teaching fellow handbook - harvard...

TeachingFellow

Handbook

Harvard UniversityFaculty of Arts and Sciences

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

2007 - 2008

H A RvA R D U N I v E R S I T Y H I S TO RY D E PA RT M E N T

2

General Information 3 AcademicCalendar2007-2008 4 Introduction 4 HistoryDepartmentContacts 5 HiringandCompensation

Section Teaching 8 IntroductiontoSectionTeaching 8 LauraLisy-Wagneron teaching the first section 10 Ten Ideas to Start Section Discussions 11 AdamBeaveron teaching large introductory courses 14 CarrieEndrieson teaching outside your area of expertise 16 RebeccaGoetzon being the Head Teaching Fellow 21 KatherineA.Grandjeanon primary source based discussions

Tutorial Teaching 23 IntroductiontoTutorialTeaching 23 JohnGagnéon the pleasures and challenges of teaching small classes 25 DanWewerson teaching skills of historical analysis (History 97) 26 AdamBeaveron teaching Research Seminars 30 BradleyZakarinon advising a Senior Thesis

Teaching Outside the History Department 32 RickBellon teaching in the Core 33 SeanPollockon teaching in History and Literature 35 JudyKertész on teaching in the Summer School

Teaching Students Key Academic Skills: Writing And Speaking 37 LaurenBrandton teaching writing to first-year students 38 ProfessorJillLeporeon helping students to write 40 LauraSerna on “writing to learn,” the role of writing in section 42 EmilyO’Brien,HarvardWritingProject, on responding to and grading student writing 43 MichelleMorris on responding to student writing 45 RebekahMaggor,BokCenterResearchFellow,on class participation

Teaching, Professional Development, and the Job Market Getting Feedback and Gaining Skills 49 BokCenterPrograms 50 “WatchingYourselfonVideotape” 51 SoniaLeeon being videotaped 52 ProfessorMarkKishlanskyon making sense of CUE evaluations 53 MaraMillson CUE evaluations 55 LaurenE.Brownon delivering the guest lecture 57 HeatherSmithon writing letters of recommendation for students Strategies to Prepare for the Job Market 61 ProfessorHue-TamHoTai:Advice from the Department 63 Teaching-RelatedQuestionsaskedofAcademicJobCandidates 64 TheTeachingPortfolio 66 ObtainingLettersofRecommendationfromStudents

Contents

Edited by Sara L. Schwebel andAdamBeaver.LayoutanddesignbyEdwardLee.PublishedbytheDepartment of History and theDerek Bok Center for TeachingandLearning.Copyright(c)2007by the President and Fellows ofHarvardCollege.

Table of Contents

T E A c H I N g F E l l O w H A N D b O O k 2 0 0 7 - 2 0 0 8

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BokCenterFallTeachingConference September11-12 (sessionsfornewandexperiencedteachers)

TutorialRetreat September14

Firstdayofclasses September17

Studycardsdue September21(Freshmen:24)

ColumbusDay(Universityholiday) October8

Veteran’sDay(Universityholiday) November12

Suggestedtimeforvideotapingsection(BokCenter) EarlyOctober

Suggestedtimeforconducting“earlyevaluations” MidOctober

ThanksgivingRecess November22-25

SeniorThesisWritersConference December4-December8

WinterRecess December19-January1

ReadingPeriod January2-January13

TutorialReportsdue January25

MartinLutherKingDay(Universityholiday) January29

FinalExams January14-January23

SuggestedtimetoreviewCUEevaluations EarlyFebruary

BokCenterWinterTeachingConference January29(tentative) (sessionsfornewandexperiencedteachers)

FirstDayofClasses January30

Studycardsdue February6

Presidents’Day(Universityholiday) February118

Suggestedtimeforvideotapingsection(BokCenter) EarlyMarch

Suggestedtimeforconducting“earlyevaluations” MidMarch

Historyseniorthesesdue March20

SpringRecess March22-March30

Seniorthesisreadingreportsdue April7(tentative)

ReadingPeriod May3-14

FinalExams May15-23

TutorialReportsdue May30

MemorialDay May26

SuggestedtimetoreviewCUEevaluations EarlyJune

Commencement June5

Fall

Term

Spri

ng T

erm

Academic Calendar 2007-2008

General Information


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Contacts for History Department TFs and Tutors

Introduction

Youhaveinyourhands(orareviewingonline)thethirdeditionoftheHistoryDepartment’sveryownhand-bookforTeachingFellows.TheGraduateSchoolofArtsandScienceshasforsometimepublishedanannualhandbook,fullofusefuladviceforTeachingFellowswhetherneophyteor veteran. But inevitably its advice must be general andgeneric.Thisdepartmentalpublicationisdesignedtoofferadviceandinformationfocusedontheparticularneedsofgraduatestudentsteachinginhistorycourses,fromtutorialstodepartmentalandcorecurriculumofferings.Thecontri-butionsareforthemostpartwrittenbyexperiencedgradu-atestudentteachersthemselves.Theyofferaricharrayofpracticaladvice,insightwonfromexperience,andinspira-tionalandcautionarytales.IbelievethatourfacultyaswellasgradstudentTeachingFellowswillfindthisausefulrefer-encetolearnaboutourtutorialprogram,aswellasasourceofguidanceinteachingourundergraduatestudents.

Iwanttothankallthosewhocontributedessaysandideastothisproject,andthankespeciallySaraSchwebel,aformerPhDcandidateintheHistoryofAmericanCivili-zationprogram,forherhardandgoodworkindesigningthishandbook,aswellassolicitingandeditingthecontri-butions.Thanksalso to theDerekBokCenter forTeach-ingandLearning,whichhelpedfundthedevelopmentandprintingofthisbook,andtoEdwardLeeforthelayoutanddesign. Asthisisaworkinprogress,whichwillberevisedovertheyears,Iinviteallreadersanduserstosendsugges-tionsforfutureeditionstoAdamBeaverandtovolunteertopentheirownthoughtsonthetopicsweaddress,oranywehavefailedtodiscuss.

James Kloppenberg,HistoryDepartmentChair

TutorialOffice,mainnumber 617-495-2157DirectorofUndergraduateStudies,Sven Beckert 617-495-0697 [email protected],Adam Beaver 617-495-9147 [email protected]&TFCoordinator,Caron Yee 617-496-1626 [email protected],Laura Johnson 617-495-2157 [email protected],Hue-Tam Ho Tai 617-495-5456 [email protected],Gail Rock 617-496-6916 [email protected],Cory Paulsen 617-496-4058 [email protected],Kate Grandjean [email protected],Terry Aladjem (History/SocialStudies/Government) 617-495-4869 [email protected],Virginia Maurer (InternationalTFs) 617-495-4869 [email protected]

General Information

A New Resource for History Teaching Fellows and Tutors…

TheHistoryDepartmentitproudtointroduceanewwebsite,“TeachingHistory@Harvard,”fullofpracticalresourc-estohelpyoumakethemostofyourexperienceasaTForTutor.Thesitecollectsalltheinformationyouneed—fromwheretobookclassroomstohowtoassembleadynamiteTeachingPortfolio—intoasingle,user-friendlyinterface.

Checkoutthesiteathttp://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k12844orbrowseoverthroughthe“Teaching”pageofthe“graduate”sectionoftheDepartment’swebsite.


