1<!doctype html> 2<html lang="en"> 3<head> 4 <meta charset="utf-8"> 5 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> 6 <title>Teaching â Jerick Shi</title> 7 <meta name="description" content="Teaching philosophy, timeline, materials, and student testimonials. TA for 7 courses at CMU."> 8 <meta property="og:type" content="website"> 9 <meta property="og:site_name" content="Jerick Shi"> 10 <meta property="og:url" content="https://jerick-1380.github.io/teaching/"> 11 <meta property="og:title" content="Teaching"> 12 <meta property="og:description" content="Teaching philosophy, timeline, materials, and student testimonials. TA for 7 courses at CMU."> 13 <meta property="og:image" content="https://jerick-1380.github.io/assets/img/social/og-default.png"> 14 <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> 15 <meta property="og:image:height" content="627"> 16 <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> 17 <link rel="icon" href="/assets/img/brain.jpg"> 18 <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com"> 19 <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin> 20 <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;500;600&family=JetBrains+Mono:wght@400;700&family=Space+Grotesk:wght@500;600;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"> 21 <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/main.css?v=202609271451"> 22</head> 23<body> 24 <div id="progress"></div> 25 <canvas id="starfield"></canvas> 26 <div class="bg-glow"></div> 27 28 <nav class="nav"> 29 <div class="nav-inner"> 30 <a class="logo" href="/"><b>jerick</b>@shi:~$<span class="cursor">â</span></a> 31 <button class="nav-burger" aria-label="Menu">â°</button> 32 <div class="nav-links"> 33 <a href="/">About</a> 34 <a href="/publications/">Research</a> 35 <a href="/projects/">Projects</a> 36 <a href="/teaching/">Teaching</a> 37 <a href="/blog/">Blog</a> 38 <a href="/books/">Books</a> 39 <a href="/hobbies/">Hobbies</a> 40 <a href="/cv/">CV</a> 41 <button class="cmdk-btn" aria-label="Open command palette">âK</button> 42 </div> 43 </div> 44 </nav> 45 46 <header class="page-head wrap"> 47 <div class="eyebrow"><span class="idx">//</span> teaching_module</div> 48 <h1 data-scramble>Teaching</h1> 49 <p class="lead">Seven courses, four years, and roughly 5,000 graded assignments â from differential equations to graduate AI.</p> 50 </header> 51 52 <main class="wrap" style="padding-bottom:3rem;"> 53 54 <!-- Philosophy --> 55 <section style="margin-bottom:4rem;"> 56 <div class="eyebrow reveal"><span class="idx">01</span> philosophy</div> 57 <h2 class="reveal">Three levels of teaching</h2> 58 <p class="muted reveal" style="max-width:720px;">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.</p> 59 60 <div class="grid-3" style="margin-top:2rem;"> 61 <div class="card tilt reveal"> 62 <span class="chip blue">LEVEL 01</span> 63 <h3 style="margin-top:0.8rem;">Understand the procedure</h3> 64 <p class="muted" style="font-size:0.92rem;">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 â it prepares them for a world that disappeared last year.</p> 65 </div> 66 <div class="card tilt reveal d1"> 67 <span class="chip blue">LEVEL 02</span> 68 <h3 style="margin-top:0.8rem;">See beneath the formulas</h3> 69 <p class="muted" style="font-size:0.92rem;">Where math stops being about following rules and starts being about making sense. Students develop intuition â 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.</p> 70 </div> 71 <div class="card tilt reveal d2">
72 <span class="chip blue">LEVEL 03</span> 73 <h3 style="margin-top:0.8rem;">Bridge intuition and rigor</h3> 74 <p class="muted" style="font-size:0.92rem;">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 â making the bridge between intuition and formalism absolutely critical.</p> 75 </div> 76 </div> 77 78 <div class="card reveal" style="margin-top:1.5rem; border-left:3px solid var(--acc-purple);"> 79 <p style="margin:0;" class="muted"><b style="color:var(--text);">The reality is that AI makes incomplete teaching genuinely dangerous.</b> 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 â 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.