Led by Pauline Carpenter Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2pm-4pm June 6-June 22 We may wonder or worry about how we’re doing as teachers-- but how do we know? Our own interpretations may not be accurate, and end-of-semester Q-evaluations come too late to make any changes in the current semester. But it doesn’t have to be this way! In this seminar, participants will begin by exploring the nature of feedback and the role of feedback in developing as teachers. We will review, discuss, and model effective mechanisms for collecting feedback, making sense of it, and using it to improve our... Read more about How Am I Doing? Using Feedback to Improve Your Teaching (Session 1 of 6)

Led by Marty Samuels Schedule: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am-12pm June 12-23 Register for this seminar here [1]. When you first begin teaching, you may be confronted with the task of writing problem set questions. What considerations should you keep in mind when doing so? This seminar will focus on developing problems and questions for science and math courses. We will focus on crafting meaningful problems that motivate student learning and that are based on the concepts and skills taught in class. By writing problems for our own disciplines, we will consider the rhetorical... Read more about Problems and P-Sets: Creating and Teaching Questions in STEM (Session 1 of 6)

Led by Pamela Pollock and Rebecca Miller Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am- 12 pm, June 13-June 29 In this project-based seminar, a collaboration between the Bok Center and the Academic Technology Group (ATG), students will practically prepare for both the pedagogical and technological considerations of being a new TF. The seminar will follow the arc of the semester: each session will be devoted to a teaching topic (like the first day of class, or giving and receiving feedback) and include practical tips on how to use Canvas effectively. Participants should have a syllabus to use... Read more about Hit the Ground Running: A Seminar for New TFs (Session 1 of 6)

Led by Adam Beaver Schedule: Wednesdays and Fridays, from 10am-12pm June 28- July 28 with one week break.    Are you on or near the job market? Enthused or concerned about the prospect of assembling a teaching portfolio, writing a syllabus, or giving a teaching demonstration? Wondering what, exactly, a “teaching philosophy” is, and how you get one? While Harvard hopefully has given you opportunities to practice and receive feedback on your teaching, it is often the case that your career as a TF is shaped by forces beyond your control: that is to say, that you’ve taught in courses,... Read more about Teaching and the Job Market: Getting From “TF” to “Colleague” (Session 1 of 6)

Led by Eleanor Craig and Noelle Lopez  Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am-12pm July 11-27 What makes learning meaningful and empowering for students? How can we as teachers develop classroom practices that reflect our social values and commitments? How do we support students in bridging life experience and rigorous study? This seminar, run as a reading group, will engage these questions through the lens of critical pedagogy. The first half of the course will consider its emergence in particular contexts of social justice struggles and its relationship to critical theory. The... Read more about Teaching with Purpose: A Critical Pedagogies Reading Group (Session 1 of 6)

Led by Jen Doody Schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 am- 12 pm, July 31-August 23 As graduate students and scholars, we are constantly being asked to verbally represent ourselves and our ideas -- in classrooms, conferences, interviews, and a range of personal and professional relationships. The seminar is designed to help you become aware of your habits of communication – both good and bad – and to provide you with concrete strategies to improve your public speaking skills in a variety of contexts. Students in this seminar will develop a new talk each week; learn the basics of powerful... Read more about Public Speaking for Teachers and Scholars (Session 1 of 6)

Schedule: Sept 20, 21, 22, 4.30-7.30 pm
Instructor: Doris Sommer

We learn best when we play. Neuroscience today confirms what Dr. Winnecott discovered while treating disturbed children, and what Paolo Freire taught to democratize education: that pleasure and creativity are fundamental to development. So we invite you to play Pre-Texts! Simple yet profound, Pre-Texts is a pedagogical protocol that uses challenging texts as primary material for art-making. Between interpreting the material and reflecting on the process, creative and...

Read more about Come Play Pre-Texts: the Arts Interpret

Join the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning as we showcase projects and innovations across the Harvard teaching community.    

Our community...

Read more about Bok Center Spring Showcase

Register Now!

To learn more about this event please visit the
Fall Teaching Conference Page

... Read more about Fall Teaching Conference - Workshops for Experienced Teachers

Register Now!

To learn more about this event please visit the
Fall Teaching Conference Page

... Read more about Fall Teaching Conference - Teaching Fundamentals for New Teachers

Join the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning as we showcase projects and innovations across the Harvard teaching community.  

Our community of students, scholars, and staff will be sharing what we have done and learned this year, though hands-on demonstrations, videos, and poster...

Read more about Spring Showcase

Each year, eight outstanding PhD candidates are chosen to receive in-depth, personalized mentoring and coaching, from the Bok Center staff,designed to enhance their presentation skills. The program culminates in a symposium of brief, compelling talks where these scholars present their research from the Sanders Theatre stage. To find out more please visit the...

Read more about Harvard Horizons

In this movement and discussion workshop, we will engage the concept of attention through the lens of Feldenkrais and critical philosophy. 

Jonathan Crary, an art critic and scholar of visual culture, argues that our familiar concept of "attention" is not a neutral or objective given, but a cultural construction that emerged in response to changing demands in 19th-century industrial-capitalist development. 

After a roundtable discussion on selected passages from Jonathan Crary and Maxine Sheets-Johnstone's work on the politics and philosophy of attention (see below),...

Read more about The Biopolitics of Attention: Posture, Gaze and Learning

Want to learn to be more effective in public speaking for lectures, section leading, job talks, or talking in the classroom?  The Bok Center is offering a special opportunity for...

Read more about Workshop: Public Speaking As Performing Art

How do oppressive structures outside of the classroom play out in section discussions? How do questions of race, gender, class, and sexuality impact classroom dynamics? This workshop, which was created in response to demand for an extended treatment of these questions, is geared toward TFs and others who lead discussion sessions with students. We will work to refine our awareness of how structural inequality impacts the classroom, deepen our vocabularies for analyzing its effects, and strategize ways to foster equity through our pedagogy. This half-day workshop will provide groundwork for...

Read more about Teaching for Equity: Power, Privilege, and Identity in the Classroom