Three levels of teaching
Effective teaching operates at distinct levels of sophistication, and after watching AI transform how students interact with mathematics, I'm convinced we need to fundamentally rethink what we're trying to accomplish.
Understand the procedure
Getting students to grasp procedures and follow algorithmic steps without getting lost. This sounds basic, but most instructors never reach this baseline. And when students can pull up ChatGPT for step-by-step solutions, pure procedural instruction becomes pointless — it prepares them for a world that disappeared last year.
See beneath the formulas
Where math stops being about following rules and starts being about making sense. Students develop intuition — a gut feeling about which approach might work. As machines handle calculations, human value shifts toward pattern recognition and strategic thinking, and AI can serve as the infinitely patient tutor that lets students explore without time pressure.
Bridge intuition and rigor
Where I'm still figuring things out: moving fluidly between understanding what's happening and executing technical details. When students can outsource calculations, the remaining human value lies in knowing which calculations to perform and why — making the bridge between intuition and formalism absolutely critical.
The reality is that AI makes incomplete teaching genuinely dangerous. Students who only get Level 1 become obsolete when AI performs those procedures. Students getting intuition without technical grounding can't verify ideas rigorously. My current challenge is sequencing explanations so formal definitions feel like natural extensions of intuitive ideas — and showing students how to use AI as a learning amplifier rather than a shortcut. Reaching Level 3 consistently isn't just a pedagogical goal anymore; it's essential preparation for a world where humans and AI collaborate on mathematical problems.
Teaching timeline
TA · Grad AI · Lead TA · Differential Equations
TA · Markov Chains · TA · Algorithm Design & Analysis
TA · AwesomeMath Summer Program
TA · Intro to Math Finance · TA · Intro to ML (SCS Majors)
TA · Differential Equations · TA · Intro to ML (SCS Majors)
TA · AwesomeMath Summer Program
TA · Continuous Time Finance
Peer Tutor · Great Ideas in CS · TA · Differential Equations
Peer Tutor · Math Concepts & Functional Programming · TA · Differential Equations
TA · Eureka · Peer Tutor · Math Concepts & Functional Programming
Co-Instructor · Blissful Coding Club
Featured teaching materials
Intro to Math Finance: Complete Problem Session Guide
A comprehensive 56-page document covering everything you need to know about intro mathematical finance. Created for the first-ever problem sessions — 1.5-hour review sessions every Wednesday night covering content and practice problems.
Machine Learning Homework & Mini-Project
A brand-new homework assignment built from scratch — all problems, code implementation, and a custom autograder. Introduced a creative Kaggle mini-project component for students to apply ML concepts hands-on.
Differential Equations: Practice Final with Solutions
When no practice exam was provided, I created this comprehensive practice final by selecting key problems from the textbook and writing complete solutions — helping students prepare effectively for their final exam.
Sample teaching videos
These showcase my teaching style and approach to explaining complex concepts.
Student testimonials
"Jerick was the best TA I have ever had. He is the only reason why I learned anything from this class. Our recitations were at 8am and I never once missed one because he was so good — it says something about how good of a TA you are when you have people consistently show up to 8ams including people who aren't even supposed to be in your recitation.
Additionally, Jerick went above and beyond outside of recitations. He answered the majority of Piazza posts (about 70%) throughout the semester even though they were supposed to be split equally amongst TAs. He also wrote an unofficial practice exam for the final when the professor did not. Finally, for homework 10 we had only done 2 practice problems in class both with major mistakes in them, and everyone was very confused, so Jerick took it upon himself to create a document that step-by-step shows us how to solve PDEs in order to help everyone finish the homework and understand the material for the final.
Jerick deserves so much recognition for his work as a TA in differential equations. I know a lot of people feel similarly because immediately after the exam someone posted a Piazza post thanking him which many other students responded to also thanking him."