Current course(s)
This quarter (Sp24) I am the TA and grader for Math 403 (Group Theory), taught by Sheela Devadas.
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30am, in PDL C-018
Sample materials
Below are the syllabus, a worksheet, and two lectures for my matrix algebra (Math 208) class in Spring 2023. Please contact me if you wish to use any of these materials.
Lecture notes on lines and linear equations (first day of class)
Lecture notes on basis and dimension (week 6 of the quarter)
Teaching experience (descending chronological order)
Instructor of Record
Matrix Algebra (Math 208)
Differential Calculus (Math 124) **
TA Training and Mentorship
Lead TA and Coordinator - UW Math TA Training
TA Mentor (two years) - UW Math TA Training
TA/Grading positions
Note: All TA/Grading positions include weekly (if not twice-weekly) student-focused office hours.
Intro to Modern Algebra II (Math 403)
Intro to Modern Algebra I (Math 402)
Graduate Algebra (Math 506)
Matrix Algebra (Math 208)
Integral Calculus (Math 125)
Intro to Geometries II (Math 445) * **
Intro to Geometries I (Math 444) *
* = active classroom TA
** = remote learning quarter
Previous assignments
In 2018-19, I was a GO-MAP Graduate Opportunites Program (GOP) Research Assistant at UW.
In 2017-18, I was a Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL) Facilitator at Sacramento State.
Before 2017, I tutored math privately and at the Sacramento State math department.
Student feedback
Throughout my years of teaching I have received a plethora of positive (anonymous) comments from my students, a few of which I have listed below.
(Notes: Student comments have not been edited for spelling or grammatical errors. Italic/bold formatting has been added by me. Bold text indicates a referenced quote in my teaching statement.)
“I thought this class was intellectually stimulating without being a burden mentally. This class requires one to connect many ideas presented as they all relate to each other - and this can be difficult considering many concepts are new. But Jessie taught it in a way that made it easy to make connections and succeed in this course while also presenting mental challenges by not only focusing on computation but also conceptual questions.”
“This quiz section was perfect for getting questions answered in depth while also gaining a better understanding of the fundamentals in play. Jessie is not only incredibly knowledgeable in her field, but is also pleasantly enthusiastic about teaching the content. If not for her, I would have dropped this class the second I decided I was no longer going to pursue STEM. Her love for the class and mathematics as a whole is what kept my interest in the subject alive throughout the quarter.”
“It was great to know that I could comfortably ask the TA any questions regarding what we were doing and know that they would be answered well with no judgment.”
“Any obstacle Jessie faced throughout this quarter she overcome them in a professional way and the most effective way to not have that obstacle harm our learning as students. ”
“. . . She also made it clear in the beginning of the quarter that letting us know as students that she wouldn’t want anyone to feel left out in class and should feel supportive and I feel like throughout the quarter she stayed true with that statement. . . . Not a lot of professors go out of their way to state their mistakes and fixing them. Jessie goes the extra step to fix them unlike other professors here at UW. One thing Jessie was on top of her radar was caring for her students learning.”
“I found the worksheets and conceptual homework to be the most helpful - and with that, the collaborative office hours in which students would help each other with the conceptual homework. I found that by working alongside other students (with Jessie being there to clear up any misconceptions) was one of the reasons I was able to score higher on exams and earn a grade that was better than my other math classes at UW.”
“Jessie’s patience with us as a class and understanding of the difficulty of the content made me feel supported, which definitely a big impact on how much I cared about the class and how much effort I put into it. Jessie learning all of our names was particularly nice; I could tell she cared about what we were learning and whether we were actually learning it.”
“This class was intellectually stimulating as it challenged me and stretched my thinking. I probably would find it too hard if I didn’t have an amazing TA to support me.”
“Although we didn’t get recorded lectures this quarter her organization and communications on teaching plans and lecture notes/ answer keys made up for this obstacle and was really impressive to see how Jessie caring for her students showed throughout the quarter.”
“The environment that Jessie created in the quiz section was very inclusive and made everyone feel comfortable to ask questions or just make new friends and connections. I really felt that by the end of the quarter everyone was comfortable with each other, and that we could work together in groups pretty well.”
“Jessie Loucks effectively facilitated an open discussion of problems to review and always valued what the students wanted to do by sending surveys before classes to determine the material that students would benefit the most from.”