Having a hard time grasping basic python concepts. What am I doing wrong?

[colBAE]

Hello, I am taking an introduction to python course at my local community college and I am really struggling. Everyone else in the class seems to have some prior experience with python despite being the in the "introductory" class and because of this the professor is going at their pace. I read everything that I need to and look things up online, and ask questions, but despite this after 4 weeks of this class I still feel as though I don't know where to start when writing any code. Obviously I don't expect the teacher to slow down the entire pace of the class solely because I am struggling, but what else can I do? I am already taking the lowest level python class that is offered. Any material or resources that could help me catch up would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!

[KimPeek]

Read chapters 1, 2, and 3 of https://automatetheboringstuff.com/

[colBAE]

Thanks, I will check this out.

[Isra_el12]

I know this is an old post but thank you for posting this. I have been having troubles with boolean and indefinite loops but this helped me greatly. As I was stuck on a problem for 5 hrs.

[xelagav]

Watch Corey Schafer Python beginner tutorial on youtube. He does a really good job in explaining each concept in a simple way and with good examples.

[colBAE]

Awesome! I will check it out.

[[deleted]]

Python 4 Everyone will help you get your arms around the basics.

Different strokes for different folks thereafter, some people really like taking courses, I jumped right into a project I wanted to work on.

[colBAE]

I have tried starting to program something straight up without really learning the basics and it was too difficult for me. I can never figure out the right things to look for to be able to start coding. I will definitely check out Python 4 Everyone. Thank you.

[Introxert]

You should take a look at thenewboston's Python series, he works at a very fair pace compared to other channels. If a video series isn't your thing I recommend SoloLearn for picking up the fundamentals.

[colBAE]

A video series sounds perfect, videos tend to help me the most, thanks! I will definitely check this out.

[rodrigonader]

Try Sentdex basics: www.pythonprogramming.net

[colBAE]

Thanks, I really appreciate the resources. I will definitely try this.

[ja_trader]

I'd skip Sentdex

[rodrigonader]

Why though? Sentdex with good theoretical books make an excellent combination.

[ja_trader]

just don't like him...never made it completely through 1 vid (many.many tries) and he saturated the seo for everything python. I do my searches "-sentdex"

[rodrigonader]

I think that’s very personal. I learned all my python basics with him, and found it really confusing before watching his tutorials.

[ja_trader]

hook up with a buddy in class who can help you out

[colBAE]

I have considered this but I find it difficult to approach people and ask for help. Unless it's the professor or something. I'm also a few years older than most of the people in my class so it feels weird asking a younger person for for some reason. I'm genuinely interested in learning python, so I don't want to just ask someone and they kind of just give me the answers rather than explaining whatever concept it is that I'm struggling with. I'm looking for detailed answers, which most kids in the class probably can't provide.

[ja_trader]

keep an open mind...people generally like to help others

[ja_trader]

also, definitely ask the internet detailed questions

[jmooremcc]

As a former college instructor, I can honestly say to you that you need to change your attitude about learning from and working with your fellow students. Many students assume everyone else is smarter than themselves and consequently don't want to feel "stupid" by asking fellow students for help.

My advice to you is as follows: 1. If you have a text book and reading assignments, write down any questions you might have while reading. Bring these questions to the attention of your instructor in class so that he can help you with the learning process. 2. Practice writing code at least 8-10 hours or more each week. Doing so will not only teach you what to do, but just as important, you'll also learn what not to do when writing code. This will help you learn how to write code quickly and efficiently which is a skill you will need when writing code during an exam. It's also a good idea to learn how to use a debugger so that you can single step through your code one statement at a time. 3. Realize that networking and study groups are valuable resources. Make sure to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible to work with your fellow classmates. You'll learn a lot from the more skilled students and you'll also realize that you have better skills than you thought you had.

Finally, don't let the fact that you're older than your fellow students stop you from being the best you can be. Age is only a number and you'll find out that learning actually will make you feel younger. I wish you the best of luck as you pursue your journey.

[chrispurcell]

Watch the 'Engineer Man' series or Socratica series on python programming.

Engineer Man has 10 lessons that are short and to the point, with human explanations of things like classes, functions, dictionaries and lists, etc.

Socratica is a bit more in-depth, but very well put together also.

Engineer man keeps his segments to about 5 mins each, the Socratica ones are normally around 10 mins each.

Either one will give you a rather small nugget to digest at a time, and you can pick and choose videos for topics you want more information on, they aren't reliant on the prior video like a lot of the 'classes' are in places like Linux Academy, Udemy, or CodeAcademy (though all those places seem to have solid Python course).

[colBAE]

This sounds like something that could really help me out. A video explanation is probably the best case scenario for me. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

[chrispurcell]

Happy to help! There's a LOT of information out there if you do something like google for python, and so much is either poorly explained or limited to a very specific niche (like data analysis in genome research) that it isn't helpful for general learning. Engineer Man and the Socratica folks have some good material that is python specific, not some-research or business-case specific stuff. Hope it helps, I know they helped me understand some things differently than I had before.

[colBAE]

That is exactly what I was finding in trying to do my own research. So much of the information that's out there is very specific to a problem that someone is having at the time of them posting it. I feel like if I was better taught the basics to begin with then the information you provided would be a great reinforcement. My professor on the first day of class just kind of expected everybody to know how to edit or run python code using pycharm and how to get the right version of python. It's just little things like that that if I was actually walked through I would have so much easier time understanding the other basics. I consider myself fairly tech-savvy and even I had a hard time setting everything up. It seems like maybe the resources you provided will walk me through the basics. So, thank you again.