As a Teaching Assistant for LS 30A – Mathematics for Life Scientists (Fall 2025), I facilitated three weekly discussion sections of 24 students each, introducing and reinforcing core concepts in single-variable calculus, differential equations, dynamical systems, and mathematical modeling of biological processes. I guided students through computational labs in Python, focusing on numerical integration, simulation, and data visualization to help them translate mathematical theory into computational models. In addition to classroom instruction, I provided academic and technical support through office hours, Piazza, and in-lecture assistance to clarify concepts, support problem-solving, and build confidence in quantitative reasoning. I also proctored and evaluated midterm and final exams, contributing to the development of students’ analytical thinking and programming proficiency, particularly for first-time coders.
This was my last quarter as a TA. TAing at UCLA was one of the best parts of my grad school journey that I thoroughly enjoyed. Am very grateful to Dr. Kristin McCully, and Dr. Steve Bennoun for this opportunity!
Anonymous Reviews
"I think you did very well teaching the class. You explained the concepts very well as well as taught the coding very well. One thing I think you did that helped was instead of giving us the answer when we asked for help, you gave us directed questions to help us get the answer on our own."
"I really enjoyed having Vidhi as my TA! She explained everything clearly whenever I had a question, and was very patient with students. She also always tried to make labs fun by doing ice breakers, which I appreciated. I also liked that she would give us worksheets before the lab, since they would be a nice refresher. Congrats on graduating!"
"I loved you as my TA. I've learned a lot from you and I'm sad that I won't be having you again in the future. I loved how, not only were you teaching us and helping us academically, but you also took the time to get to know us and form some sort of bond between us and you. You always knew what you were doing."
"Great! Very helpful, cares about students. Thanks for the great quarter!"
"Very good TA, very helpful and informative"
"She was very helpful throughout the course. She was very thorough and made sure that we filled out every question before leaving to make sure we would get full credit. I had zero complaints throughout the year."
"You are a great TA, you helped me to understand the concepts taught in class in a more effective applicable manner. I appreciated your help in how I navigated learning the python as well. Thank you!"
"I really enjoyed lab discussions and I really love how it was easy to talk to Vidhi."
"thank you for being kind and understanding during class time!"
"Vidhi helped me learn a great deal not only during lab, but also in office hours. She is a thoughtful and patient teacher who pays attention to each student."
"Thank you for being such a fun TA! I love when you say ‘hi’ in passing and you’re always willing to help us out in class."
"Vidhi has been such a sweet and helpful TA!! She's really approachable and always helps us out whenever we need help with any of the Labs."
"Awesome TA! Super helpful, super sweet, and very knowledgeable on the course material. 10/10 would recommend"
"Vidhi is amazing!! One of the best TA EVER! I never had a TA that is so kind and eager to help her students!! Thank you so much for everything you do and for making the class engaging and fun!!"
"HIIIIIII VIDDDHIIIIIII! THANK YOU FOR BEING A PHENOMENAL TA THIS QUATER. YOU WERE AN AMAZING TA IN THE ASPECT THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO THOROUGHLY EXPLAIN A MATH CONCEPT I FOUND CHALLENGING. YOU WERE VERY PATIENT WITH ME WHICH MADE ME FEEL EVEN MORE COMFORTABLE ASKING YOU FOR HELP WHEN I NEEDED IT."
"10/10. Very sweet and willing to help. Also very funny, and did ehr best to get us in the lab to participate and engage with each other. She also out music which was nice."
"I enjoyed the lab and thought you were super helpful when I asked for help so thank you! You were also funny and enjoyable to listen to"
"Thanks for being fun and supportive in the labs. I was glad to have you as my TA and I hope the best for you."
"Vidhi you are nice and very helpful I like your methods of teaching the coursework !!!"
"Great TA! Helped make me feel better about the course with memes and ice breakers and helped me check and understand the labs!"
"I really enjoyed the section and you were super knowledgeable on the course. I definitely think I owe a lot of my progress in the course to you guys being able to answer questions. You were also very welcoming and I enjoyed talking with you during class."
"My TA was very straightforward with what we had to do that day and she was very prepared. She also helped me on any question I needed help with."
"This course felt a little unrelated to what we were learning in the lecture, however the TA explained everything well and taught the course well. But I wasn’t really sure what was going on in the context of the lab helping me understand the 30B class."
"I would say that my TA always started class by talking about the learning goals for the section. Then, she had a clear presentation on what we were going to learn and presented the worksheets for us to do. Then she would thoroughly explain the worksheets after. She also provided time for us to ask any questions."
"We did different kinds of activities in lab section which were related to the topics we learned in class."
"My TA started every lab by summarizing what we were going to cover that day, and provided us with practice worksheets to allow us to warm up to the ideas seen in the day's lab, and clarify any misconceptions we may have had about material learned during the lecture."
"Overall, the TA provided clear instructions and taught us the content that was needed in order to complete the required work."
"I loved my TA she made me actually want to come to lab because of how encouraging and helpful she is."
"TA was goated"
"Vidhi is so organized. She knew what she was talking about and would correct our LA if he messed up."
"Vidhi was honestly the best TA you could ask for. This discussion section felt like a team, or more like a family, which made me look forward to going to class."