Need to Know for TFs: AY24-25

What is new this year? Here we outline topics related to teaching and learning at Harvard that are vital for you to know in your role as a Teaching Fellow (TF). We also outline important Harvard policies and resources. 

Generative AI

This academic year, ChatGPT Edu licenses are available to all FAS faculty, students, and staff. “This development,” Dean Hoekstra notes, “is a significant step forward in the broader AI initiatives underway across FAS and in SEAS, which aim to harness the power of AI to enhance our shared teaching and research mission. ChatGPT Edu is a versatile generative AI tool, and we hope you will take advantage of the many ways it can amplify your pedagogy and advance your research.” 

Among the benefits of the new license are the ability to augment ChatGPT’s core abilities with plugins that turn it into a powerful (and more reliable) tool for tasks like coding and data analysis, as well as the ability to create custom chatbots, trained on your own teaching materials, that can help you administer your course and/or serve as “tutors” for students who would like extra practice outside of class with key course concepts. We encourage you to be in conversation with your course head about ways you might use generative AI in your teaching. You can also learn more about teaching with generative AI at the Bok Center.

Presidential Task Forces on Antisemitism and on Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian Bias

Please be aware that antisemitism andIslamophobia are forms of bias, and are not tolerated in Harvard classrooms. Discrimination or harassment of students because they are Jewish, Israeli and/or have pro-Israel views is contrary to University policy. So too is discrimination or harassment of students because they are Muslim, Arab, and/or Palestinian. 

We encourage you to learn more about the work of the Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli bias and the Presidential Task Force on Combating Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian Bias, including the following preliminary recommendations: 

  • Antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias—like Islamophobia, anti-Arab bias, racism, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia—are forms of hatred that have no place within the Harvard community. 
  • Differences of religious observance and political affiliation are a matter of personal right.
  • Conversations about those differences should be grounded in mutual respect and appreciation of common belonging to the Harvard community.
  • Disagreement about contentious issues – including Israel/Palestine – do not justify aggression or malice, nor should it lead to exclusion from a Harvard-recognized organization or activity.

Personal political beliefs

As a TF, you should refrain from sharing your own political beliefs with your students. You can reassure students that your views won't get in the way of treating everyone fairly or working to maintain a classroom that is open to all views. TFs should consult with their course heads with questions on the approach of their particular course. The Bok Center is happy to help instructors navigate the relationship between your persona within and outside the classroom. 

Chatham House Rule

Instructors and students alike may wonder about how best to balance, on the one hand, our desire for people to feel safe to take risks and explore challenging topics in the classroom with, on the other hand, our desire that conversations that begin in the classroom extend beyond it, into students’ extracurricular lives. Employing the Chatham House Rule as a norm for discussion may be a useful tool for discussion facilitators. The Rule states, "When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed."

Unauthorized recording of classes

Keep in mind that students may not record classes without consent. "Harvard prohibits unauthorized recording of any kind; this includes audio, video, or photographic recording.  Any recording or attempt to record, inside the classroom or elsewhere, requires prior consent from all those being recorded. Secretly recording any conversation is not permitted, whether in person, over the phone, or by any other medium."  More information may be found in the Harvard College Handbook for Students, page 57. 

Accommodations for Exams

The Disability Access Office (DAO) is piloting an FAS Testing Center. This pilot program is designed to support facilitation of term-time seated written assessments for students with DAO-approved alternative testing accommodations. Review the FAS testing flyer for details of the process. 

Policies and Resources for Addressing Misconduct

Harvard is committed to being a place where everyone has an equal opportunity to be successful in their academic or work and research pursuits. Harassment, discrimination, and bullying have no place on our campus or in our broader higher education community. Below are policies and resources for addressing misconduct:

General Policy Documents

FAS
Information for Faculty 

Harvard College
Harvard College Handbook for Students  
 
Harvard Griffin GSAS
Teaching Page
Teaching Policies