Samuel K. Puich

My name is Sam Puich. I have been a high school and college computer science teacher for 38 years. During that time, I have taught AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, Algorithms and Data Structures, SQL Database Development, Computer Programming I, Computer Programming II, and Exploring Computer Science. As a teacher, I have been fortunate to have received numerous teaching awards including the Computer Science Teaching Association National Teacher of the Year, the State Aspirations in Computer Science Award, the State CTE Teacher of the Year, and several in state awards for specific programming courses. My teaching style is very "comfortable". What I mean by that statement is... I want my students to feel comfortable, confident, and enthusiastic about the topics that I am sharing. I try to get to know each of my students. I want to understand their strengths and weaknesses and I work very hard to reduce any weaknesses. I do not want students to be afraid of making a mistake. It is not embarrassing. We learn from our mistakes so I want kids to overcome the idea that a mistake is a bad thing. In assisting a student, I do not want to give him or her the answer. Instead, I will try to determine what is confusing to the student and then point them in the right direction. It is always easier for a teacher to just do the problem for the student but he or she will never learn to solve it at a deeper level. I am very patient and will continue to assist the student as he or she tries things and develops an effective problem solving strategy. Over my many years of teaching I have continued to adjust and adapt my pedagogy, instructional style, and communications to better serve my students. As a tutor, I will continue to do this to positively impact each individual learner.