Introduction to Classes and Objects in Python

Abstract: In this teaching demonstration, we will discuss classes and objects in Python as would be part one of a multi-lecture topic for an intro programming course. We will cover the basic terminology around classes and objects, how to create objects from user-defined classes, and how to use objects to accomplish various tasks. We will also do a debugging exercise based off of a bug students commonly face when first learning about classes and objects. At the end, I will discuss more about my research behind the debugging exercise.

Bio:

I am a PhD candidate in Computer Science advised by Professor Geoffrey Herman in the Computers and Education research area at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). I also received my MS in Computer Science from UIUC and my BS in Computer Science from the University of Kansas (after starting as a Film and German double-major with zero computing experience). My research focuses on testing and debugging education and computer-based collaborative learning. I have teaching experience across a wide array of courses including intro programming for both majors and non-majors, basic data structures, programming languages and compilers, graduate-level software engineering, and teaching assistant training. I am also playing a significant part in the ongoing course restructure and redesign project for UIUC’s introductory programming for science and engineering majors course and I received the School’s Outstanding Teaching Assistant award for my work supporting the course in the Spring 2024 semester.