Barry Peddycord III

Teaching Portfolio

Fundamentals in Teaching Workshops

A great deal of my development as a teacher is thanks to the foundation of the NC State University Fundamentals in Teaching (FIT) program. FIT offers several workshops to its Graduate Students, postdocs, staff, and faculty on subjects ranging from Classroom Assessment Techniques to Teaching to Different Learning Styles. Some of these workshops were attended more than once, but only the first attendance at each is listed below.

  • Getting the Inside Scoop: In this workshop, we met with faculty from a variety of institutions to talk about the differences in teaching and research responsibilities at each - February 18, 2014
  • Question, Persuade, Refer: Suicide Prevention Training: In this seminar, students participated in the one-hour QPR training program for suicide awareness and prevention - October 29, 2013
  • Teaching with Sensitivity to Difference: This seminar covered the importance and strategies for being aware and receptive for students from different backgrounds, with emphasis on the accommodations provided by the NC State Disability Services Office - Jamie Coccarelli and Rebecca Sitton, October 22, 2013
  • Motivating Students: The first seminar of the Preparing the Professoriate Program, we were taught how to motivate students through our own attitude and demeanor in the classroom - Bryce Lane, September 17, 2013
  • Designing an Effective Syllabus: An introduction to good syllabus design and organization, focusing on elements that all syllabi must contain in order to be useful resources for a class - Sarah Eagan Warren, Nov 2, 2012
  • Establishing Credibility and Authority in the Classroom: This workshop highlighted the ways in which students undermine authority and disrupt classes, whether actively (verbal altercations) or passively (showing up late) - Dr. Barbi Honeycutt, Jun 23, 2012
  • Effective Questioning Strategies: A workshop focused on creating questions that target deeper levels of understanding, scaffolding questions to help students make connections with content, and avoiding "dead end" questions - Dr. Barbi Honeycutt, Jun 25, 2012
  • Helping Students Organize Their Knowledge: A workshop on the topic of Mind-Mapping and using them to help students visualize their knowledge - Margaret Frey, Jun 5, 2012
  • Current Issues in Teaching: How Digital Media and the Brain Science of Attention Transform Learning: A reading group discussion of a chapter Dr. Cathy Davidson's book of the same name - Molly Storment, Feb 24, 2012
  • Evaluation and Grading: A workshop discussing grading, assessment, and design of effective rubrics - Dr. Barbi Honeycutt, Nov 18, 2011
  • Responding to Student Writing: Encouraging Reflection and Revision: A workshop focused on how to maximize the effectiveness of feedback on student writing assignments that hit on valid learning goals over insignificant issues (like spelling mistakes) - Molly Storment, Nov 7, 2011
  • Emotional Intelligence: A Tool for Teaching: A presentation discussing the awareness of the emotions of oneself and others - Dr. Rhonda Sutton, Nov 2, 2011
  • Making the Most of a Mentoring Relationship: A panel discussion focusing on the mentoring relationship between Graduate Students and their advisors. - Sep 30, 2011
  • Learning Styles: A discussion of the learning styles introduced by Felder and Silverman - Dr. Barbi Honeycutt, Sep 26, 2011
  • Introduction to Teaching: A crash-course in teaching theory, covering major topics such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, in-class exercises, and developing a lesson plan - Dr. Barbi Honeycutt, Aug 22, 2011

Preparing the Professoriate

Preparing the Professoriate is a one-year, teaching-intensive program where a student works closely with a faculty mentor to improve their instruction. In this program, students undergo an observation semester and a teaching semester, and attend a series of workshops with the rest of the PTP cohort. I am participating in the 2013-2014 cohort of the program, mentored by Dr. Sarah Heckman teaching CSC 230, C and Software Tools.

  • Peer Observation: As part of PTP, two fellows attend one of the other's lectures and take notes on the experience, producing a log, a report and having a discussion about the lecture. Reflection
  • Mentor Observation: In addition to being observed by my peers, my mentor also formally observed my teaching three times during my two semesters using the same criteria that professors in my department use to evaluate their peers. Reflection
  • Exams: During my second semester in CSC230, I was responsible for developing my own exams for my sections. This was my first experience developing an exam, and I believe that when I wrote Midterm 2, I was able to learn from my mistakes and make a strong exam compared to the first midterm. Midterms in CSC 230 are cumulative, so content from the entire semester is present. Reflection
  • Course Evaluations: In the Computer Science Department, whenever an instructor teaches a course for the first time, they are required to undergo a midterm teaching evaluation by the students. Students complete the evaluation anonymously, but I excluded the open-ended response questions. Reflection
  • Assignment Write-up: As part of my teaching responsibilities, I was asked to develop a homework assignment for the course. One of the areas indicated as needing improvement the last time that CSC230 was evaluated was adding more information on security to the course, so I created a homework assignment asking students to implement the DES Encryption Algorithm. Reflection
  • Seminar Implementation: One of the most inspiring seminars I attended during PTP was the first one, Bryce Lane's presentation on motivating students. I genuinely believe the best way to motivate students is to not be shy about geeking out over the topics that we as teachers love the most, and I didn't hold anything back when I was teaching. Reflection

Certificate of Accomplishment in Teaching

The CoAT program is an initiative at NC State University where Graduate Students can participate in an intensive series of workshops while reflecting on two semesters of teaching in a classroom or lab setting. As part of the CoAT program, I wrote two synthesis and reflecton essays bringing everything I’ve learned in the FIT workshops together. I was awarded the CoAT certificate in December of 2013.

Conferences

I have also sought out conferences and workshops hosted at my home institution and elsewhere to further my development as a teacher.