Babbage University
There are stories here for your current quest
Babbage University
Metapolis' famed university. Named for the inventor of the computer, Charles Babbage: the first programmer.Story Table of Contents
4 of 6fMRI Brain Scans
This time, your visit to Babbage University brings you beyond the Computer Science building. You head to another grand building on this trip: the Department of Neuroscience.When you walk in, Dr. Joy is waiting for you in the lobby. Last time you saw her, she was teaching a Computer Sceince course, so you are a little surprised to see her here. You say as much.
"Oh, I have a joint professorship position." Dr Joy explains, briefly. "I do most of my work and research here, but since my specialty is how people learn computer science, I end up teaching for both departments. But enough about me, I want to show you the fMRI lab. This way."
She leads you down the hallway toward the stairs. "Before we get there," she says, handing you her smartphone, "I pulled up a couple of videos so that you could give yourself a crash course in how fMRI works."
She takes you into a lab with a large observation window looking into another room. The majority of this other room is taken up by the fMRI, currently powered down. Dr. Joy pulls up some a graphic of the human brain on a computer in the observation lab. "This part right here," she says, "do you know what that is?"
"Broca's area?" you guess.
"I'm impressed," she says. "Do you know what it does?"
"Language stuff, from what I understand."
"This little area of the brain has a story," she says. "It was discovered by Paul Broca in the 1800s. He had a patient who lost the ability to speak. Twenty years later, after the patient died, Broca did an autopsy and discovered a lesion on the brain -- right in that spot. Today, the area bears his name."
"That's cool story--"
"There's more." Dr. Joy continues. "In the 90's, fMRI technology started to really take off. It let us start confirming all kinds of hypotheses about the brain. Scientists had known for years that when areas like Broca's -- or another one, called Wernike's area -- get damaged, people lose the ability to speak or understand language. But in an fMRI, we can actually see those regions light up in healthy people when they speak or understand language."
"Wow I--"
"Still more," she says. "Since the 90's, there have been numerous fMRI studies that have linked all kinds of things to these regions. There's English -- of course. But also, things like American Sign Language activates the same part of the brain. So do certain kinds of musical comprehension tasks. So does watching people make shadow figures with their hands. And..." She pauses for dramatic effect.
"In 2014, scientists in Germany started putting coders into fMRIs. Actually, the one who did it first was named Janet Siegmund -- same last name as me. Coincidence, though; no relation. Anyway, when coders read source code, guess what lights up?"
"Broca's area?" You say.
"Absolutely. And then in 2017, there was another study -- one that showed that the more experienced a coder is, the similar their brain activity looks whether they are reading code or reading English. It all gets processed in the same places of the brain, and in more or less the same way."
"So you're saying: language is language -- whether its code or everyday speech?"
"That's exactly right. When I found out about it in 2017, I immediately applied for a joint appointment with the Department of Neuroscience," says Dr. Joy. "I knew that the connections between coding and language acquisition were what I wanted to study. It suddenly clarified everything we were doing wrong as computer science teachers. We stand up at the front of the room and lecture about definitions and grammatical rules, and then we wonder why students take so long to become proficient coders." She shakes her head. "If we'd known 20 years ago what we know today, I think computer science departments would teach in a completely different way."
"What's wrong with lecturing about definitions and grammatical rules?"
"Ever tried to learn a foreign language by memorizing definitions and grammatical rules?"
"Yes, actually," you say. "High school Spanish. But then again, I didn't learn much in high school Spanish, so I guess I see your point."
"One of the best ways to learn a language is through immersion," says Dr. Joy. "But if you can't actually go to a foreign country to learn the language, the next best thing is certainly not reading the dictionary and memorizing the grammar rules."
"What's the next best thing?"
"Dr. Stephen Krashen, one of the foremost scientists in the field of Second Language Acquisition suggests that the biggest causes of fluency gains is 'meaningful interaction in the target language.'"
"So... talking in that language with real people?"
"Talking. Listening. Reading. Writing. Telling stories. Playing games," says Dr. Joy. "You can memorize as many definitions and rules as you want, but your brain won't start acquiring fluency until you start actually using the language in meaningful ways."
