As students hurriedly walk into their computer science class first thing in the morning, they are greeted by a friendly smile, a humorous question about a PB&J sandwich, and an expansive array of tables where students can collaborate on complex algorithms. This inviting atmosphere, coupled with the desire to learn in the air, is just one of the things that makes Computer Science teacher Ryan Jones’ classroom unique.

Despite this being Mr. Jones’ first year teaching at Westwood, he’s no stranger to the world of computer science. With over a decade of industry experience, Mr. Jones is something of a veteran in the field.

“I’ve been in [the] industry for the last 14-plus years,” Mr. Jones said. “I started out as a software developer at Dell. Then, I moved over as a performance engineer for General Motors. I managed their entire manufacturing department. [I tested] all the software that went into the factories [to] make sure that it worked well. Before I came to teaching, my last role was the Director of Release Management at Sports Illustrated Tickets.”

Yet, despite his expansive experience with software engineering and computer programming, Mr. Jones felt as if he needed a change from the corporate world. For him, teaching felt like the next step.

For a high school computer science teacher, Mr. Jones has a unique background that shapes his teaching style into one like no other. Characterized by his immense industry knowledge of computer science combined with his desire to teach, Mr. Jones has created a truly unique teaching philosophy, centered around making computer science accessible to everyone, not just those who want a job in the field.

“[When I was in high school,] you were only ever taught [that if you did computer science], you will be a software developer, and that there’s really nothing more than that,” Mr. Jones said. “That’s definitely not the case anymore. I wanted to bring my industry experience in [to show that] you can do more with computer science. Whether you’re going into medicine, law, or programming, you can do a lot more with computer science than just being a developer. I take that industry style and experience into how I approach the lessons and the assignments that I do.”

Mr. Jones’ deep knowledge about computer science is especially important for students as they are key players in this new era of rapid technological development. In the midst of a period of rapid innovation where artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and 6G wireless technologies are taking the world by storm, computers and machinery are increasingly important in a litany of fields. These developments, in Mr. Jones’ opinion, render a robust computer science education imperative.

“Computers are something in any industry, any kind of profession, [that] you’re going to interact with,” Mr. Jones said. “In any job, you’re going to [interact with] some level of technology, whether you’re working on a website, building something, or working with data. [Technology] is something that’s very prevalent in any kind of job.”

Even independent of the emerging technology boom, though, Mr. Jones still feels as if learning computer science equips students with skills that are crucial to navigate the workforce and life in general.

“One of the biggest concepts I hope to teach is that computer science is about critical thinking, creativity, and thinking out of the box,” Mr. Jones said. “All those philosophies and concepts can be applied to any industry or any job. Anything we [learn] here, I want to correlate [it with] something in the world, no matter what it is.”

Cultivating critical thinking is an important part of Mr. Jones’ teaching philosophy, as he believes motivating students to approach familiar concepts from unique perspectives is crucial to help them learn information beyond the surface-level concepts they are taught in most other classes.

“For me, [the most important part of teaching is] getting the students to think differently,” Mr. Jones said. “[In] the lesson we’re doing today, which is about top-down design, the warm-up activity is about how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Everyone knows how to make a sandwich, but thinking about it from a top-down design [is challenging].”

All in all, Mr. Jones’ goal for his first year of teaching is to encourage students to think about concepts more critically and thoroughly in an attempt to reshape how they view learning. For Mr. Jones, conventional methods of teaching fail to delve deeper into the intricacies of certain concepts.

“I’m a person [who is] easygoing, and [my only concern] is that I want [my students] to try and think out of the box,” Mr. Jones said. “For too many subjects, you’re told you need to solve this problem exactly [in one] way. [The answer] should be A, B, or C, or you need to write [the answer] exactly this way. In computer science, while it may have a specific task, there are many ways to solve the same problem. I want people to think creatively, and think outside of the box [whenever they do things].”