2026-06-09: Teaching Database Concepts for Senior Undergraduate and Graduate Students at ODU
In the Spring 2026 semester at Old Dominion University (ODU), I taught CS 450 (Undergrad) / CS 550 (Graduate): Database Concepts. The course was fully online, with synchronous live Zoom sessions held twice a week. The attendance was not mandatory but strongly encouraged. All lectures were recorded and made available for students to access whenever needed.
Figure 1: Canvas course page for CS 450/550: Database Concepts
Through this blog post, I want to share my experience of teaching a senior-level undergraduate/graduate course for the first time, the behind-the-scenes realities of course preparation through to the end of the course, and how student feedback actively shaped the course as it progressed.
Since the course had been taught previously by other instructors, materials were already available, which made things easier. Rather than building everything from scratch, I started by copying over the existing course structure and then carefully updating it to align with the current semester. The more time-consuming part was setting everything up, cleaning up the Canvas course, especially updating deadlines and revising the syllabus, while ensuring the topics were properly aligned with assignment deadlines. If you are instructing for the first time, it is very important to make sure you get access to the course in time, so you can set everything up without a rush.
Throughout the semester, to make the most of class time, I spent a couple of hours before each session preparing things such as reviewing material, planning examples, and thinking through how topics would connect. I tried to debug issues during the class in real time whenever possible. If something took longer than expected, I pushed it to the end of class or moved it to the office hours. It helped me to continue the flow of the topic without interruptions.
I was able to experience first hand how handling a class of 50 students without a teaching assistant (TA) was, honestly, a lot more work than I expected. Grading labs, homework, quizzes, and discussions while also preparing for lectures and responding to emails required a constant balance. I wasn’t always perfect, but I made a steady effort to stay on top of it. Grades were returned as quickly as I could manage, and emails were typically answered within 24 hours, often sooner. Again, it reinforced something I had already noticed as a student: timeliness matters. Things do not have to be instant, but when there is a clear effort to respond and follow through, it builds trust and keeps students engaged.
One of the first challenges I faced as an instructor to this course involved managing classroom dynamics. After a few classes, a student shared a concern that some well-intentioned peer engagement (jumping in to answer questions or adding explanations during lecture) was becoming distracting to follow along. It was a fair concern, and an important one. At the same time, I didn’t want to discourage participation. Active engagement is something every instructor hopes for, and it was clear that students were eager to contribute. My challenge was to find the right balance. I responded by acknowledging the concern and assuring the student that I would make adjustments so that participation remained helpful rather than overwhelming. Before taking action, I also reached out to a mentor for advice, which helped me approach the situation more thoughtfully. I thanked students for being engaged and willing to contribute, but also clarified expectations: participation was welcome, but lectures and question answering would be primarily instructor-led, with designated moments for peer discussion. I also reflected on something I had noticed during the class introductions: students were coming from a wide range of backgrounds. Some had prior experience with databases, while others were encountering these concepts for the first time. Because of that, maintaining a consistent pace and structure was important. I believe that framing it this way helped convey the message to the students that my goal is not to limit participation but to support a better learning environment for all. There were no further concerns raised afterwards and the students remained engaged while being supportive of the entire class.
Midway through the semester, I conducted an anonymous check-in survey to better understand how students were experiencing the course. To encourage participation, I offered a small amount of extra credit, which resulted in a strong response rate.
Figure 2: Screenshot of the CS 450/550 mid-semester student check-in survey page
Overall, the feedback was encouraging, most students agreed or strongly agreed that assignments were clear, the workload was manageable, and the pace was appropriate (Figure 3). But what mattered more were the written responses. They highlighted patterns that helped me see the course from the students’ perspective (full set of responses).
A few consistent concerns stood out:
Some students said they weren’t always sure what to prepare before class or whether a session would lean more toward lecture or lab. That feedback pushed me to be more specific in my announcements, clearly laying out what each class would cover.
