We understand that you learn best when the environment is matched with your experience level. To do that, we design our courses using the Dreyfus Model of Skills Acquisition. That helps in two ways: it helps us organize topics around skill levels and it helps you choose the course that's right for you.

But this is an imperfect model and we don't want to put you in a box. So for each course we show the range of skill levels the course is designed for. It's up to you then to honestly assess your experience and pick the course that best suites where you currently are on the learning curve. If you have questions about how your programming experience matches with the outline below, please feel free to contact us at info@pragmaticstudio.com or 303.523.2757.

Dreyfus Model for Pragmatic Studios

Stage 1: Novice

In General

  • You have little or no previous experience in this area.
  • You want to accomplish a specific task.
  • You need step-by-step instructions to accomplish that goal.
  • You need a controlled environment free of potential problems.

Ruby on Rails Experience

  • You're currently programming in an object-oriented language.
  • You have hands-on programming experience with relational databases and dynamic web applications.
  • You haven't had a chance to try using Ruby or Rails yet.

Stage 2: Advanced Beginner

In General

  • You've tried tasks on your own.
  • You've had difficulty troubleshooting problems.
  • You want information fast.
  • You've begun to formulate principles, but without holistic understanding.

Ruby on Rails Experience

  • You've played with Rails, but it felt too magical.
  • You find yourself copy/pasting Ruby code to get Rails working.

Stage 3: Competent

In General

  • You've begun to act on long-term plans and goals.
  • You can troubleshoot most problems on your own.
  • You've developed conceptual models of how things work.
  • You seek out expert advice.

Ruby on Rails Experience

  • You've written your first Rails application, for pleasure or business.
  • You're comfortable with the basics of Ruby.
  • You understand the mechanics, but want to understand when and how experts use features.

Stage 4: Proficient

In General

  • You want to understand the larger conceptual framework.
  • You're frustrated by over-simplified information.
  • You learn from the experience of others.
  • You understand and apply maxims.

Ruby on Rails Experience

  • You've developed and deployed more than one Rails application.
  • You know how to metaprogram with Ruby.
  • You work with Ruby and Rails the majority of your working life.
  • You're ready for the big picture.
  • You can recognize good tips and when to use them.

Stage 5: Expert

In General

  • You are a primary source of knowledge and information.
  • You continually look for better methods.
  • You work primarily from intuition, not reason.
  • Following a set of rules degrades your performance.

Ruby on Rails Experience

  • You've taught or mentored others who have developed and deployed Rails apps.
  • You've gone back and redesigned Rails apps based on new understanding.
  • You're looking for new tips, tricks, and techniques to teach your team.