Derick S. Baum

“Derick is honestly one of the most hardworking, supportive instructors I’ve had the pleasure of learning from over the course of my academic program. It’s a methods class, and he provides a broad enough overview for it to be accessible to everybody while having the deep understanding needed to go into as much of the nitty-gritty as students have an appetite for. The way he integrates concepts with coding exemplars lets dabblers start applying tools straight away, but the thought he puts into pencil-and-paper exercises lets students really grasp what’s going on underneath the hood. He’s extremely accessible and generous with time, and really cares about the subject.”

“Derick was extremely organized and a very clear instructor, overall. He made himself available frequently outside of class and provided thorough feedback on all assignments and exams. He genuinely raised my standard of what is possible with grading turnarounds because he provided some of the fastest, most comprehensive grades I’ve ever received.”

“He provided a lot of external resources, making them clear and making himself available: lots of office hours availability, proactive communication about assignment/exam feedback and where to reach him for more questions, problem set answers with explanations, example Rscripts with explanations. I believe he was able to foster an environment where students were treated with respect and given lots of resources to succeed.”

“Derick was an extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful TF [Teaching Fellow]. He always returned detailed feedback on our problem sets in a timely manner. He also always made time to resolve any lingering confusion about the topics week to week.”

“Derick is so appreciated! His section and programming notes were incredibly helpful. He really went above and beyond in being accessible, helping us understand concepts, and troubleshooting any errors. His feedback was very consistently thorough. Truly could not have asked for a better TF [Teaching Fellow]!”

“Derick was an excellent Teaching Fellow. His section discussions helped me solidify and apply understanding in ways I imagine will extend beyond this course. He was incredibly skilled at explaining highly complex concepts in social network analysis in an accessible manner. Moreover, he routinely prepared comprehensive materials (e.g., section code, activities) that were helpful guides, even when I was unable to attend the section during a particular week. He was also highly accessible outside of class and section times via email and office hours.”

“Derick did an amazing job leading section. He always came so prepared and set us up well to work through weekly assignments. You truly could not have asked for a better TF [Teaching Fellow]. Derick spends so much time preparing for this class, is always available for office hours or over email to workshop a problem, and is clearly an expert in this field! Students are lucky to have him.”

“Derick is always ready to help answer questions, and explain concepts clearly, and he creates a very positive and encouraging section environment.”

“Derick is wonderful!! Section always went by so fast. He did a great job covering information that we went over in class and going over practice problems. He doesn’t just explain them but encourages us to do them with him so that we are actively learning. And he’s super nice!!”

“Derick is so lovely – like so competent and helpful (and gives incredibly detailed and useful feedback) but also just really nice and great to talk to about sociology and other interests outside of the class.”

“Derick was extremely helpful in helping me understand how to transfer what we were learning in lecture to Stata. I also greatly appreciated his feedback on assignments and the patience he had when helping with problems.”

“Derick has a bright future ahead of him. He is a great teacher who takes the time to work with students and explain concepts to them. I wish him all the best going forward with his academic career. There are great things ahead for both his teaching and research capabilities.”

“Derick is one of the best TFs [Teaching Fellows] I’ve had at Harvard. He explains concepts very clearly and gets to the root of confusion well. He always encouraged different people to participate during section, and allowed us to work on homework if we had spare time which was very helpful. He was always happy to answer questions over email and in office hours, and gave very timely feedback. I would recommend any student that takes the class try to get into his section.”

“Very friendly and more than willing to clarify concepts or help us with our final project outside of class time!”

“Even though this course was offered for the first time in the department of sociology, the section was well–organized and he prepared thoroughly for the sections. The section materials were very helpful in taking this course. He was very accessible outside class as well.”

“Derick’s feedback on problem sets was the most detailed feedback I’ve received on any problem sets that I’ve completed during my time at Harvard. His comments were helpful, supportive, and helped me understand what to improve in future work. I appreciated the detail and thoughtfulness with which he approached providing feedback.”

“Thoughtful, extremely generous with his time, and so knowledgeable.”

“Derick helped to clarify lecture material, was extremely accessible for OH [Office Hours], and gave detailed feedback on weekly assignments for future improvement. He was a wonderful TF [Teaching Fellow]!”