Dr. Waterloo Tsutsui, Lecturer and Lab Coordinator, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, College of Engineering, collaborates with his teaching mentor to facilitate an optional, weekly supervised homework session outside of the classroom. He uses innovative instructional methods and strategies in each homework session to teach students how to approach homework problems and recognize key concepts and procedures. He also uses strategies such as small group teaching and problem-based learning. Tsutsui conducts in-depth research exploring if the homework session enhances understanding of course material.

Since 2018, Tsutsui has incorporated virtual labs as a teaching tool in his lab courses. The virtual labs were intended to help students prepare for the hands-on lab; however, Tsutsui implemented the use of virtual labs for experiments that could not be accomplished in-person as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tsutsui shared his creative approach in a published conference paper for his aeromechanics virtual lab. He also wrote a second paper on the experiments conducted in his structural analysis virtual lab. (Example 1, Example 2)

Experimentation goes beyond course material for Tsutsui, who listens to students’ needs and provides feedback to them. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he adapted to teaching emergencies and started using Piazza and Gradescope to stay connected and involved with his students. A licensed engineer with 10 years of industry experience, he often provides advice on engineering careers.

The following table maps Dr. Tsutsui’s teaching excellence evidence to evaluation activities.