From: W. Trevor King Date: Sat, 1 Jun 2013 18:14:24 +0000 (-0400) Subject: loi.tex: Adjust for Pierce College X-Git-Tag: pierce X-Git-Url: http://git.tremily.us/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=1b70c59c61c6e894f8682965eb03f6d098621d0a;p=letter-of-interest.git loi.tex: Adjust for Pierce College --- diff --git a/loi.tex b/loi.tex index 03aab5c..1135a68 100644 --- a/loi.tex +++ b/loi.tex @@ -55,20 +55,22 @@ \begin{document} -\begin{letter}{Pacific Lutheran University \\ - Department of Human Resources \\ - Tacoma, WA 98447-0003 } - -\opening{Search Committee,} - -Thank you for reviewing my application for the position of Visiting -Assistant Professor of Computer Engineering. Over my years working on -my Ph.D. studies at Drexel University, I have been looking forward to -teaching at a liberal arts college. I look forward to working at a -school such as PLU which clearly has a strong commitment to teaching -excellence and teacher training. Besides teaching computer -engineering, I am also interested in advancing the science of -teaching. Over the past year I have been active in the +\begin{letter}{ + District Human Resources Office \\ + Pierce College \\ + 1601 39th Avenue SE \\ + Puyallup, Washington 98374} + +\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 \href{http://software-carpentry.org/}{Software Carpentry} organization, which trains scientists around the world in current software development and data management techniques. Software @@ -78,68 +80,16 @@ Carpentry a boot boot camp at the University of Washington, and I look forward to continuing this outreach in the Puget Sound area. -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 computer -engineering. - -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 -experience. - -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}. Of course, not -\emph{everything} can be measured with sufficient clarity to support -this approach. 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. +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. 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.