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Full Stack Circle

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Most important Resources

Course Material

Weekly Class Schedule

Teaching Roles Overview

About ReDI

Help

Reach out to Caro, your Course Manager, for help via Slack.

❤️ Thank you for supporting the ReDI students ❤️

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Welcome to the Full Stack Circle! 👋

Welcome to our teaching team! We're excited to have you join us in supporting ReDI students on their journey in tech. The Full Stack Circle is a 14-week journey where students build realistic projects while learning modern web development skills.

As a teacher, your first step is to complete the self-onboarding process:

Explore the Course Overview to learn more about the course
Check out the Timeline
Review and get onboarded in the Essential Tools
Check out the Content Introduction
Complete your onboarding in Complete your self-onboarding

This hub contains everything you need to start and support your teaching journey. If you have any questions along the way, don't hesitate to contact our team on Slack.

Ready to begin? Head over to the Course Overview section!

Course Overview

Welcome to ReDI School! We really appreciate that you are part of our community. In this page, you'll find an overview of the course. By volunteering, you contribute to our main goal: help our students gain the necessary skills to find a job in tech. ReDI School has now helped over 17.000 people advance their tech skills. This is only possible with the support of our volunteers <3

ReDI Students

Our student community brings together people from over 138 countries. Your course won't be different. Your students will come from a wide range of countries. They also come from diverse professional backgrounds - some are currently unemployed or underemployed, while others are students looking to prepare for their careers. With an average age of 32, many of our students hold a university degree and have several years of work experience. What unites all students is their passion for technology and their aim to build a career in the tech industry.

About the Circle

The Full Stack Circle is a 14-week advanced program designed for students with solid HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and basic React skills who want to gain development experience by working on team-based projects. Each cohort consists of 25 students who collaborate in small teams to build a full-stack application, simulating a professional software development environment.

Course Purpose & Philosophy

Primary goal: Employability through hands-on experience
Focus on real-world project work rather than traditional lectures
Emphasis on production-quality code and team experience
Encourages self-learning and independent problem-solving

Course Structure

One main project for the entire semester
The class operates like a development team
Students are divided into feature teams
3-week sprint cycles
Gradual transition from teacher-led to student-led project organization

Curriculum Goals

Soft Skills: Teamwork, Task management, Project communication, Self-learning
Technical Skills: React, Frontend/Backend development, Testing, Git, Clean code practices, Debugging, Documentation

Projects

The students choose at the beginning of the semester a platform they like to clone. The previous project was an AirBnb Clone.

Semester Outline

Weeks 1 - 3: Tools configuration, development environment setup, project management process overview
Remaining weeks: Split into 3-week sprints. Each sprint contains a focus topic according to the project type that needs to be completed. Milestones will break down the project into smaller deliverables. Expect weekly homework (project work) during this period.
Demo Day: At the end of the semester, each team will present their projects to the audience of ReDI course community members.

Sprint Outline

Activities Description

Work Time

This is where the students are working on their projects in class and the teachers are available to help.
We can encourage them to be investigating their tickets so that they can already start finding any unknowns that we can instruct them on, or to inform us what the next lesson should be about.
Pair with students, answer their questions
We do code reviews, look at their work, and see how we can be helping them improve as mentors.
Prepare the upcoming tickets for the next classes.

Standup

The PM of each team walks them through standup:

Check the status of the tasks on the board: Any updates, anything blocked or anyone need help?
Keep it brief - standups are about exchanging important information and connecting with people who can solve your problems, not about solving them there or showing off.

Planning

Roughly figuring out who will work on what for the rest of the week. Mainly looking for:
Does every student have meaningful work available to them?
Will anyone be blocked by others, and can we avoid that?

Demo

Give the students a chance in front of everyone to showcase what they’ve been working on and made, what they’re proud of.

Retro

At the end of every sprint, we’ll have a retrospective where we address two main points:

Likes: What did we like (about anything - the tasks, the project, the code, the course, other people?)
Wishes: What do we wish for, how could we make things better (about the tasks, or the project, the code, or the course).

Sprint Brainstorming

A large gathering of the entire class where everyone is participating in coming up with ideas for what the next sprint projects could be, and finding out who is interested in them (to form which teams).

