Coding with Claude Micro-Credential

Coding with Claude Micro-Credential

Duration: 3-4 Hours

Description

Claude has become one of the strongest coding-focused models available, particularly for navigating large, unfamiliar codebases and holding context across a long working session. This session teaches developers to use it as an actual collaborator rather than a fancy autocomplete — through both the API and Claude Code, its command-line agentic coding tool: effective prompting for code generation and debugging, refactoring existing projects without losing track of dependencies, and automating the documentation work most developers put off indefinitely. Participants also cover context management techniques, how to package repeatable expertise as Agent Skills, and how to connect Claude to external tools and data through the Model Context Protocol (MCP) so it gives genuinely useful, project-specific answers instead of generic ones.

Audience

This session is for working developers and engineers with existing coding experience, not a general audience — it assumes participants are already comfortable reading and writing code and want to work faster with an AI assistant, not learn to program with one.

Objectives

  • Understand Claude’s capabilities across the API, Claude Code, and the IDE/CLI
  • Craft precise code prompts to generate and refine code efficiently
  • Use Claude to debug, refactor, and document existing projects
  • Extend Claude with Agent Skills and MCP-connected tools for complex, project-specific tasks

Prerequisites

Participants should have basic to intermediate programming experience in a modern language (such as Python, JavaScript, or Java) and familiarity with standard development tools. No prior AI experience is required, but comfort with APIs and code versioning will enhance the learning experience.

Related AI Courses

See the full AI training roadmap and course directory for how this fits into a broader learning path.

Comparing coding assistants? See Coding with GitHub Copilot Micro-Credential or Coding with Gemini Code Assist Micro-Credential. For a deeper, multi-day treatment of AI-assisted development discipline and workflow, see Vibe Coding: AI-Assisted Development.

Course Outline

Module 1: The Foundations

  • What is Claude? An Introduction for Developers
  • Getting Started with Claude Code and the API
  • The Art of the Code Prompt

Module 2: Practical Applications and Workflows

  • Generating Code from Scratch
  • Debugging with an AI Partner
  • Refactoring and Improving Existing Code
  • Automating Documentation and Comments

Module 3: Advanced Concepts and Project Work

  • Handling Complex Projects with Context and Subagents
  • Extending Claude with Agent Skills and MCP
  • Generating Unit Tests
  • Lab – AI-Assisted Development