Several students pointed out that while their answers were marked incorrect or partially correct, the reasoning behind it wasn’t always clear. This was a fair point, and a difficult balance when grading at scale. Still, I made a more conscious effort to leave clearer comments.
Even when students understood the concepts, many struggled to translate them into SQL queries or ER diagrams. That reinforced something I kept coming back to: the need for more in-class examples and live coding, which I continued to prioritize.
Interestingly, a lot of students said the challenge wasn’t the material itself, but managing their time. A few students shared situations where missing a single assignment significantly impacted their grade. This feedback later influenced my decision to allow requests for reopening missed work.
At the same time, there were plenty of positive notes that helped confirm what was working:
Students consistently appreciated the clarity of explanations and examples.
The labs and live coding sessions were frequently mentioned as highlights.
Many felt the course structure was organized and manageable.
Some even described it as one of the best online courses they had taken.
I also asked students a simple question: what’s one thing I should keep doing, and one thing I could do better? Here are some of the responses that stood out:
“The instructor is great. Instructions are clear, vibes are good, I would recommend this class. The homework is work intensive but not unreasonable.”
“You have been doing a great job and this has been one of the best online courses I have taken at ODU”
“very good at explaining things, even when the students dont seem to get something she fines a new way of explaining it so they get it.”
“The instructor is accommodating to students within reason and I believe that is something they should keep doing.”
“keep being a great teacher :)”
Figure 3: Summary of student responses to four questions: assignments, workload, grading, and pace
At the mid-semester point, once the grades were up-to-date, I started reaching out to students who had missing work or were falling behind. The intention wasn’t to penalize them, but to give them an opportunity to catch-up. At the same time, I made a point to recognize those who were consistently performing well and allowed all students the same opportunity to request the opportunity to catch up on any missed assignments to maintain fairness. Many students responded well to that nudge.
One practice I intentionally carried forward from my own experience as a student was leaving comments on graded work, not just when points were deducted, but also to acknowledge strong submissions. It is a small effort from my end, but it helps students feel seen and motivates them to keep improving. As a student, those were the moments we looked forward to, knowing the instructor noticed good work.
As the semester came to an end, the focus shifted to final evaluations, especially grading the course projects and submitting final grades to the university. One thing I did not fully anticipate during this phase was the time needed to carefully evaluate student projects. Each submission reflected a significant amount of effort, and I wanted to give them the attention they deserved. As a result, grading ran later than I had initially expected, although it was still well within the official deadline.
Teaching this course taught me some important things. Good teaching is not about getting everything perfect, it’s a way to strengthen your own knowledge while sharing that knowledge in a way others can truly grasp. It is also about being responsive, thinking about what’s working and what isn’t, and being willing to adjust along the way. Managing a full class without a TA was basically a one-person band situation (except I was the entire percussion section, keeping tempo, fixing the rhythm mid-performance, and still trying not to miss a beat while everyone else expected a flawless show). But throughout the semester, I focused on doing the best I could and continuously improving based on student input. Overall, this experience was incredibly rewarding and reaffirmed my plan to pursue a career in academia.
Acknowledgements
I sincerely thank my advisors, Dr. Michele C. Weigle, Dr. Michael L. Nelson, and Associate Professor & Assistant Chair of the Department of Computer Science, Dr. Steven J. Zeil for providing me with this invaluable opportunity to gain teaching experience as a PhD student. I am also grateful to my advisors and my colleague Dr. Bhanuka Mahanama, for always being available to answer questions. Special thanks to Dr. Santosh Nukavarapu for his mentorship throughout the semester and Syed R. Rizvi for providing the course slides. Credit for establishing and continuously refining this structure should go to the instructors who have taught the course over the years, including but not limited to Drs. Irwin Levinstein, Jian Wu, Vikas Ashok, Syed Rizvi, and Santosh Nukavarapu.
And finally, a very special thank you to my husband, Skanda Siva, for being endlessly flexible with his schedule and for his constant support, and to Yara Siva, who may not know it yet but was my tiniest companion through it all.
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