Peer to Peer Session

Peer to Peer Sessions are Pair Programming

In our Peer-to-peer session, we use a concept called pair programming.

Summary

💡 Intention: Every Friday, you join a peer to peer session. In the session, you work with your team on your milestone to advance further. You apply a technique called pair programming.

⭐ Desired Outcome: You progressed in your project through peer support.

📝 Agenda: Pair Programming in breakout rooms.

👤 Roles: Only Students join the session. Every student is a “driver” for a certain amount of minutes to share their screen and drive their project. The other students are “navigators”.

📅 Timeline: Fridays, 19:00 - 21:00

🖥️ Tools: Zoom

What is Pair Programming?

Pair programming is a technique where a group works together on a code problem for one person. One person explains where they are stuck or what they are currently working on (driver). The person shares the screen and further advances the project with the team's help. The other team members (navigators) are there to support, ask questions, share ideas, and help the driver progress. After 15 minutes, you swap. The following person takes the role of the driver.

Roles

• The Driver: As a driver, you choose which problem you want to work on together with the team. You share your screen, ask the team for feedback and support, and implement the feedback.

• The Navigators: Navigators help the driver advance with their milestone. As a navigator, you think aloud and focus on helping the driver. Besides the person who is the driver, all other team members are navigators.

• Timekeeper: One of the navigators takes over the role of setting the timer. We have 15 minutes per driver.

What to keep in mind

⚡Hands-on - Show the others your work. Tell them where you could need some support. Use the 15 minutes to actively work on your milestone with the support of your team.

💬 Talking out Loud - Pair programming shouldn’t be done in silence. Share your thoughts and your ideas about the processes. Good paired programming involves a lot of talking and thinking out loud.

⏱️ Spend equal time Driving - Let’s keep an eye on the clock to ensure everyone has an equal amount of time driving and getting support from the others.

🤝 Respect and Empathy - Respect and empathy are crucial for successful pair programming. We want to grow together and support each other. Value each other's opinions, ideas, and expertise. Be open to constructive criticism.

😬 It is going to feel kinda weird - Sharing your screen as a driver and showing the others your solution is probably going to feel weird. But that's okay. It is new for all of us. We are in a safe space. The goal is to learn - both from each other and with each other. So don't worry if your solution doesn't look good or if you are not yet comfortable with the tools.

Why Pair Programming?

🚀 Pair programming is Higher Quality - You receive a lot of feedback and ideas for your code. Together, you spot more errors, bugs, and flaws in your code.

🌱 Pair programming is Continuous Learning - You grow more confident by explaining your code to others. You continue to learn how to share feedback, help others, and work with others' feedback. Through Pair Programming, you continuously learn.

Your Team

• You are in teams of 4 or 5 people. You will change teams per project.

• You will find your team on the sheet pinned on your Slack Channel.

Get Started

• Decide who starts as a driver and timekeeper

• Driver explains the problem to solve.

• After 15 minutes, swap roles.

• After 1 hour, take a break ☕

• Once everyone has been the driver, you are through. If you still have time left, you can decide whether to continue pairing.

Increase the Time

• If you are 4-5 people, set 15-20 minutes per driver.

• If you are less than 4 people, set it to 30 minutes per driver.

How do I prepare for the Peer to Peer Session?

• The goal of the session is to advance with your weekly milestone. If you are stuck at a specific part of the milestone, introduce this problem once you are the driver. The more specific you describe your problem, the easier the others can help you!

• If you don't face a specific problem, that is also okay. You explain to your team where you are at in your milestone and further progress with it in the session - with the team's help.

• Be prepared to show your screen.

Further Resources:

• Pair Programming - What, Why, How (article)

• Pair Programming - Best Practices and Tools (article)

What if my teammates are missing? Are they allowed to mix?

If you are 2 or less people from your team, we recommend you to join another team in the Pair Programming session.

Are the teachers joining?

No. The Pair Programming session is only for students. The goal is to solve a code problem with your team.

I am more advanced than my team members. Why should I join?

Even if you are more advanced, you learn a lot in Pair Programming. By walking the others through your code, you grow more confident about your own coding decisions. You learn how to present your project better. Furthermore, you learn how to mentor and support colleagues by giving others feedback. In a job it is crucial to give and receive feedback from others, no matter how advanced they are. Join the Pair Programming session to further improve your teamwork and communication skills.

I cannot join the Peer to Peer Session. What should I do?

Please notify your team AND the course channel on Slack.

What if I felt uncomfortable within the session?

If something within the session made you feel uncomfortable, please contact Tamara or Pierluigi via Slack.

What should I do if my teammates cannot help me with the code problem I brought up?

This is natural! You may be stuck, and no one has a solution for it. The peer-to-peer session is about creative problem-solving as a team. Try to google, ask ChatGpt, and find resources that help. Crafting and Coding are about running into an error and trying to find a solution.