Take three seminars that cover a range of topics in pedagogy and classroom practice:

1. Core Principles: One seminar must cover core principles in pedagogy and classroom practice. This may be satisfied by either:

• A department's or program's pedagogy course (view a current list); or
• One of these Bok Seminars: Preparing to Teach, Foundations of Teaching in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Tools and Techniques for Discussion Leading, Foundations of Teaching in STEM, Problems and P-Sets: Creating and Teaching Problems in STEM, Classroom Communication Skills for International TFs, Course Design: From Transparency to Transfer, or How am I Doing? Using Feedback to Improve your Teaching.​​​​​​​

2. Take two additional Bok Seminars on topics of your choosing, including any of the above.

Our offerings are organized into broad categories based on target audience and topic: Foundations, Methods & Classroom Practice, Equity & Inclusion, Communication & Language, and Professional Development (for experienced TFs).  Candidates for the Teaching Certificate should think carefully about how to assemble a meaningful program of electives which will allow them to tell a coherent story about their progress through the Certificate Program (see the "Reflect" requirement).

Demonstrate a commitment to practicing and experimenting with skills acquired through the program by having a video consultation. Having your section videotaped as part of a departmental pedagogy class also counts toward the requirement.

Video is a particularly effective way to put yourselves in the shoes of your students and reflect on the act of teaching: Does what you see on video match your own perceptions of your teaching? How does the video reflect the way you think of yourself as a teacher? What you have learned through your experience teaching and pursuing a teaching certificate?

Create three products that capture critical reflections on teaching and learning:

1. A teaching statement similar to one which might be included in a Teaching Portfolio.
2. An original syllabus for a course you might propose to teach, whether at Harvard or at another university.
3. A reflective piece of approximately 1000 words which integrates what the candidate has learned from the experience of pursuing the teaching certificate. Candidates should write a reflective narrative on their trajectory through the certificate, incorporating any or all of the following: the connections (or disconnections) between the seminars they took, what the experience has meant to them, particularly noteworthy take-aways that they will use in their future teaching or scholarship and ideas or suggestions to inform future iterations of the Bok Teaching Certificate.

In addition to the guidance offered by our Online Resources, several of our Bok Seminars also provide a workshop environment in which you may create and refine these materials.

How to apply. GSAS PhD students interested in pursuing a Bok Teaching Certificate should self-register on the Bok Teaching Certificate Canvas site.  The Bok Teaching Certificate is awarded on a rolling basis, whenever a candidate has completed the required coursework, fulfilled the practice requirement, and submitted his/her reflection documents. 

Typically, completing the requirements for a Bok Teaching Certificate takes at least 2 semesters; there is no specified term in which the requirements must be completed.

Take two departmental courses:

• One foundational language pedagogy course:
  • ROM-LANG 210: Language Pedagogy: Theories, Practices, and Approaches
  • CHINESE 280: Teaching Chinese as a Foreign/Second Language (J. Liu)
  • LINGUISTICS 173: Structure of Japanese (W. Jacobsen)
  • SLAVIC 126: Structure of Modern Russian (S. Clancy)
  • GERMPHIL 280: Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching (Parkes)
• ROM-LANG 220: Second Language Research and Practice
  • A foundational language pedagogy course is a prerequisite to this course.
  • Additional equivalents may be approved from Linguistics or the Graduate School of Education.

Take any two Bok Seminars. The following may be of particular interest or relevance to language teachers:

• Linguistic Diversity in the Classroom
• Tools and Techniques for Leading Classroom Discussions
• Foundations of Teaching in the Humanities and Social Sciences
• PreTexts (more information coming soon)

• a Statement of Teaching Philosophy,
• a prospective syllabus, and
• a sample assignment prompt, lesson plan, or class activity. For more detail on these items, see the Teaching Portfolio page in our Online Resources.

NB: In addition to the guidance offered by our Online Resources, several of our Bok Seminars also provide a workshop environment in which you may create and refine these materials.

How to apply. GSAS PhD students interested in pursuing a Bok Certificate in Teaching Language and Culture should self-register on the Bok Certificate in Teaching Language and Culture Canvas site. The Certificate in Teaching Language and Culture is awarded on a rolling basis, whenever a candidate has completed the required teaching and coursework and submitted his/her professionalization documents. NB: Typically, completing the requirements for a Certificate in Teaching Language and Culture takes 2 years; there is no specified term in which the requirements must be completed.