Lesson

When we see students needing help on a specific topic (or they request a specific one), then the Instructor prepares a short (20m-1h) lesson on the topic. This should be a bit of a lecture with some slides or other visual materials, and ideally some examples and practice code/session for the students. We will record these lessons.

Sessions

Guides

The volunteers (guides) take on the head of basically two roles:

Product Manager: Runs meetings (standups, planning, refinement), Prepares and prioritizes tasks
Mentor: Performs code reviews, Provides one-on-one guidance, Answers student questions

As a guide, you are both a PM and a Mentor within the sessions :)

On-Site Activities

We are organizing on-site activities in our three main locations. Find out more below.

We invite you to four on-site community events throughout the semester if you are located in Berlin and the surrounding. The Onboarding will also take place in person in Berlin. You are more than welcome to join!

We invite you to four on-site community events throughout the semester if you are located in Berlin and surrounding. The Onboarding and Demo Day will also take place in person in Düsseldorf. You are more than welcome to join!

Four in-person sessions are taking place in Hamburg: Onboarding, two regular course sessions, and Demo Day. If you are based in Hamburg, it would be fantastic if you could support the course in one or more of these sessions.

Conclusion

Timeline

Preparation Phase

Teachers Onboarding & Planning Sessions

⏰ Feb 12th - 20th, 2 meetings per course

A ReDI volunteer journey starts with a welcome to the ReDI community! During teachers onboarding & planning sessions, we:

Welcome new & returning volunteer teachers to the community
Share semester mission, goals & timeline
Plan / review the outline of the coursw
Align on teaching roles & processes
Prepare for students selection process and course kick off

Students Screening / Interviews

⏰ Feb 24th - 28th, 1 session, 2 hours, optional briefing 30 min before event

The interview is the last step to become a ReDI students, after completing a prework and submitting an official application. We interview in order to:

Get to know the students
Ensure their time availability
Check their understanding of course content
Understand their motivation to join

We interview every candidate who is not a returning students who passed with achievement in the past semester. *For Circles & Bootcamps we will interview both new & returning students.

We recommend the candidate a course if motivation, understanding of the content and time commitment fit. Based on your decision, we recommend your course, a lower or more advanced one.

Interview Preparation

You will receive the information on this page, as well as the interview form for your course along with your calendar invite for the interviews. Please accept or decline the invitation by February 19th to confirm your attendance so we can plan accordingly.
A non mandatory 30-minute briefing will also be held on interview day to review the process and address any questions before we start.

On Interview day

Join the Zoom call from your calendar invite.
The ReDI Team will welcome you and assign you to a breakout room.
A max of 6 students will be sent to you one at a time for 1:1 interviews (20 minutes total):
- 15 minutes conversation
- 5 minutes for notes and recommendation
A dedicated Slack channel will be set up for real-time communication throughout the interviews and breakout sessions. Once you complete an interview, notify the team on Slack, and the next student will be sent your way.

Teachers Training

⏰ March 3rd-12th, non mandatory We'll offer trainings to our wonderful volunteer teachers to make sure they feel confident sharing their knowledge in the classroom. Training plan and additional information will be presented during onboarding & planning meetings.

Kick Off Preparation

⏰ Courses kick off on March 17th or 18th

During our teachers / students kick-off day, you welcome the students to the class. The session is facilitated by each teaching team as a collaborative effort. You find the materials for the kick off session in your course sheet. You need to sign up for a role by adding your name to the meeting agenda. You prepare for the event by finalising the materials needed for your role. The main goals of the meetings are:

Getting to know each other, create a welcoming class atmosphere
Introducing the teaching team to the students
Presenting the course & class tools

Teaching Phase

Mid-Semester Students Feedback Session - ReDI Led

⏰ May 5th - 7th, 1 session per class, 2 hours Exact date available in your course sheet LINK

The ReDI team will meet with the students to collect feedback on the course as well as suggestions from the students. The session is moderate entirely by the ReDI team and results are brought to the teaching team at the teachers touch point one week later.

Teachers Touch Points

⏰ May 12th - 14th, 1 session per team, 2 hours Exact date available in your course sheet LINK We meet at mid semester with the teaching team to:

hear feedback from the students and ideate solutions,
celebrate our achievements and
plan the rest of the semester.

