It Can Relate to Real Lives

Attitudes and Expectations in Justice-Centered Data Structures for Non-Majors

Kevin Lin

Designing computing education that empowers students

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Kevin Lin (he/him) is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington. He leads instructional innovation in data programming and data structures with a focus on empowering students to redesign computing problems and artifacts. Kevin received his MS in Computer Science from UC Berkeley, where he coordinated the teaching and delivery of very large-scale undergraduate CS courses to over 1,000 students per semester.


2019—
Assistant Teaching Professor
University of Washington
Computer Science & Engineering
kevinl@cs.uw.edu
2023
Visiting Assistant Professor
University of California, San Diego
Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute

Education

2019
MS, Computer Science
University of California, Berkeley
2018
BA, Computer Science
University of California, Berkeley
BA, Cognitive Science
University of California, Berkeley

Teaching

University of Washington

2019—
Computer Programming II
22sp20au20sp
Intermediate Data Programming
24sp24wi23sp21sp
Data Structures and Algorithms
24sp23au23wi22au22wi21au21su21wi20wi19au
Equitable and Inclusive Computer Science Pedagogy
22au
Designing a More Critical CS Education
21sp – 21wi
Honors Seminar
22sp – 20au

University of California, San Diego

2023
Data Structures and Algorithms for Data Science
23su

University of California, Berkeley

2016–2018
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
fa17 (Head TA) – su17fa16 (TA) – sp16 (Tutor)
Data Structures
su18sp18 (Head TA) – sp17 (Head TA) – su16 (TA)
Great Ideas in Computer Architecture
fa18 (Head TA)

Distinctions

2024
SIGCSE TS 2024 Outstanding Reviewer Award.
2023
Teach Access Faculty Grant.
2022
Designing Empirical Education Research Studies (DEERS) Participant.
2021
Cultural Competence in Computing (3C) Fellow.
2019
EECS Distinguished Student Teaching Award, UC Berkeley.
Teaching Effectiveness Award, UC Berkeley.
Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, UC Berkeley.

Invited Talks

2024
Teaching Contentious Issues in the Classroom. 3C Fellows Cohort 4 Professional Development.
Alternative Grading: Equitable Grading and Ecosystems for More Caring Communities. Reflection and Practice Seminar Series.
Empowering Students Through Our Teaching. UW Teaching & Learning Symposium.
An Invitation to Reimagine: Empowering Students to Redesign Computing Problems and Artifacts​. Olin College Community Research Seminar.
An Invitation to Reimagine: Empowering Students to Redesign Computing Problems and Artifacts​. UC Berkeley ACE Lab.
An Invitation to Reimagine: Empowering Students to Redesign Computing Problems and Artifacts​. UIUC Computing Education Research Group.
2023
Experiences Teaching Critical Comparative Data Structures and Algorithms. Embedded Ethics Conference: Strategies for Teaching Responsible Computing Within the Computer Science Curriculum.
Experiences Teaching Critical Comparative Data Structures and Algorithms. Northwestern University Tech Ethics Mentors.
2022
Teaching-Track Faculty Panel. CMU School of Computer Science Education Group.
CS Education for the Socially-Just Worlds We Need. Computing Education Research at Davis.
CS Education for the Socially-Just Worlds We Need. CS Diversity Committee Webinar, Simon Fraser University.
2021
CS Education for the Socially-Just Worlds We Need. TechEd Seminar, Princeton University.
Centering Identity and Culture in Critical Computing. Teaching Responsible Computing Summit 2021.
Justice-Centered CS Education. CS Education Seminar, Western Washington University.
What You Wish You Knew About Summer Instruction. Designing Computer Science Education, UC Berkeley.

Publications

Conference Papers

2024
“It Can Relate to Real Lives”: Attitudes and Expectations in Justice-Centered Data Structures & Algorithms for Non-Majors. Anna Batra, Iris Zhou, Suh Young Choi, Chongjiu Gao, Yanbing Xiao, Sonia Fereidooni, Kevin Lin. Experience Reports and Tools paper in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
2022
CS Education for the Socially-Just Worlds We Need: The Case for Justice-Centered Approaches to CS in Higher Education. Kevin Lin. Position and Curricula Initiative paper in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
2021
Do Abstractions Have Politics? Toward a More Critical Algorithm Analysis. Kevin Lin. Position paper in the IEEE Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT).

