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I'm both a CS professor and former ski instructor (in Europe). As I was reading this thread, I realized that I've never had a single lesson on how to teach CS,

I'm both a CS professor and former ski instructor (in Europe). As I was reading this thread, I realized that I've never had a single lesson on how to teach CS, and besides my students, nobody has ever gave me any feedback on my teaching. On the other hand, to become a ski instructor, I went on a rather extensive training with a lot of emphasis on pedagogy.

anonymous5133 8y ago
No one has ever gave you feedback on your teaching because you've never surveyed your students.
- ascar 8y ago
  He said he got feedback from his students, but not from anyone else (e.g. more senior professors).
- mikekchar 8y ago
  Not the OP, but when I was teaching, surveying my students was a technique that a colleague introduced to me. It was probably the best thing I ever did. I handed out a small sheet of paper to all the students at the beginning of class with some multiple choice questions and a space for general comments and asked for it back at the end. They didn't have to fill it in. I just told them if they get bored in class, just jot down whatever. Usually I think about 20% of the forms were filled in any class, but the info on them was really amazing. Since I did it every class, the students soon got used to it. Kills a lot of trees, though :-) In defence of the OP, though, students can seem some parts of the teaching process. They can't see all of it and they definitely do not have the experience to provide good advice. Looking at surveys, you've potentially got good data, but you need to translate that into good action. What a student imagines will work and what will actually work is often very, very different. This is why you need help from experienced teachers. I was lucky to work in a situation where I did "team teaching" a lot -- two teachers in the same class room. It's incredible what you can learn in that situation -- either just watching the other teacher handle a situation, or getting feedback on what you are doing.
dangwu 8y ago
Skiing is very dangerous in comparison to programming
- bo1024 8y ago
  Skiing is dangerous to oneself (and a few others) ... programming can be dangerous to the entire world.
  - meesterdude 8y ago
    > programming can be dangerous to the entire world. Tell that to the google employees

anonymous5133 8y ago

No one has ever gave you feedback on your teaching because you've never surveyed your students.

ascar 8y ago
He said he got feedback from his students, but not from anyone else (e.g. more senior professors).
mikekchar 8y ago
Not the OP, but when I was teaching, surveying my students was a technique that a colleague introduced to me. It was probably the best thing I ever did. I handed out a small sheet of paper to all the students at the beginning of class with some multiple choice questions and a space for general comments and asked for it back at the end. They didn't have to fill it in. I just told them if they get bored in class, just jot down whatever. Usually I think about 20% of the forms were filled in any class, but the info on them was really amazing. Since I did it every class, the students soon got used to it. Kills a lot of trees, though :-) In defence of the OP, though, students can seem some parts of the teaching process. They can't see all of it and they definitely do not have the experience to provide good advice. Looking at surveys, you've potentially got good data, but you need to translate that into good action. What a student imagines will work and what will actually work is often very, very different. This is why you need help from experienced teachers. I was lucky to work in a situation where I did "team teaching" a lot -- two teachers in the same class room. It's incredible what you can learn in that situation -- either just watching the other teacher handle a situation, or getting feedback on what you are doing.

dangwu 8y ago

Skiing is very dangerous in comparison to programming

bo1024 8y ago
Skiing is dangerous to oneself (and a few others) ... programming can be dangerous to the entire world.
- meesterdude 8y ago
  > programming can be dangerous to the entire world. Tell that to the google employees