edX Boot Camps
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Tools
I champion best practices to level up UX/UI and front-end teams.
edX Boot Camps offers an accelerated path for students to launch a new career.
This article covers my journey into teaching design and development:
Over 16 higher institutions partner with edX for their UX/UI/FE boot camp. This 24-week intensive program challenges students with six hands-on projects, including mobile apps and responsive websites.
Over the past three years, I've led cohorts at the University of Minnesota and UC Irvine and substituted at 12 other universities. In 2023, students ranked me as one of the top-rated design instructors in the country.
edX partners with universities nationwide to host specialty tech boot camps.
My interest in teaching design started early in my career, with my first apprenticeship. The industry professionals who opened the door for me motivated me to open the door for others.
Leading design team training inspired me to explore teaching.
Before teaching crossed my mind, I went above and beyond in each role to share my expertise and level up my team. Directing design team training inspired me to develop my mentorship skills further.
I reached a tipping point after leading training as a Staff Designer (see my training for Rocket Design System here). Diving into instructional methods encouraged me to move toward teaching formally.
It was only a short time before I worked as a design lead during the day and taught design at night. While working both roles back to back was challenging, I found it hugely rewarding.
Designer by day and design teacher by night.
The irony was that teaching helped me to learn more than ever before. Each lecture and workshop honed my skills in simplifying and socializing design concepts.
The contrast of terrible and great mentors in my past significantly shaped my teaching approach. My former mentors inadvertently taught me the difference between lackluster and practical training.
My technique centers on real-world experience. In every class, I reinforce design principles with anecdotes from the field. Connecting lectures and workshops with case studies helps students build context around the material.
The other critical element of my instructional success is integrating student feedback. Each student has a unique learning style, and collaboration helps strengthen relationships.
I lead instruction with empathy, addressing learner needs and building relationships.
The payoff for the long days and late nights comes from student success. After boot camp, many have established new careers in research, design, front-end development, and product management.
My consistently high ratings earned me a spot as one of the top instructors for UX/UI/FE. Check out these anonymous reviews left by students, edited for clarity.
"Bejoy was a joy and the best instructor I can personally remember. Bejoy walked the class through the lecture and activities while explaining "why" at every point."
"I really like Bejoy's teaching method! Very clear and straightforward!"
"I found the substitute teacher, Bejoy, to be excellent. He spoke clearly, made the content relatable, and his teaching was easy to follow. I learned the most in this class and felt the most prepared/confident about the material taught to me."
"Bejoy was a phenomenal help during our week together. He demonstrated how Bootstrap worked, line by line. He used student projects as an example to show us best practices during coding, and he took the time to listen to our needs during office hours and implemented those insights throughout the lesson. Very appreciative of his time and guidance last week."
"I loved having Bejoy as an instructor."
"Bejoy is a great instructor. He is thorough and extremely considerate when answering questions."
"Instructor Bejoy Thomas has been super resourceful, and I was able to understand concepts at a deeper level."
"Bejoy is truly a joy to learn from."
"Bejoy makes learning coding easy to follow and exciting!"
"I want to thank Bejoy for this exceptional boot camp experience. He's a great instructor, and I appreciate his enthusiasm and care for every student."
I'm honored to have helped hundreds of designers earn their certification and take their first steps into UX, UI, and front-end development. Teaching has let me pass the torch and continue challenging myself.
I've peaked my communication skills through countless lectures, fine-tuning my storytelling and presentations. The practice empowered me to simplify and articulate even complex technical topics.
In each cohort, I directed highly differentiated design teams across multiple projects. I developed my leadership skills, navigating constraints and challenging designers to reach their potential.
In addition to soft skills training, I've also leveled up on hard skills and tool tutorials. Building proficiency with the latest and greatest ensures we keep up with design teams across the market.
In 2024, edX selected me to pilot a bigger and better class design! I'm excited to innovate the boot camp experience and improve student outcomes.
