🧑🏾🤝🧑🏾 day plan
The agenda and activities for our first day together
✍🏽 Register
🏷️ Name tags
Learning Objectives
We don’t all know each other yet!
There should be blank name tags and pens in the room you’re in. Make a name tag for yourself and put it somewhere people can see.
Feel free to put whatever you’d like on your name tag. Make sure to include whatever name you’d like people to call you!
🍨 Energiser: Favourite dessert
Learning Objectives
We’re all getting to know each other for the first time. No one knows anyone yet - let’s fix that!
Form a circle, and take turns going around the circle to introduce yourself. Say your name, and what your favourite dessert is.
When everyone has taken their turn, try to agree as a group what the whole class’s favourite dessert was.
🎡 Morning orientation
Learning Objectives
Planning during the week
👣 Steps
If you haven’t done so already, choose someone (volunteer or trainee) to be the facilitator for this morning orientation block. Choose another to be the timekeeper.
🎙️ The Facilitator will:
- Assemble the entire group (all volunteers & all trainees) in a circle
- Briefly welcome everyone with an announcement, like this:
💬 “Morning everyone, Welcome to CYF {REGION}, this week we are working on {MODULE} {SPRINT} and we’re currently working on {SUMMARISE THE TOPICS OF THE WEEK}”
- Ask any newcomers to introduce themselves to the group, and welcome them.
- Now check: is it the start of a new module? Is it sprint 1? If so, read out the success criteria for the new module.
- Next go through the morning day plan only (typically on the curriculum website) - and check the following things:
Facilitator Checklist
- Check the number of volunteers you have for the morning
- Check someone is leading each session
- Describe how any new activities works for the group
- Decide how best to allocate trainees and volunteers for a given block - most blocks will make this clear
⏰ The Timekeeper will:
- Announce the start of an activity and how long it will take (check everyone is listening)
- Manage any whole class timers that are used in an activity
- Give people a 10-minute wrap-up warning before the end of an activity
- Announce the end of an activity and what happens next
Youtube: Welcome to Code Your Future
🏫 Learning as a community
Learning Objectives
At CYF, we learn as a community.
In this session, we’re going to describe how we harness our community to learn together.
Resources
The facilitator will make a copy of this presentation 👉 Learning as a community presentation or set the same thing up on a physical board with sticky notes.
Preparation
- Facilitator: Review how this works and the Miro board Learning as a community before class.
- Facilitator: Split the class into groups of no more than 6.
- Facilitator: Ensure everyone can access the board if you are online.
- Facilitator: Make sure every group has access to sticky notes and pens if you are in person.
Introduction
The facilitator will use the Miro board presentation to guide trainees and volunteers on a discussion about how we learn together as a community.
🫖 Morning Break
A quick break of fifteen minutes so we can all concentrate on the next piece of work.
🫶 Code of Conduct
Learning Objectives
You should already have read Code Your Future’s Code of Conduct as part of signing your learner agreement. If you haven’t, make sure to read it.
What is the purpose of a Code of Conduct?
Set a timer for . Popcorn around the room sharing ideas about what a Code of Conduct is for.
Facilitation tips
Some key things to aim for:
- Making sure people feel comfortable and welcome.
- Making clear what is/isn’t appropriate.
- Helping people to learn and improve themselves.
- Stopping smaller problems from becoming big problems.
What kind of things are against CYF’s Code of Conduct?
Set a timer for . Popcorn around the room sharing examples of what behaviours are not welcome at CYF.
Facilitation tips
Some key things to aim for:
- It’s important people can say no, and that’s respected.
- Different people have different expectations and boundaries.
- If you’re not comfortable, or not sure, it’s probably a problem.
- Anyone is capable of violating the Code of Conduct - trainees, volunteers, or staff.
What should you do if you think someone has violated the Code of Conduct?
Set a timer for . Discuss as a group what you think should happen if someone does something unwelcome towards or around you.
Facilitation tips
There isn’t one good answer here. Different people will have different views.
If in doubt, anyone can (and should) report things to any member of staff. And if there isn’t a response within a week, email cs@codeyourfuture.io.
But we’re a community, and a lot of less severe things can be dealt with a good faith conversation between adults.
🚗 Blockers: Traffic Jam Gameplay
Learning Objectives
In Person / Online
If you’re online, get into breakout rooms of up to 4 trainees. One person should open the online Version of this game and share their screen.
If you’re in person, get into groups of up to 4 trainees. If you have a physical game, use that, otherwise follow the online instructions.
One person should take on the role of driver. The driver can only move the pieces where you are told by the navigators. The driver cannot make any decisions!
The others will be the navigators. Together, the navigators must figure out a strategy to unblock the car, and tell the driver how to do it!
Each person must drive so set a timer for and then swap.
You can do this energiser in person, online, or a mix of both. You can play this completely offline using this kit: Rush Hour.
Start on Level 6 or above and get everyone to load the page before you go into breakout rooms/groups.
