Harvard First Impressions

I participated in my first undergraduate Harvard class this past week. I should probably set the stage a bit before expressing my opinions. I am not a student; I'm a teaching fellow for this course. This was an experience from the first class of the semester. The course is open to students all across campus and has no prerequisite.

My first impression was that the room was amazing. It reminded me more of a theater than a classroom. I've met in large lecture halls before at other campuses, but this was WAY nice. The projection screen was huge, contributing to the theatrical feeling. The seats were quite comfortable, but the desks, like always were quite small. I also got to see the prep room, which is just amazing and reminds me of the space I saw at the Shakespearean Arts Festival behind one of their theatrical stages. In other words it is huge and has just about anything for various lecturer needs.

My second impression is that of the students. Because this is the first class, this means Harvard is still abuzz with students shopping for classes. Yes, I said shopping. Students have not registered formally and are literally looking in on classes before deciding if they should take it. Hence the term shopping. To illustrate the shopping phenomenon, when this class began the hall was full. A seat was scarcely available with some students standing in the back. As the class wore on students trickled in and out. By the end of class, the number of empty seats was quite evident. What fun for a person lecturing and having to watch as student literally walk out on them. Its a good thing I don't start any instruction until after this shopping period and the students are divided into sections. (Oh yeah, sections aren't decided until shopping is done. What an administrative nightmare!!)

My third impression is one that may change as class goes on. To me it appeared that the instructors were going out of their way to sell the course to the students. The lecture was quite entertaining and involved some fun interactive aspects. That's pretty amazing for a class of about 300 students. I would be most impressed if lectures continue to be as dynamic, fun, and entertaining. However, I suspect that the lectures will probably droll off to what I've come to expect from science classes in such a setting. Only time will tell.

Finally, I love not being a student!! I am free to look around and see what students are frantically writing down in their notebooks or typing on their laptops (the front row should be dubbed laptop-row). Come on! It is the first day of class. Students are still shopping for classes. The course was outlined and the syllabus reviewed. I saw some students with multiple pages of notes. Crazy! Well, perhaps not. I'll see how note taking goes as the course goes on. I bet having the presentations available on pdf before class will affect those pen speeds and the carpal tunnel.