Cong Liu
Ph.D. Candidate
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Teaching Philosophy
I have a strong desire in teaching and interacting with students, which is one of the main reasons I have chosen to pursue an academic career. I have obtained rich teaching experiences in my career so far, through teaching UNC's undergraduate course "Introduction to Programming" as the sole instructor and being a teaching assisstant and co-instructor on several undergraduate and graduate courses. My experiences as a teacher and a student have formed my teaching philosophy. Three elements are key to successful teaching: preparing lectures, showing enthusiasm, and carefully choosing and structuring course materials.
I believe that the most basic but also fundamental element to effective teaching is preparation. Good preparation with respect to slides ensures clarity, and avoids muddled slides, vague examples, and ambiguous description. Good preparation with respect to lectures encourages clarity and conciseness in conveying ideas. Moreover, In order to provoke students' interests and passion in learning, professors have to demonstrate passion in teaching and advising. Showing enthusiasm in lectures helps to keep students actively engaged. Influenced by such enthusiasm, students may truly become interested in the course and believe that the subject is important and worthy of effort. Last but not the least, carefully choosing and structuring course materials is important to engage students. Topics should be selected and structured to help students acquire an understanding of not only the ``how'' but also the ``why'' of the underlying principles, and the ways in which such principles are connected. I believe that the students' needs should be paramount when selecting course materials. Such needs shall be found out through pre-course surveys, in-class questions, and frequently asking for their feedback. In this way students may feel that they are an integral part of the course, and thus become more active and engaged.
I believe that the most basic but also fundamental element to effective teaching is preparation. Good preparation with respect to slides ensures clarity, and avoids muddled slides, vague examples, and ambiguous description. Good preparation with respect to lectures encourages clarity and conciseness in conveying ideas. Moreover, In order to provoke students' interests and passion in learning, professors have to demonstrate passion in teaching and advising. Showing enthusiasm in lectures helps to keep students actively engaged. Influenced by such enthusiasm, students may truly become interested in the course and believe that the subject is important and worthy of effort. Last but not the least, carefully choosing and structuring course materials is important to engage students. Topics should be selected and structured to help students acquire an understanding of not only the ``how'' but also the ``why'' of the underlying principles, and the ways in which such principles are connected. I believe that the students' needs should be paramount when selecting course materials. Such needs shall be found out through pre-course surveys, in-class questions, and frequently asking for their feedback. In this way students may feel that they are an integral part of the course, and thus become more active and engaged.
Teaching Experience
Sole Instructor: COMP110-001 Introduction to Programming, UNC chapel hill, summer 2012.
Course website is available here.
Teaching Assistant: COMP750 Algorithm Analysis, UNC chapel hill, Fall 2010.
co-Instructor: COMP4300 Computer Architecture, Auburn University, Fall 2007.
Teaching Assistant: COMP4300 Computer Architecture, Auburn University, Fall 2005 - Spring 2008. COMP 3350 Assembly Language Programming, Auburn University, Fall 2006 - Spring 2008.
COMP 3510 Embedded Systems, Auburn University, Fall 2007.