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KFosterMarks

@KFosterMarks@mastodon.social

ultrarunner, writer, & Developer Experience Engineer @ the Developer Success Lab

Background in language teaching pedagogy, Second Language Acquisition, and classroom-based research.

Passionate about integrating social and behavioral science into the tech world, particularly in enhancing how software teams and practitioners learn, work, and thrive.

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KFosterMarks, to random
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I had a blast participating as a panelist for a Girls Who Code event yesterday. In answering a question about identifying transferable skills, and dialoguing with my fellow panelists, one of my deeply-held beliefs came up: Software practitioners are well-served and well-poised to learn the tenets of rhetoric and rhetorical situations. This knowledge and these skills are foundational to communicating effectively.

KFosterMarks,
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https://www.kristen-foster-marks.com/post/your-engineers-need-communication-skills-part1

I wrote this piece (with lots of informative feedback from composition and rhetoric maven Amanda Memoli) last summer and I stick by it!

(And I would be remiss to not point out @gvwilson's role in helping me see how relevant this argument is in the software dev/engineering space!)

KFosterMarks,
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@nlowery Thank you for that feedback! I've been procrastinating in writing the second and third pieces, but your interest is all the motivation I need to sit down and draft these things! So, immediately forthcoming!

KFosterMarks,
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@woo I absolutely love that you've asked for clarification here! Quoting directily from a workshop I've run for software engineers:

"Rhetoric is one of those loaded words. It’s a word that takes on different meanings depending on the context in which its discussed, and it’s a word that’s neutral for some, but that for others, carries a bit of a negative connotation. Many of you have likely heard the term “empty rhetoric”, for example, which we typically use to describe writing or speech that...

KFosterMarks,
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@woo

...makes a promise that the writer or speaker has no real intention of following through with. But the full meaning of rhetoric is actually much more expansive than that. Rhetoric can refer to language that is designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on an audience and it can also refer to the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing.

KFosterMarks, to random
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The second interview in the Voices of Developer Thriving interview series is live, folks! 🎉

https://www.pluralsight.com/resources/blog/leadership/voices-of-developer-thriving-eli-mellen

This written interview series explores how the four components of the Developer Thriving framework manifest in the lives of software engineers.

Here, I chat with Software Jack-of-all-Trades Eli Mellen about how the following factors have impacted his thriving throughout his career as a software practitioner:
✅ agency
✅ learning culture
✅ belonging
✅ motivation & self-efficacy

KFosterMarks,
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Eli is beyond thoughtful and insightful - he brings a sincere love of learning, craft, and community to his software work, and I personally learned so much from having this conversation with him!

Here are a few quotes from Eli to pique your interest:

🗨 “I think learning culture may be my secret work obsession.”

KFosterMarks,
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🗨 “I think having agency on a team tends to be indicative of that team having done the work to externalize expectations, and that by doing that folks know they are safe to share disagreement about what constitutes success, and how to gauge that success.”

KFosterMarks,
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🗨 “I also think I’ve often worked in spaces (and this isn’t particularly unique) where the bulk of the work is undocumented. For me, this makes it even harder to advocate for the space to learn, because without documentation the first step is often having to ask someone, and then it isn’t just me who needs some time to tackle some learning debt, it is someone else.”

joshornikx, to random

“The Effects of Language Features and Accents on the Arousal of Psychological Reactance and Communication Outcomes” https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00936502241229883

KFosterMarks,
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@joshornikx The timing of your posting this paper is uncanny for me - I was just helping a dear friend understand why some folks say "woof" instead of "wolf" and, thus, control her anger response 😆

KFosterMarks, to random
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I spent a lot of time reading this weekend, and it got me thinking about epistemology, knowledge acquisition, mental models, and belief systems.

We constantly encounter, evaluate, and integrate new information into our mental models, whether consciously or subconsciously, but we don’t always take the time to re-examine our deeply- and long-held beliefs in the context of that new information.

KFosterMarks,
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I’m curious: What are some beliefs in the context of software work that you’ve re-thought recently?

Might be something related to how software work gets done, or about what it takes to become a great software engineer, or even about yourself as a software practitioner.

Vulnerable sharing always encouraged 😀 ❣️

KFosterMarks,
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@khalidabuhakmeh Oooh in which direction have your beliefs shifted here? You now believe the human elements of software development add more complexity?