�General Information

Compensation and HiringCaron Yee, Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies

Application and Assignment

ApplicationsforteachingpositionsinHistorylectures,cores, tutorials,andresearchseminarsareac-ceptedinlateMarchthroughearlyAprilforthefollowingacademicyear.Theapplicationformandinstructions,aswell as the list of courses with teaching positions, canbefoundonlinethroughtheMy.Historyportal.Thedue

date and application detailsare ordinarily announcedvia the“history-grad”mail-

inglistandthroughaffiliategraduateprogramadminis-trators.Lateapplicationswillnotbeaccepted. A faculty committee makes teaching fellow as-signments based on each course instructor’s staffingpreference, and the TF coordinator sends official offerletters.Ordinarily,guaranteedsectionsarestaffedbeforetheendofthespringterm.However,therearesomesec-tionsthataredependentonundergraduateenrollment,andcannotbefinalizeduntilstudycardshavebeensub-mittedduringthetermthecourseisoffered

Teaching Eligibility Graduate students are required to have passedtheirgeneralexamsandtomaintainsatisfactoryprog-ressinordertobeeligibletoteach.Inmanycases,otherfundingcanlimitteachingeligibility;itistheresponsi-bilityofthegraduatestudenttoadheretotherulesandregulationsoftheawards/hereceives. Also note that Teaching Fellows cannot exceedmore than 4/5 per term or 6/5 annually. In addition,nograduatestudentmayholdateachingfellowshipformorethanfouracademicyears,unlessthegraduatestu-denthasnotexceededhis/hercareerlimitof16/5.Oc-

casionally,exceptionsaremadetotheaboveteachinglimits.Inorderto request an exception, Teach-ing Fellows must write a letter ofexception to Dean Russell BergandccCaronYee.Thelettermustinclude 1) the reason(s) for ex-

ceeding the limit;2)confirmation that theTF ismak-ingsatisfactoryacademicprocess;3)confirmationthatadditional teaching will not impede the TF’s progresstowardthedegreeand;4)theTF’sexpectedgraduationdate.

Priority List for Assignment of Teaching Staff The followinggeneralguidelinesareused inas-signingteachingstaff,althoughthereareoccasionalex-ceptions:1.GSASHistoryG3sandG4s.2.GSASG3sandG4sofaffiliatedepartmentsordegree

programswhenappropriate.3.GSASstudentswhohavenotyetexceededtheircareer

teachinglimitof16/5.4.GSASstudentswhohaveexceededtheircareerteach-

inglimitof16/5andrecentGSASHistoryPhDrecipi-ents.

5.GraduatestudentapplicantsfromotherHarvardfac-ulties.

6.ApplicantswithoutHarvardaffiliation.

Teaching Positions Available

Sections in Lecture, Core, and Tutorial Courses TheHistorydepartmentusesthefollowingguide-lines inappointingsections.ExceptionsaremadeonlybyapprovaloftheDepartmentChair.•Eachhistorylecturesectionaverages18undergradu-

ates.HeadTFsarehiredincourseswhereenrollmentordinarilyexceeds100undergraduates.

• Each history Core section averages 18 undergradu-ates.HeadTFsarehiredincourseswhereenrollmentordinarilyexceeds100undergraduates.

• History97hasonesectionforevery4-6undergradu-ates.

• ResearchSeminarssupportonesectionwhenenroll-ing1-8undergraduatesandtwowhenenrolling9-15undergraduates.

fas.harvard.edu/~history/my/

Such letters should be addressed to:DeanRussellBergGSASFinancialAidHolyokeCenter350cc:CaronYee,cyee@fas


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Head TF TheHeadTFisanexperiencedTeachingFellowappointedtocarryoutadministrativedutiesinlecturesandcores.HeadTFsarecompensatedat1/5whenun-dergraduateenrollmentreaches100.HeadTFsarealsoexpectedtoteachonesectionforwhichtheyarecom-pensatedat1/5.

Administrative Tutor History97hasanAdministrativeTutor.TheHis-tory97AdministrativeTutorispaidat3/10forperform-ing administrative duties and an additional 3/10 forteaching one tutorial section. This position begins thesummer preceding the course; it requires residence inCambridge,MAduringthesummermonths.

Senior Thesis Advisor (History 99 Tutor) Each senior enrolled in History 99 has a thesisadvisor, who is either a faculty member or a graduatestudent. Graduate students interested in supervising aseniorthesisshouldindicatetheirinterestonlineinDe-cember/Januaryoftheprioryear.Notethatnotallwhoindicate an interest will be able to supervise a thesis.Thesiswritersapproachfacultyandgraduatestudentsintheirareaofinterestindividuallytodeterminewhetherthereisapotentialmatch.Matchesaremadebasedonamutualagreementbetweenthethesiswriterandgradu-atestudentorfacultymembertoworktogether,andcanbe arranged any time from January through August.GraduatestudentsmustseektheapprovaloftheHistoryTutorialOfficeinorderforthematchtobeofficial(andtomakearrangementsforcompensation).History99tu-tor appointments are year-long, and graduate studentscansuperviseamaximumof2theses.

History 99 Teaching Fellow The History 99 Teaching Fellow is appointedby the Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies. In con-junctionwith theAssistantDirectorofUndergraduateStudies, the History 99 Teaching Fellow organizes theSeniorThesisWriters’conferenceandrunsasectionofa semimonthly seminar for thesiswriters.TheHistory99TeachingFellowpositionisayear-longcommitmentandiscompensatedat1/5eachterm.TheTeachingFel-lowisalsopaid1/15foreachindividualthesiss/head-vises.

Training and Evaluation

Third-year History graduate students must at-tendthesessionson“ProfessionalConduct”and“Dis-cussionLeading”offeredbytheBokCenterduringtheFallTeachingConference,aswellastheHistoryTeach-ingRetreat.Theyarealsorequiredtohavetheirsectionsvideotaped,andtomeetwiththeHistoryLeadTeachingFellow, Kate Grandjean (grandj@fas), for confidentialviewing and feedback during their first term of teach-ing.Formoredetailson trainingopportunities,pleaseseethepageon“TrainingandSupport,”above. The Committee on Undergraduate Education(CUE) conducts regularcourse evaluations. His-tory lecture and CoreTFsmayobtaintheirfullsetofcourseevaluationsfromtheirCourseHeadattheendoftermoronline.History97Tutorsarealsoregularlyevaluated,andcanfindtheirevaluationsfiledattheHistoryTutorialOffice,101Rob-insonHall.

Compensation Thebasesalaryforthe2007-08academicyearis$45,600.Full-timeteachingisconsideredtobe4/5an-nually since1/5 time is reserved for thestudents’ownresearch and writing. Teaching Fellows may not teachmorethan6/5inagivenyear. TeachingFellowsarepaidonthe15thfromSep-temberthroughJanuaryforfallappointmentsandfromFebruarythroughJuneforspringappointments.Whenchanges to theappointmentaremadeafter thepayrolldeadline(forexample,theadditionofaseniorthesisorthe elimination of a section), changes will not appearuntil the following month. Appointments for provi-sionalfifthswillnotbefinalizeduntilafterstudycardsaredue.Hence,theseappointmentswillnotbemadeintimeforthefirstcycleofpaychecks;anoff-cyclecheckwillbesenttotheTeachingFellow’sdesignatedmailingaddress. Questions about paychecks in lecture or tuto-rialcoursesshouldbedirectedtoCaronYee(cyee@fas).Teaching Fellows in Core courses should direct their

www.fas.harvard.edu/~cueguide/

General Information


7General Information

questionstoNoraImirzian(5-2563,imirzian@fas). After receiving a teaching assignment, all newTeachingFellowsshouldcompletethefollowingpaper-work:I-9andW-4(M-4,ifapplicable).TeachingFellowsappointedtoHistorylectureandtutorialcoursesshouldfilepaperworkwithCaronYee,whilethoseassignedtoHistoryCorecoursesshouldfilepaperworkwithNoraImirzianattheCoreOffice.

