Interactive Learning
Harvard Kennedy School engages students through active learning to prepare them for complex, real-world challenges.
SLATE has curated the following collection of tools and techniques to help bring this style of learning into classrooms.
Tip Sheets
Active Learning Database
, hosted by the Harvard Derek Bok Center for Teaching & Learning, is a database of ideas, materials, and other resources for incorporating active learning into post-secondary classrooms.
Additional Resources
- (IDEA Center)
- (short videos from the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching)
- (Harvard Business School Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning)
- (University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning & Teaching)
Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the Classroom
The following materials are designed to enhance our capacity to leverage diversity and create inclusive, productive learning experiences for all:
Classroom Management
What happens when a faculty member finds that he or she has more course content than the time allotted in class? How can an instructor ensure that all the material will be covered but still leave enough time for questions, feedback, and conversations that may slightly deviate from the planned structure of the lesson?
The following tip sheet contains some helpful suggestions for addressing these concerns.
Motivating Students
Motivating Preparation
See this for 14 strategies for motivating students to read in preparation for class.
Managing heterogeneity (in levels of preparation, experience, English-speaking abilities, etc.)
See this summary of suggestions from an ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø teaching seminar on "Teaching Students with Different Levels of Preparation."
Classroom Dynamics
Success in managing a class, especially in a course that relies heavily on class discussion, depends in large part on establishing clear rules of operation, preferably before the class starts. Moreover, it's easier to impose such rules when they are viewed as widely used in many classes. These seven rules were codified by a member of the ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø faculty and are recommended by the Degree Programs Office as an appropriate code for all ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø courses.
Another valuable resource is , an online tool from Carnegie Melon's Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence.
Engaging Outside Speakers
ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø carries tremendous convening power and international networks, and we encourage faculty to tap those networks, creating opportunities for students to engage practitioners and experts within courses.
The following tip sheet is based on remarks by ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø faculty Alan Altshuler and Meghan O'Sullivan at an ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø teaching seminar "Managing Outside Speakers: Engaging Opportunities and Avoiding Pitfalls."
More Tips
For information on working with CAs and TFs as well as videos on case teaching and leading discussions, we invite ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø faculty to (password required).