Teachers touch points happen while students are attending ReDI's career week.

Career Week

The Career Week at ReDI School is a week of training webinars designed to help students connect with industry professionals, improve job-related skills, explore career opportunities and boost their job readiness. More LINK CAREER SERVICES ✅ Students need to attend 2 career events during the semester (within or outside the career week) in order to graduate. Students choose topics most interesting to them. ✅ Other career events during the semester might include: company visits, networking opportunities, mentoring matching events.

During career week, classes are on hold. We use this time to organize teaching team touch points.

Project Phase

⏰ Last 2 or 3 weeks of classes are dedicated to project Exact dates available in your course sheet LINK The Project Phase at ReDI School is the part of the course where learners apply what they've learned by working on a real-world projects. It is also a way to boost students confidence and improve job readiness. It usually happens towards the end of the program and is designed to help building practical experience and a strong portfolio. For learners, this is a chance to foster:

🔹 Team Collaboration – Work in teams with other students, just like in a real job. 🔹 Hands-on Learning – Apply coding, design, or data skills to solve real problems. 🔹 Mentor Support – Get guidance from teachers on real case scenarios. 🔹 Final Presentation – Showcase their project to classmates, mentors, and sometimes even company representatives.

Community Events

Local Community Events at ReDI School are gatherings where students, alumni, mentors, and industry professionals come together to network informally and share some quality time. These events help you connect with the tech community in your city (Berlin, Hamburg, or NRW). We'll organize 2 community events per each location this semester.

Let's go to the next section and dive into the tools: Essential Tools

Essential Tools

Here's an overview of the key tools we use for teaching and communication. Please set up these tools now to ensure effective collaboration with your team and students.

Slack

This is our main communication tool, both with teachers and with the students. You'll have access by default to your teaching team channel and the students' channel. Additionally, you can join our community channels in Berlin, NRW, and Hamburg to learn about local events. Please check Slack regularly during the semester and communicate with your teaching team via Slack if you cannot make it to class.

Action

Create a Profile. Use your real name. So that we know who you are.
Say hello 👋 in your teacher channel to introduce yourself.

Google Calendar

We use Google Calendar to send semester meeting appointments to teachers and students.

Actions

Please review Google Calendar invites you received from ReDI via Email and RSPV, so that we can plan very efficient meetings

Zoom

Our online sessions are running on Zoom. We highly recommend installing and updating the Zoom app on your device, as the online version doesn't cover all functionalities. Please note: The class Zoom link is the same for the entire semester.

Actions

Download the Zoom application

Google Classroom

We use Google Classroom to share material with the students and to collect and give feedback to projects and homework.

Actions

Accept the invitation to Google Classroom that you received via Email

Content Introduction

No Content - All About the Project

The Full Stack Circle focuses entirely on working on a project. That also means there is little content being shared with the students. The first three sessions help introduce students to concepts (how to collaborate, team building, and setup). Besides that, we share material ad-hoc if needed to solve a specific issue.

Project Setup

Requirements for the Project

The final product that we want to produce:

A project with a frontend communicating with a backend connected to a data store, transmitting data back and forth and modifying data on the backend
The project represents an understanding of testing, debugging and clean code principles
One meaningful visual test and one meaningful behavior/unit test set
One meaningful complexity level apart from a plain backend/frontend communication (ex.: maps, complex auth, 3rd party API integration, realtime comms)
Log of tickets/cards/milestones in the project

Project Setup

Once a platform is selected (in the first 3 weeks), we define the initial set of tickets and establish the project structure, ensuring a solid foundation for development (a volunteer PM named Stefan helps us with this!). The project will be broken down into manageable sprints, each focusing on recreating specific features of the chosen platform.

Complete your Self-Onboarding

Thank you very much for going through your Self-Onboarding! This ensures a smooth onboarding into your volunteer experience. Please complete the following typeform to finish the self-onboarding. If you face any problems, you can indicate them in the typeform.

That's it! Thanks for completing your self-onboarding. Feel free to browse around the teacher hub. See you soon!

