7 AM solo learning were great. I was motivated, excited, and focused. And then…
I got tired. And more tired. The combination of working full-time, home obligations, and getting up early to study was wearing me down. My studying felt less and less effective — it took longer to ramp up and longer to wind down. This eroded both my energy and my belief in my own self-efficacy.
Making it all worse? I was alone.
I didn’t talk with my partner about my learning struggles. I didn’t talk to anyone at Launch School. No posts in the forums, no study sessions, no questions or replying in Slack. I had started alone and I petered out alone.
I felt like a failure. After 3 months of increasing fatigue, I realized I was fooling myself into thinking I could do this. I paused my subscription September 2021 and vowed to regroup before starting again.
Restarting Launch School with Intention
It took a little over a year to work out some changes in my personal life — a switch to part-time work, starting therapy, developing healthier communication with my partner — and I restarted Launch School in October 2022. This time around, I knew I had lots to work on beyond just learning the material. I’d have to learn how to study, build a new routine, and communicate and enforce boundaries with loved ones. These would all take time to figure out, but I also knew that this second-time around I didn’t want to make the fatal mistake from my first attempt: going it alone.
I realized that my negative beliefs around engaging with others stemmed from anxiety and fear. This anxiety and fear were amplified in my working environment at the time and affecting my ability to interact with others outside of work. I was afraid of rejection, afraid of being thought stupid for my questions, and afraid of being found out as a fraud, someone incapable of learning to program. The thought of reaching out to fellow students or attending study sessions was incredibly intimidating. I did not know where to begin. And a consequence of being afraid of talking to others was that I was unable to reach out to ask someone for help or guidance!
But, through therapy, I recognized that these fears were not helping me and I was determined to move past them. I began to think of social interaction as a practice — something I could do daily, regardless of how I felt. But building a practice of communication felt like a big challenge; where to begin?
I found inspiration in the following joke: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
So I came up with a plan to begin engaging, bite by bite.
Prep work: low stakes pet photos
In the year I had my subscription paused, I kept Slack on my phone so that I wouldn’t forget about Launch School. I did not engage or look at any of the course specific channels — I figured that would only feed my shame over pausing — but I did stay in one channel to maintain a connection: #gratuitous-pet-photos
For those of you unfamiliar, #gratuitous-pet-photos is a channel where you post pet photos. A lot. As much as you want. Multiple times a day even. And other people do too! Though I didn’t realize it at the time, being part of this channel helped normalize posting and responding in the Launch School slack channels as a whole.
The requirements were clear and achievable: post a picture of your pet and react with whatever emoji you want to other people’s pet photos. Failure or rejection are impossible in this channel and being part of it for my year off helped me learn that the other people in this program are just that — people. Not some amorphous mob, waiting to judge me. Just people trying to learn and support each other.
Week 1: React and comment on others’ Slack posts
Once I restarted my subscription, I set the goal of one specific engagement per week to ramp up my engagement. Week 1 was simply reacting or commenting on others’ Slack posts outside of the pet photos channel. The thought of posting my own question was still too scary, so I just pushed myself to like and react to others, perhaps even commenting something like “Thanks for asking this question — I learned a lot from it and other students’ answers”.
This week taught me that nothing would break or explode and nobody would kick me out or say “you can’t be here” if I was simply present for an online conversation.
Week 2: Ask a question and introduce myself in Slack
Once I was no longer afraid of being present for a conversation, starting a conversation seemed possible. Like other students, I started with a post introducing myself and experienced the endorphin rush of others welcoming me and wishing me luck. I also posted a curriculum question — I don’t remember what — and got an answer.
This week I learned that I was allowed to start conversations and ask questions. And that others were happy to join in and answer!
Week 3: Ask a question in a lesson forum
This felt like a big leap. I’m someone who loves to read every forum post. I find such value in reading the questions of others and the detailed and lively discussion that follows as TAs seek to answer and students ask follow-up questions. Because I found these posts so valuable, the thought of any of my own questions being “worthy” of a forum post was unthinkable in Week 1.
