CS448 Software Development Capstone – Apprenticeship Patterns – “Record What You Learn”

In this blog post, I want to talk about the “Record What You Learn” pattern from the “Apprenticeship Patterns” textbook by David H. Hoover and Adewale Oshineye. The premise presented in the pattern’s introduction,

“You learn the same lessons again and again. They never seem to stick… You remember doing very similar things in the past, but the exact details escape you.”

, captures some of the feelings that I’ve been having as our development group continues our work on Thea’s Pantry. I remember doing so much backend HTTP server work last semester, but I haven’t retained the lessons as well as I wanted to, and I feel like I’m repeatedly reviewing old material.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how well I’ve been nourishing my writing abilities – I stopped keeping a daily journal some time ago, and I’ve noticed that I haven’t been taking as many handwritten notes in my classes as I used to. The first reason I can think of for not wanting to stick to the habit is that I haven’t been exactly clicking with the record-keeping tools that I’ve been using. At first, I wanted to keep digital personal journals with tools like Microsoft Word or a journaling app on my Android device because I liked the idea of having as much space to write as much I wanted, without having to think about reaching a physical “end of the book”. However, I’ve realized over time that there are parts of the electronic writing process, like the glow of the monitor and the distractions of other applications, that can make it harder to concentrate on personal writing as opposed to pen and paper.

I’ve also been reflecting on my writing practices in addition to the tools I’ve been using. I’ve known for some time that I would be helped by keeping records of the things I’ve learned about computers, networking, and software development in my own writing, but I just haven’t known how to start or structure a collection of notes that I want to return to and reference in the future. One solution offered by the “Record What You Learn” pattern is to utilize a personal wiki to organize and store your notes. While I’ve been thinking I want to return to pen and paper for more personal writing, I think that a digital tool like a wiki would be a great choice to organize knowledge-based writing and references to further learning resources. The review process is also an essential part of using the “Record What You Learn” pattern. The authors emphasize the importance of rereading your material: “Your notebook, blog, or wiki should be a nursery, not a graveyard—lessons should be born from this record, rather than going there to die.”