Word: tfs
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...long as today is not a University holiday, it’s inevitable that some TFs will still hold section. Even those who would have canceled their sections on their own can still be overruled by professors, who can argue that because other sections this week were required to meet, equity demands the same of today’s sections. And in seminars and tutorials, where attendance is often enforced by Draconian penalties for absence—sometimes two or three lead to automatic failure—the problem is still more acute. Unless the physics department unlocks the secret...
Whether or not the administration can reconcile Harvard’s Spartan philosophy of “play only so that we can better work” with an extra day for Thanksgiving travel, the Faculty and TFs should take it upon themselves to make Thanksgiving travel feasible for all students. This may mean that TFs should reschedule their Wednesday sections for another week— maybe during reading period—or even that professors should cancel all sections for the week of Thanksgiving. And, if they choose to hold Wednesday lectures at all, professors should aim to enrich...
...addition to a language test, all candidates should be evaluated on their ability to teach a mock section. Even brilliant graduate students can be ineffective teachers, and students should be able to expect that their instructors’ ability has been tested prior to their selection. After being hired, TFs should also receive training so that they can improve their teaching before they ever meet their first student in the classroom. Currently, TFs can attend seminars given at the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, a Faculty of Arts and Sciences-sponsored facility that offers one-on-one training...
None of these policies would help meet an emergency need for teachers. But the ballooning courses whose popularity outstrips the professor’s predictions can be addressed by casting a wider net for TFs. Many departments can and do look to Harvard graduate schools besides the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to meet their needs. Making better use of the graduate schools—and even recruiting graduate students from other Boston-area colleges—would likely help the TF crunch. By expanding the pool of possible TFs, professors can afford to be more selective. Harvard currently...
...Harvard, the fame of the professors can sometimes obscure the poor teaching that goes on in section. But discussion sections can provide students’ most important academic experiences. Providing minimum standards, giving TFs the tools to become better teachers and bringing in more experienced instructors from outside Harvard would improve the quality of both teaching and learning in the College...