This month we are featuring our knowledgeable instructor, Alex Chabot-Leclerc.
1) What is your name and where are you currently located?
My name is Alexandre Chabot-Leclerc, but I go by Alex. I live in Burlington, VT.
2 ) How did you end up in engineering education?
The two things I enjoyed doing most in grad school were teaching and programming (writing papers, not so much). I thought the only way to combine these two things was to become a professor. Thankfully, I found a perfect role I didn’t know was possible: trainer & scientific software developer at Enthought. I started there in 2016 and taught more than 800 students during my time there.
3 ) How do you stay current with the latest advancements in engineering technology and industry practices?
I have a rather voracious information diet. I subscribe to hundreds of RSS feeds that I read and scan regularly. I don’t recommend this to everyone (anyone?), but it works for me. I’m also part of various groups of people with varied interests that always bring up interesting new things.
4 ) Can you describe your teaching philosophy and how it aligns with Diller Digital’s mission and values?
I believe everyone can learn. And that everyone likes learning. But for learning to be fun, it has to be just hard enough to be satisfying. My job as a trainer is to stay in that zone for everyone at once (that’s the very tricky part!).
I also believe learning without a solid foundation is like building on sand. It’ll last for a little while, but then it will crumble. Therefore, I spend a lot of time querying students, paying close attention to their reactions, and developing an understanding of what they know. What’s solid that I can build on?
I also believe that you learn by doing. We’ve all had this experience of listening to a teacher, nodding our heads in agreement, and then trying to solve the exercise on our own and realizing we don’t actually know how to do the thing. Well, that’s why our classes have so much hands-on content.
5) What engineering software and tools do you have experience with, and how do you incorporate them into your teaching?
I “grew up” using MATLAB, and even though I haven’t used it in a little more than a decade, I remember enough about how it works to be useful when teaching. Otherwise, the tools I use regularly are all the usual suspects from the Python scientific computing and PyData ecosystems: NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, scikit-learn, plus some more domain-specific packages.
6) How do you balance theoretical knowledge with practical, hands-on learning in your classes?
As much as I love theoretical knowledge, I teach students that the service of the theoretical knowledge is at the service of the theoretical knowledge. In classes, most of the value is in the doing. Therefore, all the theoretical knowledge I teach students is at the service of the hands-on work they will do in class, and especially, when they return to work.
7) Can you discuss your experience with project-based learning and how you guide students through the data analysis workflow?
I have extensive experience with project-based learning, both as a student and as a trainer. My entire undergraduate degree in electrical engineering used project-based learning, and I loved it. Learning was always at the service of doing something, of solving a problem. It helped connect each piece of learning to all the other ones required to get to that point and all the point and all the ones that came after.
Later, as a trainer at Enthought, I created classes and developed a whole program based on project-based learning. Major theories of “transfer of learning” suggest that it’s easier to apply what one has learned after practicing and when the learning experience and the new situation are similar. Therefore, my goal whenever I design a project is to make it as realistic as possible and use the tools that students will likely use in their work.
8) What strategies do you use to assess student understanding and provide constructive feedback on their work?
I ask questions (nicely!) until I’m satisfied with the answer. I’m looking for a correct and “solid” answer; something they really know. If the knowledge is shaky, it’s hard to build on.
To be effective, I must build trust with students. I need them to be honest when answering questions, even if it means showing everyone else there’s something they don’t know.
9) What strategies do you use to communicate complex engineering concepts to students with varying levels of understanding?
I use simplifications and analogies, often multiple ones. Usually, they’re analogies from the physical world or accessible things, like cooking. To help me, I also ask every student about their experience at the beginning of class. That way, I understand where they’re coming from: their domain of work, which programming languages they’ve used, etc. I’ll use that knowledge to provide examples, concepts, and comparisons to things I know they’re familiar with.
I’ll also try to reveal complexity in a progressive manner. I’ll start with a simple analogy or explanation for people who are maybe less experienced so they at least know that this thing exists or have a good mental model for it. Then, I’ll dig in deeper and deeper, closer to the details of how things work for the more advanced people in the class.
10) What is your favorite way to spend a Saturday? Favorite meal?
There are so many ways to spend a good Saturday! A good one is a tasty brunch with family and friends, outdoor physical activities like a bike ride, a nice happy hour, and a tasty dinner. What’s for dinner? Some Japanese food (not sushi, even though it’s lovely) would be great.
Thanks for your answers to these questions, Alex so we can get to know you better as one of our respected instructors.