"And it's the same with computer languages?"
"Language is language," says Dr. Joy. "Even though it looks very different than languages that humans use to communicate, the neurological basis for coding fluency looks the same as fluency in other languages."
"Okay, so what can I take away from this that can help me be a better coder and a better coach?"
She hands you a card:
- Broca's and Wernike's Regions. Areas of the brain known to be responsible for language production and comprehension.
- Stephen Krashen is known for his Input Hypothesis, which suggests that languages are most effectively acquired through 'meaningful interaction' in the target language -- using and practicing the language in a variety of real world contexts -- and significantly less so through formal instruction on linguistic 'rules.'
- Learning vs Acquisition. As defined by Krashen, learning is a conscious process whereas acquisition is an unconscious one. Learning is what happens when teachers lecture about linguistic rules. Acquisition is what happens when students have those meaningful interactions. According to Krashen, acquisition should be prioritized over learning.
- Recall, effortful recall, and fluency. The stages involved in any language acquistion story. The first time you learn a word or concept, you may or may not be able to recall it. After more practice, you may be able to recall it, but only with some effort. Quick and effortless recall is the hallmark of fluency.
When she sees that you're done reading, she says, "Here's what I tell students in my Introduction to Computer Science classes," she says. "Copy me." She points to the left side of her skull.
You point to the left side of yours. She relocates your hand slightly.
"There," she says. "That's roughly where Broca's area is. The point is -- always be aware that you're training your brain. When you look at code today and think -- 'I have no idea what that means' -- just remember that you'll look at it with a different brain tomorrow. Language acquisition is a gradual process of making tiny neurochemical changes in your brain. There's nothing any teacher or coach will tell you about coding that will suddenly 'make it all click.' It's a slow and steady process of acquisition. That means showing up, day after day, and giving yourself meaningful interactions in your target language."
"Okay, so what kind of meaningful interations should I create for students learning to code? Or for myself when I'm learning the language I am going to teach, for that matter..."
She sighs. "You want me to give you another card? Fine, but just remember. There is literally nothing I can tell you right now (in English) that is going to make you a better coder. You have to sit down and code."
"Still, I would like a card if you have one."
Tips for acquiring fluency in a programming language through meaningful interactions:
- Practice translating. Translate an English description into whatever programming language you are learning. Repeating this process many times is one of the quickest roads to greater fluency. For any MetaCoders language, there are extensive sets of translation practice problems.
- Be creative. Take code you've already written and try to do something creative with it. If you are having trouble with this, use any creativity-based Game Mode (see the Appendix Chapter)
- Make flashcards. Learning definitions is not enough. But it can still be valuable as part of a larger strategy. Only you can know what flashcards are worth making, though.
- Let the computer teach you. Doing something wrong will usually result in an error message. That's the computer teaching you that something wasn't right. Learn from those moments instead of being frustrated by them.
- Get into a flow state. Once you convince yourself that learning is fun and that error messages can be fun too, set goals and try to achieve them. Pick goals that are just barely beyond your current skill level. (Use the Game Modes that MetaCoders freely provides. See the Appendix Chapter.)
- Know the larger story. Don't learn a language without knowing why that language exists, who made it, and what it's used for. Know why you are learning it and how it fits into your larger personal growth plan. Most MetaCoders languages include information about their origin stories and their creators' intentions. See the Appendix Chapter.
When you look up from this card, you realize Dr. Joy has already left.
fMRI Brain Scans
Wed, January 6 11:00 AM
Read the full story to the right:
Dijsktra Elementary
There are no stories here for your current quest
Dijsktra Elementary
Named for a cool dude.Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Lovelace Elementary
There are no stories here for your current quest
Lovelace Elementary
Named for Ada Lovelace, one of the world's first programmers. Her life was tragically short, but her legacy shall live forever.Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Margaret Hamilton Elementary
There are no stories here for your current quest
Margaret Hamilton Elementary
Named for the an American computer scientist, systems engineer and business owner. She was director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which developed on-board flight software for NASA's Apollo space program.Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Pascal Elementary
There are no stories here for your current quest
Pascal Elementary
Named for a cool dude.Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Bruce's House
There are no stories here for your current quest
Bruce's House
Bruce is MetaCoder's newest Coding Coach in Metapolis; he was hired at the beginning of March. He lives here with his family.Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Jack's House
There are no stories here for your current quest
Jack's House
Jack's place has an extra room that is used as an office space, this is where he will keep all the equipment.
Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
John's House
There are no stories here for your current quest
John's House
John lives in a condo that has a side gate with easy access to his back door, inside he has a small room inside where he keeps all the equipment.
Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Joseph's House
There are no stories here for your current quest
Joseph's House
This is where Joseph lives. Or so he tells us.
Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Kate's House
There are no stories here for your current quest
Kate's House
Kate's house has a driveway and a garage where she keeps all the equipment.
Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Ruby's House
There are no stories here for your current quest
Ruby's House
This is where Ruby lives.
Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Coder Cafe
There are stories here for your current quest
Coder Cafe
A quaint coffee shop frequented by coders of all sorts.Story Table of Contents
6 of 6Yu Learns #lang survival
Yu is sitting in the usual spot, with the usual mugs. "Check it out," says Yu as you sit down and take a sip.Yu points to the laptop screen, where you can see a long list of a translation challenges for a language called
#lang survival:
"I've given myself a game -- I code a challenge once, while referencing the implementation here," Yu points to the right of the two boxes in the challenge, "then I erase my code, I hide this," Yu clicks on the implementation, making the code disappear, "and try to code it again."
"I've already done thirty of them," says Yu. An alarm on his phone goes off, and Yu silences it -- showing the timer set to two minutes. "I keep decreasing the time on the challenge to increase my fluency."
"Flow state?" you ask.
"Definitely," Yu says.
"Where can I find these?"
"They are on the MetaCoders site, at metacoders.org/languages. You can also find a link in the Training Appendix if you forget." Yu sets the timer on his phone. "I'm going to get back to it. Want to try?"
Yu Learns #lang survival
Wed, January 6 12:30 PM
Read the full story to the right:
Hopper Library
There are no stories here for your current quest
Hopper Library
Named after Grace Hopper, who created the first computer language compiler, which led to the COBOL programming language.Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
MetaCoders HQ
There are no stories here for your current quest
MetaCoders HQ
The mothership hovers benevolently over the city of Metapolis. The population thrives in the cool shade beneath.Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Kick Butt Martial Arts
There are no stories here for your current quest
Kick Butt Martial Arts
A local business owned by Johnny Lawrence.Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Metapolis Welcome Center
There are stories here for your current quest
Metapolis Welcome Center
Where all vistors to Metapolis are encouraged to begin their journey.Hint: Most quests will start here...
Story Table of Contents
2 of 6Chapter 6: Intro
Welcome back to Metapolis!In this Chapter, you will be laying the groundwork for Chapter 8, where you will be learning a whole new language: the first language you will be coaching! This may (or may not) feel like a big leap, so we'll get some science background on what it takes to learn a language and a head start on some coding concepts that will put us on the right foot for Chapter 8.
We will visit:
- Babbage University Where we'll discuss the neuroscience of learning to code.
- Then we will visit our good friend, Yu, at Coder Cafe where we will see some of the code you may practice later!
Chapter 6: Intro
Wed, January 6 10:00 AM
Read the full story to the right:
TechSquared
There are no stories here for your current quest
TechSquared
A big business that does big, big things.Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
Turing Recreational Center
There are no stories here for your current quest
Turing Recreational Center
Named after Alan Turing -- considered the father of theoretical computer science and A.I.Story Table of Contents
No stories here at this time. Look elsewhere!
#lang mc-coach-assess
(view-deck (chapter-6))
(test-with-deck (chapter-6))
- Start at the Metapolis Welcome Center
- Find the green icons in order: 1 of 6
- There are 3 stories to find in this Chapter.
- Stories without these icons will not be on the test.