Tools & Platforms

Course Sheet

Link: The link to your Course Sheet is pinned in Slack.
Course Management: We use the Course Sheet to organize the course.
Availability & Ownership: Volunteers assign themselves to the session. They show when they are available to teach.
Feedback: The coursesheet has a feedback tab where we collect feedback about the session.

Not available anymore?

Mark it in the Course Sheet so that others can see it!

Zoom

Zoom? It is our video conferencing tool for the classes.
Zoom Link: You find it pinned in Slack. The Zoom link is the same for the whole semester.
Use the App: Install the Zoom app for all functionality.
Recordings: We record the session. More: Recordings
Claim Host: Credentials are pinned in Slack. How to Join Zoom & Claim Host
Join early? The Zoom call opens 45 min ahead of time. Feel free to join early.

How to Join Zoom & Claim Host

Find the link to the class meeting either in your calendar invite for the session or pinned in the teachers slack channel. Join with one click
Go to the participants list and “Claim host”. Sign in with the host key to become the host. You can find the host key (a series of 6 numbers) pinned in the teacher Slack channel.

Please make your co-teachers for the sessions co-hosts by right-clicking on their name from the participants list.
Please do not forget to record the class. We record only Input and Q&A Sessions.

Recordings

Recordings automatically save into a drive students have access to as viewers. This Drive is pinned to the students slack channel. Recordings are available for whole semester. Break out rooms cannot be recorded.

Default Zoom Settings

When starting the meeting, audio is off, your video is off and recording is off.
Hosts are allowed to add co-hosts.
Possibility to send files via meeting chat.
Breakout rooms enabled. How to setup breakout rooms: Video, Guide.

Attendance Tracker

Link: Attendance Tracker
Who: The teaching assistant tracks attendance
When: Every regular class (usually 20 minutes into the session)
Access: Credentials are pinned in your teaching teams' Slack channel

Why track attendance?

We ask learners to join at least 80% of the sessions to obtain a certificate. We believe students can only learn if they attend. That's why attendance tracking is essential. ReDI follows up regularly with students with low attendance to offer support.

Attendance Status per Session

100% – Present: Arrive on time, actively participate, and keep the camera on.

50% – Excused: Notify in advance if unable to attend

50% – Late: Arrival more than 15 minutes late

50% – Early Leave: Leaving before the break

0% – Absent: No prior communication of absence

Camera on Policy

Students will only be marked as "present", if they join the class with their camera on.

If a student should experience internet connection problems during the class, they should either write it in the chat or unmute themselves to inform teachers and fellow students. If this is not possible, students should inform the class through a message in their students slack channel.

How to track Attendance?

Google Classroom

Link: The link to your classroom is pinned in Slack.
Purpose: We use Google Classroom as our learning platform. We use it for two functions: Sharing material with the students and assigning homework. You can also use it to create material.
Google Drive: Your Google Classroom is connected to a Google Drive where material is stored.
Calendar: Students are invited to the sessions through the calendar from the classroom

How to Upload Materials on Google Classroom

Go to Classwork. Go to Create. Select material to upload material, which is shared with the students. Select Topic to create a new section that can hold multiple materials.

Draft function: drafts are only visible to teachers - not to the students (yet). You can already work on material before sharing it with students. In order to share it, you publish the material.

Are you not in Google Classroom?

You should have received an email invitation from ReDI. Please check your emails and spam folder. Otherwise, please get in touch with the ReDI team via Slack.

Course Content

No Content - All About the Project

Project Setup

Students can choose which platform or website to clone. This approach allows teams to work on a project they're genuinely interested in while learning essential full-stack development skills. Last semester, the students cloned Airbnb (GitHub Repo).

Requirements for the Project

The final product that we want to produce:

A project with a frontend communicating with a backend connected to a data store, transmitting data back and forth and modifying data on the backend
The project represents an understanding of testing, debugging and clean code principles
One meaningful visual test and one meaningful behavior/unit test set
One meaningful complexity level apart from a plain backend/frontend communication (ex.: maps, complex auth, 3rd party API integration, realtime comms)
Log of tickets/cards/milestones in the project

Project Setup

How do I create more engagement in class?

Best practices for teaching?

More material, feedback, or ideas?

If you find good material, ReDI could use, and if you have feedback or further ideas, feel free to contact Julian via Slack or email (julian@redi-school.org).