KFosterMarks,
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@gvwilson @pauricthelodger

I agree that there's probably A LOT of contextual stuff contributing to any failure/resistance/etc. to adopting better tools or practices. Would be cool to do a study on this - I'd be particularly curious to know what drives (and kills) motivation, as well as how much individual (and even team) agency play a role here.

I happen to know a couple research scientists so I'll pass this idea long to them 😆

KFosterMarks,
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@khalidabuhakmeh Oh gosh, this resonates so much. I couldn't agree with you more. And then you add the layer of any one individual's motivations varying from day to day, week to week, etc.

Your idea here tangentially makes me think about "passion beliefs" - this idea that in order to be a great software dev, you have to be passionate about tech and coding. I think some folks are just genuinely motivated by the great pay and prospects, tho, and probably that's okay?

KFosterMarks,
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@jschuster

I am not familiar with this framework - thanks for sharing! I'll add it to me "to read" list, but in the meantime, what do you like about this as compared to other frameworks or theories of behavior change?

KFosterMarks,
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@gaqzi I love this method of creating small experiments that allow folks to practice, play, apply, vet, etc. I think this also gives folks a sort of permission to take time to learn, which in my experience, is a factor in failed adoption of processes, methods, tech, tools, etc. Folks need time to upskill and build self-efficacy and knowledge before they're going to feel comfortable ditching the thing they already know.

KFosterMarks,
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@jschuster Okay, cool! This is bringing to mind for me @grimalkina recent paper on the role of psychological affordances on intervention success or failure - I think you might really appreciate what Dr. Hicks has to say this paper: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/qz43x

I also wonder if @grimalkina and @CSLee have any recommendations for reading to learn more about theories of behavior change that have been rigorously tested and validated by the scientific community?

KFosterMarks,
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@zackbatist Thanks for the rec! I see this was published nearly 30 years ago - do you think it stands the test of time? (always re-prioritizing a to-read list that I will never have time to get through 😆 )

KFosterMarks,
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@gaqzi Exactly! omg, we're talking the same language here. I spent August of 2022 through first of this month as a sort of technical upskilling specialist for my company's tech org, and I have LOTS of data that sheds some light on The Engagement Problem. And resoundingly, folks consistently ditch "learning work" for what they consider their "real work". So how do we help them see that learning work IS REAL WORK?

KFosterMarks,
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@gaqzi I think that @grimalkina's research on learning culture and learning debt is a must-read in this department. This paper impacted me SO MUCH when I read it ~ 2 years ago. In fact, I reference it so much that I have it bookmarked in my browser 😆

https://www.catharsisinsight.com/_files/ugd/fce7f8_2a41aa82670f4f08a3e403d196bcc341.pdf

KFosterMarks,
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@woo Checking out Obsidian now - looks very cool. I might try this out. To reference my original post, do you find that this tool facilitates "Ah - need to re-examine my belief(s) here, or what I THINK I know..."?

grimalkina, to random
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My dog is so, so, so beyond human ability in his little place cell firing memory. He triangulates every treat and the shortest distance to them in a way I could never, integrating vast amounts of multisensory information in a way I don't have access to.

My dog also tries to walk into the highway at every opportunity. Anyway, LLMs....

KFosterMarks,
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@grimalkina omg I'm dying...YETI! 😂

KFosterMarks, to random
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There’s a lot I agree with in this editorial by @GavinSchwarz in The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (Jan 2023) https://doi.org/10.1177/00218863221144494. I see his argument as validation for the existence of my role working alongside research scientists in the Developer Success Lab.

Schwarz argues that in academia, “Practice-driven work is seen as helpful but is not ‘real’ research—seen instead as useful for consulting and helpful to prove engagement bona fides to meet university metrics and goals.”

KFosterMarks,
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@gvwilson On this problem of translating research findings into practical applications without distorting the science AND losing the audience: It's a hard problem! And totally contextual, I think. In my time teaching academic language and writing to grad students at CSU, with less proficient English language learners, we actually spent time covering what the second language acquisition research says about how to best acquire second languages - was effective and helpful for those learners!

KFosterMarks,
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@gvwilson Let's get it on the calendar! Since you put this on my radar as a need...what? Over a year ago? I've done a lunch learn workshop, an internal Career Week workshop, written this on my blog, and contributed an article to LeadDev - I'm ready to plan and facilitate the 3-ish-hour workshop!

https://www.kristen-foster-marks.com/post/your-engineers-need-communication-skills-part1

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