Alternative Grading

Equitable Grading and Ecosystems for More Caring Communities

May 11, 2024

Kevin Lin

Designing computing education that empowers students

Kevin Lin (he/him) is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington. He leads instructional innovation in data programming and data structures with a focus on empowering students to redesign computing problems and artifacts. Kevin received his MS in Computer Science from UC Berkeley, where he coordinated the teaching and delivery of very large-scale undergraduate CS courses to over 1,000 students per semester.

2019—: Assistant Teaching Professor
University of Washington
Computer Science & Engineering
kevinl@cs.uw.edu
2023: Visiting Assistant Professor
University of California, San Diego
Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute

Education

2019: MS, Computer Science
University of California, Berkeley
2018: BA, Computer Science
University of California, Berkeley; BA, Cognitive Science
University of California, Berkeley

Teaching

University of Washington

2019—: Computer Programming II
22sp – 20au – 20sp; Intermediate Data Programming
25sp – 25wi – 24sp – 24wi – 23sp – 21sp; Data Structures and Algorithms
25sp – 24au – 24sp – 23au – 23wi – 22au – 22wi – 21au – 21su – 21wi – 20wi – 19au; System and Software Tools
25wi; Equitable and Inclusive Computer Science Pedagogy
22au; Designing a More Critical CS Education
21sp – 21wi; Honors Seminar
22sp – 20au

University of California, San Diego

2023: Data Structures and Algorithms for Data Science
23su

University of California, Berkeley

2016–2018: Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
fa17 (Head TA) – su17 – fa16 (TA) – sp16 (Tutor); Data Structures
su18 – sp18 (Head TA) – sp17 (Head TA) – su16 (TA); Great Ideas in Computer Architecture
fa18 (Head TA)

Distinctions

2024: SIGCSE TS 2024 Outstanding Reviewer Award
2023: Teach Access Faculty Grant
2022: Designing Empirical Education Research Studies Participant
2021: Cultural Competence in Computing Fellow
2019: EECS Distinguished Student Teaching Award; Teaching Effectiveness Award; Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award

Invited Talks

2024: An Invitation to Reimagine: Empowering Students to Redesign Computing Problems and Artifacts
Illinois Computer Science Summer Teaching Workshop; Teaching Contentious Issues in the Classroom
Cultural Competence in Computing Fellows Cohort 4 Professional Development; Alternative Grading: Equitable Grading and Ecosystems for More Caring Communities
Reflection and Practice Seminar Series; Empowering Students Through Our Teaching
UW Teaching & Learning Symposium; An Invitation to Reimagine: Empowering Students to Redesign Computing Problems and Artifacts
UC Berkeley ACE Lab; An Invitation to Reimagine: Empowering Students to Redesign Computing Problems and Artifacts
Computing Education Research at Davis; An Invitation to Reimagine: Empowering Students to Redesign Computing Problems and Artifacts
Olin College Community Research Seminar; An Invitation to Reimagine: Empowering Students to Redesign Computing Problems and Artifacts
UIUC Computing Education Research Group
2023: Experiences Teaching Critical Comparative Data Structures and Algorithms
Embedded Ethics Conference; Experiences Teaching Critical Comparative Data Structures and Algorithms
Northwestern University Tech Ethics Mentors
2022: Teaching-Track Faculty Panel
CMU School of Computer Science Education Group; CS Education for the Socially-Just Worlds We Need
Computing Education Research at Davis; CS Education for the Socially-Just Worlds We Need
CS Diversity Committee Webinar, Simon Fraser University
2021: CS Education for the Socially-Just Worlds We Need
TechEd Seminar, Princeton University; Centering Identity and Culture in Critical Computing
Teaching Responsible Computing Summit 2021; Justice-Centered CS Education
CS Education Seminar, Western Washington University; What You Wish You Knew About Summer Instruction
Designing Computer Science Education, UC Berkeley

Publications

Conference Papers

2024: “It Can Relate to Real Lives”: Attitudes and Expectations in Justice-Centered Data Structures & Algorithms for Non-Majors
Anna Batra, Iris Zhou, Suh Young Choi, Chongjiu Gao, Yanbing Xiao, Sonia Fereidooni, Kevin Lin
Experience Reports and Tools paper in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
2022: CS Education for the Socially-Just Worlds We Need: The Case for Justice-Centered Approaches to CS in Higher Education
Kevin Lin
Position and Curricula Initiative in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
2021: Do Abstractions Have Politics? Toward a More Critical Algorithm Analysis
Kevin Lin
Position paper in the IEEE Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology

