Teaching Philosophy
In computing, as in many other technical fields, learning should be exciting. Teachers should present the course material in such an interesting way that the students are excited to learn. For most computing courses, there are ways to present the material to spark the students interests, and keep their attention. However, there are some courses most students find uninteresting. In these situations, to ensure student engagement and learning, the instructor must present the "dry" material in an interesting manner. There is something engaging to be presented in every field of computing; it is just a matter of taking the time to present the material in such a way.
To be an effective educator, a teacher must acknowledge the diversity of needs for a wide range of computing courses and audiences. In computing, there are introductory courses, senior design courses, major courses, minor courses, non-major audiences, and elective courses. The goals of these courses range from basic knowledge of computing applications, to problem solving and design of computing applications, and students in each of these courses enroll with different mindsets. In addition, senior elective and graduate seminar classes provide students with extended knowledge in a specific subject, and often involve special projects. I manage senior level classes as more project based, while introductory courses are more application based. Typically, students in lower level classes require more guidance and explanations to build their knowledge base. Ultimately, the goal for any computing course is for students to be knowledgeable about the field, and how to apply that knowledge in the real world.
I feel that students learn best when the teacher understands the audience of learners. By understanding the different types of students that are in a course, teachers can effectively prepare lectures for different learning styles. Diverse students learn a variety of different ways, at different paces. Some students are visual learners, some students are auditory learners, and other students learn by doing. The goal is to teach course material utilizing various methods to address these different learning styles. This involves going beyond PowerPoint presentation-based lectures to provide illustrative, practical examples and group activities.
My Instructional Experiences
I have had the privilege of being a teaching assistant for several courses, while earning both my undergraduate, and graduate degrees. As an undergraduate, I led a laboratory course on Introductory Microprocessors. Students in this course designed, implemented, and tested software for hardware devices. My love for programming led me to be a successful instructor in this laboratory course, and ultimately became the reason I pursued an advanced degree in Computing.
While obtaining my master and doctoral degrees at Auburn University, I was a graduate teaching assistant for a variety of courses, including an introductory course to personal applications for all non-computing majors, an introductory engineering course for pre-engineering majors, and a graduate level course in voting systems and policy. The personal applications course enrolled a majority of freshman students, and focused on the fundamentals of Microsoft Office Applications. The introductory engineering course exposed students to computing through the use of the Alice application. For these courses, I provided the lectures for the sections for which I taught, and graded and proctored homework assignments and exams. I also created projects and assignments for the pre-engineering students. In the voting systems and policy course, I co-taught with a faculty member, and assisted students with human subject studies.
Teaching Competence
I have the knowledge and skills required to teach fundamental computing courses, and am interested in specialization courses including, but not limited to:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- User Interface Design
- Spoken Language Systems
- Database Systems
My Career Preparation
Preparing Future Faculty Program
I am currently a part of Auburn University's Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) Program. The goal of this program is "to prepare future faculty to meet the challenges of the 21st Century by increasing Auburn University graduate student readiness to assume faculty roles, helping graduate students understand the expectations and functional realities of faculty life, developing wider institutional and personal networks, and making graduate study even more responsive to disciplinary and professional needs." Through this program, I have become better prepared to be a faculty member by increasing my knowledge of the duties and lifestyle of a professor, and by further developing the skills I will need to succeed. Being a PFF Fellow will undoubtedly enhance my career as a professor of computer science.