Physics Instructional Assistant
I have been an instructional assistant at UC San Diego for the past two years.
I have been an instructional for five unique courses. To learn more about my
teaching style and soft skills check out a few of my student reviews below.
** All reviews were submitted anonomously at the end of each quarter full evaluation reports
can be requested from UCSD's evaluation system (https://cape.ucsd.edu/).
Waves, Optics & Modern Physics - Spring 2021
Supervisor: Professor Kam S Arnold
"Courtney answers student's questions effectively and clearly. She helped my understanding of the course material a lot. She guides students to the correct answer. She is always willing to clarify if something is not clear. She is committed to helping students understand the course material."
"Courtney is really passionate and makes going to discussion more engaging."
"Courtney was such a big help in this class!! She really furthered my understanding of the lecture material and homework questions. She was always willing to answer my questions and provide me with clarification. I genuinely would have struggled a lot more in this course if it weren't for Courtney's weekly problem sessions."
"I was unable to attend the "TA sessions" that were available to us but the meetings were recorded and Courtney's explanation for the homework/concept questions that students had were clear and helpful. She also replied to emails/messages quickly when asked. Being one of two TAs for a class that had like 900 students, I think she did an exceptional job."
"Courtney really did such an amazing job explaining homework questions clearly. I understood things so much better after listening to her explanations, and she genuinely always wanted to help us students. She was always patient!"
"Courtney was a great TA for both Phys1B and Phys1C and I really learned a great deal from her!"
Electricity and Magnetism - Winter 2021
Supervisor: Professor Alexander Groisman
"Her notes were great. I read through them before tests. They were an excellent recap before tests."
"Courtney actually helped me learn the material in this course. She explained concepts really well and lead great problems sessions."
"Courtney is such a kind and caring person. She is great at answering questions and is willing to go through a concept multiple times until we all understand it. You can truly tell how passionate Courtney is about Physics and she always has a smile on her face."
"Courtney makes difficult concepts a lot easier to understand by providing multiple examples and explaining it until we all understand in office hours. She is the best TA I have ever had and makes the course material exciting and interesting."
"Courtney’s problem sessions were so helpful for me throughout the quarter. She was always so positive and didn’t make me ever feel bad for needing her to repeat an explanation or describe how she got to the answer. I really appreciated that she was willing to go over homework questions without just telling us the answer or exactly how to finish every question so that we could use our understanding to arrive at the solutions."
"Very nice and made concise explanations. Would love to have her as a TA in the future."
Mechanics Laboratory - Fall 2020
Supervisor: Professor Philbert S Tsai
"Courney has been crucial in making this experience taking PHYS 1AL a positive one. She breaks down difficult problems and assists students in their thinking towards solving those problems. She is very respectful and always excited to help students in every office hour."
"Courtney was one of the best TA's I have ever had. She explained concepts/problems in a way that was clear and really got me to think about the bigger picture. I had not taken a physics class before and her explanations really helped me understand the lab and lecture material. She is a natural at teaching and I wish I could have her again!"
"I was diagnosed with COVID and was not able to get an extension for my lab. Courtney went beyond her responsibilities to meet with me separately on Zoom to help me understand concepts for that lab better since I was mentally and physically exhausted. I really appreciate her help and support that I received during that time."
"Thank you for this quarter. The office hour sessions really helped with my lab assignments and I was able to wrap my head around a lot of concepts."
"Gave clear and concise explanations. Made complicated/difficult material significantly easier to understand. Really tried to engage students and get us to think about the importance of physics overall."
"Courtney was really clear about her expectations from us and our work. She worked really hard to create a welcoming environment where students could speak up, ask their questions, and clarify their understanding. She also emphasized that she really wants us to understand what is happening/what we are learning, so that we could always ask her for clarifications on our questions if her answer didn't seem to make sense to us."
"Courtney was extremely welcoming and an amazing TA! She made her weekly office hours during our scheduled lab time one that was a place of comfort and growth. I appreciate how she tried to help us as much as she could to make sure we understood the concepts and she answered all of our questions."
"- very helpful - explains very well and helps understands concepts -hears you out well -gives everyone a turn"