Strengthening Your Teaching

The SLATE Initiative

Harvard Kennedy School launched the SLATE (Strengthen Learning and Teaching Excellence) initiative in the fall of 2007 to reaffirm and reinforce its commitment to superb professional education. SLATE’s mission has three aspects, each led by a faculty co-chair:

• Preparing and distributing Curricular Materials such as teaching cases and notes, class videos, etc.
• Developing and recognizing Craft Skills required for excellence in professional-school pedagogy
• Forging Assessment Tools that will help faculty gauge student learning

Current SLATE initiatives include:

• Faculty teaching seminars
• Take A Colleague to Lunch Program
• Core course learning assessments
• Case method teaching and case development

For further information on SLATE, please email the SLATE initiative.

SLATE’s Take a Colleague to Lunch Program

The goal here is simple: to promote conversations about teaching among the faculty, and to make teaching a more open and collegial aspect of work at the School. The process is simple: Invite a faculty colleague to attend one of your classes, go out to lunch with him/her to talk about your class, and the Kennedy School picks up the check. If you’d like to participate, arrange the logistics. Then submit the receipt to Anne Drazen indicating who you went to lunch with, and the school will reimburse you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I participate in the program more than once? Yes; you can participate multiple times.

Is it better to invite someone who teaches similar courses to mine or other kinds of courses? Hard to say. You will probably get something different from each. It probably is not so useful to invite someone who teaches in a completely different style than yours (i.e. all cases vs. all lectures) but having someone with a different teaching style attend your class may help you broaden your approach to pedagogy.

Can I ask someone to observe their class (instead of them observing mine)?
Yes, absolutely. The goal is to promote conversations about teaching and we encourage requests for observing classes in both directions.

For further information about the Take a Colleague to Lunch Program, please email the SLATE initiative.

Taping Classes

Many faculty members have benefited from having their classes videotaped. The taping is surprisingly unobtrusive; most instructors find that they and the class very quickly forget that it's happening and the class business proceeds as usual.

StudioKSG provides the video camera and will also provide a technician, if requested, for the taping. There is a charge for the technician for a standard 1.5 hour class.  Alternatively they will train a CA or TF to do the taping. There is no charge if you provide the tape and a CA or TF does the work. To reserve a camera, fill out the Media Request Form at least 3 days before you need it. The Media Request Form must be submitted for each session, unless this request will be standard for the same class for part or all of a semester. In that case, use the Repeating Schedule Request Form. If additional services are required such as conversion, encoding, and streaming, visit StudioKSG.

Confidentiality

The tape is yours, regardless of who tapes it. StudioKSG does not retain any tapes; the tape is immediately turned over to the instructor, who can then watch it at leisure.

Making use of the Tape

An instructor can learn a lot from viewing the tape. But he or she will get a lot more out of it by reviewing it with a colleague or staff member who has had experience in advising and coaching other teachers. For suggestions, talk with Joseph McCarthy, the Senior Associate Dean for the degree programs.

Using Taping Sessions to Train CAs and TFs

A short taping session can help CAs and TFs get off to a good start in working with students. One instructor assigns a question that students who are having difficulty are likely to ask the trainees and directs them to prepare a 5-minute response and explanation. There are at least two benefits. (1) The trainee discovers that it's not easy to provide a clear explanation off the top of your head; you need to think about it ahead of time and prepare. (2) Most of the trainees are nervous when they step in front of the camera, but find it isn't so bad after all. In fact, most are pleasantly surprised when they view it; hence it boosts their self confidence in working with the students.

Taping Tips

To be sure, you're primarily taping the instructor, but give plenty of attention to the class to show how they're reacting; the audio will provide the context. You may also want to get shots of the blackboard; some instructors would benefit from thinking more about how they use the blackboard.

For additional information, you may contact StudioKSG at 617-495-0493.

The Christensen Seminar

This seminar for Harvard University faculty members explores issues in case method teaching, using 10 cases involving classroom and other teaching dilemmas. It meets weekly for 10 weeks starting in January. The 2-hour sessions are customarily on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. for two hours. They are taught by an experienced case method teacher.

