New Fellowship Strengthens Teaching Pathways in Computing
A new teaching fellowship in the School of Computing Instruction (SCI) is offering Ph.D. students the chance to develop their teaching skills while helping the school serve a growing number of computing students.
Human-Centered Computing Ph.D. student Nathaniel Swinger is the inaugural fellow, bringing the program to life in its first year.
Building on a Legacy of Mentorship
The SCI Pre-Doctoral Teaching Fellowship grew out of the school’s recognition that mentorship and support are essential for Ph.D. students stepping into teaching roles. This need became evident when SCI Lecturer Caleb Southern died in 2023. Two Ph.D. students from the School of Computer Science stepped in to teach CS 2110, carrying the course for the year.
“Austin Adams and Pulkit Gupta carried the load that year, and we even had to call on Austin to jump in the following year. The SCI Pre-Doctoral Teaching Fellowship was born out of that experience,” SCI Interim Chair Mary Hudachek-Buswell said.
The fellowship framework was later created by Hudachek-Buswell, School of Interactive Computing Associate Professor Rosa Arriaga, and School of Computational Science and Engineering Associate Professor Elizabeth Cherry to provide Ph.D. students with hands-on, mentored teaching experience.
Exploring the Intersection of Teaching and Research
Swinger is using his experience to explore how teaching, mentorship, and design intersect in the classroom.
He earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, where he first became interested in mental health and computing. These interests led him to pursue a doctoral degree with Arriaga, who designs and deploys systems to improve health and wellness practices.
His current research focuses on designing and evaluating intelligent systems for use in mental healthcare, particularly those aimed at improving the scalability and effectiveness of clinician training.
“I take a human-centered approach to thinking about these systems, putting considerations like the trust of system stakeholders at the forefront,” he said.
“In many ways, thinking about trust in my research applies to teaching, as you have to build trust with your students in order for them to learn effectively.”
Mentorship and Impact in the Classroom
When his advisor recommended the new fellowship, Swinger saw it as a perfect opportunity to gain formal teaching experience and prepare for a career in academia. He said that transitioning into teaching came with a learning curve, but strong mentorship made a difference.
“The onboarding process was overwhelming at first, but Dr. Rodrigo Borela and the rest of the CS 1301 instructional team have been incredibly welcoming and supportive,” he said.
“Dr. Borela has been a great role model for teaching 1301, both pedagogically and practically.”
Swinger said that teaching a large section of CS 1301: Introduction to Computing has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the experience so far because it gives him an opportunity to make a big impact.
“I hope that students take away from this course that they belong in computing regardless of their backgrounds and future interests,” he said.
Through the fellowship, he’s developing his teaching philosophy and learning how to foster a supportive classroom environment.
“Being a student is stressful. I’d like to learn how to better develop trust with students to foster an inclusive and encouraging learning environment,” he said.
For future teaching fellows, Swinger offers simple but meaningful advice: “Find and lean on your mentors. Balancing research and teaching can be overwhelming at first, but a good mentor makes all the difference.”
