Bok News

The Pedagogy Fellows leadership team: Rebecca Brown, Pamela Pollock, Adam Beaver, and Yasemin Kalender.

Pedagogy Fellows 2021-22: Year in Review

June 15, 2022

As we close the books on the academic year, we are taking stock of what we’ve learned, and planning for the coming year. Our programs always strive to reflect the current moment, as we adjust to the needs of each year of teaching. 2021–22 was the year of being “back again” on campus, of teaching with masks, and of getting used to being together in the classroom again. Perhaps none of the Bok Center’s programs felt more responsive to these new circumstances than the Pedagogy Fellows. Each year, approximately 34...

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map of world made up of colored dots

Learning Together: Spotlight on Culture and Communication Consultants

May 24, 2022

The Bok Center’s Professional Communication Program for International Teachers and Scholars supports international PhD students at all stages of their academic careers through seminars and resources on teaching, cross-cultural communication, and English language proficiency development. Our team of undergraduate Culture and Communication Consultants (CCCs) serve as language partners, lead discussion groups, and organize special events such as Harvard House tours. The CCCs offer insights...

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Teaching Certificate

Congratulations to the 2021-22 Bok Teaching Certificate Recipients!

April 29, 2022

The Bok Teaching Certificate gives GSAS PhD students a tangible marker of their ongoing commitment to developing as teachers in higher education. Guided by three principles—Learn, Practice, Reflect—those who pursue the Certificate explore different topics in teaching and learning through departmental pedagogy courses and Bok Seminars, reflect on their own teaching practice, and compile a portfolio of written materials documenting their experience. We offer a tailored approach for students; no two students follow...

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Ashlie Sandoval

Behind the Bok: Ashlie Sandoval

April 14, 2022

Each month we will profile a member of the Bok staff in order for our friends and colleagues to learn more about us, the full range of work that we do, how we approach our work, and what is happening in the world of teaching and learning from different perspectives.

Ashlie Sandoval, Assistant Director, Equity and Inclusion... Read more about Behind the Bok: Ashlie Sandoval

Engaged Communication for PhD Students

Engaged Communication for PhD Students

April 1, 2022

Teaching is an act of scholarly communication, and developing communication skills is an important component of professional development. We offer programs in teaching and scholarly communication for PhD students at every stage, from newly matriculated students who want to develop strategies to more easily explain their work, to dissertation-stage students preparing to share short versions of their research on the Sanders Theatre stage. This year we focused on communicating in person (both with masks and without) after more than a year of being confined to a small square on...

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Claire Adams

Analyzing the Past Using Multimodal Projects

April 1, 2022

As a way of augmenting students' learning in History courses, Media & Design Fellow Claire Adams (PhD candidate in History) developed a series of workshops at the Learning Lab to introduce students to the fundamentals of visual communication and presenting academic findings in digital forms. Designed to work in conjunction with specific course content and the analytical methods that students need to practice, Claire’s scaffolding activities, and the...

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Jordan Koffman

Behind the Bok: Jordan Koffman

March 17, 2022

Each month we will profile a member of the Bok staff in order for our friends and colleagues to learn more about us, the full range of work that we do, how we approach our work, and what is happening in the world of teaching and learning from different perspectives.

Jordan Koffman, Assistant Director of the Learning Lab... Read more about Behind the Bok: Jordan Koffman

Xiaomeng Han

Graphical Abstracts to Teach Neuroscience

March 2, 2022

In MCB80, The Neurobiology of Behavior, many Harvard undergraduates encounter scientific papers for the first time. As a way to augment students’ understanding of influential research papers in neuroscience, Media & Design Fellow Xiaomeng Han (PhD candidate in Neuroscience) has developed “graphical abstracts”—a form that uses illustration and graphic design to explain, and in a sense tell a story about, key concepts in neuroscience.

As a Media & Design Fellow at the Learning Lab, Xiaomeng’s project...

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Rebecca Miller Brown

Behind the Bok: Rebecca Miller Brown

February 16, 2022

Each month we will profile a member of the Bok staff in order for our friends and colleagues to learn more about us, the full range of work that we do, how we approach our work, and what is happening in the world of teaching and learning from different perspectives.

Rebecca Miller Brown, Assistant Director, Graduate Student Programming... Read more about Behind the Bok: Rebecca Miller Brown