CSC News

Jason King Receives Outstanding Teacher Award from NC State

Congratulations to Jason King, associate teaching professor in the Department of Computer Science, on receiving the 2024-25 NC State Outstanding Teacher Award.

This award is given to outstanding educators who demonstrate a commitment to student learning through teaching, research, creative activities, advising, academic program development and educational leadership. Awardees of the Outstanding Teacher Award are inducted into the NC State Academy of Outstanding Teachers and remain members through their time at NC State. King and his fellow awardees were recognized at a University Teaching Awards Luncheon and Ceremony on April 17, 2025.

King is a proud three-time NC State graduate and was the first generation in his family to receive a bachelor’s degree; he received his B.A. (‘09), M.S. (‘11) and Ph.D. (‘16) in computer science from NC State before joining the Department of Computer Science as a teaching-track faculty member (90% teaching and 10% service) in January of 2016. 

“When I was a kid, I never once said, ‘I want to be a teacher when I grow up!’” said King. He comes from a long line of eastern North Carolina tobacco and livestock farmers; growing up, a graduate degree, let alone becoming a professor, didn’t seem possible. “But looking back, it seems quite obvious that I would eventually become a teacher,” said King. “Getting a desktop computer in 3rd grade unlocked two significant interests for me: computing and learning with technology. In high school, I created assignments for teachers of the computer applications course to help other students learn how to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint.”

Currently, King is the course coordinator for CSC316: Data Structures and Algorithms and CSC415: Software Security. He regularly serves as a technical faculty advisor within the Computer Science Senior Design Center; he’s also mentored multiple independent study projects at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. King’s work focuses on the creation and innovative use of technologies for facilitating computer science teaching and learning.

“My experiences have all contributed to three primary aspects of my teaching philosophy,” said King. “Leverage technology to facilitate teaching and learning; maintain high expectations of students while being sensitive to different learning needs of individuals; and dedicate time to reflect and improve as a teacher.”

Leveraging technology to facilitate teaching and learning:

Sometimes, teaching is about facing the challenges that once held you back. “During my first semester as a faculty member, the department unknowingly assigned me to teach that one course that made me the most uncomfortable as an undergraduate student: CSC316 Data Structures & Algorithms,” said King. “As a person who learns by example, I struggled with computer science theory when there were often few examples to be found.” King devised a plan to better connect computer science theory with practice; in 2017, he applied for and received an NC State DELTA critical path course redesign grant for the CSC316 course.

King’s redesign included restructuring course projects, incorporating more active-learning activities, creating unique supplemental videos and increasing the overall rigor of the course. After the changes, 83.3% of students found the new projects to be academically challenging and 73% of students found the project tasks required them to think critically. For his work on the redesign, King received the NC State Gertrude Cox Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching and Learning with Technology in 2018. Since receiving the award, King has continued to focus on incorporating new technology, tools and novel methods of teaching (including Kahoot!) in his instruction.

Maintaining high expectations of students while being sensitive to different learning needs of individuals:

As students (current and former) can attest, computer science is a difficult field of study. Having an upfront, understanding teacher in your corner often makes the difference when it comes to student success. “I remind students that their parents do not need to be senior software developers for them to be able to succeed in computer science,” said King. “Since 2016, my colleagues and I have encouraged students to adopt growth mindsets. To help facilitate this mindset post-COVID when student mental health concerns are important to consider, I revised course policies to support students, to allow them to make mistakes and learn from mistakes, and to reward improved performance over time.”

Some examples of these revisions include: dropping the lowest homework grade, accepting late submissions of assignments with a grade penalty, structuring final exams to allow students to improve their original midterm grades and much more. Setting clear expectations at the beginning of a course is critical, so students know exactly what is expected of them.

King’s also created some clever work-arounds to the problem of large class sizes. “Since CSC316 has enrollments that exceed 200+ students each semester, I cannot meet with each student individually,” he said. “Instead, in addition to office hours, I dedicate time to providing punctual instructor responses on the course message board. For example, in Spring 2024, I answered 645 out of 822 total questions asked, while other students answered the remaining questions.” 

Dedicate time to reflect and improve as a teacher: 

“Teachers must continue to grow and adapt to the changing needs of students,” said King. From discussing class evaluation feedback with students to working with other teaching faculty to share ideas and collaborate on course improvements, King understands the job of an instructor isn’t just to teach; it’s to learn how to teach better. 

In recognition of his efforts, King was named a Carla Savage Award Winner in Fall 2024, honoring his outstanding work and achievements in teaching within the Department of Computer Science.

Putting it all together: 

“In some ways, being a teacher is like being a stand-up comedian,” said King. “Every semester has a different audience of students with different personalities, experiences and personal challenges. I have to keep that audience actively engaged and responsive, and if they stop laughing at my 'jokes', then I need to shift gears and adapt my teaching routine. Being a teacher means always reflecting, improving and looking for new ways to help students learn complex topics. The Outstanding Teacher Award helps recognize these skills, but it also motivates continuous improvement so that I can prepare for the next audience and generation of students!”

~brown~