Kristen “Nel” Escher
EECS 183: Elementary Programming Concepts
While teaching lab sections such as EECS 183, Nel created lessons that fostered strong engagement from students while achieving the learning outcomes of the lesson. This included a Mad Libs activity she created, which required students to practice issuing all the commands required to submit their final projects. Nel also used innovative ways to reach individuals in a class of almost a thousand students with diverse backgrounds. For example, EECS 183 uses ECoach software to reach students with tailored messages about their performance and resources available to them. Nel wrote messages through ECoach explaining the process and benefits of office hours, which allowed her to reach students who may not have known what to expect. Recognized by the EECS department as an outstanding Graduate Student Instructor in 2017, Nel has served as a role model to both students and peers.