Growing the "T": Learning for Breadth and Depth

@maltzj @maltzj

@maltzj @maltzj 2 One Attention Rich Input 2

@maltzj @maltzj 3 Learning takes those inputs and makes them
automatic 3

@maltzj Growing the "T": Learning for Breadth and Depth Jonathan
Maltz @maltzj 5-10-19 AUTHOR DATE

@maltzj @maltzj

@maltzj @maltzj Broad base of skills

@maltzj @maltzj Broad base of skills Deep in one particular
area

@maltzj Knowledge vs. Skills

@maltzj @maltzj K. Anders Ericsson

@maltzj @maltzj

@maltzj @maltzj Knowledge (noun): awareness or familiarity gained by experience
of a fact or situation

@maltzj • Kubernetes is a container orchestrator Knowledge examples

@maltzj • Kubernetes is a container orchestrator • Jenkins pipelines
can be written in a scripted or declarative syntax Knowledge examples

@maltzj • Kubernetes is a container orchestrator • Jenkins pipelines
can be written in a scripted or declarative syntax • Giving tech talks involves organizing information and telling a story Knowledge examples

@maltzj @maltzj Skill (noun): the ability to do something well

@maltzj • Operating a kubernetes cluster Skill examples

@maltzj • Operating a kubernetes cluster • Writing a Jenkins
Pipelines Skill examples

@maltzj • Operating a kubernetes cluster • Writing a Jenkins
Pipelines • Ability to organize your ideas and tell a story in a tech talk Skill examples

@maltzj @maltzj Knowledge != Skills

@maltzj @maltzj Practice!

@maltzj @maltzj Purposeful Practice!

@maltzj • Take skill you want to learn Practicing Purposefully

@maltzj • Take skill you want to learn • Create
an exercise which forces you to push that Practicing Purposefully

@maltzj • Take skill you want to learn • Create
an exercise which forces you to push that • Get feedback on that Practicing Purposefully

@maltzj Action Results Take an action

@maltzj Action Results Get Feedback

@maltzj @maltzj

@maltzj @maltzj Knowledge -> Skills

@maltzj Action Results Mental Model

@maltzj Action Results Get Feedback Mental Model

@maltzj @maltzj Single-Loop Learning

@maltzj Let's talk about "The T"

area

@maltzj @maltzj Stuart + Hubert Dreyfus

@maltzj @maltzj

@maltzj @maltzj Beginner Intermediate Advanced

@maltzj @maltzj Specialized Knowledge + Speciﬁc Skills

@maltzj @maltzj Beginner - Introductory books/tutorials. Shipping + code reviews
Intermediate Advanced

@maltzj @maltzj

Intermediate - Speciﬁc content. Expert code reviews, active experimenting Advanced

Intermediate - Speciﬁc content. Expert code reviews, active experimenting Advanced - Self-guided Domain mentorship

@maltzj @maltzj Double-Loop Learning

@maltzj Action Result Get Feedback Mental Model

@maltzj Action Results Get Feedback Mental Model Get Feedback

area

@maltzj @maltzj Stuff that may impact you. Upcoming trends. No
skill

@maltzj @maltzj Stuff you occasionally use. Less skillful, enough knowledge
to get by

@maltzj @maltzj Stuff you use every day (skillful, speciﬁc knowledge)

@maltzj @maltzj Practice opportunities

@maltzj @maltzj Hermann Ebinghaus

@maltzj @maltzj

@maltzj @maltzj Foundational Principles

@maltzj • Short cycle time = good Foundational Principles

@maltzj • Short cycle time = good • Conciseness =
good Foundational Principles

@maltzj • Short cycle time = good • Conciseness =
good • Complexity = bad Foundational Principles

@maltzj @maltzj What problem does this solve?

@maltzj • 1 / 2 Broad resources ◦ Looking for
frequency of terms ◦ Software engineering daily / Software Engineering Radio Broad knowledge

frequency of terms ◦ Software engineering daily / Software Engineering Radio • Broad conferences (Goto, QCon, etc) ◦ Lunchtime=besttime Broad knowledge

@maltzj @maltzj

frequency of terms ◦ Software engineering daily / Software Engineering Radio • Broad conferences (Goto, QCon, etc) ◦ Lunchtime=besttime • Distant co-workers Broad knowledge

@maltzj @maltzj "Should I be using this?"

@maltzj • 1 / 2 Domain-speciﬁc content ◦ Devops Weekly/Data
Eng Weekly/Last week in AWS Domain-Speciﬁc Knowledge

@maltzj • 1 / 2 Domain-specific content ◦ Devops Weekly/Data
Eng Weekly/Last week in AWS • Domain specific conferences ◦ DevopsDays! ◦ Pycon ◦ O'Reilly Data Conf Domain-Specific Knowledge

@maltzj @maltzj "How can I master this?"

@maltzj @maltzj Practice!

@maltzj @maltzj 3 Things

@maltzj @maltzj 1. Invest in Foundational Principles

@maltzj @maltzj 2. You don't need to know everything

@maltzj @maltzj 3. Purposeful Practice!

@maltzj @maltzj

@maltzj • Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise
• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance • Mindset: The New Psychology of Success • A Five Stage Model of Directed Skill Acquisition • Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve Resources

@maltzj @maltzj https://boards.greenhouse.io/nuna/

@maltzj @maltzj

Growing the "T": Learning for Breadth and Depth

Growing the "T": Learning for Breadth and Depth

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