Conference Abstracts

2023: Equitable Grading Best Practices
Dan Garcia, Maria Camarena, Kevin Lin, and Jill Westerland
Panel in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
2022: Approaches for Weaving Responsible Computing into Data Structures and Algorithms Courses
Kathi Fisler, Sorelle Friedler, Kevin Lin, and Suresh Venkatasubramanian
Panel in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education; Reading Between the Lines: Student Experiences of Resubmission in an Introductory CS Course
Leah Perlmutter, Jayne Everson, Ken Yasuhara, Brett Wortzman, and Kevin Lin
Poster in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
2021: Nifty Web Apps: Build a Web App for Any Text-Based Programming Assignment
Kevin Lin, Sumant Guha, Joe Spaniac, and Andy Zheng
Special session in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education; How Can We Make Office Hours Better?
Kevin Lin, Kristin Stephens-Martinez, and Brian Railing
Birds-of-a-feather session in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education; Strategies for Authentic Assessments of Mastery in CS Courses
Kevin Lin, Lina Battestilli, and Michael Ball
Birds-of-a-feather session in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education; Implementation of Mastery Grading Toward Rightful Presence
Jayne Everson, Leah Perlmutter, Ken Yasuhara, Kevin Lin, and Brett Wortzman
Poster in the UW Teaching & Learning Symposium
2020: It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (Hindsight is 2020)
Dan Garcia, Jim Huggins, Kevin Lin, Raja Sooriamurthi, Leo Urell Ii, and Ursula Wolz
Panel in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education; Perspectives on Allyship in Academia
Jamie Payton, Adam Blank, Christian Murphy, Melissa Hovik, Kevin Lin, Angela Kwon, and Lara McConnaughey
Special session in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education; Transitioning From Peer Instruction to POGIL with Guided Lecture Notes
Kevin Lin
Lightning talk in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education; How Can We Make Office Hours Better?
Kevin Lin and Brian Railing
Birds-of-a-feather session in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
2019: Near-Peer Student Mentors: Creating Scalable Learning Experiences in Large Lecture Courses
Kevin Lin
Lightning talk in the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Southwestern Region; Subgoals, Problem Solving Phases, and Sources of Knowledge: A Complex Mangle
Kevin Lin and David DeLiema
Poster in the ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

Open Educational Resources

2022: Decision Trees for Text Classification in CS2
Kevin Lin
Assignment in EngageCSEdu

Non-Refereed Publications

2024: Teaching How All Technology is Assistive: Integrating Accessible Design into an Undergraduate Computing Course
Anna Batra, Simon Wu, Kianna Bolante, Jinghua Sun, Katharine Zhang, Iris Zhou, Kevin Lin
Poster in the UW Undergraduate Research Symposium; An Invitation to Reimagine: Reframing the Dialogue between Educators, Students, and Employers
Kevin Lin and Alannah Oleson
UW Teaching & Learning Symposium; An Invitation to Reimagine: Reframing the Dialogue between Educators, Students, and Employers
Kevin Lin
Lightning talk in the 3C Fellows Spotlight
2023: Designing and Evaluating a Justice-Centered Intermediate Computing Course
Anna Batra, Iris Zhou, Chongjiu Gao, Sonia Fereidooni, Yanbing Xiao, Suh Young Choi, Kevin Lin
Poster in the UW Undergraduate Research Symposium
2019: How Help Can Hurt: Understanding Defensive Climate in the Undergraduate CS Classroom
Kevin Lin
Research paper prepared for the EECS Department, UC Berkeley; A Berkeley View of Teaching CS at Scale
Kevin Lin
MS technical report for the EECS Department, UC Berkeley; From 40 to 400 to 1,400: Providing Formative Feedback in Large-Scale Courses
Kevin Lin
GSI Online Library: Teaching Effectiveness Award Essays for the Graduate Division, UC Berkeley

Media

2022: Alternative grading, how?
Brett Wortzman, Kevin Lin, and Kristin Stephens-Martinez
The CS-Ed Podcast
2021: Alternative grading, why?
Brett Wortzman, Kevin Lin, and Kristin Stephens-Martinez
The CS-Ed Podcast

Mentoring

2023: Anna Batra
UW MS in Computational Linguistics to Cascadia College Adjunct Faculty in Computer Science; Iris Zhou
UW BA in Mathematics to UC San Diego MS in Computer Science & Engineering
2022: Sonia Fereidooni
UW BS/MS in Computer Science to University of Cambridge PhD in Digital Humanities
2021: Leah Perlmutter
UW PhD in Computer Science to Grinnell College Assistant Professor; Aleks Jovčić
UW BS in Computer Science to Lakeside School CS Teacher
2017: Sarah Jin
UC Berkeley BA in Computer Science to Stanford Teacher Education Program

Department Talks

2024: ACE Computing Ed Symposium Keynote; Alternative Assessment Systems: Designing for Flexibility; An Invitation to Reimagine: Empowering Students to Redesign Computing Problems and Artifacts; ACE TA Panel; COM² Roundtable Career Exploration Gala
2023: Computing Education Researcher Panel; Racial Diversity in Tech
2022: Impact++ @ UW Lightning Talk: Education X Tech
2021: CS for What and for Whom?
2020: Programming a Better Future
2019: Applying for Academic Positions and Postdoctoral Appointments; EECS/CS Life from a Student Perspective
2018: Introductory CS Courses at UC Berkeley; EECS/CS Life from a Student Perspective
2017: How to Learn Computer Science

Service

2025: ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
Tutorials Junior Co-Chair
2024: ACM Journal on Responsible Computing
Reviewer; ACM Conference for Research on Equitable and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology
Reviewer; Center for Learning, Computing, and Imagination
Co-Director; ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
Birds-of-a-Feather Senior Co-Chair – Reviewer; ACM SIGCSE Special Projects
Committee Member
2023: EngageCSEdu
Reviewer; NCWIT Aspirations in Computing
Reviewer; IEEE Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology
Reviewer; ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
Birds-of-a-Feather Junior Co-Chair – Student Research Competition Judge; ACM SIGCSE Special Projects
Committee Member
2022: NCWIT Aspirations in Computing
Reviewer; Communications of the ACM
Reviewer; IEEE Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology
Zoom Chair – Reviewer; ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
Paper Session Chair – Reviewer
2021: IEEE Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology
Reviewer; ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
Paper Session Chair – Reviewer – Poster Judge
2020: The CS-Ed Podcast
Transcript Editor; ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
Paper Session Chair – Reviewer