Conference Abstracts

2023
Equitable Grading Best Practices. Dan Garcia, Maria Camarena, Kevin Lin, and Jill Westerland. Panel in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
2022
Approaches for Weaving Responsible Computing into Data Structures and Algorithms Courses. Kathi Fisler, Sorelle Friedler, Kevin Lin, and Suresh Venkatasubramanian. Panel in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
Reading Between the Lines: Student Experiences of Resubmission in an Introductory CS Course. Leah Perlmutter, Jayne Everson, Ken Yasuhara, Brett Wortzman, and Kevin Lin. Poster in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
2021
Nifty Web Apps: Build a Web App for Any Text-Based Programming Assignment. Kevin Lin, Sumant Guha, Joe Spaniac, and Andy Zheng. Special session in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
How Can We Make Office Hours Better? Kevin Lin, Kristin Stephens-Martinez, and Brian Railing. Birds-of-a-feather session in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
Strategies for Authentic Assessments of Mastery in CS Courses. Kevin Lin, Lina Battestilli, and Michael Ball. Birds-of-a-feather session in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
Implementation of Mastery Grading Toward Rightful Presence. Jayne Everson, Leah Perlmutter, Ken Yasuhara, Kevin Lin, and Brett Wortzman. Poster in the UW Teaching & Learning Symposium.
2020
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (Hindsight is 2020). Dan Garcia, Jim Huggins, Kevin Lin, Raja Sooriamurthi, Leo Urell Ii, and Ursula Wolz. Panel in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
Perspectives on Allyship in Academia. Jamie Payton, Adam Blank, Christian Murphy, Melissa Hovik, Kevin Lin, Angela Kwon, and Lara McConnaughey. Special session in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
Transitioning From Peer Instruction to POGIL with Guided Lecture Notes. Kevin Lin. Lightning talk in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
How Can We Make Office Hours Better? Kevin Lin and Brian Railing. Birds-of-a-feather session in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
2019
Near-Peer Student Mentors: Creating Scalable Learning Experiences in Large Lecture Courses. Kevin Lin. Lightning talk in the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Southwestern Region (CCSC-SW).
Subgoals, Problem Solving Phases, and Sources of Knowledge: A Complex Mangle. Kevin Lin and David DeLiema. Poster in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).

Open Educational Resources

2022
Decision Trees for Text Classification in CS2. Kevin Lin. Assignment in EngageCSEdu.

Non-Refereed Publications

2024
An Invitation to Reimagine: Reframing the Dialogue between Educators, Students, and Employers. Kevin Lin and Alannah Oleson. Article in the 2024 Teaching & Learning Symposium.
An Invitation to Reimagine: Reframing the Dialogue between Educators, Students, and Employers. Kevin Lin. Lightning talk in the 3C Fellows Spotlight.
2023
Designing and Evaluating a Justice-Centered Intermediate Computing Course. Anna Batra, Iris Zhou, Chongjiu Gao, Sonia Fereidooni, Yanbing Xiao, Suh Young Choi, Kevin Lin. Poster in the UW Undergraduate Research Symposium.
2019
How Help Can Hurt: Understanding Defensive Climate in the Undergraduate CS Classroom. Kevin Lin. Paper prepared for the UC Berkeley EECS Department.
A Berkeley View of Teaching CS at Scale. Kevin Lin. MS technical report. EECS Department, UC Berkeley.
From 40 to 400 to 1,400: Providing Formative Feedback in Large-Scale Courses. Kevin Lin. Article in the GSI Online Library: Teaching Effectiveness Award Essays. Graduate Division, UC Berkeley.

Media

2022
S3xE2: Alternative grading, how? The CS-Ed Podcast.
2021
S3xE1: Alternative grading, why? The CS-Ed Podcast.

Mentoring

2023
Anna Batra (UW BA).
Iris Zhou (UW BA).
2022
Sonia Fereidooni (UW BA) to UW BS/MS.
2021
Leah Perlmutter (UW PhD) to Grinnell College Assistant Professor.
Aleks Jovčić (UW BA) to Lakeside School CS Teacher.
2017
Sarah Jin (UC Berkeley BA) to Stanford Teacher Education Program.

Department Talks

2024
Alternative Assessment Systems: Designing for Flexibility.
An Invitation to Reimagine: Empowering Students to Redesign Computing Problems and Artifacts​.
ACE TA Panel.
COM2 Roundtable Career Exploration Gala.
2023
Computing Education Researcher Panel.
Racial Diversity in Tech Speaker Event.
2022
Impact++ @ UW Lightning Talk: Education X Tech.
2021
CS for What and for Whom?
2020
Programming a Better Future.
2019
Applying for Academic Positions and Postdoctoral Appointments.
EECS/CS Life from a Student Perspective.
2018
Introductory CS Courses at UC Berkeley.
EECS/CS Life from a Student Perspective.
2017
How to Learn Computer Science.

Service

2025
ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE)
Tutorials Junior Co-Chair
2024
ACM Journal on Responsible Computing
Reviewer
ACM Conference for Research on Equitable and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT)
Reviewer
Center for Learning, Computing, and Imagination (LCI)
Co-Director
ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE)
Birds-of-a-Feather Senior Co-Chair – Reviewer
ACM SIGCSE Special Projects
Committee Member
2023
EngageCSEdu
Reviewer
NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC)
Reviewer
IEEE Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT)
Reviewer
ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE)
Birds-of-a-Feather Junior Co-Chair – Student Research Competition Judge
ACM SIGCSE Special Projects
Committee Member
2022
NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC)
Reviewer
Communications of the ACM
Reviewer
IEEE Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT)
Zoom Chair – Reviewer
ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE)
Paper Session Chair – Reviewer
2021
IEEE Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT)
Reviewer
ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE)
Paper Session Chair – Reviewer – Poster Judge
2020
The CS-Ed Podcast
Transcript Editor
ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE)
Paper Session Chair – Reviewer