The Kennedy School is usually allowed two or three slots; consult Associate Academic Dean for details. The seminar was originally established by HBS Prof. Roland Christensen, a famous and much loved teacher. HKS faculty who have attended it have found it extremely useful.

Eliciting Feedback from Students

Midcourse Evaluations

Final semester course evaluations are helpful as you prepare for the following year, but they will not provide information in time for your current class. Hence we suggest that faculty administer mid course evaluations.

Faculty are encourage to engage in some form of moderately formal midcourse evaluation to get feedback from students about how their courses are going while there is still time to make adjustments before the semester ends. Faculty who regularly engage in this process generally find it well worth the time invested; often it has made a real difference in their ability to produce the most effective course possible.

In the past, faculty have had success with the attached Course Evaluations/Sample Forms, which can be modified to fit a particular course. If you have used another form that you like better, we'll be happy to add it to this web site.

Alternatively many faculty hand out 3 x 5s: cards at the end of each class. (What did you learn, what confused you, etc.) to gather more immediate feedback that may be incorporated into the next class session.

Tricks of the Trade

• Learn your students names. Quickly.
• Pay attention to course management details: a cogent statement of the course's purpose, a coherent and error-free syllabus, purposeful and timely assignments, prompt return of homework, well trained and well managed CAs and TFs. Students respond better when they think the instructor knows what he or she is doing.
• Be transparent about your pedagogy, about why you're teaching something the way you're teaching it or why you're giving the students a particular assignment.
• Be alert for jargon or other confusing terminology that may have developed in your field.
• Be explicit about your general expectations -- amount of study, classroom behavior, participation in class discussions, etc.
• Be explicit about the details of specific assignments and exams.
• Think ahead about how you're going to handle discussions that delve into sensitive territory.
• Figure out in advance how you're going to handle that inevitable awful moment when you've really goofed. Ask your colleagues what they have found to work best in such situations.

HKS Teaching Awards

The Carballo award. This annual award to a member of the Kennedy School faculty honors the late Manuel Carballo, a Lecturer in Public Policy who served as Commissioner of major agencies in three different states, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Voted by the Kennedy School student body, it recognizes the faculty member's dedication to students, excellence in the professional field, and commitment to public service.

Carballo Award Recipients

1984- Jose Gomez-Ibanez
1985- Mary O'Keefe1986- Helen Ladd
1987- David Kuechle
          Edith Stokey
1988- Roger Porter
1989- Marc Lindenburg
1990- Mark Schlesinger
1991- Olivia Golden
          Merilee Grindle
1992- Ron David, MD
1993- H. James Brown
1994- James R. Hines Jr.
1995- Kathryn Dominguez
1996- Malcolm Sparrow
1997- Mickey Edwards
1998- Brian Mandell
1999- Richard Darman
2000- William Clark
2001- Nolan Bowie
          Suzanne Cooper
2002- Xavier de Souza Briggs
2003- Hannah Riley Bowles
2004- Lant Pritchett
          John White
2005- Kenneth Winston
2006- Robert Jensen
2007- Dan Levy
          Brian Mandell

Most Influential Course Award

This past year, a new teaching award for the most influential course was established by the SLATE initiative. This award is based on nominations submitted by 5-year alumni and is aimed at recognizing the course that alumni think has had the "most influence in their post-Kennedy School career."

Seventeen courses were nominated by alumni from the class of 2003 and the course that was recognized as the most influential was PAL-101.

Dinner on the Dean

These modest financial rewards allow a faculty member to have dinner with the dinner companion of his or her choice, with perhaps a bottle of wine thrown in. Based on the "overall teaching effectiveness" rating in the final course evaluations, they go to faculty in courses with 12 or more students whose average rating is 4.5 or greater. Faculty in courses with enrollments under 12, or who teach modules, or who teach jointly win lunch on the Dean.

Dean's Award for Excellence in Student Teaching.

For information on the Dean's Award click here.

Colleagues

Harvard Kennedy School has many excellent teachers. You are welcome to sit in on their classes (though it's a good idea to let them know you're coming), and you should not hesitate to ask them to sit in on your class. In addition, The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning has a lot of useful materials for Harvard faculty.