Simon Fraser University

Calculus Teaching Assistant

Overview

The same group of students, every week, all term — which meant I got to watch them grow instead of just answering one-off questions.

What happened

I ran weekly peer-led sessions for a dedicated group of students, working through concepts as a conversation and solving problems together rather than lecturing at a board. Over a term you see the shift from following steps to actually reasoning, which is the whole point.

Teaching a subject is the fastest way to find the gaps in your own understanding. Every time a student asked 'but why', I had to make sure I actually knew — which sharpened my own calculus as much as theirs.