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\signature{W.~Trevor King}
\address{120 Miller Street \\ Highlands, NJ 07732}
\telephone{+1 215 284 6634}
\medskipamount=0pt

\begin{document}

\begin{letter}{
  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 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
Carpentry
\href{http://software-carpentry.org/bootcamps/2013-02-uwash.html}{recently}
\href{http://software-carpentry.org/blog/2013/03/washington-went-well.html}{ran}
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 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.
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, 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.

\closing{Yours,}

\end{letter}

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