Dave Briccetti is an outstanding computer science tutor. He is patient, dependable, articulate, captivating, and passionate. I came into taking AP computer science with no prior skill or knowledge of the subject and I appreciated his teaching approach that both challenged and guided me throughout the year. Furthermore, his ability to simplify complex topics for my comprehension was astounding. He goes above and beyond in his teachings, for instance providing additional resources and tools for greater understanding. After a year of tutoring with Dave I achieved an A grade in a class I wouldn’t have passed without his unconditional dedication and assistance.

— Jo Sakai, Castro Valley, August, 2023

Dave Briccetti is a real community resource. As needed he spans the instruction range between “Hello world video game lab” and “Build a web app using Flask and PostgreSQL” and beyond. His classes are fun yet focused. My son and his friends look forward to spending some of their Saturday time learning with Dave.

— Andrew Klingler, Lafayette

My son and daughter both attended Dave’s class for Python programming for a whole year. I liked his approach - he always wants the children to think and will lead them to the solution. He handled them with great patience. He maintains discipline in the class and educates them about other little things along the way. They both loved it. Dave always ensured that my daughter was included and simplified some of the concept for her benefit. My son has had experience with other teachers too, but he thinks it was Dave who’s class was the most challenging.

— Madhavi Phadnis, Moraga

Private Individual or Self-Formed Group Lessons

I teach students in grades 3 through 12, by videoconference, and in my home in Lafayette, California, just off of Pleasant Hill Road, near Highway 24 and Acalanes High School.

Cost

These lessons, for one to six students, cost $105 per hour. (The cost per hour is the same, regardless of the number of students.) Generally parents create groups with their children and possibly some friends with similar experience and abilities.

Subjects

I teach a wide variety of programming topics.

Languages

I recommend Python, Scala, and TypeScript but can also teach other languages such as JavaScript, Rust, Java, Kotlin, Ruby, C, and C++.

Projects

We do a variety of projects, including:

  • electronic music with Ruby and Sonic Pi
  • games, stories and simulations (video of a dice throw simulation)
    • text adventure games, such as this one written in Scala
  • animation and art with Processing (video)
  • plotting data
  • web applications, such as an adventure game or joke or quote server
  • web clients, such as fetching current weather from the Internet
  • learning about how networking programming works, and learning Internet protocols such as IP, TCP, and HTTP
  • microcontroller (Arduino, Circuit Playground Express) and Raspberry Pi projects (a pumpkin-hacking project)

I show some of these projects in a blog post: One of My Best Classes Ever.

Quality of Instruction

I train my students to write high-quality code, as I write professionally for my clients. I teach them about software engineering principles like DRY.

Ethical Behavior

I encourage and model ethical behavior, for example showing students where to find music, art and sound effects that are public domain or Creative Commons–licensed for our uses, and by crediting those whose work we build upon.

Interviews of Me

A Conversation with Professional Programmer and Educator, Dave Briccetti, on Jared O’Leary’s #CSK8 Podcast

My Teaching Experience

How I Got Started Teaching Kids

YouTube Channel

My YouTube channel contains many lessons for programmers, and interviews with interesting people.