</p> 80 </div> 81 </section> 82 83 <!-- Timeline --> 84 <section style="margin-bottom:4rem;"> 85 <div class="eyebrow reveal"><span class="idx">02</span> service_record</div> 86 <h2 class="reveal">Teaching timeline</h2> 87 <div class="timeline"> 88 <div class="t-item reveal"><span class="t-date">2026 Spring</span><h4>TA · Grad AI · Lead TA · Differential Equations</h4></div> 89 <div class="t-item reveal"><span class="t-date">2025 Fall</span><h4>TA · Markov Chains · TA · Algorithm Design & Analysis</h4></div> 90 <div class="t-item reveal"><span class="t-date">2025 Summer</span><h4>TA · AwesomeMath Summer Program</h4></div> 91 <div class="t-item reveal"><span class="t-date">2025 Spring</span><h4>TA · Intro to Math Finance · TA · Intro to ML (SCS Majors)</h4></div> 92 <div class="t-item reveal"><span class="t-date">2024 Fall</span><h4>TA · Differential Equations · TA · Intro to ML (SCS Majors)</h4></div> 93 <div class="t-item reveal"><span class="t-date">2024 Summer</span><h4>TA · AwesomeMath Summer Program</h4></div> 94 <div class="t-item reveal"><span class="t-date">2024 Spring</span><h4>TA · Continuous Time Finance</h4></div> 95 <div class="t-item reveal"><span class="t-date">2023 Fall</span><h4>Peer Tutor · Great Ideas in CS · TA · Differential Equations</h4></div> 96 <div class="t-item reveal"><span class="t-date">2023 Spring</span><h4>Peer Tutor · Math Concepts & Functional Programming · TA · Differential Equations</h4></div> 97 <div class="t-item reveal"><span class="t-date">2022 Fall</span><h4>TA · Eureka · Peer Tutor · Math Concepts & Functional Programming</h4></div> 98 <div class="t-item reveal"><span class="t-date">2022 Summer</span><h4>Co-Instructor · Blissful Coding Club</h4></div> 99 </div> 100 </section> 101 102 <!-- Materials --> 103 <section style="margin-bottom:4rem;"> 104 <div class="eyebrow reveal"><span class="idx">03</span> artifacts</div> 105 <h2 class="reveal">Featured teaching materials</h2> 106 <div class="grid-3" style="margin-top:2rem;"> 107 <div class="card tilt reveal" style="display:flex; flex-direction:column;"> 108 <span class="chip purple">21-270 · SPRING 2025</span> 109 <h3 style="margin-top:0.8rem;">Intro to Math Finance: Complete Problem Session Guide</h3> 110 <p class="muted" style="font-size:0.92rem; flex:1;">A comprehensive 56-page document covering everything you need to know about intro mathematical finance. Created for the first-ever problem sessions â 1.5-hour review sessions every Wednesday night covering content and practice problems.</p> 111 <div style="margin-bottom:1rem;"><span class="chip">56 pages</span><span class="chip">
111first-time material</span></div> 112 <a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary" href="/assets/pdf/21_270_Problem_Session_Compiled.pdf" target="_blank">Download PDF</a> 113 </div> 114 <div class="card tilt reveal d1" style="display:flex; flex-direction:column;"> 115 <span class="chip purple">10-315 · FALL 2024</span> 116 <h3 style="margin-top:0.8rem;">Machine Learning Homework & Mini-Project</h3> 117 <p class="muted" style="font-size:0.92rem; flex:1;">A brand-new homework assignment built from scratch â all problems, code implementation, and a custom autograder. Introduced a creative Kaggle mini-project component for students to apply ML concepts hands-on.</p> 118 <div style="margin-bottom:1rem;"><span class="chip">custom autograder</span><span class="chip">kaggle</span></div> 119 <a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary" href="/assets/pdf/F24_10_315_HW.pdf" target="_blank">Download PDF</a> 120 </div> 121 <div class="card tilt reveal d2" style="display:flex; flex-direction:column;"> 122 <span class="chip purple">21-260 · SPRING 2023</span> 123 <h3 style="margin-top:0.8rem;">Differential Equations: Practice Final with Solutions</h3> 124 <p class="muted" style="font-size:0.92rem; flex:1;">When no practice exam was provided, I created this comprehensive practice final by selecting key problems from the textbook and writing complete solutions â helping students prepare effectively for their final exam.