Harvard AM207 Fall 2020

Bayesian Methods for Data Analysis, Inference and Optimization

Update: I received a Certificate of Distinction from Harvard’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning in recognition of my “excellence in teaching”.

The scale ranges from 5 (Excellent) to 1 (Unsatisfactory):

Question	Num. of Resp.	Rylan Mean	FAS Mean
Evaluate Rylan overall	12	4.83	4.61
Gives effective lectures of presentations	8	4.88	4.53
Facilities discussion and encourages participation	10	4.90	4.53
Is accessible outside of class	12	4.92	4.66
Generates enthusiasm for the subject matter	12	4.83	4.51
Gives useful feedback on assignments	8	4.38	4.54
Return assignments in a timely fashion	8	4.75	4.53

Student testimonials:

• “Rylan’s office hours got me through this course! I always left with an even clearer understanding of the concepts from class that week and how they related to the homework assignments. His sense of humor and clear excitement in the course material made those Saturday afternoon sessions a joy to experience very week. Thank you, Rylan!!”
• “Stayed late at OH on numerous occasions to help students out; awesome overall! Also just seems like a very fun / nice person.”
• “I can’t say enough good things about Rylan’s section. I would not have passed the class without him. He didn’t just answer questions, he basically taught an entire lesson so we would understand the homework assignment and be able to complete it. Rylan is a talented teacher, and he went above and beyond with how much he cared about helping the students in this class.”
• “Rylan knows the material extremely well and does a great job helping with troubleshooting and overall background knowledge and intuition for the pset. For feedback, I would apprecaite if Ryland can move through OH in a timely manner with an agenda as OH usually goes over.”
• “Rylan is a wonderful TF. He’s very accessible, and his enthusiasm for the material shows. His feedback on assignments also included actionable improvements. He is good at explaining things using a socratic method.”
• “Hi Rylan! I’m so grateful for your joy for the course material and comprehensive explanations. I can see that you deeply enjoy the course material which was always inspiring and uplifting for me.”
• “Rylan is full of enthusiasm for the material and also for teaching in general! He will make a great professor one day, I’m sure.”

Click for raw data

A private email from a student:

Hi Rylan,

I don’t think we’ve ever officially met, but my name is [redacted] and I started [my program] this fall. I also attended your AM207 office hours almost every week this semester, and I just wanted to say thank you so much for making them fun, educational, and accessible!

I’ve been out of school for [several years] so 207 was rather daunting, and I honestly wouldn’t have made it through the class without your weekly recap of the concepts in lecture, how they relate to the homework, and the rationale behind what we should expect to see in our own implementations. I’m sure teaching into the gather.town void was difficult, so thought I’d drop a note here and let you know that you did a great job. :)

Thanks again and happy holidays!
[Redacted]