Teaching

Over the years, my teaching philosophy has become deeply influenced by my experiences as an organizer. As organizers, our power comes from our relationships with one another; we build those relationships, along with the political goals that move us to action, though holistic conversations where we can develop a common vision for a better world together. Here is my teaching philosophy. I approach critical STEM pedagogy by making space in class to talk honestly about the human contexts of mathematics, especially as related to students’ lived experiences.

Carleton College:

• Spring 2023
  • Math 236: Mathematical structures.
  • Math 400: Motion planning via persistent homology. (senior comps)
• Winter 2023
  • Math 352: Representation theory.
  • Math 400: Motion planning via persistent homology. (senior comps)
• Fall 2022
  • Math 100: How chance changes the world.
  • Math 342: Abstract algebra.
• Spring 2022
  • Math 236: Mathematical structures.
  • Math 400: Arithmetic topology and configurations on cubic surfaces. (senior comps)
• Winter 2022
  • Math 120: Calculus II.
  • Math 342: Abstract algebra.
  • Math 400: Arithmetic topology and configurations on cubic surfaces. (senior comps)
• Fall 2021
  • Math 120: Calculus II. (two sections)

Past institutions:

• University of California, Irvine
  • Math 184: History of mathematics, Spring 2021. Instructor.

• University of Chicago
  • Math 259: Honors algebra III, Spring 2017. College Fellow.
  • Math 258: Honors algebra II, Winter 2017. College Fellow.
  • Math 257: Honors algebra I, Fall 2016. College Fellow.

• New Mexico Tech
  • Math 581: Introduction to algebraic geometry, Spring 2014. Co-lecturer.
  • CSE 113: Introduction to computer science, Fall 2013. Teaching Assistant.
  • CSE 122: Algorithms and data structures, Spring 2013. Teaching Assistant.

Materials for past courses available on request.

Summer teaching:

• Collegiate Scholars Program
  • How chance changes the world, 2021. Co-instructor.
  • How chance changes the world, 2020. Co-instructor.
  • Fractals, algorithms, and us, 2019. Instructor.
  • Functions and topology, 2018. Co-instructor.
  • Symmetry!, 2017. Teaching Assistant.

• University of Chicago REU, 2015-2019.

Also, I write a lot of code to make cool visuals when I teach. My favorite language for this is Processing, which I learned in high school and was a hugely important step towards becoming a math professor. It can be incredibly buggy sometimes, but it’s great for getting something beautiful on the screen quickly. I used to post my code online (nearly a decade ago, wow!) here–it’s all legacy now, but I’ve maintained some of them and also occasionally upload new stuff I make for class. To the left is a screenshot from an applet I wrote in 2009, after talking with Melinda Green, that shows the orbits of points in the Mandelbrot mill. Math rocks!

Mathematical visualization is something I’ve always had a blast tinkering with. Here are some of the images and animations that I think are really gorgeous.

Advertisement