I have left Harvard as of July 1, 2008 to take a position at NYU. This website has been cached and left static. Feel free to browse my new website, aka "What the heck is a Clinical Associate Professor?"

09.06.06

Upcoming: Bok Center talk

Posted in Teacher Training at 5:44 am by leingang

It’s time once again for the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning’s annual Fall Teaching Conference. It’s a great opportunity for graduate student teachers to learn and discuss their teaching development before the academic year begins. And the catered lunches are legendary.

(Derek Bok is former and interim president of Harvard. The center was started to continue his mission of training new university teachers. Derek Bok’s book, Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More, was part of the impetus for the recent teaching initiative here.)

This year I will be again presenting one of the BC case studies in mathematics called “The Quicksand of Problem Four“. Like most good case studies, it’s a classic story which many experienced teachers have encountered. How can it be handled? That’s the study part.

09.05.06

Harvard studies ways to promote teaching

Posted in News, Education at 5:34 am by leingang

This from today’s Boston Globe:

CAMBRIDGE — Harvard University today begins a new effort to figure out how to improve teaching and make it a bigger factor in whether professors get tenure or raises.

If successful, the initiative could counter Harvard’s image as a school that allows professors to neglect undergraduates in favor of the research that wins them grants, book prizes, and fame.

I would also hope the initiative can improve the quality of education for undergraduates. The committee intends to report on February 1 what recommendations they have, some of which can be adopted immediately and some of which will take some time. One of the ideas listed in the article that I find interesting is this:

Harvard already has a system for students to evaluate their professors, but Skocpol said she would like to see professors evaluating one another’s classes as well, just as they critique one another’s academic articles and books. The point, she said, would be not just to judge but to expose professors to new ideas and encourage every faculty member, young or old, to think about ways he or she can improve.

That sounds good to me. As non-tenure-track teaching faculty, I suppose it’s only natural to want more attention paid to teaching. But my reasons are not only selfish. I know my department has some excellent teachers, and I would like to see all our great teachers encouraged to further the state of the art of teaching just like they have furthered the state of mathematics.