Seminar Course - Pomona College CS Department - Spring 2024

Registrar Description

This class meets weekly to discuss contemporary research on STEM mentorship, the role of peer mentors & TA’s, and how to improve our mentoring skills. The group will explore theories grounded in social science and combine them with our personal experiences to inform how we should mentor and to illuminate the value of peer-to-peer teaching—both broadly within STEM and specifically within Computer Science. P/NP only. May be repeated two times for credit.

Friday 11:00am–12:15pm @ Lincoln 1125

Context

We drew on pedagogical literature and pre-existing undergraduate TA training courses to create a student-led seminar course focused on group discussions and community engagement. The course met once a week for 75 minutes: students were expected to attend having completed the reading and written a short reflection. During class, the two undergraduate leaders facilitated focused discussions within groups of size 3-5, including both student and faculty peers. The syllabus aimed to provide a breadth of formal knowledge about undergraduate peer mentoring literature and how to foster inclusive, welcoming environments within computer science education.

Student Leads

Austin Zang

Hi! I'm Austin, a class of '24 CS senior here at Pomona from Allen, TX. Nice to meet you all!

TA Experience: 62, 105x2

ayza2020@mymail.pomona.edu

Elshiekh Ahmed

Hey! I'm Elshiekh, a class of '25 CS junior studying Computer Science here at Pomona from NJ!

TA Experience: 51A, 62, 105

eoaa2021@mymail.pomona.edu

Professors

Weekly Reading Schedule & Course Materials