loi.tex: Adjust for the City University of Seattle

diff --git a/loi.tex b/loi.tex
index 1135a6837cf49d52387ac7218f34ef7a726a66a9..636a9b46fd487524a98ed6b5b405ac848829ac14 100644 (file)
--- a/loi.tex
+++ b/loi.tex
@@ -56,21 +56,20 @@
 \begin{document}
 
 \begin{letter}{
-  District Human Resources Office \\
-  Pierce College \\
-  1601 39th Avenue SE \\
-  Puyallup, Washington 98374}
+  City University of Seattle \\
+  521 Wall Street \\
+  Suite 100 \\
+  Seattle, WA 98121}
 
 \opening{Sir or Madam,}
 
-Thank you for reviewing my application for the position of Adjunct
-Professor of Mathematics.  Over my years working on my Ph.D. studies
-at Drexel University, I have been looking forward to teaching at an
-undergraduate-oriented college.  I look forward to working at a school
-such as Pierce which clearly has a strong commitment to teaching
-excellence and teacher training.  Besides teaching mathematic, I am
-also interested in advancing the science of teaching.  Over the past
-year I have been active in the
+Thank you for reviewing my application for the position of Part-time
+Teaching Faculty in Information Systems.  Over my years working on my
+Ph.D. studies at Drexel University, I have had a number of ``why
+didn't anyone tell me about $x$ sooner'' moments, and I look forward
+to sharing my hard-won experience with a host of new recruits.
+Besides teaching computing, I am also interested in advancing the
+science of teaching.  Over the past year I have been active in the
 \href{http://software-carpentry.org/}{Software Carpentry}
 organization, which trains scientists around the world in current
 software development and data management techniques.  Software
@@ -80,16 +79,69 @@ Carpentry
 a boot boot camp at the University of Washington, and I look forward
 to continuing this outreach in the Puget Sound area.
 
-I have always had a strong interest in math, and early in my career I
-was able to devote enough time to the subject to double-major in math
-and physics.  I have especially fond memories of my number theory and
-formal logic courses at Colgate, as well as complex analysis during my
-semester in Wales.  As I advanced through my graduate training, there
-was less time to devote directly to formal math, but I taught myself a
-good deal of statistics in support of my research (especially the
-Gumbel distribution\citep{king10,king13}).  Physics and math are bound
-tightly together, and I look forward to returning to the analytical
-side of this pairing.
+While I have not yet been in a position to design my own courses, I
+have enjoyed building some supportive tools.  Over the past several
+years, I have developed an open source
+\href{http://blog.tremily.us/posts/Course_website/}{course website
+  framework} and
+\href{http://git.tremily.us/?p=course.git;a=tree;f=asymptote;hb=HEAD}{graphics
+  libraries} for illustrating
+\href{http://blog.tremily.us/posts/Course_website/Mechanics-test.svg}{mechanics},
+\href{http://blog.tremily.us/posts/Course_website/ElectroMag-test.svg}{electricity
+  and magnetism},
+\href{http://blog.tremily.us/posts/Course_website/Circ-test.svg}{circuits},
+and
+\href{http://blog.tremily.us/posts/Course_website/stickfigure-test.svg}{stick
+  figures}.  I've also designed the
+\href{https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pygrader}{pygrader} framework for
+collecting and grading homework assignments that students submit via
+email and the \href{https://pypi.python.org/pypi/quizzer}{quizzer}
+framework for managing online quizzes and surveys.  These tools will
+make it easier for me to maintain class notes, homework, tests, and
+lecture material, which gives me more time to focus on engaging
+students directly.  Downloadable class notes also give students more
+time to focus on the concepts and applications instead of focusing on
+transcription.  I look forward to tying these pieces together and
+building cohesive courses to introduce new students to computing.
+
+While I have a long history of interest in science and mathematics, it
+was my scientific research that lead to my interest in computing and
+electronics.  I have fond memories of building digital circuits in my
+electronics and instrumentation course at Colgate, but my interest in
+computing really took off as I moved into the open source ecosystem
+while automating single molecule protein unfolding
+experiments\citep{king10,king13}.  I have spent the last few years up
+to my elbows in an open source experiment control stack\citep{king13}
+as well as developing and troubleshooting the associated electronics
+hardware.  On the side, I've spent a bit of time tinkering with
+microcontrollers such as the
+\href{http://www.atmel.com/devices/atmega32u4.aspx}{ATMega32u4}.  I
+look forward to leveraging this interest in open source software and
+inexpensive hardware to engage students with accessible hands-on
+experiences.
+
+As a scientist, I feel that teaching itself can be improved through
+the scientific method.  By testing the effect of different classroom
+approaches---and by building on the research of my peers---I intend to
+gradually refine my teaching to improve student engagement, critical
+thinking, and content retention.  I am especially excited to try
+active learning approaches\citep{hake98,crouch01,prince04}, especially
+thinking-aloud pair problem solving
+(TAPPS\citep{lochhead87,felder09}), which has been shown to increase
+student performance\citep{johnson99}.  I am also excited to transplant
+existing methods from traditional settings to online courses and
+invent new techniques that take advantage of the online format.  Of
+course, not \emph{everything} can be measured with sufficient clarity
+to support evidenced-based teaching.  Developing quantitative
+evaluations of student learning is tricky, but---at least at a basic
+level---it is possible.  Several Software Carpentry collaborators
+(especially \href{http://michigancomputes.wordpress.com/}{Cait
+  Pickens}) are experts in assessment design and validation, and
+between their experience with standard practices and my talent for
+software tooling and rigorous analysis, I expect we'll develop a
+robust system for monitoring student progress.  By promoting this
+system in our own research and SWC outreach, we can also spread the
+practice of teaching research through the wider academic community.
 
 On a more prosaic level, I am excited about moving from the
 mid-Atlantic---where I have spent most of my life---to the Northwest.
@@ -97,13 +149,14 @@ Starting in the Fall, my wife Emily will be opening a veterinary
 surgery practice at the \href{http://olympiapetemergency.net/}{Olympia
   Pet Emergency} hospital in Olympia.  After years of commuting
 several hours from our current home in New Jersey to Drexel in
-Philadelphia, the chance for jobs that are only thirty minutes apart
-is quite appealing.  My wife is originally from Vancouver, Canada, and
-I have enjoyed our annual summer trip out to visit with her family.  I
-also look forward to the drizzly climate, as my Northern European
-heritage has not given me much protection against the sun.  Being able
-to enjoy the outdoors (sailing and hiking!) without having to slather
-on the sunblock sounds like a good idea to me.
+Philadelphia, I look forward to the opportunity to work from home or
+at locations in the South Sound area.  My wife is originally from
+Vancouver, Canada, and I have enjoyed our annual summer trip out to
+visit with her family.  I also look forward to the drizzly climate, as
+my Northern European heritage has not given me much protection against
+the sun.  Being able to enjoy the outdoors (sailing and hiking!)
+without having to slather on the sunblock sounds like a good idea to
+me.
 
 Please do not hesitate to contact me via phone or email if you need
 any additional information.