We are frequently asked by parents “is my son or daughter ready for the Machine Learning focus?” Or even more general, “what is the path for a middle schooler who doesn’t know how to code now, but sticks with Breakout Mentors for multiple years?”
For two years now we have offered the Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Academy for our advanced students. Over the summer we run Deep Dives, taking students with zero experience from the fundamentals through neural networks to make amazing projects. We customize the learning to each student’s background and interests.
So just how advanced are these ML students? Let’s get to know two actual students we worked with this summer!
Jace: An 8th Grader Coding Seriously for 1 Year
Jace is an incoming 8th grader. She began coding last year with the Scratch drag-and-drop programming language. She enjoyed it and took a few weekend bootcamps to learn JavaScript. She recently completed a 3-month Python course taught at her afterschool program. She scored well on her math exams last year and will be taking the advanced math course for 8th graders during the school year. She heard about machine learning while taking her Python course, wanted to learn more, and decided to do the Machine Learning Summer Deep Dive program at Breakout Mentors.
We crafted a personalized learning path for Jace that consisted of learning the foundations of machine learning through small to intermediate-level projects. As this was the first time she had exposure to machine learning it took about 12 sessions of meeting with her mentor to complete the foundations curriculum. Upon completion of the curriculum, she built an automatic hand-digit recognition app for recognizing characters on bank checks. Jace began the summer with zero prior machine learning skills and ended the summer with a full toolbox of skills and the ability to build intermediate machine learning projects from scratch. For students like Jace we focus on developing a deep understanding of fundamentals while building fun small to intermediate-level projects, leaving them motivated to continue advancing their skills.
Dylan: An 11th Grader Who Already Took AP CS A
Dylan is an incoming 11th grader. He has been coding since 8th grade. He has taken AP CS P and A and is comfortable coding in object-oriented languages such as Java and Python. He recently complete pre-calculus and is entering AP Calculus this school year. He has experience building intermediate to advanced Python coding projects like Space Invaders and Pacman. He’s taken a few weekend courses on machine learning but would like to further his understanding of the field. He has a passion for psychology and the brain and would like to apply machine learning to help people live better happier lives.
Dylan came into our Machine Learning Summer Deep Dive with prior machine learning, computer science, and math experience. We tailored the curriculum to meet his skillset and goals. First, we reviewed the foundations material with him, and he built small hands-on projects to deepen his understanding of core machine learning concepts. Then we developed a project plan that aligned with his interest in psychology and would take his skills to the next level. He and his mentor worked for 7 sessions building out a machine learning app that could extract emotional sentiment from tweets and classify the emotional character expressed in each tweet. For students like Dylan, we focus on developing projects from scratch, learning more complex algorithms and systems design, and applying what they learn to topics they are interested in to develop project portfolios for internships and college applications.
Join the Webinar Wednesday, October 5th
We are running a free webinar this Wednesday:
Machine Learning for High Schoolers — what it is + projects to stand out
Find out what machine learning is with real world examples — including how high school students can get started in order to stand out
The webinar is intended for either high school students or parents. Please go here to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/machine-learning-for-high-schoolers-what-it-is-projects-to-stand-out-tickets-416832777057