Foreword
“I don’t want my students to admire and appreciate how perfect and knowledgeable I am every time they meet me. I want them to feel how promising and hopeful their own life and future can be every time they meet me. Because I’m the one who has made originally complicated math super easy for them to understand and not mysterious anymore; they know, no matter how knowledgeable I seem to be, I can and will easily impart my knowledge to them in an accessible, attractive, and friendly way, readily making them as knowledgeable as I am.”
— Ivan Z. Feng, “Thoughts on What Good Math TAs Should Be Like”
Ivan’s office hours in the final week: 2-4 pm (2h) on Monday (Dec 9) and 4-5 pm (1h) on Tuesday (Dec 10) in the Math Center (KAP 263).
Math 125: Calculus 1 (9 am @ WPH B28; 39498 R)
— Prof. Calum Rickard
Page Overview: I’ve provided all the information you might need about our discussions on this page, aiming to save you the time of asking questions I should have made clear to you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t ask me things that can be found on that page — you are still very welcome to ask me if there’s too much to go through here. In other words, putting all the information here is NOT for giving you another responsibility to get familiar with it, but for purely offering you help when you need it. In addition, here’s a trick you might like. Copy all words from this page into ChatGPT (OpenAI’s conversational AI model designed for human-like text interactions), and then pose your question. The AI system will use the information I’ve provided on this page to answer.
Discussion Notes*: I’ll upload the handout solutions to the “Content” shell on Brightspace by 6:00 pm on every Tuesday and Thursday after our discussion sessions. And I’ll upload all my formula sheets (meaning formulas learned in lectures that are useful for solving discussion worksheet problems) to both Brightspace and this Google Drive folder.
*Note that because of copyright issue, I’m not able to publish the worksheet solutions (together with the problems prepared by the professor) directly on my website, so I’ll upload them to Brightspace instead.
Past Discussion Notes: I TA’ed Math 125 two years ago, and you can also find all my discussion notes here on my teaching page that year.
Discussion Plan:
I’d like to tell you which exercises I plan to discuss on the board the day before each discussion (e.g., Monday and Wednesday nights). In this way, you can have a bit more control over the discussion in your preview (if you want) and maybe focus more on the other problems. Here’s the link to our corresponding Google sheets. For your convenience, I’ve also embedded the sheet below. While the embedded version is view-only, you can make edits using the provided link.
Please let me know any other problems you want me to cover in the second to last column of the sheet. And if you have anything to include, please do that before 12:00 pm on the discussion day, so I can have time to prepare in advance in order to avoid any mistakes I might make and find the best way to teach them.
Discussion Session Modality: In each session, we’ll focus on problems listed in our Google plan sheet above, including those chosen from the handouts and those submitted by you (to ensure democracy).
Tuesday (when there’s no quiz): For the first 40~45 minutes, I’ll guide us through these problems on the board/screen. After discussing each one, you’ll have a few minutes to delve deeper into the material, either individually or with your peers. As we wrap up, the last 5~10 minutes are yours to engage in open discussions on homework or any other problems with your classmates and me, much like during office hours. This time is optional, so feel free to stay and explore the problems further or head out if you’re all set. But I’ll definitely stay in the classroom throughout.
Thursday (when there’s a quiz): For the first 20~25 minutes, I’ll guide us through these problems on the board/screen. Then, the time before the quiz is yours to either discuss handout problems with your peers and me or review for the quiz. Note that the quiz time is 20 minutes, so I’ll start distributing them with about 25 minutes remaining. After completing and submitting your quiz, you’re free to leave.
How to Address Me: Ivan. There’s no need to call me “Mr. Feng” or “Professor Feng.” Of course, I’d never correct how you address me, as I respect your right to call me whatever you want, but, as a personal preference, “Ivan” is what I’d prefer to hear from anyone.
Email Responding: Whenever you have any math questions or comments, email me anytime at ifeng@usc.edu. For all emails received by 10 pm each day, I’ll be sure to respond within the same day (usually pretty soon, ASAP). For all emails received between 10 pm and 11:59 pm each day, I’ll be sure to respond by the next noon.
