| > Also there are times when I ask a specific question like "What does such and such a library function return?" and they'll say "two strings" but don't know if it's a list or a tuple, of if it ever returns None, or whether it raises an Error etc. I am curious to understand why you need to do this step? Is it possible to have a more hands off approach? Give them a task and a deadline and then let them come back with the work. If they have a problem, then they can come to you, but if they have not done their home work, then they need to solve it themselves. Is it possible this is too much of involvement in their work? > So at that point I'll open up the library documentation and read it with them. But they will never on their own initiative open the docs. How about telling them that they need to look it up (either in front of you or after they need to return to their station)? Would that work for you? > I'm struggling a bit to collaborate with them because I have a strong bias towards reading (docs or books) to understand and they seem to have the exact opposite. They seem almost sad when I send them a link to raw information. Maybe they associate this and what follows with a negative experience? Is it possible to take a more hands-off approach? Sometimes it helps to appear dumb to the person we are mentoring. Let them figure out the steps that are figure-out-able like reading API docs etc., Only help in steps that really need your expertise and experience, but not effort. I think this is because this is how the current generation thinks. I am mentoring some interns and my own kid thinks looking up YouTube for the solution is the right thing to do. They in fact search on the YouTube app on their phone and then go to Google. |