• Teaching Fellows who do not already have a PINnumber, should sign up at www.pin1.harvard.edu.ThePINnumbergivesaccesstoPeopleSoftviaHAR-VIE.[http://www.harvie.harvard.edu]

• Teaching Fellows need to bring proofs of identifica-tion:apassportORadriver’slicenseandaSocialSe-curitycardwhenfillingouttheI-9(workauthoriza-tionform)withCaronYeeorNoraImirzian.

• The W-4 and M-4 (tax) forms can be filed onlinethroughPeopleSoft.

• Direct deposit (automatic deposit of paychecks intobankaccount)canbesetuponlineviaPeopleSoft.

www.pin.harvard.eduwww.harvie.harvard.edu

Compensation at a Glance (2007-08)

Position Fifths Payment Notes

TeachingFellow,1lectureorCoresection 1/5 $4,560/term

HeadTFinlectureorCore 1/5 $4,560/term Ifenrollmentexceeds100

History97Tutor(1stsection) 3/10 $6,840/term

History97Tutor(additionalsections) 1/5 $4,560/term

ResearchSeminarTutor(1stsection) 3/10 $6,840/term

ResearchSeminarTutor(2ndsection) 1/10 $2,540/term

History99TeachingFellow 1/15 $1,520/term Yearlongappointment

History97AdministrativeTutor 3/10 $6,840/term Appointmentbeginsprecedingsummerandcontinuesthroughthespringterm

History99TeachingFellow 1/5 $4,560/term Yearlongappointment


8

The First Day of Section – Starting Out on the Right FootBy Laura Lisy-Wagner (History)

Introduction to Section TeachingBy Professor Joyce Chaplin

ThefirstthingIshouldsayis:thankyou!TheDepartment and Tutorial Office are extremely gratefultothosegraduatestudentswhoactassectionleadersforsurveycoursestaughtinthedepartmentandintheCore.Thesearechallengingteachingassignments.Thefollow-ingessays,byveteransectionleaders,giveexcellentad-viceaboutnearlyeverydimensionof teaching in suchclasses. They identify the main difficulties—teachingmaterialrelatingtoabigproblemorlongchronologicalperiod and making connections between lectures anddiscussions—andoffersolutions.Youareprobablygoingtoreadtheseessaysearlyinthesemester,butrememberthatitwillbeusefultolookatthemagain, later,whensomethinginyoursectionisprovingtroublesome;youwillprobablyspotabitofadviceyoumayhavemissedthefirsttime. ThesecondthingIshouldsayis:thinkahead.You

will not be teaching for us forever. What you do hereisanapprenticeship.Oddsare,youwillhaveateachingcareerelsewhere,withadifferentsetofclasses(smaller,bigger;moreorlessspecialized)andadifferentkindofstudent(moreorlessdiligent;withdifferentlifeexperi-encesorpoliticalleanings).So,asyoulistentolectures,readthematerial forsections,makeyourlessonplans,andfindyour feet, thinkaboutwhatyouare learning.Which lecture styles do you admire? What readingswork?Whichweeklytopicswould,inandofthemselves,beworthinvestigationinasmallerclassorseminarthatyouyourselfcouldteach?Howwouldyoudesignasyl-labusorwebsite?Whatkindofpapertopicswouldyoulike to assign—or grade! While you teach for us, yourenderusavaluableservice,butitcanalsobevaluabletoyouasastockofskillsandideasfortherestofyourteachingcareer.

Alotofreceivedwisdomispassedaroundaboutthefirstdayofsection:Itisbettertostartoutstrictandthenloosenup.Befirmaboutcoursepoliciesfromdayone.Emphasizethenecessityofattendance.Playcreativenamegamesandbesuretolearnallstudents’namesbyweek two. My personal favorite, which I heard manytimes and which I particularly enjoyed hearing as awoman,wastobesuretowearajacketandtie. Thereareelementsofeachstatementthatareim-portant to keep in mind. It is true that it is more dif-ficulttoputyourfootdownaboutdeadlineslateinthesemester ifyougiveextensions for thefirstpaper,andit ishardertogiveC’s inthesecondhalfofthecoursewhenyougaveA’sinthefirsthalf.Inmanyclasses,es-peciallyCorecourses,studentsmaynotknowthatsec-tionsaremandatory,so it isnotabad idea tosay that

attendanceinsectionisnecessary.Studentsdofeelmuchbetteraboutthegradesyougivethemwhentheybelieveyouactuallyknowwhotheyareandcallthembyname.And yes, even the jacket and tie advice is not terrible.Especiallyifyoulookyoungerthanyouare,itishelpfulonthefirstdaytodressalevelabovethatwhichyouusu-allywill.Noonewillmistakeyouforanotherstudentintheroom,andyouwillfeellikeyouareincharge.Afterseveralsemestersofteachinghereindifferentkindsofclasses,though,mybestpieceofadvicewouldbetostaytruetoyourselfandtocraftateachingpersonalitythatisanextensionofwhoyouare. Thisdoesnotmean,ofcourse,thatyourteachingpersonalityisnodifferentthanwhoyouareathomeoroutandabout.Certainlytherearedifferences.Itisim-portant,though,toputthoughtintohowyourstrengths

Section Teaching


�Section Teaching

asapersonandscholarwillhelpyouintheclassroom.Are you a good listener? Then guide your discussionbasedontheanswersofthestudents,ratherthanalistofpointsyoumustcover.Ifyoupreferstructure,prepareadetailedoutlineofthesection’scontent,anduseyourquestionstoguidethestudentsthroughit.Donottrytodosomethingintheclassroomthatdoesnotfitwithyouasaperson—studentswillseerightthroughit.If,forex-ample,youaretypicallyamorecasualperson,itwillbedifficulttolaydownthelawonthefirstdaywithsincer-ity.Considerotherwaysyoucanhelp studentsunder-standfirmpolicies;forexample,“becausethisisalargecourseandtherearemultiplesectionsandTFs, Ihavetoplaybytherulesof theteam.Therefore, Ican’tgiveyou any extensions on papers because that’s what thestaffdecided.”Ifyouhaveahorriblememoryfornames,donotsetyourselfupbyplayingnamegames(abetterstrategy:gotothecourseiSiteandprintouttheIDpho-tosofallthestudentsinyoursection.Or,havestudentsmakenamecardsthattheyputinfrontoftheirbooks).Ifyouhaveneverwornaskirtorjacketinyourlife,youwillnotfeelcomfortableifyoudoitforthefirstdayofclass.Instead,makesureyoulookneatandclean.