Asking Questions: In our discussions, no silly question exists, meaning I genuinely won’t consider any question to be silly. Remember, Isaac Newton asked himself a super silly and childish question in the summer of 1666: Why would an apple fall down instead of falling upwards or sideways? But that childish question finally led him to the discovery of universal gravitation. Thus, you are always welcome to ask everything in your mind, no matter whether the answer can be found on the board or in previous lecture notes. And I’d be very happy to answer anything you ask.
Of course, if you prefer not asking questions in public, you’re welcome to speak with me privately after our discussions or during my office hours. Or if you prefer to work independently and rely on yourself, it’s also great. There’s no single way to find answers to your questions. But, I’m asking you to preserve your curiosity well and never let it go.
Inclusive Expression: Feel free to ask questions and make comments directly, or raise your hand if that’s more comfortable for you – both ways are perfectly respected. Your insights and comments are highly valued. Expressing yourself openly contributes to a diverse and dynamic learning environment, enriching the experience for all.
Syllabus Quiz Rule and Make-Ups*: There are weekly in-person quizzes on Thursdays in discussion section. Quizzes will be 20 minutes each. They will cover the same topics that are covered on the homework due the day before. You will not be allowed to use: books, notes, phones, computers, tablets, or calculators.
There will be two quiz retake opportunities during the semester: in the discussion after each midterm you will be allowed to retake a single (modified) quiz. Otherwise, there are no make up quizzes. Your two lowest quiz grades will not be included when computing your final grade.
*This item is copied from Professor Rickard’s syllabus.
Quiz Grading: The other TA, Brian, and I alternate in grading quizzes for all students in both lecture sections (9 am and 10 am). I am responsible for the odd-numbered quizzes (Quiz 1, 3, …) while Brian grades the even-numbered ones. On my turns, I always finish grading and publish scores on both Gradescope and Brightspace by Saturday night. In case I made a blunder in grading, please don’t hesitate to submit a regrading request in Gradescope (or directly email me) so I can fix your scores.
Discussion Attendance: Regular attendance in discussion sessions is crucial for your success in this course, as they offer essential practice and reinforce your understanding through interaction with peers. In case you can’t attend a discussion in person but still want to hear me go over the problems, please let me know in advance. I can then record the session using my personal Zoom room and share it with you later. This way, you won’t miss out on any content.
Discussion Times and Location:
3:00—3:50 pm on Tue, Thu (39499 R)
4:00—4:50 pm on Tue, Thu (39522 R)
Both in DMC 206
Ivan’s Office Hours*:
Ivan’s office hours in the final week: 2-4 pm (2h) on Monday (Dec 9) and 4-5 pm (1h) on Tuesday (Dec 10) in the Math Center (KAP 263).
Wednesday: 4-5 pm
Thursday: 5-6 pm
Friday: 2-3 pm
*You are always welcome to attend my office hours. This is my designated time to assist students, so please don’t feel hesitant—it’s what I’m here for. I’ll be waiting for you in the math center. If my hours don’t fit your schedule, feel free to schedule an appointment with me outside of my regular office hours. We can either do it in the Math Center physically or in my personal zoom room online. Send me an email so we can set up a time, and then I’ll send you my zoom link. You can find my weekly schedule here to check my availability.
Office-Hour locations:
Math Center [KAP 263] and Zoom*
*If you want to join my office hours by Zoom, click here. The Math Center Assistant on duty will assign you to my breakout room.
Note I: As a rule of the Math Center, TAs are there for *all* students (not just their own students) when holding office hours. So you can go there anytime to do homework or get help from any TAs. And I will surely be there at least during my office hours. You can check out here the Math Center Schedules including all TAs’ office hours this semester.
Note II: The Math Center is run on a drop-in basis without appointments. Thus, if many students show up during my office hours, I’ll try to let you ask one question at a time in order of arrival (unless you have to leave soon) and then continue the cycle, to ensure everyone there has a chance to discuss questions with me instead of waiting for nothing. Feel free to give me any feedback!
Textbook: Essential Calculus (2nd edition) by Stewart (Click here for the pdf file)
Previously Taught:
Ivan’s Medium Articles on Math Teaching
Afterword
“I know you want someone like me to hold your hand through your academic journey, to make what you’re learning approachable and help you gain confidence and hope in this course. It’s not about responsibility, but about love and expression: a selfless love from one heart to another, and an artistic expression that contributes happiness and wisdom to the rest of humanity.”
— Ivan Z. Feng, “In Conversation with You: Nurturing Academic Success”
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