Curriculum

Here is a list of topics of subjects we think are important to try and hit for the continued education as well as employability of our students. When we’re doing sprint brainstormings and plannings, or any changes to the course itself, we should keep these goals in mind and push for things that accomplish them. Skills we want our learners to achieve:

Soft skills

Teamwork
Task management
Task specification
1. Feature specification as a stretch goal
2. Project management negotiation
Proactive communication (speaking their mind/don't be afraid to ask)
Self-learning (Career descriptors & expectations as a stretch goal)

Hard skills (frontend/backend)

React
1. Client/server comms
2. Reusable components
3. Dataflow
4. Complex data manipulation (useReducer, redux)
5. Storage options on client
  1. Session
  2. Cookies
  3. indexedDB
6. axios/fetch
Node.js / express
1. REST APIs
2. Mentioning different js runtimes
3. SQLite NoSQL
Web frontend
1. Implementing common and consistent design
2. Important UI/UX concepts
3. Responsive Design
Testing
1. Manual
2. Automated (Unit + UI)
Tooling
1. Vscode extensions
2. Package managers/registries (how to deal with unforeseen circumstances?)
3. Git merging
Debugging
Clean code
1. DRY
2. Naming & conventions (code, docs)
3. Documentation (README.md, Changelogs)

The final product that we want to produce:

A project with a frontend communicating with a backend connected to a data store, transmitting data back and forth and modifying data on the backend
The project represents an understanding of testing, debugging and clean code principles
One meaningful visual test and one meaningful behavior/unit test set
One meaningful complexity level apart from a plain backend/frontend communication (ex.: maps, complex auth, 3rd party API integration, realtime comms)
Log of tickets/cards/milestones in the project

Class Engagement

We provide additional tools that you can use to engage students more in your sessions! At ReDI, we like to use the following tools and icebreakers:

Mentimeter (Interactive Polls)

Create live polls, word clouds, and Q&A
Perfect for:
- Icebreakers: Ask students about their expectations or background knowledge.
- Quick polls: Check understanding of a topic in real-time.
- Exit tickets: Gather feedback at the end of a session.
Login credentials in teachers' Slack channel
Mentimeter.com

Kahoot (Learning Games)

Quiz-based learning with competitive elements
Perfect for Revision & Recaps - You create a quiz, and students participate live in class via browser or cell phone.
Login credentials in teachers' Slack channel
Kahoot.com

Icebreaker Ideas

You can use quick icebreakers at the start of your sessions to energize participants, build connections, and create an engaging and interactive learning environment. Here is a list of icebreakers. They shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to run.

1. Two Truths and a Lie

Description: Participants share three statements about themselves—two true and one false. The group has to guess which one is the lie.
How to Run: Use breakout rooms for smaller groups or let everyone participate in the main room.
Objective: Participants get to know each other in a fun way.

2. Virtual Scavenger Hunt

Description: Give participants a list of items to find in their home within 1-2 minutes (e.g., something red, something that makes noise).
How to Run: Ask them to bring the items back to the camera and share a quick story about one of them.
Objective: The activity is an energizer.

3. Emoji Reactions

Description: Pose a question or statement (e.g., "How are you feeling about today’s session?") and ask participants to respond using emojis only.
How to Run: Use the chat in Zoom.
Objective: It is an easy way for participants to share how they are doing.

More Resources

Teaching Guidelines

Teaching Method: I Do, We Do, You Do

The "I Do, We Do, You Do" method is a teaching method designed to help students learn new concepts by first observing, then practicing with guidance, and finally working independently.

I Do: The teacher demonstrates the task while explaining the steps and thought process aloud. This stage is about modeling the correct way to approach the task and highlighting key concepts and techniques.
We Do: The session owner walks the students through an activity. The students follow along (code or design along). This collaborative stage allows students to apply what they've seen with support, ask questions, and receive immediate feedback.
You Do: Students work independently on the task. This stage allows them to practice the skill on their own.