Structuring the First Section

Asyoubeginplanningforyourfirstsection,itishelpful tovisityourclassroomtoseehowthephysicalspacemightaffectyourteaching.Doyouhaveablack-boardforwritingupstudents’ideas?Arethereindivid-ualdesks,easilyrearrangedforsmallgroupwork?Oristhereonelongtable,goodforstageddebates?Considerwaysyoumightworkwiththespaceeffectivelyduringyourfirstclassmeeting. Typically, the first section falls into three parts.Evenifyouworkwellwithlessstructure,itisnotabadideatowriteoutascheduleforthefirstday, includingtime limits for each activity. Section will go by veryquickly,andyouwillhavealottocover. First, you will introduce yourself and your stu-dentswill introducethemselves.Theyareactuallyveryinterestedinyouandwhatyoudo,sotell themalittleabout your interests and dissertation topic. Be sure togoovertheinformationforyourofficehoursandhowtheycancontactyouthroughthesemester.Alsoremind

studentsof theprofessor’sofficehoursandcontact in-formation and take time to explain when they mightmeetwithorcontactyouandwhentheyshouldgetintouchwiththeprofessor.CourseiSites—whichgivesyouaccesstotheemailaddresses,phonenumbers,residen-tial houses, and class standing of the students in yourcourse—havemadefirst-dayindexcardslessnecessary,butyoumaywantthestudentseithertosayortowritefor you information that is not included in the onlineprofile, such as previous history classes taken or theirreasonsforchoosingthiscourse.Decidehowyouwanttohandleintroductions,andthenhavethestudentsin-troducethemselvestoyouandtoeachother. Second,mostprofessorswill askyou togooverthesyllabus,especiallythecourseassignments.Thestu-dentswillinvariablyhavemanyquestionsaboutit,andtheCourseHeadswouldrather thesediscussions tookplaceinsectionthaninlecture.CheckwiththeCourseHeadaboutanyadministrativedetailssheorhewillwantyoutogooveronthefirstday.Makesurethateveryonelocatedthecoursematerials.Weretheyabletopurchasetheassignedbooks,ordidtheCooprunoutofcopies?Waseveryoneabletosecureacoursepack?(Ifcontentschangedfrompreviousyears,makesurestudentsknowthatausedcoursepackwillnotbesufficient).Especiallyduringthefallsemester,askifeveryoneknowshowtocheckoutabookorfilmplacedonreserve.Makesureeveryonehaslocatedthecoursewebsiteandknowshowtouseit. Finally, you will get to the most important partofsection,thecoursecontentfortheday.Undoubtedly,therewillbelesstimeleftforthisthanyouwouldhaveliked,butyouwillstillhaveabout20–30minutes.Itisimportanttousethistimeeffectivelysothatstudentsgetarealsenseofwhattoexpectfromyourclass.Treatthistimelikeitisamini-section,clarifyingthelectureifnec-essary,posingquestionsfordiscussion,guidingthedis-cussiontohittheelementsyoufeltweremostimportant,andsummarizingthesepointsattheend.Beforetheendofclass,setupnextweek’sreadingforthestudents,mak-ingsuretheyknowwheretofindit,whattoexpectfromit,andifpossible,whatquestionstothinkaboutwhenreadingit.Finally,afterclass,youmightsendstudentsane-mailcongratulatingthemonagoodfirstsectionandinvitingthemagaintostopbyyourofficehoursiftheyhaveanyquestions.


10

Final Thoughts

Asyoufaceyourfirstdayofsection,thinkaboutallofthepearlsofreceivedwisdomand,afterconsider-ingyourownstrengths,takefromthemwhatyoucon-

siderimportant.Letmeaddseveralmorepiecesofad-vicetothewell-wornmantras.Relax.Smile.Rememberthat this iswhatyouwant todo.Pauseafteryouaskaquestion. Listen to the students. Take it one week at atime.Youwillbegoodatthis.Youaregoodatthis!Youaretheteachernow.Thiswillbeagreatsemester.

Ten Ideas To Start Section DiscussionExcerptedfromPeterFrederick,“TheDreadedDiscussion:TenWaystoStart,”inTeaching and the Case Method.

Eds.LouisB.Barnes,C.RolandChristensenandAbbyJ.Hansen.(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,1994edition),90-95.

1.Test goals and values:“Whyarewereadingthis?”Stu-dentspairoffanddecidetogetherwhattheythinkistheprimaryvalueofthetextandhowitfitswiththecoursegoals. Alternatively, ask students to compare/contrastthistextwithanotherrecentone.Askthemtoidentifysomethingspecificlikethemesorsourcesortheoreticalframeworks.

2. Gather concrete images: Go around the table andask students to describe one concrete scene/image/ar-gument/example from the text. No analysis is neces-sary.Recordthecollectiveimagesontheboardtocreatea visual record. Follow up questions might be “Whatconnects these examples?” or “What themes emergehere?” or “How does the historian build his/her argu-menthere?”Inthisway,everyonecontributesearlyoninthesection.

3. Generate questions: Ask students ahead of time toprepare one or two scholarly questions about the text,perhapsphrasedintermsofanexamquestion.Havethestudent“own”his/herquestionandleadadiscussionofit.Oras theywalk in to theclass,ask themtoanony-mouslywritedownaquestionaboutthetext.Askashystudenttoselectonetoasktheclass.

4.Go to the text:Askstudentstoselectaheadoftimeapassage,ordothisyourselftobeginclassdiscussion.Instructions might be “Find a passage you think bestexplains the thesisof this text.”Breakstudentsup intosmallgroupstocomparetheirpassagesandhavethemreporttotheclass.Besuretopauselongenoughsothat

everyonecanfindtheplaceintheirbooks.

5. Break into smaller groups: This is a good way todraw out quieter students. Have each group answer adifferentquestionandreportback to theclass.Oraskeverygroupthesamequestion–generallyanopinion,argumentorvalues-typequestion–andcomparetheirresponses.Besuretogiveexplicitinstructionsincludinghowmuchtimetheyhavetopreparetheiranswers.Youcanmixupgroupsizeandcompositionbypairingoffwithsomeonenew,countingoffbyfives,etc.Havethegroupsreportbackorallyorattheblackboard.

6. Generate truth statements: This exercise developscritical skills. Ask each group or individual to decideupon one or two statements known to be “true.” Thisworks especially well when approaching a new topicaboutwhichstudentshavemanyassumptions,likeslav-eryintheU.S.orGermanyinWorldWarII.Askotherstudentstoraisequestionsorrefutethetruthstatements.Thepurposeoftheexerciseistogeneratealistofques-tionstoexploreintheupcomingunit.

7.Force debate:Forcestudentstoselectoneoftwosidesinanargumentandthendefendtheirchoiceintheformofadebate.Dividetheclassaheadoftimeortellthemtheymustpreparetorepresenteithersideofaconten-tiousquestion.Makesurethatstudentsphysicallymovewithintheroomtofaceeachother.Askthemtopreparetoreferspecificallytotextsyouhavebeenreading.

8. Roleplay: Any situation involving multiple group

Section Teaching


11Section Teaching

Teaching in Large Introductory CoursesBy Adam Beaver (History)

Given the structure of the Department’s under-graduatecurriculum,it isquitepossible(Europeanists,read“almostcertain”) thatyouwillbe tappedat somepoint to teach in one of the Department’s large intro-ductorysurveys—likethe10a-10bor20a-20bsequences—and/oroneoftheCore’smanylecturecourses.Whileoptimistsarecorrectinseeingthisasagreatchancetoprove to prospective employers your ability to teachacrossabroadswathof chronologyand/orgeography,eventhemostardentgo-getterwilladmitthatthepros-pectisalsodaunting.You’llfeelliketheproverbialnakedemperor forat leastpartof the term,asyour studentsprobeyouabouteventstwocenturiesearlierthanyourearliest General Exam field, and—trust me—you’ll befrustratedatleastonceortwicewiththelargequantityofmaterialyou’reexpectedtocoverinaweek’ssectionorthesuperficialunderstandingsstudentsdevelopfromtime to timebecauseof it. I’vebeen there, too,and inwhatfollowsI’vetriedtodistillafewoftheusefulstrate-giesthatI’velearnedfrommyexperiences.

Who are the students, and what do they know?

