DHSZ Open Class Ep. 08 Computer Science
Computer Science - DHSZ Open Class
Welcome back to our Open Class series, where we embark on a journey to explore various subjects offered at DHSZ. Today, we're moving into the field of Computer Science, led by our Head of Computer Science Mr Amin Teymorian. For him, education is not just about imparting knowledge; it's about nurturing students' curiosity and encouraging their active engagement. His classroom is far from the conventional, dull knowledge delivery in Computer Science.I Instead, it's dynamic, highly interactive, and serves as a stage to unleash students' potential!
What is the Class About？
The class revolves around the fundamental principles of Computer Science, where students uncover the art of recognising patterns, distilling essential details, and devising step-by-step solutions to complex problems. It is a place where curiosity meets code, and where the foundations of computational thinking are laid. Mr Teymorian showed the students a piece of code and asked them to answer some questions related to the code, followed by further attempts to implement the code and then testing it with some test data. In addition to constant questioning to guide the students, he gave them time for full contemplation, discussion, and questioning, allowing short codes to lead to deeper thinking.
Teaching Style
Questions, questions, lots of questions! This is what we see in Mr Teymorian's class, and as he says, "I'd like to be able to ask a question like every 5 seconds if possible." In line with our common saying, "When three walk together, one must be my teacher." Mr Teymorian believes that the feedback that students receive is not limited to coming solely from the teacher but can also arise from discussions and intellectual collisions with classmates, as well as the increasingly widespread AI tools that can help students point out where smoothly executed code can be improved.
Education Philosophy
Mr Teymorian deeply understands the importance of establishing a connection with students. He recognizes that each student possesses potential and brings a unique perspective to the classroom. As a teacher, he has a general idea of the challenges students may encounter when learning a particular topic. However, to be more targeted in his approach, he makes an effort to know students as much as possible before correcting their errors.
Furthermore, at the core of his teaching philosophy is to inspire students’ curiosity about the subject. He believes that “staying curious makes students more productive in and out of the classroom.” To achieve this goal, it's not just trying out various activities in the classroom, but also outside the classroom with events organised by the school or EiM, or external competitions, practical activities and the like. For example, last year Mr Teymorian took the students on an AI trip to Microsoft Suzhou (read here) and an immersive experience of the parts manufacturing process at Ruhlamat Automation Suzhou (read here). These experiences inspired students, instilling a passion for learning, motivating them to actively participate in class discussions, and fostering their belief in their own success.
Advice
For students who are passionate about Computer Science, it may be useful to take two pieces of advice provided by Mr Teymorian. Firstly, Computer Science is not just theory. It is practice. Much like artists improving their skills through continuous creation, students in the field of Computer Science must actively engage in the subject by coding and designing algorithms to truly grasp its essence. While theoretical knowledge is essential, it remains shallow without hands-on experience. "The real way to improve computer skills is to apply knowledge to create something；there is no shortcuts," said Mr Teymorian.
Secondly, it is vital to develop good study habits. Mr Teymorian emphasises that becoming an excellent programmer goes beyond the ability to program or write code, " The capability to explain complex concepts and communicate knowledge effectively holds equal significance. To achieve this, students must cultivate sound study habits because success in this field is not confined solely sitting in front of the computer."
Mr Amin Teymorian's approach to Computer Science education transcends the boundaries of traditional teaching. His classroom is an immersive experience where students not only absorb knowledge but actively engage in computational thinking!
As Mr Teymorian mentioned at the interview's conclusion, today's Computer Science open class is a genuine representation of a DHSZ class. It might not appear flawless, and the camera may capture errors in the code. The Computer Science meme he told us can be applied to our lives as well, "Code doesn't work, why? Code works, why?" --All in all, we hope you enjoyed our real Computer Science class today!