Teaching Faculty Candidate Seminar: Saquib Razak

Zoom link for remote participants.  Passcode:  343250

Abstract: Since this is a teaching demo, I will be talking about Binary Search Tree as taught in EECS 281 or maybe in EECS280. This will be in a lecture format as I would teach it in a real class. I will also talk about my research in the last 15 minutes. My research talk will be about CS education. Here is a little background on my research:  Throughout my teaching career, I have been intrigued by how students learn in general, and more specifically, how students learn to program. I believe that students’ approach to solving a programming problem might be an insight into how they approach problems in general. Hence, equipping students with good problem solving skills can help them perform better in whichever field or profession they choose.

I have spent the last ten years studying methodologies to teach computing and computational thinking starting from Middle school students, all the way to introductory programming courses typically offered to first year students in universities.

My research focuses on designing and evaluating curriculum content to  help students learn algorithmic thinking, logical reasoning, abstraction, and programming – four main components of problem solving techniques. I investigate techniques to train teachers in teaching computational thinking in schools and using technology to improve student learning of other subjects. I also work on designing intelligent programming tutors to assist in student learning of computing  at scale.

Bio: Saquib Razak is an Associate Teaching Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. He completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science from State University of New York, Binghamton in 2009. He has a BS and an MS degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Texas, Austin. Saquib worked as an Embedded Software Engineer at Motorola Inc. for eight years before moving to academia. He is involved in Computer Science Education research – specifically working on ways to incorporate CS education in Middle School curricula.  His research interests include Computer Science Education, Embedded Systems, Internet of Things and sensor networks.