Faculty Excellence at UMUC

Interviewer:

Please tell us about yourself—what made you decide to teach at UMUC? What kind of work do you do when you are not teaching at UMUC? Are there any life experiences that have influenced your teaching at UMUC? If so, please share one story.

Susan Thorpe Dean

I taught for 17 years at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and lived in Birmingham for all but the first three years of my life and a semester in France while an undergraduate. I met John Meinke years ago though our volunteer work for the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges, and I heard much from him about his experiences working for UMUC Europe.

There had been only two Computer Science faculty members most of my time at Samford, and when we grew to the point where I could have a year off, I came over to teach for UMUC Europe for a year and did not go back. I discovered it was time to work in Europe, as I’d intended to do that during that semester in France back in 1968.

I have no other paid employment. My hobbies include singing, both in church choir and in a secular group, reading, gardening, and occasionally practicing my violin.

I increasingly feel that I have almost a "calling" to be here to help our students accomplish their educational goals while they or their families are serving our country or supporting those who serve our country. My awareness of their life experiences is really what it’s about more than a life experience of my own.

Interviewer:

How would you describe your teaching style or philosophy? What experiences or person(s) have influenced your style or philosophy?

Susan Thorpe Dean

To use a totally non-original phrase, I’m the "guide on the side" rather than the "sage on the stage." I am a strong believer in active learning where I lead the students to discover the knowledge rather than trying to "stuff it into them" via lots of lecturing. I also actively invite questions and sharing of the students’ relevant real-world experiences as they come up during what lecturing I do.

The strongest influence would have to be George Crocker, who was the other half of the aforementioned two-person Computer Science faculty team until his death in 2001.  He had, in turn, been strongly influenced by exposure to the Moore method (http://legacyrlmoore.org/index.html) during his graduate work in mathematics. Given the need for the two of us to cover the entire Computer Science curriculum, we had to develop ways to make the students actively learn, as we could not be sufficient "experts" in all areas of Computer Science to just lecture!  

Interviewer:

Please explain if you do something special or unique in your teaching and what made you develop this.

Susan Thorpe Dean

I don't believe that I do anything unique or different beyond what I mentioned earlier.

Interviewer:

What do you think it is about your teaching style that appeals to students?

Susan Thorpe Dean

Maybe the most important thing would be that they know I respect them and their real-world experiences and actively try to blend those into the classroom along with my academic knowledge.

Interviewer:

Do you teach face-to-face, online, or both? Do you have a preference between teaching face-to-face and online? If so, please explain.

Susan Thorpe Dean

I teach both face-to-face and online. My first choice is our hybrid format – two weekends of face-to-face and the rest done via WebTycho. This is absolutely the "best of both worlds" or "having ones’s cake and eating it too!" We have the extremely valuable in-class interaction and also the opportunity to have them spend substantial time working on in-depth assignments outside of class.

That said, I have found that over the years I have been teaching online I have developed more strength in inspiring the students to interact in somewhat the same ways they interact in class, despite the distance. One thing is to encourage them to interact personally. Post pictures of the new baby in the "Items of Interest" conference, for example. This helps them relate personally.

Interviewer:

Please tell us about your chosen discipline-i.e., what made you interested in the area initially? What do you do to stay current in your discipline? What do you like best about teaching in your discipline?

Susan Thorpe Dean

Back when I was 16 years old I had the incredible opportunity to spend four days on campus at the aforementioned Samford University, programming a computer (today we would refer to this as "computer camp" but those did not exist in 1964)! I was hooked and knew at that point that I would be doing "something" with computers as my career. I worked in the field for several years and along the way earned an M.S. in Computer Science. Once I’d done that, I had an opportunity to teach computing courses part-time at the university level and realized that I was meant to teach. This inspired me to earn the Ph.D.

I stay current in the field by reading and attendance at professional conferences. I also serve as a reviewer of conference papers and journal articles and as an Associate Editor of the Journal for Computing Sciences in Colleges. It’s a continual learning opportunity for me, along with the students.

Interviewer:

What is the most challenging to you in teaching in this area? What teaching strategy do you use when you encounter the challenge? Are there any special challenges in teaching this subject matter online?  If yes, please explain what could be done to meet the challenges.

Susan Thorpe Dean

I can’t keep up with all the new developments in the field. No human can do that. I admit that to the students and assign/inspire them to help all of us learn. Some of the more technical or mathematical material has to be handled carefully, but there are ways to accomplish this. One challenge that is not specific to my discipline is that these days there is so much information available online that students may easily commit plagiarism, whether intentionally or not. Back in my "old days" of graduate work, we took notes on index cards. One paraphrased out of necessity, as opposed to hand-copying entire sentences or paragraphs. Today, ctrl-C is ever present and all too easy, and the  student may well genuinely forget by the time the paper is put together that the "note" is actually a direct quotation! The only solution is to remind them repeatedly to be careful.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to students who are interested in majoring or working in your discipline?

Susan Thorpe Dean

Plan to keep learning throughout your working years because the field changes so rapidly!

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the college of choice for students?

Susan Thorpe Dean

I can only speak for those over here in the military environment. We offer the availability of academically strong courses and programs here where the students need them. We have both the face-to-face and hybrid formats and also the distance education courses for the students whose schedules don’t have enough flexibility to allow participation in the hybrids or who are deployed to far-away places. I know that I try to be understanding and work with them when their lives take personal or professional turns that "modify" their schedules.

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the employer of choice for future faculty members?

Susan Thorpe Dean

For me, it is the opportunity to serve these students in the military environment. There is also a strong emphasis on the quality of teaching and much support is available through the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to new faculty who are interested in teaching in your discipline at UMUC?

Susan Thorpe Dean

Plan to be flexible without giving up the academic strength of the course. Think "outside the box" in how to allocate material between in-class time and online time if teaching in the hybrid format. Different topics may be more easily done in one format or the other, so don’t just plan to take topics in textbook order.