{"id":1880,"date":"2009-08-03T00:10:35","date_gmt":"2009-08-03T08:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ultrasaurus.com\/?p=1880"},"modified":"2009-08-03T00:10:35","modified_gmt":"2009-08-03T08:10:35","slug":"psychology-of-abundance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ultrasaurus.com\/2009\/08\/psychology-of-abundance\/","title":{"rendered":"psychology of abundance"},"content":{"rendered":"

The August Ruby on Rails Outreach Workshop for Women<\/a> was great success with 50 people attending including a few men who reached out to a woman to bring them along or came as a guest.\u00a0 We had a record turnout of over 20 volunteers, which made a huge difference to the workshop running smoothly.\u00a0 Sarah Mei<\/a> and I still led the charge, but it was easier to be more organized with lead volunteer Ilen Zazueta-Hall<\/a> on the team.\u00a0 SlideShare<\/a> again lent their offices for our teacher prep meeting.\u00a0 With the help of our amazing sponsors, Pivotal Labs<\/a>, Engine Yard<\/a> and Heroku<\/a>, along with some last minute additional food by the awesome Triptych Restaurant<\/a>, we were in a comfortable workspace with plenty of food and drink for the important in-between and after times when people can connect with each other and ask questions informally.<\/p>\n

I believe that establishing an environment of abundance is key to creating a successful learning experience and springboard for future exploration.\u00a0 Certain individuals in our society come from a background where they have abundant resources and connections. They know that if they get stuck, they can call someone; if they need something, they can get it; if they fall, someone will be there to catch them or at least help them get back up.\u00a0 Women (and under-represented minorities and some white men) aren’t typically in that situation, particularly in tech.\u00a0 I believe that having to struggle for access to resources and support is a key factor that leads to our taking fewer risks, innovating less, founding fewer tech companies and leaving (or never entering) the field.<\/p>\n

In both workshops so far, we have been able to create an environment where a group can, for at last a day and a half, have every advantage and full access to resources.\u00a0 Several women approached me at the end of the event to say that they found the environment very conducive to learning, more so than other events they had attended or in learning on their own.\u00a0 Research in learning suggests some reasons why.\u00a0 When people are anxious, they retain less of what they learn.\u00a0 People learn more effectively in social situations, and the best learning happens when you can learn by playing.<\/p>\n

There are a number of aspects to the workshop, both planned and unplanned, that I believe led to a comfortable, playful environment that was particularly conducive to learning:<\/p>\n