Hello!? My name is Matt MacNaughton
I am a Portland-area resident since moving to Oregon from New Mexico in the early 90’s.? Since then I’ve worked as a software developer, database administrator and systems designer in numerous IT departments and software companies in the area.? I’ve also worked as a contract consultant for area and remote clients in the US.
“Matt was an excellent instructor. He pivoted and shifted a lot in order to get students engaged in an otherwise quiet group. He let us have fun with it and pushed us when we needed it.” – Student CIS 140L Introduction to Linux Fall 2024? (see more student comments on Matt’s teaching.)
What I really enjoy most about working as a software developer has been being able to work across different industries.? I’ve written software for aviation companies, chip makers, K-12 education, software houses, talent agents, environmental compliance, marketing agencies, fire and emergency response, as well as in the financial and legal industries.? Every industry is unique and almost every project has been unique.
PCC has helped me.? Now I want to help students at PCC
PCC is something of an “alma mater” for me.? When I was preparing to apply to grad school at Oregon Graduate Institute,? ?I found PCC to be a great resource for my goals and I hope you discover the same thing.
I took quite a few PCC courses.? I’ve taken and taught many of the PCC courses you will be taking if you are pursuing a computer science transfer. I recently started teaching in the CIS department and look forward to applying my experience in distributed systems, database systems, professional programming and web technologies there.
“[His] engaging attitude towards learning and presenting the information in a way that I and other students understood is invaluable”? – Student CIS 140L Introduction to Linux Fall 2024 (see more student comments on Matt’s teaching.)
My approach to teaching
- Mentally pivot to look at a problem from the student’s perspective.? I try to do this before making a suggestion.
- Take every student at face value and work with them towards what they say they want out of a course I’m teaching.? No one knows you like you.
- Take the materials and time we have available to us to explore and get the basics of our course topics in a structured way that everyone can participate in equally.
- Apply the idiom: “take from no person their song.”? Everyone comes to PCC with their own special experiences, background and aspirations.? I strive to value and listen to everyone’s “song” every time I work with them.
“Professor Matthew MacNaughton is known for his patience with students, as he actively listens to and considers their input.”
“I thought Matt brought real word experience and approaches into the discussion.”– Students CIS 184C Introduction to Information Security Summer 2024 (see more student comments on Matt’s teaching.)
Influences / frameworks
Professional Organizations
Education
- M.S. Computer Science, Oregon Graduate Institute, Portland OR
- Graduate Study, Training and Learning Technologies, University of New Mexico
- B.A. Psychology, focus in Learning & Memory and Technical Communications,? University of New Mexico