Yuvaraj Selvam

As a computer science teacher, I believe that students should develop a strong theoretical foundation,
see the value of what is being taught, and learn to embrace opportunities for working in a constructive,
interactive and collaborative environment.
I believe that an important skill that students should develop is intuition for problems, which is
gained through a solid understanding of theoretical computer science. I endeavor for students to be able
to identify the character of problems for which they are developing an algorithm. Further, it is important
for students to be able to estimate the difficulty of problems that they are attempting to solve, and this
is something that is typically only gained through experience.
When I teach, I like to give context to the theory by tying in an application area where the topic
is used. Not only is this an opportunity to keep lectures fresh and relevant for current research, but
it makes the subject more interesting for students in those other areas. I also like to point students to
webpages or blogs where they can see more material related to the discussion, because this can reinforce
the value of the topic. If some of my own work is related to the present topic, a brief discussion can help
emphasize the importance of the material and to stimulate interest among the students.
I enjoy using activities to break up the routine of lectures and to draw the attention of students
to the lecture material. My experience has been that students