Example: Introducing Javascript

I Do: The teacher introduces JavaScript and demonstrates a simple script that shows an alert when clicking a button. Key concepts like variables, functions, and events are explained briefly.
We Do: The teacher walks the students through creating a function that changes a heading's color when clicking a button. The students follow and code along. The teacher shares their screen and gives the students time to code along. Together, the teacher and the students write the function, select the element, and add an event listener, with the teacher guiding and asking questions to engage students.
You Do: Students independently write JavaScript to change the text of a paragraph when a button is clicked in a breakout room. They practice using variables, functions, and event listeners and then share their work for feedback.

Tips and Tricks

Context before content - We experienced that explaining why a concept is important helps a lot in understanding what the concept is about. Why should you learn this concept? Try to give the context. Maybe explain where you use it in your daily work life. Or explain how this concept can help to solve a bigger problem
Engage with Students: Ask questions to check understanding. Use their names and keep the tone friendly and encouraging.
Be Prepared but Flexible: Have a plan but adapt based on student needs.
Feedback is Key: Provide constructive feedback to help students improve. Celebrate small wins to keep motivation high.

More Resources

Guides Team

Overview

In the Full Stack Circle, guides support students in building real-world projects. Rather than traditional teaching, guides help students develop practical skills through hands-on project work and agile development practices.

Guide Roles

As a guide, you basically have two roles in one :) You support the students as a product manager and as a mentor in the sessions.

1. Product Manager

Runs team meetings (standups, planning, refinement)
Prepares and prioritizes tasks for sprints

2. Mentor

Conducts code reviews
Provides one-on-one support during work sessions
Helps students discover solutions independently
Identifies areas where students may need additional support

Session Structure

Regular Sessions (Tuesday/Thursday, 19:00-21:00)

Standup meetings (15 minutes)
Work time with active mentoring
Optional micro-lectures as needed
Team-based project work

Sprint Cycles (3 weeks)

Sprint planning and kickoff
Regular refinement sessions
Demo presentations
Retrospectives

Key Responsibilities

Before the Session

Allocate a responsible to track attendance

During Sessions

Facilitate team meetings
Provide hands-on guidance
Review code and give feedback
Support student collaboration

Between Sessions

Answer questions via Slack
Review pull requests
Prepare for upcoming sprints
Share relevant resources

Best Practices

Supporting Students

Encourage self-learning
Guide rather than provide direct solutions
Foster team collaboration
Maintain consistent communication

Project Management

Help break down tasks into manageable pieces
Ensure clear acceptance criteria
Monitor progress and address blockers
Facilitate effective team discussions

Resources

Team communication via Slack
Additional support from ReDI React teachers when needed

Project Sessions

Semester Outline

Weeks 1 - 3: Tools configuration, development environment setup, project management process overview
Remaining weeks: Split into 3-week sprints. Each sprint contains a focus topic according to the project type that needs to be completed. Milestones will break down the project into smaller deliverables. Expect weekly homework (project work) during this period.
Demo Day: At the end of the semester, each team will present their projects to the audience of ReDI course community members.

Weekly Sessions

Sprint Outline

Activity Description

Work Time

This is where the students are working on their projects in class and the teachers are available to help.
We can encourage them to be investigating their tickets so that they can already start finding any unknowns that we can instruct them on, or to inform us what the next lesson should be about.
Pair with students, answer their questions
We do code reviews, look at their work, and see how we can be helping them improve as mentors.
Prepare the upcoming tickets for the next classes.

Standup

The PM of each team walks them through standup:

Check the status of the tasks on the board: Any updates, anything blocked or anyone need help?
Keep it brief - standups are about exchanging important information and connecting with people who can solve your problems, not about solving them there or showing off.

Planning

Roughly figuring out who will work on what for the rest of the week. Mainly looking for:
Does every student have meaningful work available to them?
Will anyone be blocked by others, and can we avoid that?

Demo

Give the students a chance in front of everyone to showcase what they’ve been working on and made, what they’re proud of.

Retro

At the end of every sprint, we’ll have a retrospective where we address two main points:

Likes: What did we like (about anything - the tasks, the project, the code, the course, other people?)
Wishes: What do we wish for, how could we make things better (about the tasks, or the project, the code, or the course).

Sprint Brainstorming

A large gathering of the entire class where everyone is participating in coming up with ideas for what the next sprint projects could be, and finding out who is interested in them (to form which teams).

Lesson