Teaching Statement

Mathematics and Computer Science are seen as hard and from a different world to individuals in different fields of study. With the number of students entering these fields dwindling, this perception is becoming a widespread problem. Teaching gives me the opportunity to help students see that mathematics and computer science are not impossible to understand.

In computer science (as well as mathematics), there is a process that the students must learn. Students can memorize particular examples, but they cannot solve new problems unless they have learned the process of how to solve the problems. My teaching style emphasizes that the material should be understood, not memorized.

Teaching Experiences

• Computational Geometry Co-Instructor, Spring 2013

  Course in progress.

• CPS102: Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science Co-Instructor, Spring 2009

  I co-instructed this course with Herbert Edelsbruner. We created a set of Lecture Notes that we made available to the students. After each lecture that I taught, I created and assigned one or two corresponding homework problems. I also worked on creating the tests and the final exam with Herbert.

• CPS001: An Overview of Computer ScienceTeaching Observer, Spring 2008

  I was responsible for overseeing the labs that accompany this class as well as coordinating the seven undergraduate teaching assistants. I taught the two lectures. I dedicated one of these lectures to teaching the students debugging techniques since I noticed that many students had difficulty tracing through loops and using a debugger. In preparation for teaching a future course (Discrete Mathematics), I observed teaching techniques in this class.

  This was the first semester the course was taught in Python (previous semsters were taught in Java). During the lab that accompanied the course, we adapted many of the Java labs to Python. Due to the simplicity of the RSA encryption algorithm, and the difficulty of creating a Graphical User Interface in Python, I re-structured the RSA lab entirely. The new prelab and lab allow the students to create an encryption algorithm, as well as to demonstrate their ability to recognize algorithms in code written by someone else.

• Calculus III Grader and Mentor, Spring 2006- Spring 2007 at Saint Joseph's University (SJU).

  I graded the homeworks, as well as worked one-on-one with students who were struggling in the class. While grading, I identified weaknesses that students had and reported them to the professor.

• Business Calculus. Recitation leader Spring 2004 at SJU.

  I replaced the professor for one lecture each week. I would use 30 minutes to answered questions that students might have from the previous week, and 30 minutes to introduce a new topic that will come up shortly in lecture. This class was designed for students who had a weak mathematics background.