Margaret M. Fleck: Curriculum Development

Iowa (1991-1997)

Computer Vision I (fall 1992, fall 1993, fall 1995): The traditional model for mid-level computer science courses---pen and paper exercises plus programming projects---is not appropriate for teaching computer vision. I developed a course using teaching methods from the physical sciences: supervised laboratories, proper experimental method, laboratory notebooks, and written reports. I adapted these techniques to a computer science setting and established an organized curriculum for the course, accessible to undergraduates as well as graduate students. With the aid of my teaching assistant, I devised a series of experiments that could be finished by a pair of students in a 2 1/2 hour lab period, wrote the laboratory handouts, and coded a substantial package of supporting utilities in a combination of Common LISP and C.

To support our two-term computer vision sequence, and also assist more advanced students, I wrote and maintain an HTML-based handbook for graduate students in computer vision.

Discrete Structures (fall 1991--fall 1996): I taught this course three times using the traditional pen-and-paper exercises. The fourth and fifth times, I developed a series of LISP-based computer labs to supplement the mathematical curriculum in this course. I'm teaching this course for a sixth term in fall 1996, replacing the lisp exercises with supplementary materials on the world-wide web (partly to cope with a sudden increase in enrollment).

I was actively involved in advising student research projects, both graduate and undergraduate. I was a PI on our NSF Site REU grant to support undergraduate research projects and have advised seven REU projects. I also wrote our department's successful proposal to the U. Iowa Computing Fee Committee (1993), which gave us the funds to build our first laboratory for undergraduate computer science teaching.

Harvey Mudd (1997-present)

I have been somewhat pinned down by childbearing and childcare. I've been teaching the following courses:

While teaching the compiler course, it became obvious that none of the current textbooks does a good job of serving the needs of the students. So I'm trying to assemble notes on the worst-served areas, especially compilation of high-level languages (e.g. scheme into C).


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