Thefirstthingtokeepinmindwhenteachingin

introductorycoursesisthattheseclassesarepopulatedheavily—in some cases, nearly exclusively—by first-years.Youmaybetemptedtodismissthisasaninnocu-ousfact.Beforeyoudo,pauseandthink.Youareinatleastyourthirdyearofgraduateschool.Youhavehadatleastsixmoreyearsoftrainingthanyourstudents,thelasttwoormoreofwhichhavebeenintensivelygearedtowardmakingyouaprofessionalhistorian.Youareanexpertinsourcecriticism.Themajorityofyourstudents,ontheotherhand,won’tevenhaveheardtheterms“pri-mary source” and “secondary source,” let alone knownuanced definitions of those terms. “Historiography”?Drop that word without first explaining it and watchyourstudents’eyesrollbackintheirheads. This is not to suggest that your students aren’tbrilliant,orthattheywon’tbewell-versedinthesemat-ters by the end of the semester. In fact, one of the se-cretsof introclasses is thatfirst-yearsarebyand largeaswide-eyedandhard-workingasanystudentsyouareever likely toencounter.Butyoushouldbeaware that

your section is probably students’ very first experi-enceofprofessionalhistory.Manywillknowhistory

onlyastheyexperiencedit inhighschool,wheretheirsuccesswasfrequentlymeasuredbyhowwelltheyhadmemorizedthedigestedinterpretationsofan“objective”

conflictsisagoodoneforroleplaying.Forexample,setupatownmeetingincolonialMassachusettswheredif-ferenttypesofcolonistsdebatehowtointeractwithlo-cal Native Americans. Or have a “televised” debate onU.S.participationintheVietnamWar.Becausestudentscanbenervousaboutroleplaying,allowthemtohavesomechoicebydecidingwhetherornottovolunteerasanindividualalone,ortobepartofagroup.TFsshouldmonitorcarefullytheunspokensignalsofdiscomfortorexcessivelyhurtfullanguage.Besuretoleavetimetode-brief at theend so that students/observers candiscusswhatitwasliketoplay/observeacertainroleandwhattheylearnedaboutthatpointofview.

9.Set non-structured scenes:Bring inavisual image,playapieceofmusicoraspeech,orwriteaquotationontheboard.Makeitclearthatyouwillnotenterdis-cussion for some period of time. Students must thenbeginanddirectdiscussionontheirown.Takedescrip-tivenoteswhilethestudentsdiscussandthenreadthosenotesbacktothemattheendofclass.

10.Begin with an open-ended question:Oncetheex-pectation of a variety of ways to approach discussionhasbeenestablished,youmightstrollintoclass,holdupyourbookandask,“How’dyoulikeit?”


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textbookauthor.Toget themtoperformataHarvardlevel,youwillneedtotaketimeoutofyourdiscussionsto explain—with examples—how real historians think.Questions to raise include: What are these old docu-mentsinthesourcebookgoodfor?Whatissourcecriti-cism?Howdohistoriansarriveattheirconclusionsbyreading a balanced mixture of primary and secondarysources?What ishistoriography,andhowandwhydohistoriansdisagree? Youshouldnotbesurprisedif,asthefirstpaperassignment approaches, several students come to yourofficehoursandsay,“I’veneverwrittenahistorypaperbefore.Howdo Ido it?”Suchquestionsarecentral tothenotionofanintroductorycourse,andshouldbein-dulged.Takethetimetoshowstudentshowtoreadpri-marysourcesandhowtoconstructhistoricalargumentsfromtheirownreading.Spendtimeinsectionsketchingoutrelevanthistoricaldebatesandpracticesourcecriti-cismonyourweeklyreadings. You should also be aware that most first-yearsarestilluncertainaboutthebasicstructureofHarvardcourses.It’spossiblethattheywon’tknowwhattomakeofsectiondiscussions.Aretheyrequired?Dotheyneedtodotheweeklyreadinginadvance?Willtherebequiz-zes?Don’tbeafraidtospendtimeinyourfirstsectionexplainingexactlywhatyou’llbedoingduringtheweek-lydiscussionhour. If theprofessorshaveassignedpri-marysources,explainhowyouwillanalyzethem.Fiveminutesspentinyourfirstsectionwillpayoffinbetterdiscussionsallsemesterlong.

Why do students enroll in this course?

Knowingwhyyourstudentshaveenrolledinyourintrocourseiseverybitasimportantasknowingwhatpriorknowledgetheybringtothetable.Moresothaninanyother typeofcourse,students in theDepartment’slarge surveys hold strong preconceptions about theclass, and those expectations, if left unaddressed, willprofoundlyinfluencewhatyouareabletoachieveinsec-tion. Thereareessentially threereasonswhystudentsenrollinintrosurveys.Thefirstandmostcommonistosatisfyarequirement—whethertheDepartment’sortheCore’s.Thisgroup,tobefrank,isusuallyhighlyskeptical

ofthepurposeandformatofintrosurveycourses.Sta-tistically,uptothree-quartersofourconcentratorswillgoontofocusontwentieth-centuryAmericaandrecentinternationalrelations,andtheythereforeconcludethatthemedievallandtenureorancientphilosophyencoun-tered inHistory10aor20a isarcaneand irrelevant totheir education. Nearly every year the Crimson printsa scathing indictmentof required introductory lecturecourses, especially when they deal with the “Eurocen-tric” issues of Western Civ. The claim: students don’tlearnanythinginirrelevantclassesthatmerelyskimthesurfaceofthe longe durée andofferlittledirectcontactwithprofessors. Fortunately, the situation is far from dire whendealingwith these students inyourownsection.Theysimplyneedalittleconvincing.Trythreethingstocom-batstudentapathy:

Find efficient ways to maximize the personal attention you give each student.Doeverythingyoucan tofindexcuses for individual contactwithyour students.De-mandthateverystudentsignuptomeetwithyoufortenminutesinyourofficehourstoprepareordebrieftheirfirstpaperassignment.Askpairsofstudentstoprepareweekly presentations on the reading, and then requirethattheymeetwithyouafterclasstodiscusstheirwork.Emailquietstudentsearlyandoftentoaskthemifthereisanythingyoucandotohelpthemopenupinclassdis-cussions.Theseareallrelativelyquickandefficientwaystoreachouttostudentsandmaketheclassfeelsmaller,which goes straight to the heart of student criticismaboutclasssizeandthequalityofteaching.

State clearly a set of reasonable goals for section dis-cussions.Studentswhoinitiallyfindthecoursereadingmaterialunattractivewillhaveevenmoredifficultyslog-gingthroughitiftheyalsodon’tknowwhatthey’resup-posedtoberemembering.Everyweek,afewdaysbeforesection,emailyourstudentsasetofprovocativepointsorquestionstoguidetheirreading:“MakesureyoucancompareColumbus’descriptionofNewWorldnativeswith Montaigne’s. Who do you think was a better an-thropologist?”Notonlywillthisguaranteethatstudentshavereadthegoodbitsforsection,itmightactuallyin-teresttheminthematerial—ifyoucanfindresponsiblewaystotriggertheirmodernsensibilities.

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Emphasize the great latitude which students in these courses have to make the syllabus their own.Remindyourstudentsthattheworstpapersandexamessaysarethosethattrytotouchonalittlebitofeverythingwith-outaddressinganythingdeeply.Showthem,withexam-ples,howtheycanpersonalizeandnarrowthequestionsraisedsothattheyconformtotheirpersonal interests.Theymaybeenrolledinacomprehensivesurveycourse,butthatdoesn’tmeanthatbuddingeconomichistorianscan’tchoosetoanswerageneralquestiononthecausesof theAmericanCivilWarwithaspecificstudyof theeconomicimpactsofslavery.Again,thegoalistomakealargecoursefeelsmall,andtomakestudentsseethatunderthewashofmaterialthattheCrimsoncallsshal-low,therearealsodeepwellsfromwhichtheycandrawprofoundinsight.

