Teaching Fellow (TF) Requirements

Teaching in SEAS

Every graduate student in SEAS is required to serve as a Teaching Fellow (TF) for a semester in their G2 year. Teaching a course has many benefits: a rewarding experience, in-depth knowledge of a course, and firsthand experience in public speaking, for example. Graduate students can serve as TFs for both graduate and undergraduate courses. Make sure you speak with your advisor about your plan for fulfilling the TF requirement. When you have permission from your advisor and the course head to be a TF for a course, fill out the online TF Application form, available here: http://tinyurl.com/seastfapplication.

Resources for Teaching in SEAS

There are many helpful resources for both first-time and experienced TFs. The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning (“Bok Center”, http://bokcenter.harvard.edu/) offers seminars, workshops, and consultations for new and experienced TFs. The Bok Center coordinates the Fall Teaching Conference, a two-day training program for all TFs serving in the coming academic year. The Fall Teaching Conference for TFs serving in the 2021-2022 academic year will take place August 18-26, 2021. More information about the conference can be found here: http://bokcenter.harvard.edu/fall-teaching-conference.

Before you begin your TFship, you will participate in the TF Orientation offered by SEAS. The TF Orientation consists of a presentation on best teaching practices, as well as one “microteaching” exercise with the SEAS Departmental Teaching Fellow/Bok Center staff. Microteaching consists of a five-minute videotaped lesson followed by a consultation with Bok Center staff to highlight your teaching strengths and offer suggestions for improvement.

You can take ES 301, the "SEAS Teaching Practicum" course, which is designed for SEAS graduate students interested in teaching and pedagogy (the "engineering sciences" label is purely for administrative purposes). It also counts as a significant component of the Bok Center's Teaching Certificate Program.

Teaching Certificate Program

Experienced TFs can apply for the Bok Center Teaching Certificate Program, which requires a demonstrated commitment to improvement of teaching practice by attending Bok seminars or their equivalent, teach and work on teaching practice, and critically reflect on teaching. More information is available on the Bok Center website here: http://bokcenter.harvard.edu/teaching-certificate-program.

Departmental Teaching Fellow

SEAS has a Departmental Teaching Fellow, an experienced graduate student who supports new and experienced TFs in SEAS. The Departmental TF runs the SEAS TF Orientation and is available for consultations or questions about teaching in SEAS. This year’s Departmental TF is William Qian (he or they pronouns), who can be contacted at wqian@g.harvard.edu.