Why Do I Teach? "A life is not important except in the impact that it has on other lives." - Jackie Robinson
The Jackie Robinson quote above summarizes why I teach. Indeed, I am extremely passionate about teaching because I feel that it is the best way for me to use my passion for mathematics in a way that directly impacts people.
Teaching Philosophy
The key tenets of my teaching philosophy are as follows:
My primary role as an instructor is to facilitate students' active engagement with mathematics. Just as one must actively practice a sport to improve, one must actively practice mathematics to improve at it! As an instructor, my role is to facilitate this engagement by providing activities, using formative assessment to observe student progress and adapt to students' needs, provide constructive feedback, and help students reflect on their learning. The famous Paul Halmos quote reflects this belief (and a WEALTH of pedagogical research!): "The only way to learn mathematics is to do mathematics."
I firmly believe that ANYONE can successfully learn mathematics with focused effort and the adoption of a growth mindset, i.e., the belief that one's mathematical abilities can be improved upon. Thus, I work hard to promote this growth mindset in students by normalizing struggle with mathematics and praising students on their effort rather than their inherent abilities, among other things.
Mathematics is a powerful tool which is necessary for informed citizenship, so I strive to improve students' overall attitudes toward mathematics by relentlessly sharing my own excitement about the subject. While this sounds simple, it is also quite effective: For instance, this study by Moè showed that students' perceptions of instructor enthusiasm were positively correlated with their intrinsic motivation!
I prioritize forming strong relationships with my students so that I can best support their overall growth and well-being. I think it is essential that every student feels valued and supported in the classroom and in general, and by getting to know my students as people I strive to show them that I care about them. Plus, this study by Barbieri and Miller-Cotto found that sense of belonging to the mathematics community was a significant predictor of mathematics learning!
Mentoring
I served as a peer mentor under Dr. Sean Yee through the peer mentorship program in the mathematics department at the University of South Carolina (USC) for the 2022-2023 academic year and the spring 2024 semester. This was a super rewarding experience from which I grew tremendously! See some of my reflection on the experience here.
Importantly, being a mentor does not mean forcing my beliefs or practices onto my mentees. Rather, it means learning about my mentees' goals and experiences so that I can use my own experiences and knowledge to help them achieve their goals!
More Professional Development
I am a member of the Blue '24 Project NExT cohort through the Mathematical Association of America!
In January 2023, I completed the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) professional development program through the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) at USC.
In February 2023, I took and completed an asynchronous online course taught by Dr. Gloria Washington titled Teaching Online for Graduate Students through the CTE at USC.
I have earned Certificates of Completion in the following areas through the CTE by attending a series of workshops in each category. The training record for each provides a list of the specific workshops I participated in.
Teaching Portfolio
Here is a teaching portfolio containing three semesters of student evaluations, a sample syllabus (more syllabi can be found on this page below), a sample notes packet that I used during class, a sample formative assessment that I used during class, a sample summative assessment (an exam) that I used, and feedback from a class observation by Ms. Ronda Sanders. There are also some brief reflections on several of these artifacts. These materials all come from my time as a graduate student instructor at the University of South Carolina.
Courses Taught
Below is a list of the courses that I've taught, along with links to their syllabi/descriptions. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to see/use any of my resources (LaTeX files and/or PDF's).
Yale University
Spring 2025: Math-827, Lang Teaching Seminar (co-teaching with Dr. Brett Smith)
Spring 2025: Math-115, Calculus of Functions of One Variable II
Fall 2024: Math-118, Introduction to Functions of Several Variables
Fall 2024: Math-110, Introduction to Functions and Calculus I
As an Instructor of Record at University of South Carolina
Spring 2024: Math-152, Calculus Workshop II
Fall 2023: Math-151, Calculus Workshop I (two sections)
Spring 2023: Math-111, Basic College Mathematics
Fall 2022: Math-111I, Intensive Basic College Mathematics
Summer 2022: Math-122, Calculus for Business Administration and Social Sciences (synchronous online)
Spring 2022: Math-122, Calculus for Business Administration and Social Sciences
Fall 2021: Math-170, Finite Mathematics (synchronous online)
Summer 2021: Math-170, Finite Mathematics
Spring 2021: Math-111, Basic College Mathematics
Fall 2020: Math-115, Precalculus
As a Teaching Assistant at University of South Carolina
Summer 2020: Math-141, Calculus I (asynchronous online) (Instructor: McKenzie Black)
Spring 2020: Math-142, Calculus II (half in-person, half synchronous online) (Instructor: Dr. Shaoyun Yi)
Fall 2019: Math-142, Calculus II (Instructor: Dr. Paula Vasquez)
As a Peer Learning Associate at Gettysburg College
Spring 2019: Math-201/301, Introduction to/Intermediate Research in Mathematics (Instructor: Dr. Béla Bajnok)
Spring 2019: Math-215, Abstract Mathematics I (Instructor: Dr. Béla Bajnok)
Fall 2018: Math-215, Abstract Mathematics I (Instructor: Dr. Béla Bajnok)
Spring 2018: Math-215, Abstract Mathematics I (Instructor: Dr. Béla Bajnok)
Fall 2017: Math-201/301, Introduction to/Intermediate Research in Mathematics (Instructor: Dr. Béla Bajnok)
Fall 2017: Math-215, Abstract Mathematics I (Instructor: Dr. Béla Bajnok)
Spring 2017: Math-215, Abstract Mathematics I (Instructor: Dr. Béla Bajnok)
Fall 2016: Math-112 H., Calculus II (Honors) (Instructor: Dr. Béla Bajnok)