Teaching

Teaching Experience

  • Professor, Department of Computer Science, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. 2002-present

  • Teaching Assistant, Human Computer Interaction, Carnegie Mellon University. 2001

  • Math and Science Teacher, Ephraim Curtis Middle School, Sudbury Public Schools. 1998-1999

  • Teaching Assistant, Data Structures (1996), Artificial Intelligence (1997), Human Computer Interaction (2001), Carnegie Mellon University.

  • Math and Science Teacher, Holy Spirit Catholic School, Baltimore, Maryland. 1994-1995

  • Science Teacher, Booker T. Washington Middle School, Baltimore Public Schools, Baltimore, Maryland. Teach For America. 1993-1994

  • Amherst College, Students for Educational Equality. Developed a one-on-one tutoring program pairing Amherst College students with inner-city children in Holyoke, Massachusetts. 1989-1993

For over a decade Dr Heffernan has been teaching one undergraduate AI class each year and one graduate course in his area.

Undergraduate Courses Taught at WPI

  • 2002 Fall B-Term: CS 4341: Artificial Intelligence. (52 students)

  • 2005 Spring D-Term: CS 4341: Artificial Intelligence. (80 students)

  • 2006 Fall A-Term: CS 4341: Artificial Intelligence. (40 students)

  • 2007 Spring D-Term: CS 2102: Object Oriented Design (the first Java class students take at WPI). (69 students)

  • 2008 Spring D-Term: CS 2102: Object Oriented Design (the first Java class students take at WPI). (64 students)

  • 2009 Fall B-Term: CS 4341: Artificial Intelligence. (48 students)

  • 2011 Spring D-Term: CS 4341: Artificial Intelligence. (81 students)

  • 2012 Fall B-Term: CS 4341: Artificial Intelligence. (20 students)

  • 2013 Fall A-Term: CS4341: Artificial Intelligence. (34 students)

  • 2015 Fall A-Term: CS4341: Artificial Intelligence. (54 students)

  • 2016 Spring C-Term: CS4341: Artificial Intelligence. (57 students)

  • 2018 Fall A-Term: CS4341: Artificial Intelligence. (35 students)

  • 2019 Fall A-Term: CS4341: Artificial Intelligence. (37 students)

Please view a full list of IQPs and MQPs.

Graduate Courses Taught at WPI

For over a decade Dr Heffernan has been teaching one undergraduate AI class and one graduate course in his area. At the graduate level he rotates between the following three courses.

  • Artificial Intelligence for Adaptive Educational Technology (CS 568). (Last taught Fall 2021, Spring 2019 )

  • User Modeling, which focuses on educational data mining (CS 565). (Available now, Fall 2022, and last taught Fall 2020)

  • Special Topics: Online Education (CS 525). (Last taught Fall 2020)