But by Week 3, I wasn’t so scared. Posting a forum question paired well with practicing another new skill: formulating good questions.
I think I was scared to post a forum question not just because of the social aspect, but also because I realized I wasn’t engaging with the material deeply enough to have questions or misunderstandings of my own. I was simply skimming and nodding along. By committing to digging into examples and trying to understand, questions naturally arose.
Posting my first question to the forum was a thrill. Now, I have no such hesitation. If I’ve read the lesson, read others’ posts, read online, tried making my own examples, and STILL don’t understand something, I’m excited to post in a lesson forum and get an answer from a TA.
Beyond no longer fearing the social aspect, it’s also one of the things we’re paying for! TAs are there for our questions and your question may very well benefit others — as my rabid reading of others’ questions demonstrates.
Week 4: Attend an official TA led study session
Now that I was comfortable with asynchronous conversations, the next step was live interaction. The thought of reaching out to other students to study together still felt unreachable, but it felt feasible to attend a TA led study session. I even showed up with the intent of not asking questions. I would just listen and respond to other students who had “real” questions.
Essentially, I was starting from the same point as week 1, only now instead of text interaction in Slack, I was joining a live conversation. The structure of the session and the fact that TAs are official Launch School staff made it easier to sign up.
I don’t really remember the session, but that week I learned that I could attend and nothing bad would happen. I also learned that other students were struggling with the material and had questions which helped de-stigmatize my own struggles.
Week 5: Attend a TA led study session… and volunteer
Now that study sessions weren’t scary and I knew TAs weren’t monsters trying to eat me, I prepared to attend another study session and volunteer when they asked for someone to solve a problem. I don’t really remember this session either — I know I struggled with the problem and felt very embarrassed.
But then something amazing happened — other students said they didn’t know what they would have done either! And they all thanked me for putting myself out there and trying to solve it out loud. We discussed possible solutions and I left with a better understanding of the material.
More importantly, I learned that — shocker! — TAs wanted me to succeed and were there to help. I also learned that other students were rooting for me the same way I was rooting for them.
Week 6: Attend a SPOT session
This was basically a repeat of week 4, but this time I set the goal of attending a student led SPOT session. This felt scarier because it isn’t run by Launch School staff and the structure can vary depending on who’s running the session. I showed up without any questions and was excited to see how SPOT sessions were run and learn from others.
And it was incredible! If anything, the space felt even more welcoming than a TA led session. The student lead made it clear that she did not have all the answers and that this time was for us to ask questions and support each other. One student solved a problem out loud in front of us and we all offered supportive feedback.
This week I learned that all you need for a successful study session is a willingness to put yourself out there and learn from others.
Week 7: Attend a SPOT session… and volunteer
Same as week 5 — now that I knew SPOT sessions weren’t scary, I opted to attend AND to volunteer to solve a problem out loud. Similar to the TA session, I’m pretty sure I really struggled with the problem and initially felt stupid. But other students were so supportive in offering advice. All their feedback gave me some concrete things to practice which really helped direct my study the next few days.
This week I learned (again) that all us students want each other to succeed. Also, we’re all trying our best.
Week 8: 1-on-1 study session
My personal white whale! In week 1, the thought of reaching out to study one-on-one with another student was terrifying. What would I say? What would I do? There’d be no place to hide like in a group study session — I would be completely exposed.
Luckily, my two weeks of SPOT sessions taught me that other students struggle with the material and we’re all just trying to learn. I reached out and asked another student if we could do a practice interview session together. That structure made me feel less anxious about the actual session. I remember that they absolutely CRUSHED their problem and I was so impressed by their communication and the tightness of their PEDAC. I totally sputtered on my problem, but I was now not feeling so embarrassed. Instead, the struggle was a signal to me that I had more work to do.
This week I learned that I am as capable as any other student of learning and that struggling and making mistakes in front of others is a good — and helpful — part of the process.
Week 24: Leading a SPOT session!
Once I felt comfortable interacting, I continued asking questions, attending SPOT sessions, and meeting 1-on-1 with other students to study. Once I passed the RB119 Interview, I took the next leap… leading sessions myself! This was nerve-wracking because I wondered what I could possibly have to offer others. Even though I have years of teaching experience, I was still a little nervous and the old doubts about being found out as a “fraud” were there.
