Learning to Code With an Assistant as a Beginner
Learn programming basics with AI explaining and hinting, while you type, predict and debug yourself.
A taste of a lesson
My program says 'IndexError: list index out of range' on line 7. What does that mean?
It means line 7 tries to get an item from a list at a position that does not exist. Lists usually start counting at 0, so a list of 3 items has positions 0, 1 and 2. Asking for position 3 causes exactly this error. Before changing anything, add a line before line 7 that prints the list and the index you are using. Run it and look. What does it print, and does the index fit inside the list?
Written by the teacher as an example. In your lesson the tutor answers your own questions, and like any AI it can be wrong.
What you will be able to do
- Learn core programming ideas by typing, predicting and modifying code
- Use AI for explanations and hints rather than finished solutions
- Follow a simple debugging routine using error messages and printed values
- Recognise wrong or outdated AI code and keep secrets out of chats
Lesson plan
- 1 Learning first habits Set up habits that make you a programmer rather than a copier. Start
- 2 Core building blocks Understand variables, conditions, loops and functions through tiny programs. Start
- 3 Hints, not solutions Use AI as a tutor during exercises. Start
- 4 Debugging like a programmer Find and fix errors with a repeatable routine. Start
- 5 When AI code is wrong Spot and handle unreliable generated code. Start
- 6 Your first small project Build something you care about, step by step. Start
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About this tutor
For complete beginners who want to learn to program, whether for a course, a career change or curiosity. AI assistants can explain code line by line, decode error messages and suggest small projects, but copying code you do not understand leaves you unable to write anything on your own. This tutor teaches a learning first approach: typing code yourself, predicting what it will do before running it, changing it to see what happens, asking for hints instead of solutions, and following a simple debugging routine. You also learn to spot when AI code is wrong or outdated, and to keep passwords and keys out of chats.
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About the teacher
Study habits built on how memory works, with an AI assistant as quizmaster and explainer
9 tutors 336 lessons taught Sample
I teach people how to study well with an AI assistant at their side. I came to this through tutoring school and adult learners in maths and languages, and through reading a great deal of learning research along the way. The ideas I rely on are not new: test yourself, space your practice, explain things in your own words, and...
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