I have taught for 25+ years across three continents — Sydney (University of Technology Sydney, 2000–2016), the Chicago area, and Seattle (University of Washington Bothell, 2017–present). My classes have ranged from 8-student seminars to 700-student lectures, covering first-year programming, upper-division systems courses, and graduate-level AI.
I received the UWB Distinguished Teaching Award in 2023 and the UTS Teaching Award in 2006.
Teaching Philosophy
Good teaching is an act of design. I believe students learn best when they are actively constructing understanding, not passively receiving it. Over the years I have experimented with active learning, flipped classrooms, collaborative meaning-making, gamified classrooms, hybrid delivery, and fully online instruction.
I make all my teaching evaluations publicly available because transparency builds trust and helps students make informed choices.
Courses at UW Bothell
- CSS 132/133 — Computer Programming for Engineers I & II (C++)
- CSS 142/143 — Computer Programming I & II (Python)
- CSS 342 — Data Structures, Algorithms & Discrete Mathematics I
- CSS 343 — Data Structures, Algorithms & Discrete Mathematics II
- CSS 382 — Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
- CSS 385 — Introduction to Game Development
- CSS 390 — Special Topics
- CSS 422 — Hardware and Computer Organization
- CSS 430 — Operating Systems
- BCORE 104 — Games for Good
Resources for Students
- CSS Resources Wiki — C++ style guides, UWB resources, and more
- Capstone Ideas & Guidelines — CSS 497 project suggestions and advice
- Course Syllabi Archive — past syllabi via CSS Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Teaching Evaluations
All my evaluations are public, going back to 2004 across UWB, UTS, and visiting appointments.
Browse teaching evaluations (PDFs) · Evaluation dashboard (graphs)
| Yusuf Pisan | CSS | UW Bothell |