What impact do race and gender have in the science classroom? In this workshop, designed by Physics graduate students for TFs in STEM disciplines, we interrogate the definitions of race and gender in the US to understand how these categories have shaped the scientific community. Informed by our critical analysis of these definitions, we discuss ways to cultivate supportive learning environments, and what we can do as teaching fellows to make science more equitable, both in the classroom and beyond.
In this workshop we will explore the relationship between stand up comedy and teaching, and how lessons and dynamics that occur in successful comedy routines could be relevant to the classroom. To be a good comedian, you have to be able to persuade your audience to let you show them a new perspective on things—to welcome a diverse crowd, to establish some shared premises, to think about questions which have never occurred to them before, to see the world as an outsider would, and to wonder why, exactly, we behave in the ways that we do. In some cases, these new perspectives may be simply...
What assumptions do you have about students in your class? How can identities related to race, gender, class, sexuality, ability, and more affect classroom dynamics? This session will begin with the Bok Center’s Undergraduate Pedagogy Fellows presenting an introduction to the multiplicity of Harvard undergraduate identities through both narratives and statistics. The Fellows will also offer an introduction to how power and privilege manifest within the classroom in the forms of microaggressions and "hot moments", and explain how students often wish TFs would deal with and work to...
Public speaking skills are in high demand, but what do we really mean when we say public speaking, and what does it mean to work on these skills? As teachers, many of the basic principles of good pedagogy are also the basic principles of good speaking: we have goals for our students, and we consider ways to communicate content effectively to help them understand and become engaged in the material. Similarly, once you understand the basics of public speaking, the only way to really build these skills is by practicing, getting feedback and reflecting on your practice. In this workshop you...
Growth mindset—the belief that your skills and intelligence are malleable and can be improved with hard work and practice—has been shown to be a vital aspect of learning. In this session, we will focus on developing a growth mindset for ourselves and for our students, and why both are important. It is often all too easy to think of ourselves as finished products with set skills, but this can hinder our attempts to be willing to learn new knowledge and skills. Fostering a “growth mindset” can motivate us- and our students- to focus on the process of learning, to embrace challenges as...
Start your Winter Teaching Week morning before your first session by coming to have coffee with Bok Center staff. Ask your teaching questions and learn more about our resources!
Getting to know your students enhances your ability to create a successful learning environment, so what can you do to establish a relationship with your students, encourage them to ask questions, and create a positive atmosphere? Rapport, a harmonious relationship with others, is influenced by both culture and language, and this workshop is an opportunity for international TFs to discuss the challenges you anticipate when building rapport and to explore strategies to build rapport both with and amongst your students. Practice introducing yourself and using active listening techniques to...
As an experienced TF, how do you reflect on your teaching experience, and prepare job market materials that tell the story of the teacher you are and the teacher you want to become? Specifically, how can a syllabus function in this way? Most tenure-track job postings request a sample syllabus. How do you go about creating one? This workshop introduces a method of curriculum planning called backwards design. The idea is simple: you can’t start planning how you’re going to teach until you know what you want your students to learn. Together we’ll brainstorm learning goals for our...
This session addresses principles of professional conduct and classroom management for teachers as it relates to Title IX requirements and Harvard’s commitment to gender equity. We’ll discuss how one balances Harvard University’s commitment to the free exchange of ideas while maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment in which no member of the community is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination in any University program or activity on the basis of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Participants...
General Education courses connect what students learn in the classroom to the lives they lead outside of college. How will you help your students make this connection? Come to this session and learn about the goals of Gen Ed and its place in the curriculum, and find out about the challenges and opportunities teaching in this program presents. Please bring a copy of your course description that you can share with someone else electronically or in hard copy.
How should you introduce yourself on the first day of class? How should you have students introduce themselves? How do you begin to build an inclusive environment? In this lunchtime discussion, we will consider a variety of case studies focused on how to help students introduce themselves in class in a way that promotes comfort and confidence, and respects individual differences, especially around identity, equity, and gender, that can emerge through icebreakers and introductions. During this session, we will analyze the dynamics at play in these activities and brainstorm best...
In this workshop, designed for graduate students in STEM, we will develop and practice skills to meaningfully and clearly convey your research to different audiences, consider how to incorporate narrative techniques to motivate audiences to care about your research, and think about how we can use verbal and visual explanations to their best effect in all the forms of communicating science. In so doing, we will discuss the purpose of jargon and when it is most useful, some of the different purposes of “science communication,” and how to tailor our communication to convey...
As teachers in the humanities and/or the social sciences, you’ve probably encountered students who have a hard time translating their reading into fruitful discussion and insightful analysis, whether in class or in their papers. Learning how to traverse the arc from reading a text, to saying something intelligent about it, to receiving and responding to an instructor’s feedback about that writing, ultimately takes years, and may happen to different students at different moments. What, then, can you achieve in just one semester? In this session, designed for both new and...
