Tyler Simko

Data Science

• API 209: Advanced Quantitative Methods
• Harvard Kennedy School, Fall 2022
• Teaching Fellow, with Dan Levy.
• Click for course description.

  The goal of this course is to prepare you to analyze public policy issues using statistics. Key topics in the course are in the areas of probability theory, estimation, hypothesis testing, regression analysis, causal inference and prediction. While many students taking this class will have already taken courses in statistical inference and regression analysis, this course will place a much stronger emphasis than typical courses on conceptually understanding the underlying methods. Since the course is targeted to first - year students in t he MPA - ID program, we will not shy away from using mathematical tools, but the emphasis of the course will be on the conceptual understanding and application of the tools rather than on the math or the mechanics behind the tools. So for example, when study ing hypothesis testing, we will place a heavier emphasis on what the test is doing, when to use it and how to interpret its results, than on mathematical proofs underpinning the test or on mechanical repetitions of the calculations involved in conducting the test.
• Math Camp: HKS MPA/ID Program
• Harvard Kennedy School, Summer 2022
• Instructor, for Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) Program.
• Content planned in collaboration with Dan Levy.
• Redesigned summer material as an introduction to R, starting with Google Colab, then moving to installing R / RStudio and learning the fundamentals of data science and R programming with tidyverse.
• Course materials
• Gov 1008: Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Harvard University, Fall 2021
• Teaching Fellow, with Jill Kelly.
• Click for course description.

  This courses teaches the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a collection of hardware and software tools that allow users to visualize and analyze geographic data in its spatial configuration. Students will learn the theory of geospatial analysis alongside practical methods for acquiring, manipulating, displaying, and analyzing cartographic data.
• Syllabus
• Awarded: Certificate of Distinction in Teaching: Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
• Fundamentals of Data Science
• South Amboy High School, Summer 2021
• Course Head / Instructor
• Click for course description.

  This course covers the fundamentals of data science using R from the very beginning. We discuss both technical (data cleaning, creating data visualizations, studying relationships between variables, etc.) and substantive (how to think about data, how to craft a research question, etc.) topics. Students conduct an independent research project on a topic of their choice throughout the course.
• Teaching materials, syllabus, and course advertisement.
• Gov 50: Data
• Harvard University, Fall 2020
• Head Teaching Fellow
• Click for course description.

  This course covers the fundamentals of data and statistical inference using R, including data collection, visualization (primarily with tools like tidyverse and Shiny), the Rubin Causal Model, and regression modeling).
• Teaching materials and course resources (class scripts, problem sets, etc.).
• Awarded: Certificate of Distinction in Teaching: Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
• POL 245: Visualizing Data
• Princeton University, Summer 2016, 2017, 2018.
• Click for course description.

  An introduction to quantitative social science using R. Serves as a first course in programming, basic statistics, data visualization, and regression.
• Offered as part of the Freshman Scholars Institute.
• Course Fellow, with Professor Kosuke Imai and Will Lowe .

American Politics

• Gov 97: Power and Action in American Local Politics
• Harvard University, Spring 2022.
• Course Designer / Instructor
• Click for course description.

  Many of contemporary America’s most pressing issues — in policy areas like housing, policing, education, environmental sustainability, and transportation — will require political action at the local level. But local politics is different in many ways from the federal politics of presidents and senators that we are used to hearing about every day. Who has power in America’s nearly 100,000 local governments? How are decisions made by entities like city councils and school boards, and how can political change happen at the ground level? More generally, how can we use political science as a discipline to inform how we can impact our own communities?
• Syllabus
• Awarded: Certificate of Distinction in Teaching: Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
• Gov 1539: Politics of the American Presidency
• Harvard University, Spring 2021.
• Teaching Fellow, with Professor Jon Rogowski.
• Click for course description.

  This course surveys the politics of presidential power in a system where power is separated between but also shared by adjoining branches of government. What is presidential power? For what aims do presidents exercise their powers? When do presidents successfully achieve their goals — and when do they fail? Through answering these questions, the course provides a deeper understanding of the factors that shape presidential power and the nature of the American system of government.
• Awarded: Certificate of Distinction in Teaching: Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
• 17.20: Introduction to American Politics
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Spring 2019.
• Teaching Fellow, with Professor Devin Caughey.
• Click for course description.

  An introduction to the study of American politics and the discipline of political science. Covers a wide range of topics, including the ideological and constitutional foundations of American politics, its institutional structures including Congress and the presidency, the political behavior of Americans, and contemporary debates on issues like campaign finance and partisan polarization.

Other Teaching Materials

• R Package: Imai's Quantitative Social Science
• I co-authored the R package used in Kosuke Imai's textbook on quantitative social science.
• GIS Teaching Materials: Spatial Models of Social Science
• Harvard University, Fall 2020 (Instructor: Jill Kelly).
• I helped to create the teaching materials for a course on airborne and satellite remote sensing (primarily with ArcGIS).
• Gradescope Autograder
• Gradescope is a useful tool for automatically grading certain assignments when teaching. The full autograder setup for R assignments that I have used in the past is available here.