Thesecondandthirdsortsofstudentswhoenrollinintrocoursesarethosewhoareonlycontemplatingthehistoryconcentrationandthosewhosimplychoose tolearnabouthistoryasanelective.Theimportantpointtorememberinrelationtothesetwogroupsisthatthesecoursesserveasmoststudents’first,andmanystudents’only,pointofcontactwithourdepartmentandwiththehistorical profession. The introductory courses are in-tended tohelp studentsdiscoverwhat isuniqueabouthistorians’approachestoevidenceandargumentandtohelpstudentsdecidewhethercollege-levelhistoryistherightdisciplineforthem.AsaTF,thinkofyourselfasaguidetohistoryasaliving process,notasarepositoryofdeadfacts. Arepositoryofdead facts is exactlywhatmanyintrosurveycoursesthreatentobecome.Toavoidthis,emphasize the fundamentals of historical methodology insection.Therawcontentofacourse likeHistory10 isnotanadequatebasisonwhichtojudgewhathistoriansdo—most historians do everything but write frenetic,sweepinghistoriesofentirecivilizationsovercenturiesormillennia.Considerityourjobtomakeeachweekasmuchamicro-lessononhowonemightbegintowriteamonographontheweek’stopicasitisareviewofthespecificmaterial.TheprospectivehistoriansamongyourstudentswillappreciatethefactthatyoursectionoffersanaccuratepreviewoftheDepartment’sfundamentals-oriented tutorial track, and the non-specialists fromotherfieldswillbehappytoaddthehistoricalapproach

totheirarsenalofproblem-solvingskills.

Who’s in charge here?

Yourmostobviousresponsibilityinalargeintrocourseistoteachthestudentsenrolledinyoursection,but it isofnearlyequal importancetobeagoodteamplayerasamemberofthecourse’steachingstaff,whichusuallyconsistsofoneormorefacultymembers,aHeadTF,andadditionalTeachingFellows.Yourprimary in-teractionwiththecoursestaffwilltakeplaceataregu-larly-scheduledweeklylunchmeetingattendedbybothfacultyandTeachingFellows.Thesemeetings,typicallyanhourinlength,shouldbeviewedasmuchmorethanafreelunch.TheyareaninvaluableforumforyouandfellowTFstoplanhowyouwillteachyoursections,pre-pareyourstudentsforassignments,andgradetheirworkfairlyanduniformly.Theyarealsoyourbestchancetovoice any recommendations about the running of thecourse. This is particularly important in team-taughtcourses.Astheyrotateinandoutoftheclassroom,thefacultywillprobablyremainlargelyunawareofwhetherstudentsareadjustingtothesuddenchangeinstyleandcontent. If you hear of a valid student complaint, it isprobablyuptoyoutoraiseit.Forinstance:couldProfes-sorBdistributelectureoutlineslikeProfessorAdid?

Three helpful ways to interface with the Course Head(s):

Ask for help in planning lessons outside your special-ization. As mentioned above, you’ll almost certainlyfindthatforseveralweeksofthesesurveycoursesyouwon’t know as much about the readings as you wouldlike. Don’t be shy about asking the faculty member incharge why he or she has chosen to include a specifictext. What other sources were available? What shouldstudents(andyou!)knowabouttheauthorofthepas-sagebythetimeyoursectionisover?Ifstudentsaskforcontext,or forclarificationofavague reference in thetext,whatshouldyoutellthem?Thisisoneofthemostvaluablecontributionsprofessorscanmaketoyourde-velopmentasateacher.

Give feedback on professors’ lectures.Inbroadintro-ductory courses students may have difficulty connect-


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ing theirnarrowersectiondiscussions to thesweepingthemesand interpretationsoftenaddressedby the lec-turers. Homer’s place in Archaic Greek culture, whichmayseemperfectlyobvioustothelecturer,maynotbeso clear to students who see nothing more of Homerthanapieceofpoetry.AsaTF,youareonthefrontlines,andyouwilldothecourseagreatserviceifyouinformthe faculty whenever students lose their way betweenthe spoken word delivered at lecture and the writtenwordencounteredinthecoursereader.

Provide a constant stream of information about stu-dent progress.Inalargecourse,youhavetotrainyour-self—againstyourgoodnature—to treatyour studentsdifferentlythanyouwouldinatinyupperclasstutorialinwhichthepossibilityofastudentgoingterriblyastrayisminimal:youmustenforceanyandalldeadlines.Inalargeintrocoursewithagaggleofstudentstowatch,you cannot make exceptions for individual students.Ifyoudo,youruntheriskof losingtrackofastudentandhavingtoexplaintotheFreshmanDeanwhyyournonchalance allowed a student to fail out. If you haveconcernsaboutaparticularstudent’sperformancesorifastudentraisesextenuatingcircumstancesandasksforanextensionorspecialexamarrangements,communi-cate this, promptly and completely, to the Head TF orCourseHead.ThefacultyandHeadTFmaybemoni-

toring special students. And they will be much moreconcernedaboutmaintainingequalstandardsacrossthecoursethanyou.Passingoninformationtothemtakesyouoffthehookwhenafavoritestudentconfrontsyouwithpleasorexcuses.Youcansimplysay,“it’soutofmyhands.”

Last, but not least: Keep the big picture in focus

Afinalwordofadvice:thebestthingyoucandoforstudentsenrolled intheDepartment’s introductorycoursesistohelpthemidentifythethemesundergird-ingthesyllabus.AsaTF,youwanttokeepthesethemesconsistentlyvisiblethroughoutthesemester.ThisisanimportantskillforTFsinallcourses,butitisabsolutelyessentialinasurveyinwhichthecenturiesracebyandthelecturerschange.Trytostimulatehabitsofthoughtinyourstudentssuchthattheycontinuallydrawintelligentcomparisonstopreviousmaterial.Isthecourseguidedbyaprofessor’sconcernforthechangingshapeofpub-lic institutions? The development of political thought?Interactions with other civilizations? Cultural change?Helpingtocreatemasternarratives—suitablynuanced,ofcourse—issomethingthatyoucandofromthefirstdayofclass,anditwillmakeyouandyourstudentsfeelmuchmoreathomeinyourmutualodyssey.

Teaching Outside Your Field of ExpertiseBy Carrie Endries (History)

Sometimesgraduatestudentsgetthecrazynotionthattheyshouldmakethemselvesasmarketableaspos-sibleforthatelusiveacademicjobbypreparingtoteachanyandallformsofhistory–yesmyworkisintwen-tieth-century Madagascar, but I have taught the U.S.Women’s Suffrage movement … and I can use NativeAmerican material objects as primary sources! Othergraduatestudentsthinkit’saniceintellectualchallengetolearn—andteach—somethinginanareaoftheworldthatislessthanfamiliar.Stillothershavenochoicebuttoteachoutsidetheirareaofexpertiseastheirresearchinterestgenerates littleexcitementamongHarvardun-

dergraduates. AlmostallofuswhoserveasHistory97orHis-tory98TutorsendupteachingoutsideofourfieldsofexpertisebecauseveryfewofushavecoveredthehistoryofHarvardorthefallofConstantinopleinourGeneralExams.Luckily,inthoseclasses,Tutorsaregivenasetofreadingsandtoldtostayseveralstepsaheadoftheirstu-dents.Itisunderstoodthatyouwon’tbeabletoanswereveryquestionthatstudentsposeonfourteenth-centurybattleprocedure. But what do you do when you’re teaching in atutorial,departmental,orCoreclassthatcoversseveral

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worldareasandstudentsexpectyoutofillthehistoricalgapsleftbytheirreadings?Whatifyou–gasp–studyonenon-Westernareaandarethenexpectedtobeableto teach all non-Western history? What if you have astudentinaWorldEmpiresclasswhoinsistsonwritinghisresearchpaperonnineteenth-centuryNewZealand?The anxiety builds. Here are some suggestions to helpyoufindyourway:

1.Teach with confidence.Althoughthismaybethefirsttime you’ve taught a book on, say, Kenya, chances areyouhavereadthematerialmuchmorecloselythanyourstudents.Becauseyouhavelengthytraininginreadingbooks with the tools of an historian – with an eye toexamining sources or questioning analytical rigor, forexample – you are already several steps ahead of yourstudents.

