Pedagogy
Last Updated September 2023
Sam's teaching philosophy, past professional development experiences, and a sampling of student reviews are described on this page.
Teaching Testimonials
Here are some verbatim responses from my end-of-term student evaluations at the University of Oregon over the years:
- Sam was a great [graduate employee] and maybe a even better professor someday. Glad he was our GE because he really brought a different viewpoint
and teaching style to lab and class
- My instructor has been very patient with our class and always makes sure that every single person understands the material. I think he's one
of the best instructors I have had to teach a mathematics course
- Sam Schwartz is probably the best instructor on campus. He is about to communicate his thoughts very well for all to understand. As well as, he
gives very very valuable information on topics that this course doesn't teach us. Such as the world of jobs, research, academia, and programming
as a whole. Sam has completely opened my eyes to the world of computer science and that is the most important thing i learned in this course
entirely.
- Sam gives great feedback and instruction that makes the concepts easy to understand
- Sam was great at explaining hard-to-understand concepts without directly giving you the answer
- Sam always tries to get you to find the answer on your own, but nudges you in the right direction. He is constantly checking in not only to make
sure you're keeping up with the assignment, but that you're doing well in general.
- Details exactly what you did incorrectly and guides you in what you should fix, but does not fix it for you (which is a great and helpful thing!)
- Always answers emails. Every day of the week there are office hours!!
- Sam was very helpful this term. He brought a great attitude and showed that he genuinely cared. He also encouraged interaction from students,
something that has not happened with past instructors in previous terms.
- Love this guy. Great energy and keeps you engaged in whatever he's explaining. Always supportive and encourages questions. Hope I get Sam
again sometime down the line.
- The energy and helpfulness that the instructor brings to the classes really brings the room a lot of energy and makes things much more lively.
They are also able to answer any questions I had very well.
- Great [graduate employee] He really cares about the students and offers a lot of help.
- Sam and his TAs are very friendly and quick responding.
- Sam brought energy to class whatever day and time it was. Really made an impact on me because I felt like I needed to match his energy in class
and lab section
- Sam is a really intelligent and helpful teacher, was a huge aid in my learning the material for this class.
- Sam has been amazing help and explains things very well. He has a very positive attitude and makes the work we do feel important when it
initially didn't.
- Sam does a good job of going around the room and asking the students if they need any help with anything and he also just says hi to everyone
which is really nice because he is checking in to make sure everyone is on the same page. He is also able to clarify any problems or questions that
we may have about our assignments for the week or lab work for the day.
- Best lab I've took so far
- The instructor always seemed excited to teach. It's refreshing to see.
- Sam did a very good job when teaching the lab. He was very engaging and I appreciated his energy. Lab can be boring and he brought the fun to
lab which helped me stay engaged. He also did a great job at clarifying topics that were a bit confusing.
- The instructor will give everyone chance to ask questions and help everyone in this course.
- Sam was always very enthusiastic when teaching the new concepts we were covering each class, and whenever we had questions he was always happy to help.
- Doing a great job to the best of his ability and helped a lot when someone is confused or lost!
- Very helpful to join his labs and he explains things very well
- Sam did a great job making everyone feel welcome and getting questions answered
- The level of detail was helpful from this instructor.
- Very open and communicative.
- was always willing to help out all students in the class, with assignment related issues and any other concerns.
- Sam was very enthusiastic and supportive
- Sam is helpful and willing to explain material in details so you can understand.
- He was a lot of fun.
- This was a very lovely class to come to and I found my time here really helpful.
- I really enjoy working with others and the enthusiasm of Sam.
- Glad he was our GE. Just want to drive home the fact that he brought a very high level of energy and passion for this course and it impacted the students especially in his lab section
- The lab was well run and always engaging.
- Sam did a great job teaching this lab, he was very helpful and was a great instructor.
- Sam is an amazing instructor and helped with any and all questions that I had.
- nice guy, very helpful
- You were always available and ready to help.
- Sam is the goat.
Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy is oriented around using research-backed principles to implement evidence based practices in an iterative manner. I feel that becoming an effective educator is not an end, but rather an ongoing sequence of opportunities to improve oneself professionally.
In undertaking these opportunities, I have been able to acquire a guiding set of beliefs which inform the practical choices I make in constructing the classroom experience. These guiding beliefs, all backed by peer-reviewed research or professional experience, are noted in no particular order below.
Guiding Beliefs
I believe that ...
- Both teaching and learning is an iterative process. The only thing worse than an ineffective instructor is a stagnant one.
- Frequent formal and informal reflection on my own pedagogical practices is crucial.
- Regular, engaged attendance at professional development events geared towards pedagogy is a non-negotiable when I am teaching.
