An additional benefit, students say, is the chance to review concepts related to their concentrations.

“It’s really true—you don’t know if you understand something until you know you can explain it to someone else,” Stefan K. Muller ’12 says. “It really forces me to understand everything and anticipate questions and come up with the answers.”

JUGGLING TWO ROLES

Each week, Muller spends almost two hours preparing for his 90-minute CS61 section. The process involves reviewing course notes, constructing analogies for difficult concepts, and working through (or sometimes creating) practice problems for his students.

Most TFs and CAs—who don’t teach sections—say the time commitment ranges from 10 to 20 hours a week.

For some, like veteran Math 19a CA Adrian Veres ’12, settling into a routine makes the extra responsibility more manageable. But for most, the job is like adding a fifth class.

“You can’t just not come one night,” explains Ye Zhao ’13, a Physics 15a TF and CS50 CA. “Your students actually depend on you.”

Jim W. Danz ’12 was a TF for three semesters and was head TF for CS51 last spring, but chose not to TF this year because of the time commitment. Although he does not regret his experience, he admits that without the job, he might have tried taking five classes, or gotten better grades.

Another challenge facing these undergraduate TFs is navigating the blurred line between peer and instructor.

Bowden has had classes with his students, and as a sophomore TF, found himself teaching material to seniors. But he says both situations actually enhanced his experience—he could connect with students more easily in section because he knew them outside of class, and his seniors loved him.

“I see them also as peers,” says Tony L. Feng ’12, a CA in Math 118 and former CA of Math 55, of his students. “If they want to hand in homework late, it’s hard for me to say no.”

That kind of empathy can be an asset, according to Melissa Franklin, chair of the Physics Department.

“They have their fingers on the pulse of the Harvard undergraduate,” says Belding of her CAs.

And since undergraduates are generally expected to take a course before staffing it, they are very familiar with its character.

“If you CA, it’s because you want to,” says Veres. “For grad students that’s not true. [Some] would rather not teach at all.”