HOME / PROGRAMMING / FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS /

Getting Started as a Teaching Fellow

Are you a PhD student preparing to teach this year? Do you want to get ready for your role as a Teaching Fellow? At the Bok Center, we believe that teaching is central to your professional development, and are excited to help you prepare for this important chapter of your career. We have two regular offerings designed to help new Teaching Fellows learn about teaching and feel ready to go into the classroom.

Jump to: Hit the Ground Running Fundamentals Training | Preparing to Teach: A Seminar for New TFs |
Program Registration | Other Ways to Engage

Both offerings build upon the asynchronous modules on the Hit the Ground Running Canvas site.

These programs are limited to GSAS PhD students and others at similar career stages engaged in the teaching of Harvard College undergraduates.

Hit the Ground Running Fundamentals Training

Hit the Ground Running Fundamentals Training is an online training consisting of three 90-minute sessions and is offered before classes start in August and January. Students discuss and practice key components of each core module on the Hit the Ground Running Canvas site. This training does not count towards the Bok Teaching Certificate.

After completing Fundamentals, students are encouraged to come to in-person sessions at the Fall Teaching Conference. View a preliminary schedule for Fall Teaching Conference 2024.

This program is a good fit for you if:

  • You do not want to take a full seminar, and would prefer a crash course online before the term starts.
  • Your department offers a pedagogy course that you will enroll in.

Join the Canvas site | Register for Fundamentals

August 2024 Hit the Ground Running Fundamentals Cohorts

  Session 1 Session 2 Session 3
Fundamentals Cohort 1
Tues., August 20,
10:00 am-11:30 am 		Wed., August 21,
10:00 am-11:30 am 		Thurs., August 22,
10:00 am-11:30 am
Fundamentals Cohort 2 Tues., August 20,
1:00 pm-2:30 pm 		Wed., August 21,
1:00 pm-2:30 pm 		Thurs., August 22,
1:00 pm-2:30 pm

Fundamentals Cohort 3

Mon., August 26,
10:00 am-11:30 am 		Mon., August 26,
1:00 pm-2:30 pm 		Tues., August 27,
10:00 am-11:30 am

Preparing to Teach: A Seminar for New TFs

Preparing to Teach: A Seminar for New TFs is a Bok Seminar that is offered regularly throughout the year. It is a 6-session, interactive short course, offered in person in 2- or 3-week sessions, that counts as a core requirement for the Bok Teaching Certificate. Students in the seminar have a chance to learn, practice, and get feedback on the fundamentals of teaching.

This program is a good fit for you if:

  • You would like more time to connect, practice, and get feedback in an interdisciplinary group of PhD students in person.
  • You want to get started on the Bok Teaching Certificate.

See the Seminar Description | Register for the Seminar

 

Not sure which program is the best fit for you? Meet with us!

Upcoming Training Opportunities

2024 Jun 11

Bok Seminar - Preparing to Teach: A Seminar for New TFs

1:00pm to 3:00pm

Location: 

125 Mt. Auburn St. 3rd Floor

Registration opens May 1.

Led by Pamela Pollock and Rebecca Miller Brown

How do you prepare to be a Teaching Fellow? How do you plan a section? How do you know if students are learning? In this seminar, you will learn what you need to know to start teaching, explore resources available to you as you begin your teaching career, and build confidence in the process!... Read more about Bok Seminar - Preparing to Teach: A Seminar for New TFs

Registration

Please choose one program based on your teaching goals and interests.
Not sure which program is the best fit for you? MEET WITH US!

Other Ways to Engage

Check out our flyer for an overview on ways to engage with the Bok Center. Our programming for PhD students is organized based on target audience and topic, so no matter your discipline or your level of experience, we have options for you! Attend our Fall Teaching Conference or Winter Teaching Week before the term starts, take Bok Seminars, plan to pursue a Bok Teaching Certificate, or learn more about our programming for international PhD students.

Graduate Student News

Teaching Matters

Hear reflections on the value of the Bok Center, and of teaching, in our Teaching Matters gallery.

We are here for PhD students!

MEET WITH US about the best ways to use our programs and resources, depending on your teaching and professional development goals.

Hit the Ground Running

Explore our Hit the Ground Running resource site, which includes self-study modules on the fundamentals of teaching, engaged communication, equitable and inclusive teaching, and more.