Teaching at Harvard Medical School

In the Spring of 2022, I had the opportunity to teach a class called "GENETIC 302QC Teaching 101: Bringing Effective Teaching Practices to your Classroom" as part of the Curriculum Fellows Program at Harvard Medical School.

Course Description

• Who are your learners: Describe your learners and define their needs.
• Identify instructional goals: Describe strategies for cultivating course climates that are student-centered and inclusive
• Map the educational experience: Create assessments, in-class activities, and instructional methods that align with course objectives
• Deliver educational experiences: Facilitate discussions and other learning activities in small- and large-group contexts
• Assess and revise: Collect and apply constructive feedback from students and colleagues to improve teaching effectiveness
• Incorporate technology and active learning models into your teaching

I co-facilitated the class with David Ginnings, Senior Learning Designer at the Harvard School of Public Health. We had 8 post doc students and 1 MD student all interested in becoming better educators. The class ran from January 27th , 2022 - April 30th, 2022.

All class sessions were in person with the exception of one virtual class which was done to model virtual learning. We covered topics related to:

• Introductions, Course Climate, Identifying Learner Needs and Developing a Learner Centered Pedagogy

• The Structure of Learning: Backward Design, Learning Objectives, and Curriculum Mapping

• Making Learning Visible (assessments); Ensuring Accessibility; Cultivating Diversity; Teaching, Learning and Technology

• The Facilitation of Learning: Instructional Techniques, Active Learning, Engaging Presentations, Cognitive Load, and Fostering Inclusive Spaces

• Teaching and Learning Online

• Evaluating and Improving Teaching and Learning