New Year, New Winter Teaching Week

February 1, 2021
Winter Teaching Week 2022

Winter Teaching Week 2021, building upon our reimagined Fall Teaching Conference, featured an expanded slate of offerings tailored to the feedback we’ve received from graduate students since we started teaching remotely last March.

Over 50 TFs joined one of our three Fundamentals training cohorts. Through a series of three workshops, each group explored strategies and ideas for teaching remotely to get ready for the spring term. These TFs noted the value of the practice, feedback and community that is at the core of all of our offerings. For even more practice, 24 TFs joined a practice teaching session to apply what they had seen modeled in the Fundamentals training. Pedagogy Fellows led these sessions, in which each TF presented a short lesson to a small group of peers, and then shared feedback and ideas. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive:

  • “It was great to interact with TFs to hear their methods, but also get links to resources that I can use later.”

  • “It was great to see how people in other disciplines use Zoom and implement different teaching strategies.”

  • “I felt really comfortable practicing a topic I have been struggling with. I got great feedback and encouragement. I am so thankful for my peers!"

Beyond Fundamentals and practice teaching, we offered eleven workshops focused on key topics TFs could explore in more depth, focusing on methods, classroom practice, and professional development for PhD students at all stages. Erika Bailey (Head of Voice and Speech at the American Repertory Theater and Lecturer on Theater, Dance & Media) led a workshop on Engaged Communication: Anxiety, Performance, and Presenting on Zoom. This is the third workshop in a series on engaging your audience through Zoom, and, as one participant noted, “Erika's sessions have been so, so useful. I've been to several, and I really enjoy them and will continue coming. The concrete strategies and the practice at the end were great.”

We invite our graduate student community to continue the conversations we began during Winter Teaching Week by engaging with resources and additional modules on the Hit the Ground Running Canvas site or by signing up to meet with us for an individual consultation. Now is also a great time to think about having your class observed or recorded or to consult with us about student feedback or other teaching topics. PhD students are always welcome to join our Bok Seminars, pursue one of our Teaching Certificates, or apply to one of our fellows programs.