Learn, Apply, Teach & Repeat

my Teaching Philosophy & Why I teach

Learning is a life-long pursuit that we as individuals engage in. It starts off at home, moves to the classroom and changes form multiple times as we grow and pursue our goals. As an Instructor, I believe that my primary role is to acknowledge my students’ intellect and their desire to learn while identifying the means through which they learn the most effectively. With this knowledge, an Instructor can go beyond just delivering course content and working through a curriculum. He or she may plant the seeds of intrinsic motivation and equip students with the tools they need to grow and learn beyond the classroom.

My teaching philosophy is very strongly tied to my own personal journey as a student. As someone who has spent a significant amount of time in the classroom studying Computer Science, Animation, and Digital Media, I’ve found myself drawn to a career in Teaching and Game Development. While pursuing my graduate studies at the Centre for Digital Media, I chose to enroll in a Teaching Digital Media elective that gave me my first taste of teaching and since then has stuck with me. Even now, as a professional Game Developer I find myself returning to the classroom environment, although this time as an Instructor.

Teaching Experience

INSTRUCTOR: UNDER THE GUI (UTG) ACADEMY

As an Instructor at Under The GUI I teach children and young adults who are in Grades 3-12 the fundamentals of Programming through Game Development in C# (Unity Game Engine) and Python (Pixelpad) in a classroom environment . I’ve also been featured in an Instructor Spotlight.

Currently working with existing curricula to teach the following subjects:

• PY201 & PY202 : Python Intermediate Parts 1 & 2

• PY301 : Python Advanced

• UN401 & UN402: Unity Beginners Parts 1 & 2

• UN 501: Unity Intermediate Part 1

INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT: CENTRE FOR DIGITAL MEDIA

At Projects 1, my primary responsibility was to create a constructive and fun environment conducive to learning. I supported the Instructor by facilitating in-class activities, supplementing lectures through white-boarding, and providing 1-on-1 mentoring to student project teams.

I was responsible for guiding student teams towards identifying pain points and hurdles in their project, and encouraging them to find creative technical solutions. Student progress and feedback was also communicated back to the Instructors.

ACADEMIC GUIDE: UBC EXTENDED LEARNING

As an Academic Guide for UBC’s International Graduate Study Preparation Program (IGSPP), I provided 1-on-1 face to face mentoring for ESL students pursuing graduate studies in Digital Media and Design.

Over a 15-week period, I was responsible for creating a curriculum tailored to each student that prepared them for graduate studies and introduced them to their field by acting as a ‘Shadow Professor’ for an online-course of their choosing. Student progress was assessed through 2 graded assessments and via their graduate school application progress,