Teaching

Derek Wise

During the Fall 2006 quarter, I'm employed as a Teaching Assistant at UCR. I'm currently teaching:

Math 133 - Geometry

Math 8A - College Mathematics for Science Majors

I have also held teaching positions as an Associate in Mathematics at UCR. I served as a Mentor Teaching Assistant during the previous two academic years.

This page is a record of my teaching activities, extending back to about 1994.

Courses Taught

In Summer 2006, I taught the Topology Qualifier Prep Seminar at UCR. This is a seminar for 1st and 2nd year graduate students preparing to take the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam in Topology. We discussed material from the three courses in the Topology Sequence at UCR, including general topology, homotopy theory, and differential topology. I emphasized unifying themes in these courses, using a perspective rooted in category theory.

In Summer 2005, I taught Ordinary Differential Equations (Math 46) at UCR. If you want to see what my students thought of the class, you can look at my teaching evaluations and the accompanying student comments.

In Summer 2004, I taught Calculus of Several Variables (Math 10A) at UCR. You can still view the course webpage here.

In 2000, when I spent a brief time working in industry, I designed and taught a 40-hour training course in Nuclear Physics and Gamma Nondestructive Assay. Unfortunately, the course materials, including the textbook I wrote for the course, are "proprietary." (One disadvantage of working for industry -- you don't have legal rights to anything you create.)

Courses Assisted

I've held a variety of positions as a Teaching Assistant or Lab Instructor. Subjects I've taught include:

Below is a more detailed list of my TA and Lab Instructor assignments, in reverse chronological order.

Fall 2006

Geometry (Euclidean and non-Euclidean homogeneous geometries) (UCR Math 133)
Primary Instructor: Reinhard Schultz

College Mathematics for Science Majors (UCR Math 8A)
Primary Instructor: Richard Ries

Spring 2006

Multivariable Calculus II (UCR Math 10B)
Primary Instructor: Bruce Chalmers

Differential Geometry II (Riemannian Geometry) (UCR Math 138B)
Primary Instructor: Zuang-Dan Guan

Topology II (intro to homotopy theory) (UCR Math 145B)
Primary Instructor: Peter Milley

Winter 2006

Polynomials and Number Systems (Math 140)
Primary Instructor: David Rush

Differential Geometry (Math 138A)
Primary Instructor: Reinhard Schultz

Fall 2005

Applied Linear Algebra (Math 113)
Primary Instructor: Xiao-Song Lin

Spring 2005

Ordinary Differential Equations (UCR Math 46)
Primary Instructor: John Baez

Applied Linear Algebra (UCR Math 113)
Primary Instructor: Danny Stevenson

Winter 2005

First Year Calculus (UCR Math 9A)
Primary Instructor: John Baez

Ordinary Differential Equations (UCR Math 46)
Primary Instructor: Feng Xu

Fall 2004

Geometry (UCR Math 133)
Primary Instructor: Xiao-Song Lin

Ordinary Differential Equations (UCR Math 46)
Primary Instructor: Feng Xu

Spring 2004

History of Mathematics (UCR Math 153)
Primary Instructor: David Rush

Topology (UCR Math 145B)
Primary Instructor: Sam Nelson

Multivariable (Differential) Calculus (UCR Math 10A)
Primary Instructor: Richard Cleyton

Winter 2004

Multivariable (Differential) Calculus (UCR Math 10A)
Primary Instructor: Sam Nelson

Calculus (UCR Math 9B)
Primary Instructor: Nick Nirschl

Fall 2003

Multivariable (Integral) Calculus (UCR Math 10B)
Primary Instructor: Sam Nelson

Calculus (UCR Math 9B)
Primary Instructor: Adriano A. de Moura

Earlier TA Positions at Abilene Christian University

Unfortunately, I don't have records of the exact chronology of the teaching assistant positions I held as an undergrad at ACU. The courses I taught (some of them more than once) were:

Astronomy Laboratory/Observation (Primary Instructor: Donald Isenhower)

General Physics Lab (Primary Instructor: Paul Morris)

Optics Lab (Primary Instructor: Jeff Arrington)