Find a piece of paper and pencil. It’s time for a freewrite: Who are the teachers in your life who have created meaningful learning experiences for you? This thoughtful prompt kickstarted a recent training at the Incubator for Faculty Director Sue J. Goldie’s global health course—Is Globalization Good or Bad for World Health? Colloquially known as SW24, Professor Goldie’s popular undergraduate course is offered through the General Education program at Harvard College, and brings to life contemporary health challenges that cross borders and necessitate multiple perspectives. The training was led by Farah Qureshi, Head Teaching Fellow for SW24, and a graduate pedagogy fellow with both GHELI and the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning.
“Intentional curiosity is the thread that weaves these experiences together,” observed Dr. Terry Aladjem, the Incubator’s Senior Scholar, following the animated reflection among teaching fellows after the freewrite. Beyond conversations about meaningful pedagogy, teaching fellows discussed the course structure, goals of the Gen Ed program, and approaches for facilitating successful sections. As doctoral or master’s students at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the teaching fellows bring their diverse work and teaching experience to the SW24 classroom.
The teaching fellows will meet weekly throughout the semester to discuss course content and pedagogical approaches introduced by Professor Goldie, develop section plans and weekly assignments, support each other’s teaching efforts, and more. They will also collaborate with the Incubator’s Instructional Design Specialist, Nina Bhattacharya, to modify course material for dissemination through the Incubator’s open-access, digital repository for teaching and learning.