Trimester in Review

This trimester went far beyond learning syntax or writing JavaScript. The biggest lesson was developing a coder’s mindset—breaking problems into manageable steps, failing fast to learn quickly, and tracking down elusive syntax errors in large files. CSSE 1 taught me a set of habits and tools that I’ll carry forward long after the class is over.

Key takeaways

  • Worked comfortably with an operating system and developer toolchain.
  • Balanced multiple roles: teacher, collaborator, and learner.
  • Embraced patience and incremental progress instead of rushing to finish.
  • Planned projects more realistically—and learned from the times I didn’t.

Below are some highlights from the journey.

Serving a Team

I wore many hats this trimester: student and teacher. While I’ve had similar roles before, CSSE was the most sustained and in‑depth experience yet.

  • Presented technical material to beginners and distilled complex ideas.
  • Built interactive homework assignments to gauge understanding.
  • Supported classmates who were hesitant to ask questions.
  • Communicated effectively with instructors about their goals and how I could help achieve them.

Some team dynamics lessons:

  • I led our group as the teacher until the game project, where I shifted to coding
  • Guided teammates through challenges despite varying skill levels and motivations.
  • Coordinated across subgroups (e.g. spriting vs. programming) to keep everyone moving forward.

Above all, my proudest achievement was fostering connections in my team and collaborating on fun hacks and a working game.

Learning to Code

Coding itself was a roller‑coaster that paid off in surprising ways.

Tooling and setup

Setting up the environment was the hardest part—there was always something new to master.

  • Created and managed GitHub repositories, using VS Code fluently

JavaScript lessons and teaching

The unit on JavaScript stretched me, especially when co‑designing lessons.

  • Made a boolean lesson
  • Gained familiarity with JSON, math expressions, strings, and more.
  • Built a stronger foundation that made the game‑development unit easier.

Class game project

During the game, I mostly answered questions at the tables and led the spriting team.

  • Designed the main character and made backgrounds
  • Code boss level
  • Adapted as the original vision shifted, trimming features and compromising to reach a finished product.

This trimester has been a rich blend of technical growth, teamwork, and self‑reflection. I’ve built skills, confidence, and relationships that extend far beyond the classroom.