</p> 125 <div style="margin-bottom:1rem;"><span class="chip">full solutions</span><span class="chip">exam prep</span></div> 126 <a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary" href="/assets/pdf/Final_Exam_Practice_Solutions.pdf" target="_blank">Download PDF</a> 127 </div> 128 </div> 129 </section> 130 131 <!-- Videos --> 132 <section style="margin-bottom:4rem;"> 133 <div class="eyebrow reveal"><span class="idx">04</span> transmissions</div> 134 <h2 class="reveal">Sample teaching videos</h2> 135 <p class="muted reveal">These showcase my teaching style and approach to explaining complex concepts.</p> 136 <div class="grid-2" style="margin-top:1.5rem;"> 137 <div class="video-16x9 reveal"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-Gx4Lk8ty8A" title="Teaching video 1" allowfullscreen loading="lazy"></iframe></div> 138 <div class="video-16x9 reveal d1"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OXCMPsYgwlA" title="Teaching video 2" allowfullscreen loading="lazy"></iframe></div> 139 </div> 140 <div class="grid-2" style="margin-top:1.4rem;"> 141 <div class="video-16x9 reveal" style="grid-column:1 / -1; max-width:540px; margin:0 auto; width:100%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7U3DWSdyV0s" title="Teaching video 3" allowfullscreen loading="lazy"></iframe></div> 142 </div> 143 </section> 144 145 <!-- Testimonials --> 146 <section> 147 <div class="eyebrow reveal"><span class="idx">05</span> feedback_stream</div> 148 <h2 class="reveal">Student testimonials</h2> 149 150 <div class="card quote-card reveal" style="margin:2rem 0; border-left:3px solid var(--acc-blue); font-size:1rem;"> 151 <p><strong style="color:var(--text);">"Jerick was the best TA I have ever had.</strong> 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 â 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.</p> 152 <p>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.</p> 153 <p>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."</p> 154 </div> 155 156 <div class="grid-3"> 157 <div class="card quote-card tilt reveal">Helped me improve from D average to an A. Went over and beyond to help. Deserves Nobel prize.</div> 158 <div class="card quote-card tilt reveal d1">Jerick was a wonderful TA. I consistently felt 10 times better about the content after attending recitation.</div> 159 <div class="card quote-card tilt reveal d2">Jerick's recitations were helpful as an overview of lecture and he was helpful in giving additional study resources and preparing for exams.</div> 160 <div class="card quote-card tilt reveal">This TA was always going above and beyond to not only help us clear up the necessary concepts for homeworks but to also prepare for the exam and its concepts! I really benefited from all their recitations.</div> 161 <div class="card quote-card tilt reveal d1">Jerick was an amazing TA! He was able to summarize class information in a very manageable and understandable way that made it easy to identify points of confusion.</div> 162 <div class="card quote-card tilt reveal d2">Offered office hours often and quickly responded to Piazza and email with good insights.</div> 163 </div> 164 </section> 165 166 </main> 167 168 <footer> 169 <div class="wrap foot-grid"> 170 <div class="foot-links"> 171 <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Email</a> 172 <a href="https://github.com/Jerick-1380" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GitHub</a> 173 <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerick-shi-293773216" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn</a> 174 <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6wj2mTQAAAAJ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scholar</a> 175 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@DummyR18" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube</a> 176 <a href="https://flickr.com/photos/203834484@N07/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flickr</a> 177 <a href="/books/">Bookshelf</a> 178 </div> 179 <div class="foot-note">© 2026 JERICK SHI · PRESS âK TO NAVIGATE</div> 180 </div> 181 </footer> 182 183
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