Kevin Sun


Newsletter

In March 2023, I started a newsletter called Teaching CS, in which I explore and share various methods and philosophies related to teaching, with a focus on computer science in higher education. If that sounds interesting, please feel free to subscribe!

Articles

  1. Oral Exams in a Virtual Classroom - Inside Higher Ed
    In Summer 2021, I taught a 6-week undergraduate online course on algorithms. One novel (to both me and the students) aspect of my course was that most students took an oral final exam (rather than a written one). In this article, I reflect on how that experience went, and I give advice to instructors who are considering oral exams.

  2. My interview with Jothy Rosenberg - Duke Graduate School
    In 2020, I had the opportunity to interview Jothy Rosenberg, serial entrepreneur and founder of The Who Says I Can't Foundation. We discussed his career, family, his best memory at Duke, and other things.

Blog

  1. College is a gym for your brain - 2/23
    Learning is like exercise for your brain, but there's (at least) one big difference.

  2. The Tyranny of Merit (review) - 1/23
    A counterintuitive but compelling case against meritocracy.

  3. Obligatory post on ChatGPT - 12/22
    How will AI affect higher education?

  4. Analogies for learning algorithms - 11/22
    I love analogies that involve food.

  5. College is a mandatory marathon - 6/22
    A metaphor that explains why students cheat.

  6. Try to Actually Learn - 2/22
    Stop treating your TA like a debugger.

  7. Craving a non-student identity - 10/21
    I'm almost 27, and I've been a student for as long as I can remember. But I'm also not super excited for what comes next: having a real job. Am I having a quarter-life crisis?

  8. My first video - 8/21
    I once made a video about a card trick, and here's a post reflecting on my experience.

  9. What the Best College Teachers Do (review) - 1/21
    It's somewhat inspiring, but I wish it were more concrete.

  10. Grammatical Errors in The New York Times - 7/20
    I combed through 17 quizzes written by the NYT, and in this post, I summarize the solutions. I also share some of my favorite uncategorized errors; a spoiler-free version is here.

  11. Maybe you are an imposter - 6/20
    You feel like you're not as good as everyone else, but you've heard of imposter syndrome. Maybe you actually are an imposter? Or maybe there's more to it.

  12. Four metrics for friendship - 10/19
    Why do different friendships feel different?

  13. Realizations from my first internship - 8/19
    I once interned at IQVIA, where I learned a few things about corporate life.

Resources