But, by now, I had enough experience to know that those fears were just barriers to learning and connection. I hosted my first session, told my fellow students that I didn’t have all the answers and that we were there to support each other, and it went great. Now, I lead sessions most weeks and always enjoy meeting and supporting other students as well as learning from them.
This week I was reminded that we are all in this journey together.
My takeaways
Something to note about my fears/anxiety around interacting with others: they were both intensely real and intensely imagined. Real because I was feeling it — the sweat is real, the spiked heart rate is real, the dizzy feeling is real. Anxiety is an intense experience, physically and mentally.
At the same time, the roots of my anxiety were things I was imagining. I was afraid of interacting with others because I was afraid that:
- I would be met with silence, i.e. rejection
- I would be met with ridicule, i.e. my questions would be called stupid
- Other students would not want to study with me, i.e. personal rejection
In my experience, none of these things have ever happened. The closest thing to a negative experience would be having a 1-on-1 study session with someone where it didn’t seem to be clicking and we ended up not studying together again.
However, I find that even that is not a personal failing — it’s simply a sign neither of us were prepared. A study session that starts with “I’ve got nothing to go over, you?” and “Nope, me neither” means you need a little self-study first so you have something to go over with before meeting with someone else.
Your own structured approach
It took me 2 months to move step-by-step through my anxieties and engage with others. This is not a prescription. You may be anxious about different things. You may only be anxious about some of the same things as I. You may be able to move much faster. My 8-week plan is not a road map. Rather, it’s one route through the territory.
Hopefully, it can be helpful to you to plan your own approach if you also struggle to engage with others. Maybe you only need a few days for each step. Maybe you need to add a few intermediate steps. But I hope you take away that you can add in the practice of communication to your daily learning and that students and staff want you to succeed.
There are so many things we’re learning in Launch School and engaging with others is just another one of those things.
A note on 1-on-1 sessions
Some people are able to post something like “I’m in RB109 — anyone want to study?”, meet up with someone, and develop a strong relationship where they study together every week. If that’s you, that’s great! Some people find true study partners that they meet with over and over again and they develop their own rhythm together.
Perhaps due to my schedule, that’s not quite worked for me. I do have some people I study with regularly, but it did not begin as an open-ended call for study help. Personally, I find it much easier to say yes to a specific study ask. For example, rather than:
- I’m in 119 and am using the next month to prepare — who wants to study?
what about…
- Hi! I’m currently preparing for the RB119 interview. I’m looking for partners to do interview practice. I’m thinking a single study session would be 30–45 minutes for solving the problem and then getting any feedback. Specifically, I’m working on verbalizing my debugging process and alternating between speaking and typing. If you’re preparing for the interview, or are working on something else, I’d be happy to spend an equal amount of time helping you. This week I’ve blocked off Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 9 AM — 1 PM Eastern. Please comment if you’d be willing to interview me and I’ll DM you to set up a time!
The second option is a clear ask on what you need and also makes clear what you are offering in return. For someone who’s a little anxious like me, it’s a lot easier to say yes to the second request than the first.
Additionally, it can also be very nice to offer your time. This was something I learned from a fellow student. Once I passed the 119 interview — after many helpful practice sessions with others — I “paid” this time forward via the following:
- Hi everyone! I just passed the RB119 interview! This would not have been possible without help practicing in front of others over the last month. I’d like to pay this experience forward. If you are currently preparing for the RB119 interview, message me and we can set up a time where you can solve a problem in front of me. I’m budgeting the next couple days for this so reach out if you’d like!
An ask like the above explicitly welcomes those who need interview partners to reach out without them having to offer anything back to you. I think this is especially helpful for building community. And of course, once you pass the exam, you are now in the position to pay forward your time and experience to others.
In Conclusion
I shared my own story, my structured approach to practicing engaging with other students, and made some suggestions on how you might do the same. Thank you for your time and attention and I hope this has been helpful to you.
Happy studying!
