As a researcher in Computer Science, it is my responsibility to play a role in the discovery of new knowledge. As a teacher, however, I believe an even greater responsibility is the perpetuation of the field and its current body of knowledge. Teaching allows me to promote the discipline to which I have devoted a significant portion of my life, and to show people the beauty of computation in terms of science, technology, and mathematics.

As a person who is committed to teaching, an important question that I have repeatedly asked myself is: how do people learn? My experience has led me to believe that there exist two main factors which influence learning - the independent construction of new knowledge by the student and the student's motivation to participate in this construction. I believe that these two forces are not completely independent and can strongly influence one another.

As a teacher, it is my duty to provide the opportunity for the student to independently construct knowledge. I believe that to do this effectively, one must go beyond lecturing and design activities that are geared toward the personal discovery and understanding of the material. Homework assignments and projects should provide an opportunity for the student to either creatively find answers to new questions by associating seemingly disparate conceptual ideas; better yet, they should be designed so that the students use what they have learned to come up with their own questions!

Surprising to me, I have found that the methodology described above tends to motivate students in extraordinary ways, helping cultivate the second force that influences learning. Students who have been successful in building their own body of knowledge tend to have much more confidence in their understanding and a more vested interest in the material. More confidence and interest motivates a student to work harder on in-class activities, assignments, and homeworks. Assignments can then be made more challenging, which allows the student to build more knowledge and confidence. If the educator is careful and creative, this cycle of knowledge construction yielding motivation yielding knowledge construction snowballs into a very successful learning experience. This is how excellent, challenging courses are borne and how average students become outstanding students.

Computer Science is still a relatively new discipline and there is no clear concensus on how these two factors can be introduced into an undergraduate curriculum. In terms of classroom activities that allow knowledge to be constructed, I have found that problem solving sessions, thought experiments, physical demonstrations and discussions tend to be most successful. Since writing plays a fundamental role in knowledge construction, I have also integrated out-of-class and in-class writing assignments into my courses. As far as motivation is concerned, the most important thing that I can do is be enthusiastic and excited about the material that I teach, which comes naturally to me because I love Computer Science and truly believe that it is a field that has so much to offer the world.

I also pride myself on inventing project assignments that are very motivating. I do this by giving the students the opportunity to express their creativity or show off their skills. For example, I often make programming projects very flexible by creating a "skeleton" of an assignment. This usually consists of some minimal set of requirements and a goal. Student are then allowed to "invent" the rest of the assignment based on their skills and interests. I provide direction and guidance over the duration of the assignment, often helping the student to flesh out ideas and assisting with some of the more difficult details during office hours. This has been very successful at motivating students to challenge themselves. In fact, I have been told that students do things on my assignments that other instructors and professors thought would be impossible in introductory courses.

By introducing these two factors into a Computer Science curriculum, it is my hope that my students will leave my classes as better learners and better people. Indeed, I think that teaching is one of the few professions that allow a human to have a positive, lasting impact on society and culture. The fact that I play such a significant role in the development and the cultivation of knowledge is a responsibility that I take very seriously and will always cherish.