Dr. Thomas Lombardi
School of Computer Science and Information Systems, Pace University.
1 Martine Avenue, White Plains, New York 10606. 914-422-4286.
tlombardi@pace.edu |
http://csis.pace.edu/~lombardi/
Preparing students for successful careers in computer science and technology requires a variety of approaches to match the diverse student body seeking higher education. In addition to the mastery of course content, students must learn problem solving skills, critical thinking, resourcefulness, and professionalism in order to succeed in a competitive global economy. I challenge students to develop these skills and attitudes by combining a rigorous intellectual grounding in computer science principles with concrete technical examples drawn from professional practice, commercial and freeware software, and my research interests.
A student-centered approach to teaching provides various ways for students to excel. The typical class should include a balance of lecture, discussion, and student projects designed with class size and skill level in mind. Whenever possible, I ask students to publish all coursework on the internet to stress the importance of documentation and to help them develop a professional portfolio. Oral, written, and programming assignments challenge individual students and groups. For example, pair programming, a popular practice in agile development, provides both pedagogical and practical advantages for beginning programmers and cost-conscious departments.
I take advantage of communication technologies to increase my interaction with students through virtual office hours, class discussion boards, and online tutorials. Freeware and open source software provide access to high-quality source code for students to read, modify, install, and configure. In particular, I employ open source software to meet the needs of students with vastly different skill levels and interests. For instance, while students with less technical experience concentrate on mastering general concepts by using open source software, more advanced students focus on detailed aspects of the software internals acquiring a depth of knowledge suited to their skills. In a sense, projects built around open source software permit everyone to grow regardless of skill level or budget.
Students should be included in research problems at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. As both a professional and a researcher, I study problems of practical and theoretical interest in the field. In my capacity as Senior Technical Architect, I expose students to a variety of real-world system design issues. Currently, I am working with a group of graduate students to research the influence of disk configuration and file system layout in the performance of Windows server systems. The ultimate project goal is to improve the performance of student and faculty research systems by incorporating research findings into system design. In my role as a researcher, I specialize in computing for the humanities and my research comprises work in digital image processing, visualization, and machine learning. The interdisciplinary nature of my specialty appeals to students with non-technical backgrounds and offers opportunities for inter-departmental projects.
Project work should provide the bulk of a student’s evaluation because the ability to complete long-term development work remains the staple of technical professionals. Tests and quizzes serve to keep students on track with readings, lectures, homework, and concepts. If the schedule permits, I administer short weekly quizzes for assessing the students’ grasp of lecture concepts and reading material. The best assessments of teaching generally originate with student reviews. I use courseware technologies like Blackboard’s survey capability to gather content-specific assessments and feedback from students. The true measure of quality in education remains the success of students. In the emerging global economy, students must be confident in their skills and abilities as they are asked to learn ever more material. These demands require challenging and edifying experiences to prepare students for a lifetime of learning.