Teaching Experience

Below is a detailed overview of my teaching experience at UIUC:

1. Merit Teaching Assistant at University of Illinois

 Pre-Calculus (Math 115) and Ordinary Differential Equations (Math 285), Spring 2023 - Fall 2024, Fall 2026

For five semesters, I taught with the Merit Program for Emerging Scholars, catering to high-potential students from underrepresented groups in science, mathematics, and engineering, including ethnic minorities, women, and those from smaller high schools. 

My duties and responsibilities included:

• Instruction: Leading two-hour standalone sections, focusing on course content delivery and creating a positive learning environment.

• Curriculum Design: Crafting a coherent syllabus and material aligned with learning goals, and designed tailored worksheets as additional resources.

• Active Learning: Managed two-hour weekly sessions, encouraging student engagement, collaborative learning, and creating .

• Examination Preparation: Created and administered mock exams to help students assess their readiness for actual tests.

• Personalized Feedback: Held regular one-on-one sessions with students, offering targeted feedback and additional individual support, ensuring an enhanced learning experience for each individual.

2. Teaching Assistant at University of Illinois, Calculus (Spring 2021, Fall 2021), Calculus for Business (Spring 2022)

Duties include creating worksheets based on the instructor’s lectures, setting up 1-hour long “active learning” sections 4 times per week and holding weekly tutoring and office hours.

3. Instructor, Maadhyam India (2018-2021)

I taught several cohorts of approximately 20 students in mathematics and logical reasoning in a village-based educational program in Punjab, India.

• Academic preparation: Designed and taught mathematics and reasoning sessions aimed at building both foundational skills and problem-attempting confidence.

• Student achievement: Two students became the first from the village and local school to qualify for the Punjab State Talent Search Examination, placing among the top 100 students in the state. The following year, two additional students qualified, with our students securing the highest marks in the state.

• STEM pathways: Mentored students interested in science and mathematics, helping them navigate linguistic barriers and limited access to STEM resources. As a consequence, several of our students are pursuing not only higher level education, but they are also pursuing STEM.

• Long-term goal: Worked to make advanced mathematics feel accessible and to help students see STEM as a realistic educational and career pathway.

In addition to teaching students, I have mentored and coached instructors, teaching assistants, and community educators. 

• Merit Mentor, University of Illinois: Mentored three Merit instructors as they prepared to lead standalone discussion sections. I worked with them on active-learning facilitation, lesson planning, classroom presence, and gradually taking independent ownership of their sections.

• SIM Camp, University of Illinois: Led training for instructors and teaching assistants on co-teaching, parallel teaching, and active-learning facilitation. I emphasized shared responsibility so that instructors and TAs functioned as a teaching team rather than as a lead instructor with assistants on the margins.

• Maadhyam: Coached a librarian and another instructor to teach mathematics, language, and history to children in a village-based educational program. My focus was on helping community members develop confidence and independence as educators. The librarian I mentored was subsequently hired as a primary-school teacher.