Date:
Location:
Led by:
Rebecca Miller Brown, Assistant Director, Graduate Student Programming
In many disciplines, students are meant to learn from “doing the reading,” discussing it in class, and then writing a paper or doing a project about it. How can we make the discussion component of this process (which largely happens in section) effective and engaging, and how can we build these skills as teachers? In this session we will consider what makes for a productive discussion in your discipline, how students know what “counts” as contributing to a discussion, and how you can encourage your students to engage and learn from discussion (and not simply participate). We’ll talk about the possible goals of a discussion and play (literally!) with the various moves that participants make, with the aim of making implicit discussion dynamics more explicit for students and instructors alike. By framing discussion as a skill and making clear all the ways students can participate, you can help students not only learn the content but also develop as effective speakers and listeners.
This workshop is being offered as part of Winter Teaching Week and is designed for GSAS PhD students and others at similar career stages engaged in the teaching of Harvard College undergraduates. Pre-registration is required.