- There is a time to solve problems and a time to be flexible. I have found that it is often best to be flexible.
- I can't learn something until I almost already know it. I believe the same holds true for students. I try to design curricula, individual lectures, and formative and summative assessments accordingly.
- When developing a course as full instructor of record and deciding upon topic sequencing, I try to use backwards design. That is, have a concrete idea of what I want students to do at the end of the course, and work backwards from that cumulating idea to develop course materials.
- Students learn best when there is a system of mentors on which they can rely - both ascribed mentors (e.g., course instructor, lab leaders, tutors) and informal mentors (e.g., peers in the class, roommates, friends).
- The university experience is optimized when students leverage developing relationships to overcome challenges. To that end, relationship formation (whether in the context of small groups of 3-4 with structured and instructor ascribed group roles, or self selected and student directed organizations as appropriate for the course) is to be promulgated.
- Students learn best when they can unpack a topic by themselves or through collaboration with their peers. My role is to facilitate that self-exploration.
- Facilitation of self-led or peer-led exploration includes incorporating techniques such as "think-pair-share", "popcorn selection", "jigsaw group work", and allowing a few moments of time for students to process and internalize after an instructor poses a question.
- The first few days of class are key to setting the tone for the entire course. Course-wide expectations laid out on the first day should be few (five or less), broad, and transparent.
- In the Computer Science context, investigation of wisely chosen case studies, or implementation of choice projects, is a template which can adapted for many types of learning objectives.
- A growth mindset, willingness to try, and active learning environment are strongly enhanced when evaluation criteria for summative assessments is transparently and uniform across students. To that end, providing students copies of rubrics when a summative assessment is assigned is a cornerstone of my courses. These rubrics are delivered with predefined point values attributed to each objective of the assessment.
- When developing assessments and the core deliverable(s) of the assessment is code, a proof, or an algorithm, a template for rubric construction will contain the following components either implicitly or explicitly:
- Validity: Did the deliverable work/was functionally correct.
- Readability: Was the syntax/notation of the deliverable clear and augmented with explanation in an appropriate registrar of English.
- Fluidity: Was the solution executed in such that an experienced practitioner would not find the deliverable weird or unduly jarring.
These three elements are always present in code/project/proof deliverables, so they should each have an explicit categorization in summative assessment rubrics.
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Writing well is thinking well. Students become better at writing by having exposure to writing opportunities. A writing component - even a trite one - should be explicitly included in all formal assessments.
- Having fellow professionals review my teaching by sitting in on classes I instruct and providing actionable feedback is invaluable.
- Trying out new brand new lectures by role playing them with fellow educators (or even an empty room) ahead of time is highly informative for the self-reflection process.
- Proximetics, i.e., the study of spacial location, as an aid to an active learning environment is under-emphasized in higher education. The instructor should actively work to break the three foot barrier between the front of the room and the closest student by moving throughout the lecture. The instructor certainly should not stay stagnant at a lectern.
- Fixed seating is, in general, an impediment to active, peer oriented learning. Rooms with such seating should be avoided at all costs.
Overarching Paradigms
Each of these beliefs are held with two wider frameworks in mind. Namely:
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Identifying the assessment style for a particular objective. This is done by determining the type of assessment as one of the elements in the Cartesian product of {formal assessments, informal assessments} and {formative assessments, summative assessments}.
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Identifying the learning level(s) of a particular objective through using Cangelosi's Learning Level Categorization Schema. This is a peer reviewed alternative to the better known Bloom's Taxonomy. Cangelosi's research is focused on the pedagogy of mathematics and closely related fields.
Both of these frameworks duplicate or extend on topics discussed in the book by James Cangelosi
Teaching Mathematics [...]: an Interactive Approach. Merril, 2003.
Assessment Style
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Formal assessments are assessments which become a part of the student's academic record or final grade in any capacity.
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Informal assessments are assessments which do not become a part of the student's academic record or final grade in any capacity.
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Formative assessments are assessments which are taken when the student is expected to still be learning the concept or objective at hand.
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Summative assessments are assessments which are used to inform an instructor's ultimate judgment of student success.
Examples of Assessments
|
Informal |
Formal |
Summative |
(Not Applicable) |
Anything written and graded. Often includes homework. Definitely includes traditional quizzes and exams, both written or oral. |
Formative |
"By a show of thumbs up or thumbs down, how well do you feel you understand X concept?" |
Certain "Day One" 0 point course preparedness quizzes, iClicker questions linked to Canvas/Blackboard or other educational management system. |
Sources of Past and Present Pedagogical Professional Development
I have primarily received pedagogical training from three programs: