Seminars & Colloquia
Suzanne Balik
NC State University
"Computer Science Education in Practice"
Thursday May 22, 2014 09:30 AM
Location: 3211, EBII NCSU Centennial Campus
(Visitor parking instructions)
Ralph Waldo Emerson tells us that the one 'who can make hard things easy is the educator.' My overarching goal as a computer science educator is to make difficult concepts easier to understand. I relate new concepts to students' prior knowledge, as recommended by Dr. James Zull in his book, The Art of Changing the Brain, and provide a diverse set of learning experiences to meet the needs of students with varied learning styles. I incorporate problem-solving activities and maintain a classroom environment that is conducive to learning. In my talk, I will expand upon my teaching practice with examples from courses I have taught. I will also give a sample lecture on Universal Software Accessibility - Computer Use for Everyone, adapted from my CS1 course.
Suzanne Balik is a Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University, where she has taught a wide variety of courses over the past fourteen years. Her experience teaching automata theory to a blind student and her subsequent interaction with another blind student in her programming course inspired her dissertation research, which focused on making combinatorial graphs accessible to blind people in a universal way. Suzanne has also taught AP computer science courses at Ravenscroft School, worked as a Graduate Assistant - Accessibility Developer at SAS Institute, and developed and managed the development of computer applications as a Senior Analyst/Programmer at Diamond Shamrock Corporation. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Grove City College, a Master of Computer Science (MCS) from NC State, and will receive her Ph.D. in Computer Science from NC State in August 2014.
Host: Dennis Bahler, Computer Science, NCSU