Facilitator Check in questions
Model ways of thinking about the game strategically instead of just trying stuff randomly:
- Which car is the blocker? Everyone guess!
- What shall we do first?
- What do you notice about the cars? Are they different sizes?
- What do you notice about the board? What does this mean for our choices?
- Is it frustrating being the driver?
- Are we there yet? Shall we play another round?
- What one thing shall we say we noticed about this game, back in the main room?
Evolve the game
Evolve the game each time you play to guide the players to insights
- Round 2: You must discuss for 1 minute before you make any moves
- Round 3: A single navigator can make no more than three moves in one go
- Round 4: Try to solve the puzzle in as few moves as you can
More resources
- Backup alternative online game
- Physical version of this game
🍽️ Community Lunch
Every Saturday we cook and eat together. We share our food and our stories. We learn about each other and the world. We build community.
This is everyone’s responsibility, so help with what is needed to make this happen, for example, organising the food, setting up the table, washing up, tidying up, etc. You can do something different every week. You don’t need to be constantly responsible for the same task.
🚧 Sharing Our Blockers
Learning Objectives
We call problems that stop our progress “blockers”. We talk through our blockers regularly and help each other get “unblocked” or “unstuck”.
🕹️Sharing Our Blockers
Join the online board or grab some sticky notes. Add your blockers.
Make sure to add only one blocker per note.
Facilitator Once everyone has added their blockers, group similar blockers together.
Facilitator Next, discuss the blockers and help each other get “unblocked”. Start with the most common blocker and work your way down the list.
Hints and Tips
Example Blockers
- I can’t find a Slack channel people keep mentioning.
- People tell me I should be replying to a Slack message in a thread, and I don’t know how.
- I can’t open a PR, because…
- How do I fix extra stray files in my PR?
- I don’t have a computer so I can’t complete my work!
- How do I run Lighthouse?
- Everyone should have blockers. If you aren’t blocked on anything in the course, do you need to challenge yourself more?
- Ask “stupid” questions. Your question is not stupid! What we are doing is hard, and everyone has questions. If you’re stuck, it’s likely that someone else is too. Please help others and ask your question!
- If you have other more advanced questions, do write them on the board but don’t expect to answer them in Blockers. We will work on those in study group.
🫖 Afternoon Break
Please feel comfortable and welcome to pray at this time if this is part of your religion.
If you are breastfeeding and would like a private space, please let us know.
👣 Next steps
Learning Objectives
As a group, run through the structure of a module and a sprint in the curriculum.
Then spend completing the following tasks. When you’re done, spend discussing any challenges you had and making sure you’re ready for the week.
For trainees
In this section, you have a set of questions/tasks to orient you towards what is coming next in the course.
Pair up with a new person. In pairs, complete the following tasks:
⚠️Warning
If you’re unsure about the answer to any of the questions below, start a thread in Slack to clarify the answer (unless there is already a thread discussing this matter).
- Starting from the home page of this website, locate the success page for the next module. Have you already achieved any of the learning objectives?
- Starting from the home page of this website, locate the prep page for the next module, and the prep page for sprint 1 of the next module.
- List the things you need to install (if anything) for the upcoming module.
- Check you can find the backlog page for the next sprint.
- Double check you’ve copied all the issues from the backlog over to your Course Planner (There are instructions for setting up your Course Planner in the prep).
- When should you start the prep work for the upcoming module?
- Experiment with your project planner: can you filter by Size, Sprint, or other fields?
For volunteers
- Check the success page for the next module, and the next sprint. What are we trying to help the trainees to achieve?
- Check the instructions and links on the prep and backlog issues for the upcoming sprint - what will trainees need help with?
- Read the day-plan for the upcoming sprint - what should you prepare for?
- In the day-plan for the upcoming week, identify the instructions for any workshops and visit the repository containing that readme. Check the instructions make sense.
🎉 Wrap
You are done for the day. Take a moment to reflect on what you have learned and achieved.
Stand in a circle and share:
- 📛 your name
- 💪🏽 one thing you achieved today
- 👷🏾 the task you are going to work on next
- 🛟 one thing you need help with
Give yourselves a round of applause. Now you have earned your rest. Usually people go for a cup of tea or a pint after class. You are welcome to join and wind down together.
☕ Optional: Socialise!
Learning Objectives
At CYF we learn as a community. You’re going to be spending the coming months with the people around you. After that, they will form part of your professional network too.
We encourage you to spend time getting to know them! This is optional. But after class, we encourage you to do something like:
- Hang around in the class space chatting or playing games.
- Go sit in a nearby park together.
- Go to a local cafe for hot drinks.
- Go to a nearby pub.
- Or any other ideas you have!
Make sure everyone who wants to join in will feel welcome wherever you go (e.g. a lot of people don’t like drinking or being near alcohol).
If CYF is paying childcare expenses so that you can come to class, we’re happy to pay for this time as well.