For a long time, tech culture has focused too narrowly on technical skills; this has resulted in a tech community that too often puts companies and code over people. Greater Than Code is a podcast that invites the voices of people who are not heard from enough in tech: women, people of color, trans and/or queer folks, to talk about the human side of software development and technology. Greater Than Code is providing a vital platform for these conversations, and developing new ideas of what it means to be a technologist beyond just the code. Featuring an ongoing panel of racially and gender diverse tech panelists, the majority of podcast guests so far have been women in tech! We’ve covered topics including imposter syndrome, mental illness, sexuality, unconscious bias and social justice. We also have a major focus on skill sets that tech too often devalues, like team-building, hiring, community organizing, mentorship and empathy. Each episode also includes a transcript. We have an active Slack community that members can join by pledging as little as $1 per month via Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode)
091: Solving Puzzles and Productive Failure with Kim Vanderspek
02:03 – Kim’s Superpower: Being able to solve puzzles and problems and teaching others to do the same.
05:39 – Speaking and Teaching Math
11:44 – Using Technology to Visualize Math: Quilting, Sewing, Playdough, Boxes
13:53 – Incorporating Programming Into Math Classes
16:01 – Specialization and Efficiency
23:38 – The Cinderella Dress in Action
27:06 – Talking About Process, Mistakes, and Failures
34:56 –Teaching Problem Solving and Failure
39:08 – Perseverance Over Content
Reflections:
Coraline: Show your work.
Sam: The value of perspective.
Jessica: To be perfect, it has to be repeatable for particular people in a particular context.
John: Obstacles parallelisms. Fail first, learn from the failure, get better. But planning for that is integral.
Kim: Productive failure, trial and error, and doing beautiful things.
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Special Guest: Kim Vanderspek.