Sadia Sharmin
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Department of Computer Science
Sadia Sharmin is an assistant professor, teaching stream in the Department of Computer Science. She received her PhD from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.
Most recently, Sharmin taught computer science as a lecturer and assistant professor at the University of Toronto's Mississauga campus, beginning in 2015. Prior to that, she worked as a teaching assistant for five years. In 2019, she received the Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Junior Member within her department. She has also held teaching assistant positions at McMaster University in the Department of Communication Studies & Media Arts.
Sharmin’s PhD dissertation on computer science education focused on the idea of making education more personal for students. She focused specifically on incorporating creativity and exploration into undergraduate computer science courses to increase motivation and satisfaction, especially among first-year students. In 2019, a conference paper related to her PhD studies entitled "The Impact of Open-ended Assignments on Student Self-Efficacy in CS1" won the ACM Program Chairs’ Award for Best Paper at the Global Computing Education Conference (CompEd). In addition to improving introductory computer science courses, Sharmin is interested in a pedagogy of kindness, mental wellness initiatives and promoting diversity within computer science and STEM.