Teaching
Teaching
You can read about my values as a teacher in my statement of teaching philosophy, found here .
Instructor: Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago (2021 - present)
PBPL 28029 - Education Policy (Undergraduate)
PPHA 35700 - Economics of Education Policy (MPP)
Teaching Assistant: UC Davis (2015-2018)
Principles of Microeconomics
Intermediate Microeconomics
Principles of Macroeconomics
Intermediate Macroeconomics
Economics of Education
Public Economics
Center for Educational Effectiveness at UC Davis, Teaching Assistant Consultant Fellowship (spring 2017 - fall 2018)
Instructor: Upward Bound, Pace University New York City, NY (2010 - 2014)
Courses taught
Algebra I
Principles of Microeconomics
Critical Thinking
You can find my complete history of teaching evaluations from my time at UC Davis here.
Below are some excerpts from my teaching evaluations during my time as a TA:
"Derek has to be the best TA I've known my entire academic career here @ UC Davis. His warm and inviting personality makes it easy to ask any question. He has a very clear and deep understanding of the material b/c he can easily break any concept down to its most basic terms and build back up to the full idea with his students. He's extremely calm and patient. He doesn't simply give the answers. He gives you questions that eventually lead the student into understanding the concept. He's awesome! I'm very fortunate to have had him as a TA."
"Best TA I've ever had!"
"Derek did a great job explaining course material. He was both engaging and attentive to the needs of students. He asked great questions to stimulate critical thinking in reference to course topics"
"Derek was an excellent TA. He made the course material much clearer and easier to understand. The course was much more enjoyable due to his excellent ability to explain the concepts clearly."
"Derek was one of my favorite TAs I've had so far! Great at simplifying and explaining the material. Very helpful. Positive attitude."
"Derek is one of the best TAs I've had in my time at UC Davis."
"Derek was an excellent TA who really helped me with concepts that I didn't properly understand from the lecture. He did a really good job breaking concepts into small, understandable chunks of information. I really appreciated the amount of time he spent outside of discussion holding review sessions which were super helpful."
"Derek told us the first day that he enjoys being a TA and wants to see all of us succeed in this class and he demonstrated this very well throughout the quarter. Although he didn't have access to the online textbook (which at times proved to be a bit frustrating for both parties because he wasn't able to provide us with help on the spot) he did a great job of getting back to us and always answering and allowing questions. He has a passion for economics, you can tell, and he shows that in the way he teaches. I was very appreciative to have him as a TA this quarter because I enjoyed the way he taught and the energy he brought to every discussion."
"Derek is one of the best TA's an undergraduate student can receive. His discussion sections are very helpful to teach the chapters went over lectures throughout the week. He answers questions to the best of his ability in order to help us understand. He can read a person's facial features & understand if they are understanding the topics of not. If not, he'll reiterate himself or in another way through an example to better help us understand. He genuinely shows that he goes above and beyond as a TA. I met him for Office Hours outside of his normal hours and what shocked me was that he made sure he helped me before the midterms even if the only time he had was right before his own classes to attend! He even went out of his way to set up a 2 hours midterm study session because of the fact his normal discussion classes were cancel due to the holiday. He wanted to prepare us and took initiative to find a campus room, send invites, and host this session for his discussion students and anyone else who wanted to join."
"Derek deserves am award! He has very good temperament, loves being in discussion, and helps us so much in understanding the material."
"Tried some new methods this quarter and i LOVED it! Just as good as (instructor name), they are a greeeeeaaat! pair. Keep em together and keep derek close he amazing ;) <3 xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo"
"This TA > 90% of the econ professors I've had at Davis."
"Best TA I have ever had in my 3 years at UCD."
"Very caring and understanding of students, extremely knowledgeable about subject matter, and effectively explained every subject. He can be great professor in the future!"
"I really liked Derek as my TA!! He is very clear in everything he explains and always answers questions in a way that students can understand. He also held review sessions that were extremely helpful. Derek is very helpful in office hours and really puts effort into helping you understand concepts. Overall one of the best TA's I've had."
"I hope Derek becomes a Econ professor."
"Hands down the best TA I have ever had in my whole college career. Extremely helpful, would not understand anything in the class without his help. Derek Rury should be a professor, he is great."
"Derek is the best! Without this section, I would never have understood 90% of the material. I love that he engages the class, it makes everything much more memorable. His sections are like mini-lectures and are great for explaining what the professor was talking about. Thank you for helping me pass the class, Derek!"
"Derek Rury is the best TA in UCDavis."
"Derek's review sessions are the only reason I have an adequate grade in the class. Not only is he very approachable and friendly, I have almost always received fully satisfactory answers to all of my questions. I believe he will become an excellent professor one day."
"Derek did a wonderful job! You could tell he spent alot of time carefully preparing his discussions in order to help students best comprehend the material."
"Derek is one of the best TAs that I’ve had at UC Davis. The pop quizzes were helpful, and I appreciate how the TA packed a lot of information into each discussion."
"He's a brilliant TA. Communicative and clear with the material he presents."
"Derek Rury was an excellent TA. He always came to discussion section well-prepared and he communicated the material clearly. He often asked the students questions, which helped me to think about and apply the material myself rather than simply listening to someone else teach it. He was also willing to answer students' questions. He seemed interested in the material and he seemed to enjoy teaching it, and went out of his way to help students by holding extra office hours and trying to set up review sessions for exams. Overall, Derek Rury's teaching helped me to learn the material more effectively and prepared me well for the exams."
"Derek was awesome! Super super helpful during discussion. Very approachable and nice. You can tell that he really cares about economics and teaching. The review session before the midterm was super helpful. I always left discussion feeling confident in my understanding of the material"
"Derek Rury is an excellent TA with good knowledge of the subject matter and answers questions of each and every student no matter how absurd are they. He takes out time even out of his office hours to help clear doubts and explains each concept well (sometimes better than the Professor). His discussions are engaging and useful, make us apply our concepts of economics to come to conclusions which is really good."