When i was blocked on a simple problem & elegantly solved a problem:
I came across problems quite often during the Kata challenges and because through repetition we are meant to improve, i'm not sure if i am, especially solving functions and writing out my own code. I beileve i may be overcomplicating the way i think about and write code because it all seems so impossible sometimes, which then makes me nervous for the stretch challenges because even the mandatory challenges right now are challenging! Although, in some of the challenges i felt really good about, it's always tough when you can't figure out problems in a timely manner.
There was a point during the super-Fizzbuzz challenge where i tried to use a regular for loop but it wasn't running so i checked out other types of loops on google, which led me to using the for..of loop. I learnt that google is fantastic for deciphering what you should try and use and when to use it!
How confident i feel using each of the problem-solving techniques:
I frequently used google/youtube which made me understand concepts a little better and showed me some solutions that were very beneficial.
Pseudocode was probably the one i felt worked the best for me, being able to write step by step what i think should be happening was great! Like i said above, i still feel disappointed that most times i can't really write my own code when it comes to functions due to something not clicking in my brain yet. However; if i found solutions that worked, i tried noting down what i thought was happening step by step and i think in the long run that will be very beneficial for me.
Checking the discord tech-questions channel was a great source if i couldn't figure out how to write my own code. I noticed that even though i found some working code solutions on there that i could use, my initial thinking/way of going about it wasn't too far off which was promising! It's hard not to feel disappointed in yourself if you have to try and find some answers without writing your own code though.
Asking peers/facilitators for help if i couldn't figure it out after awhile. It's always daunting asking for help, especially if you see that you're the only one asking that question. There is for sure an insecurity there because you think everyone else is getting it and you aren't. But struggling by yourself is harder which i learnt. Although i was proud of my persistance and desire to figure it out, i learnt that if i had asked for help sooner i would have had a working solution hours prior.
I started to use console.log() a lot more which definitely helped understand some sections where it was coming back as 'undefined' etc. I also tried different things and also reflected on processes after the code had worked to gain a better understanding of what was happening. Still a long way to go!
The one i haven't really used at the moment is the rubber ducky method, although when attempting JavaScript i feel like a rubber ducky and i talk to myself so does that count?
Reflection on a time i was reluctant to ask for help:
In the gradebook challenge in part four i wrote out the code properly on my very first line but when running the checks i must've missed that i got it correct. I then took hours writing out random code and going down rabbit-holes which led know where and made me feel ignorant and that i couldn't do it. I know i should've asked for help sooner because when i eventually did, Michael was able to tell me that the VERY FIRST ANSWER i had was correct... at least i laughed about it after, but shows the importance of reaching out to people for help. I think i need to try it for a certain amount of time and then just ask for help when i get stuck regardless if i feel silly for not being able to get the answer correct right now. It'll come in time!