2.Learn some minimal historiography.AsktheCourseHeadwhysheassignedaparticular reading.WhywasthisbookchosentoteachstudentsaboutslaveryintheAmericas? The Course Head constructed the syllabuswith a goal in mind – the better you understand thatgoal,themoreyou’llbeabletotranslatehowaparticularreading fits into the course, as well as into the greaterhistoriographyonthecountryorsubjectathand.Forabook,checkoutreviewsinamajorjournal,orlookforahistoriographicalessaypublishedinanareastudiespub-licationliketheJournal of African History.

3. Talk to your colleagues. Luckily, the Department’sgraduatestudentscoverallsortsofworldareas.ThereisboundtobesomeonewhocandirectyoutoagoodbasicbookorwhocanprovideaquickfactlikewhenBataviabecameJakarta.Thisisespeciallyusefulwhenyou’dliketo pronounce something correctly but find your Viet-nameseisn’texactlyuptosnuffthesedays.

4. Use the encyclopedia. The History Department li-brary has an excellent set of Encyclopedia Britannica,which can give you a basic interpretation of an entirecountry’shistoryinseveralpages.Thesebooksareespe-ciallygoodforquickpoliticalhistorieshighlightingkeydates–suchastheyearofMexico’sindependence–thatwouldbealittleembarrassingnottoknowwhenyou’reteachingaboutSpain’sattitudes towards itscolonies. Ifyouhavemoretime,theCambridge Historiesofvariousworldareasortimeperiodscanalsobequiteuseful.Ifyouarefocusingononeworldareaallsemester,searchoutareliabletextbooktorefertowhileyouteachinthecourse.

5.Use the internet.Helping you findunknown but incredibly useful resources is one of thewondersthatGooglecanoffer.Googleisespeciallyvalu-able when you think of something that would make agreatvisualadditiontoclass(likeamap),butthetimingof your moment of brilliance leaves you only 30 min-utes to locate thesourceandmake ithappen.Youcanfindmapsandothervisualaidsonanumberofsiteslikewww.eduplace.com/ss/maps and www.saburchill.com/history/chapters.

6.Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know.”Andthenmakeitagoaltofindout.Harvardundergraduatescomeupwithchallengingquestionseveryday,andthereisnowayforaTFtoprepareforeveryquestionthatmightarise.Instead,beupfrontaboutthelimitsofyourknowledgeandtrytodirect themtoaresourcewheretheymightfindtheanswer.Shopthequestionouttootherstudentsintheclassifanyofthemhavespecialknowledgeinacertainfield.Orlooktheanswerupyourselfafterclassandletstudentsknowwhatyoufindbyemailorinthenextclassmeeting.

www.eduplace.com/ss/mapswww.saburchill.com/history/chapters


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Being a Head Teaching Fellow in the History DepartmentBy Rebecca Goetz (History)

I don’t wish to be curmudgeonly about being aHeadTF,butinmyexperiencethepositionrangesfrombeingmildlyannoyingtodownrightulcerinducing.I’vedoneittwicenow,andIthinkifsomeoneasksmetodoitagainI’llhideundermybed.IlearnedthehardwaythatMurphy’sLawdoesindeedapplytohistorycoursemanagement—whatcangowrongwillgowronginlargequantitieswitharidiculousdegreeoffrequency. Yourmainresponsibilityistoseetotheefficientrunning of the course. This means coordinating withyour professor, managing your Teaching Fellows, andseeingtotheday-to-daymundaneadministrativetasksthatkeepthecoursefunctioningsmoothly.Chancesareyoureffortswillgolargelyunnoticed. The jobhas its rewards, though. Acoursewithfew noticeable administrative snafus earns students’praises—even if they don’t know who is responsible.You also have the opportunity to improve your hard-won teaching wisdom. If you are managing TeachingFellowswhohavenevertaughtbefore,youmightwantto offer help in formulating lesson plans, grading thattroublesomefirstbatchofpapers,orindealingwithdif-ficultstudents.Ifyou’rewillingtohelpoutearlyon,itcannipsomeproblemsinthebud(seebelowonwhatcangowrong).And,ifyouendupwithapositionatauniversitywhereyouteachlargelecturecoursesassistedbyTFsofyourown,thisexperiencewillcertainlyhelpyoumanageyourownlargecourse. Withsomesimpleplanning,knowledgeofwheretogotoaccomplishcertaintasks,andinformationaboutwhomtoaskforhelp,youmightmakeearningtheextrafifththatcomeswithHeadTF-ingalessstressfulexperi-ence. Below you will find a step-by-step process forserving as a Head TF. For quick, searchable informa-tion,alsocheckoutthe“HarvardeseGlossary,”available

onlineattheBokCenterwebsite.

Before Your CourseThingstodothesummerbeforeyourcourse(forafallclass)orthefallbeforeyourcourse(foraspringclass):

1.Meet with your professorandsetgroundrules,be-causethenatureoftheHeadTFjobisfairlynebulous.ForsomeHeadTFs,thejobwillrequirethatyoudoev-erythingshortofwritingtheprofessor’slectures.Oth-erswillfindtheirdutiesmuchlessonerous.Beforethesemesterbeginsandallhellbreaksloose,makesureeachpartyknowshis/herresponsibilities,andthatthesearemutuallyagreedupon.Ifyouareteachingacoursewithmore than one faculty member, make sure you knowwhichprofessor(theonewhomtheregistrarhasdesig-nated“CourseHead”)togotowithpaperworkthatmustbesigned.

2.Remember, you can say NO to your professor.Youneednotfetchcoffee,dopersonalphotocopying,makenametags,orwritelecturesifyoudon’twantto.Yourjobistomanagethecourse,notbecomeapersonalslave.

3.Have the Course Head finalize the syllabus.Toor-derbooksandcoursepacks,youmusthaveafinalizedreading list.Thiscannotbe left to the lastminute.TheHarvardCOOPsetsadeadlineforcoursebookorder-ing;makesureyourCourseHeadknowswhatthatdateis.Remindhim/herfrequentlyifnecessary.

4. Ask Caron Yee (for departmental courses) or the Core Officefortheprojectedenrollmentofyourcourse.Withoutpreregistration,thisprocessisabitlikewitch-craft, but it will give you a baseline number to use indecision-making(howmanybooksshouldbeordered?Howmanyclassroomsneed tobe reserved?).TheDe-partmentandCorecapsectionssizesat18;tutorialsaregenerallycappedat6.

