Teaching at Harvard Medical School

About the Course

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

A course for development of practical skills for effective teaching. Primary focus is hands-on experience, but with the opportunity to explore online teaching options with objective-oriented lesson planning and execution, with emphasis on active learning techniques and how they can be applied in both large and small enrollment classes. Course learning objectives: By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
  • 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

The Learning Experience

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

"Allow students to come as they are...to help us appreciate each other."

Contributions

I had the opportunity to be interviewed by the Teaching and Learning group at Harvard Division of Continuing Education to share how I incorporated Social Emotional Learning in my class at Harvard Medical School that semester. I had recently attended a workshop about Social Emotional Learning and I got to do an activity in my class to be able to apply what I had learn. I got to share the information with the Harvard community in a blog post created by Zahra Ahmed, Faculty Development Specialist at the Harvard Division of Continuing Education.