Cong Cao - Teaching

Teaching Experience

Designed and taught a new undergraduate course, Introduction to Public Health Economics and Policy, at Caltech, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences (Spring 2023–2024: 18 students & Spring 2024–2025: 36 students). Developed course materials, led lectures, and facilitated interactive discussions to engage students in key economic and policy concepts. Received significantly above-average scores on all 13 teaching evaluation metrics, including 11 metrics above both departmental and Caltech-wide averages, demonstrating consistently high student satisfaction and instructional effectiveness.

Served as a teaching assistant for the graduate-level course Applied Linear Regression Analysis at the Arctic University of Norway, Faculty of Health Sciences (2020). Led group exercises and provided hands-on instruction in R Studio, helping students develop practical programming and data analysis skills.

Ready-to-teach courses:

Statistics / Data Science: Applied Statistics, Machine Learning & Data Science, Predictive Modeling, Causal Inference

Health & Public Policy: Health Informatics, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Health Policy Analysis, Quantitative Methods in Public Health

Business & Analytics: Business Analytics, Data-Driven Decision Making, Quantitative Methods for Management

Interdisciplinary / Applied Topics: Environmental & Climate Data Analytics, Computational Social Science, Policy Evaluation, AI for Public Health

Mentorship

2024 — Co-mentor for undergraduate research, Caltech Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Project. Co-mentored an undergraduate for six months, guiding literature reviews, research question development, data collection, deep learning implementation, result interpretation, and full project execution.

2024 — Co-supervisor for a master’s Thesis student at the University of Cambridge, UK. Thesis passed on first submission without revisions; ranked in the top 25% of the cohort.

Selected Student Feedback Excerpts:

“It was a pleasure to have Prof. Cao as an instructor. She was very enthusiastic and did a great job of making the class engaging, interactive, and interesting. I appreciate how much effort she put into organizing the classes to include both lecture and discussion.”

“Great instructor, super interesting lectures, and very helpful and knowledgeable about the course material. She was always there if you wanted clarification or wanted to go into a topic more deeply.”

“Having the lecture slides available while going through lectures was very helpful. Lectures were also quite engaging, especially with the discussion portions to help clarify ideas and bring topics discussed in the lecture into practice.”

"Wonderful lecturer, really great course style"

Reflecting on My First Teaching Experience as a Lecturer at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the 2023-2024 spring term

During my position as a postdoctoral instructor at Caltech, I had the privilege of teaching a course each year. My teaching journey began as a teaching assistant in an applied linear regression course tailored for master's students in health sciences. In that role, I transitioned the course's analytical tools from STATA to the R programming language, updated all the professor's slides and code, and assisted with group exercises. This experience transformed me from a student into an educator, offering me new perspectives and a deeper understanding of how to effectively convey knowledge.
Stepping into the Classroom

In the Spring of 2024 at Caltech, I stood in the classroom for the first time as an instructor, teaching “Introduction to Public Health Economics and Policy.” This was the first time Caltech offered this course. I had to prepare all the teaching materials from scratch. Initially, I planned to focus on literature readings and discussions. However, thanks to Professor Eberhardt's advice on using a textbook as the foundation for my first time teaching as a lecturer, I researched textbooks used in similar courses at other universities and began creating slides.
Engaging in Discussions and Role-playing Games

Given the course's focus on public health, we tackled sensitive yet compelling topics such as organ donation, obesity, the impact of Muslim fasting on birth defects, etc. These discussions brought the material to life, with students often expressing a desire for more time to explore these issues in depth. To further enrich the course content, I invited three guest speakers from medicine, ethics, and industry, who provided valuable insights and real-world perspectives.
Each class included electronic slides, printed notes, and role-playing cards for group discussions. Occasionally, we transformed our discussions into role-playing games and topical debates, which added an interactive element and encouraged students to engage with the material dynamically.
Overcoming Challenges

Throughout my teaching experience, I faced various challenges, such as addressing students dozing off in the early morning class and managing absences due to illness. Professor Alvarez provided effective suggestions that helped me find joy and fulfillment in teaching. He taught me how to maintain students’ attention through interactive elements, sparking their interest. These strategies not only improved my classroom management but also deepened my understanding of the essence and joy of education.
Building a Community

I believe that the classroom is a vibrant community where everyone should contribute to creating a positive atmosphere. In this setting, we are all students, teachers, and thinkers; I learn just as much from my students as they learn from me. I recognize that each student is unique, with different learning styles.
Despite my course being scheduled for 9 a.m., and Caltech students typically staying up late to complete homework, I am always encouraged to see nearly full attendance every morning. One student, a computer science major, even attended the class on crutches after an injury; he shared that this was his first social science course in four years and his final class before graduation. This made me even more grateful and motivated to provide them with a great learning experience.
Affirming Feedback

During my teaching, I received an email from a junior student who expressed that she had heard many positive reviews about my course and hoped to join any of my future classes. This feedback was incredibly affirming.
After finishing the course, I reviewed the student evaluations and received numerous positive responses, many of which validated my efforts and preparations. Being their teacher and helping them learn new knowledge brings me immense satisfaction and fulfillment!