Kevin R. Parker, Ph.D.

I believe that students, undergraduates in particular, learn best in a structured environment. Without prior experience with a topic, students often find ambiguity more intimidating than inspiring. Students are more confident when they know where they have been, where they are, and where they are going in a course, because that allows them to see how the subject material fits together into a coherent whole. In a structured environment, students know what is expected of them and can perform accordingly.

Students also learn better in a relaxed environment. Students must feel free to ask questions without being judged, ridiculed, or intimidated. Furthermore, students should be encouraged to provide feedback on what is, and what is not, working in a class. Most importantly, students should know that their education is a partnership, and that the professor earnestly wants them to learn.

Students are characterized by various learning styles. Some learn by seeing, some by hearing, and others by doing. A professor must try to incorporate a variety of approaches in his or her lectures and assignments to connect with each type of learner. A professor must bear in mind that their personal learning style will not be optimal for all students.

I often view teaching IT as providing a student with a set of tools and teaching them how to use them. Because technology evolves so quickly, the professor must focus on concepts rather than specific applications. To continue with the toolkit analogy, if you teach someone how to use a screwdriver they will be able to transfer that knowledge to any screwdriver, whether it is a slotted screwdriver, a Phillips screwdriver, or a Torx screwdriver. Likewise, teaching a student the concepts of sequence, selection, and iteration in a programming class will allow them to apply those concepts to any programming language by making slight changes to the syntax. If the focus is on concepts, however, students must be taught how to find details about the implementation of those concepts when required to use a particular IT tool—in effect, they should be taught how to locate pertinent resources independently and how to comprehend them. Such skills are highly valued by employers. An employee who is self-reliant is preferable to one who requires constant guidance.

When I conceptualize teaching I reflect on the master teachers who have taught me compassion, encouragement, motivation and scholarship. I consider it a blessing to have been taught by so many outstanding educators, and I base my teaching style on their examples. A teacher must care about the students, take the time to learn their names and a little something about them, and be always willing to assist students without doing the work for them. A teacher should know his or her material thoroughly, but also be able to engage the student so as to share a love of learning. A teacher must strive to keep students engaged and engrossed even when the material is dry and technical. And finally, a teacher should be someone that the students can hold in the highest regard and emulate. A teacher is a facilitator, a motivator, and a mentor to those students who have come to them for an education.

Student goals for every class must be clearly established and provided to the students on the first day of class. When I attended the Georgia State Master Teacher Program they stressed the importance of providing objectives that span the three major learning levels – the Knowledge Level, the Meaningful-Integrated Level, and the Critical Thinking Level.

My programming courses teach students analytical skills – how to analyze a problem, break it down into its component parts, and devise a solution. Such problem solving skills are critical in the real world. Toward this end, students are required to solve a variety of programming assignments. Those assignments increase in complexity as the semester progresses, in the process expanding and strengthening students’ problem solving and analytical skills.

Students learn to analyze more complex systems and design a solution in my Analysis and Design and Database courses. The projects cover well over half the semester, and students are required to manage their time accordingly. In order to provide them with a means of managing both the current and future large projects, I teach them to break the project into deliverables, each with a specific task and target date. Further, students perform the projects as part of a team, since industry stresses so highly the ability to interact effectively in a team environment. While it is important that students understand the analysis approaches and modeling techniques that are taught in each class, those approaches change as IT evolves. However, the basic concepts of how to analyze and build a system or database, why it should be modeled and how to go about it, how to manage a large project by scheduling intermediate deliverables, and how to interact with others are critical skills when students enter the workforce.

My classes are highly structured, with course objectives and a lecture schedule clearly spelled out in each syllabus. I prepare extensively for every lecture, thoroughly researching the topic and preparing a set of notes that I post on the web. I make it a point to know every topic thoroughly in spite of the ever-changing nature of IS. I also review journal submissions as well as textbooks in the areas in which I teach in order to stay current with changing technology. When assigning exercises, I carefully write the assignment so that it reflects realistic situations, and then I do the assignment myself in order to be sure that the directions are complete, and to insure that students do not encounter unintended difficulties. Once assignments are submitted, I generally provide a fully documented solution so that students can review the correct solution almost immediately. As noted earlier, my course projects are modularized into intermediate deliverables with individual due dates.

Even when highly structured, classes can be fun. I enjoy interacting with students and I think that they learn better in a relaxed environment. One of my strengths as a teacher has always been my ability to develop a strong rapport with students. I remember clearly my days as an undergraduate, and I can empathize with students. Students know that I care about them, and they often respond by working harder. I always learn each student’s name as quickly as possible so I can greet them in the halls or know who they are when they ask a question in class. When students miss consecutive class meetings I often send them an e-mail message to check on them. There are no anonymous or unimportant students in my classes.

Students are encouraged to provide constructive feedback. Students developed the Peer Evaluation form that I use to assess student contributions to the team projects. One former class did not like the form that I developed, so I challenged them to design a new form. Students also helped devise a grading system for the course projects. I always welcome constructive suggestions, and even provide an Anonymous Course Comment form on each class web page for students who prefer not to make suggestions directly. Giving students an opportunity to help shape a course gives them a sense of ownership and empowers and motivates them.

I also strive to be highly available to students, even outside of office hours. I am almost always available by e-mail, even during the late night hours when students are more likely to working on their homework. My office hours are generally very busy, as both current and former students drop by to visit or ask advice.

I am a very demanding professor, but I place even higher demands on myself. I received an excellent undergraduate degree in the computing sciences from the University of Texas at Austin, and I see no reason why I should not provide my students with an education of comparable quality. I am passionate about my job. I find it so rewarding when former students write to tell me that they are making a good impression on their employers, and they attribute it to my teaching. To know that you have had a positive impact on even one individual’s life makes all the hard work and preparation worth the effort.