Helping TFs Make the Grade

Even after students spend hours studying the Course of instruction and the CUE Guide, shopping dozens of lectures and seeking out word-of-mouth,even the best -planned schedule can be foiled by one thing: a terriable section leader

In a lecture class with hundreds of students, the professor 's teaching ability may not b as important as the skill of the Teaching Fellow (TF) explaining diffcult concept or leading a meaningful discussion.

Beacuse TFs arer crucial to undergraduate education, it is often the students who suffer the consequences when their graduate student instructors fail to make the grade.

Whe undergraduates recieve an unsatisfactory report card, thy can turn to the Bureau of Study Council, the Writing Center and other on-Campus resources for help.

When their TFs are burned by a low score on student evaluations, they can turn to the Bok center and the Commitee on undergraduate Education (CUE).

The CUE is dedecated to students and their education, says Terry Aladjem, assistant director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, and it works closely with the Bok Center in helping both TFs who receive low scores and experience TFs who just want to improve their skills

"We work to ensure the best possible teaching for our undergraduates," wrote Dean of Undergraduate Education William M. Todd III in an e-mail message.

"But, together with the Bok Center and the Dean of Graduate students all possible help in developing their pedagogical abilities," he added.

ATF's Report Card

The CUE offers professors the option to evaluate their own performnces and their TF's as well midway through each semester. The figures published in the in annual CUE guide are also used to alert the dean of Undergraduate education to possible problems with a specific TF's teaching. When a CUE guide score for a TF is too lows, actrion is immediatley taken.

"When a TF falls below 3.0, we write the letter in which we outline some measure the TF can take it improfe his/her performance," Todd wrote in an e-mail message.

The letter acknowledges that the CUE guide scores may be due to unusual circumstance but offer some specific suggestions on Where TFs can getteaching advice Talking to the coursehead and meeting with Bok Center staff are two of the usual course that TFs take.

If a TF receives a low score for a second semeaster ia a row, the CUE may prohibit the TF from further teaching. In extreme cases, According to Todd, the TF can be removed during the middle o a semester but it is a rare occurence.

Sending TFs Back to School

While it may seem that evryone and their roommate complains about "bad" TFs, the reality is that very few TFs receive the minimum CUE guide score of 3.0 Last semester, 37 TFs out of ever 1,000 received letters advising them to seek help with their teaching.

This number is slightly higher than in previous years, according to Wilkinson because years, according to wilkinson because the excepted standers of teaching were raised this year. Previouslythe minimum score for TFs was 2.8. Because fewer and fewer were getting such low scores, the CUE decided to up the ante.

Wilknson atributes the increased quality of teaching of the pre-semestertraining that is now mandatory, and praises Harvard for this step.

"It sets Harvard apart from other research universities," he says. "We're on the cutting edge in terms of teaching."

Even if 37 seems high, numbers can be deceiving, and Almadjen says that because the system is not perfect, 37 is not necessarily significant.

"This happens only in CUE-d classes," he says. "It's not an excat science."

Besides the fact that not all classes fill out CUE evaluations, responses are counted only when at least seven evaluations are returned.

Teacher Tools

According to Aladjem, it is not usully laziness or negligence on the part of the TF leads to low CUE guide scores. Rather, he says, it is a need to "refocus and microadjust" teaching styles or it my merely the imperfection on the evluation system.

According toTodd, "the resources of the Bok center are exceptionally rich." Founded in 1976, the Bok Center's mission is " to improve Undergraduate education," according to James Wilkinson and it attempts to do so through a variety of ifferent methods.

The system quite flexiable. There is training that is appropriate for their strengths and where they need to improve."

When TFs comne to the Bok Center looking for help with their teaching, each case is dealt with separately, and there are many different options. TFs can have their teaching obsevered and then reviwed, attended seminars or use evaluation forms for more frequent feedback.

"We make an individual plan depending on the case and the reasons for the low grades," Aladjem says. "There is no right way to teach, we feel strongly. By the same token there is no right way to improve teaching."

The Bok Center also takes an active role in educating TFs before they ever step foot in za classroom. In 1995 the Faculty Council mandate requiring that TFs get some training went effect.While the departments are responsible for his training they often turn to the Bok Center for help.

According to Wilkinson, seminars onteaching held before each semester draw hundreds of TFs. Though the departments set minium standards, Wilkinson says they many TFs come to the Bok Center for additional resources.

In general though, the Bok Center has been succeful and this is much ancedotal support of this assertion," Aladjem says.

"Everything in our experience tells us oso and we develop relationship withthem for future so it's not one time thing," he says. "We try to be very respecful of everyone's teaching efforts."