5. Classrooms! The Classrooms office sends CourseHeads a form to reserve a lecture classroom and a/vequipment.Eithergetthisformandfillitoutyourself

bokcenter.harvard.edu

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orensurethattheCourseHeadhas, infact,submittedittotheClassroomsoffice.(Igenerallykeepphotocop-iesofthisandotherkeypiecesofpaperworkincaseoflater controversies.) It is the Head TF’s responsibilitytoarrangeforsectionortutorialclassrooms.Althoughyou won’t know the exact number of rooms you needuntilafterstudycardday,youshouldemailClassrooms([email protected])alistdetailingthenumber,size, and approximate times you think you will needroomsbasedonthecourse’sprojectedenrollment.Tack

onanextrasectionortwo,justincase.IthelpsifyoutellClassroomsthat you have already made an

effort to secure rooms by other means. Contact JanetHatchtoreservetheLowerLibraryandtheBlueRoom(Robinson117),andArthurHockintheWarrenCentertoreservetheBasementSeminarRoom.

6.Staffing!It isNOTyourresponsibilitytorecruittheTFstaff.CaronYeecoordinateshiringdecisionsincon-sultationwiththeCourseHead,theDirectorofUnder-graduateStudies,DirectorofGraduateStudies,andtheDepartmentChair.Becauseyouwillbecometheprima-rycontactpersonforTFsteachinginyourcourse,youshouldbeawareofthesehiringdecisions,andshouldaskthecourseinstructortokeepyouposted.AssoonasaTFishiredforyourcourse,alerthimorhertoimportantdates(theTutorialRetreat,thefirststaffmeeting,etc.).

7. Book ordering! Books are ordered through theCOOP,whichcannowbedoneonline. Besureto in-flateyourexpectednumbersbyaboutathird,sincetheCOOPwilldeflateyournumbersbyaboutathirdwhenorderingfromthepublisher.Theoverallresultofsuchmanipulationisthatgenerallyspeaking,enoughbookswill arrive for your students. If you order at least sixweekspriortothebeginningofclasses,youmightevengetthemontime!Again,keepcopiesofanypaperworkyouexchangewiththeCOOP.

8.Desk Copies!Beforeclassesbegin,giveeachfacultymemberandTFacomplete setof course readings.Toobtain these, order desk copies of each book from itspublisher.Publishers’websitesgenerally containdirec-tionsfororderingdeskcopies.Ifyou’rehavingtrouble,theUniversityofVirginiahasausefulwebsitethatwill

providecontactinformationforallbutthemostelusivepublishers.Butbewarned:publishersdon’talwayssendthenumberofbooksyouneed.Ifyoufindyourselfwith-outenoughbooksforthestaff,talktoyourCourseHead.Professors usually have access to departmental fundsthatcanbeusedtopurchaseextradeskcopies.9. Course reserves should be set up through Lamont,whichhasanonlineformyoucanfilloutforbooksavail-ableinthelibraryandthroughE-Reserves.Ifbooksorothermaterialsyouareusingarenotinthelibrary,ask

Lamonttoorderthematerials.Ifyouhaveacoursepack,you’llneedtohand-deliverittoLamont.Sometimesthelibrary,um,losesstuff.Checkfrequentlyandinpersonaboutthestateofyourreservereadings.

10. Course websites are automatically set up throughthe Instructional Computing Group. They are usefulfordistributingthesyllabus,paperassignments,sectionassignments,and forkeepingstudents informedaboutcourse events and changes. Some courses set up web-baseddiscussiongroups,usuallyorganizedbysections.Basicweb-managementofthissortispartoftheskill-setandresponsibilityoftheHeadTF.Insomecases,howev-er,professorshavefargreaterambitionforcourseweb-sites,requestingthatslideshows,lecturenotes,extensivelinkstorelatedsites,andotherextrasbemadeavailable.Ifyoudon’tknowhowtodothis,signupforoneofICG’sworkshopsandlearnhow.Butifyourprofessorrequestsafullycustomizedwebsite,beaware:thistakesalotoftimeandeffort.Ifyoudofullycustomizeawebsitewithalotofextracontent,youshouldknowthat1)itwilltakeoveryour life,and2) it isn’t inyour jobdescriptionasHeadTF.Youshouldgetpaidextraforthatwork,usu-ally throughagrantyourprofessorobtains fromICG.Remember, if your professor is asking for web-relatedmiraclesandnotcompensatingyouaccordingly,youcan(andprobablyshould!)say“no.”

The Semester is about to begin, panic sets in!

1.The syllabus should be done.Doublecheckthatyouare properly observing all University holidays. If you

[email protected] uvabookstoreonline.com/DESKCOPYONLINE.pdf

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findthatyouhavelecturesorsectionsonholidaysthatarerecognizedbutnotobservedbytheUniversity(i.e.,YomKippur),arrangetoaccommodatestudents. Lec-tures can be videotaped and sections can be resched-uled.Youshoulddoublecheckthatyoursyllabushasareadinglist,courseschedule,examdatesandpaperduedates,andthatitlistscoursepolicywithregardstosec-tionabsence,latepapers,andplagiarism.Thesyllabusshouldalsolistyourname,email,andofficehours.

2.Set a time for lunch meetings withtheprofessor(s)andthestaff.Theseshouldhappenweeklyandgiveev-eryoneanopportunitytotouchbase.Youcanalsousethistimetogooverlessonplansandotherteachingis-sues. The Department and the Core curriculum officehasmoneytopayforlunches;talktoyourCourseHeadortoCoryPaulsen.

3.Meet with your Teaching Fellowspriortothestartofclasses.Makesureeveryoneunderstandsthestructureoftheclass,courseassignments,andcoursepolicies(liketheconsequencesofmissingsectionorsubmittingapa-per late). Ifyourcourse instructorshaveestablishedacurveorspecificgradingcriteria,nowisthetimetodis-cussthem.Iftheywanttohavelargelyuniformsectionsinwhichstudentscoverroughlythesamecontentandareexposed to the sameskillsata similar levelofdif-ficulty,youshouldsaysonowandsetupmechanismsbywhicheachTeachingFellowknowswhattoteachwhen.

4.You should hear from Classroomsaboutyourlectureroomandyoursectionclassrooms.Ifyoufindyoudon’thaveenoughrooms,LauraJohnsonintheTutorialOf-ficekeepsalistofroomscontrollednotbyClassroomsbut by individual departments around the University,whichcanbehelpful.

5.Check the COOP for your books. If theyaren’t in,checkwiththemanagementonthestatusofyourorder.Youmighthavetoputsomepressureonthem.DoNOTlettheCOOPsendyouawaywithassurances.Stayun-tilyouhavetalkedwithamanagerandhavereceivedaWRITTEN statement about when your books will beavailableandwhatstepsarebeingtakentoobtainthem.Likewise, make sure Lamont has processed your re-serveslist.

6.Student disabilities. TheAccessibleEducationOfficewillrefertoyoustudentswhohavedocumentedlearn-ingdisabilities andwhat stepsyouneed to take toac-commodatethemforpapersandexams.Studentswhorequire extra consideration on exams or other assign-mentsshouldseeyouinthefirst fewweeksofclass toprovide the appropriate documentation. Your syllabusshouldstate thisandyoushouldremindstudentsof itviaemail.There’snothingworsethanfindingoutrightbefore the midterm that a student is entitled to someconsiderationbutnevertoldyou,andnowyouhavetoscrambletotakecareofthenecessaryarrangements!

7. Anything else you need? If your professor requiresa/vequipmentlikeslidecarousels,overheadprojectors,andmicrophones,makesureyou’vemadearrangementstoaccessthose(usuallyClassroomswillhelpyousetthisupifyourequestearly).Ifyouhavequestions,contactAudiovisual Services at 5-9460. Need maps? You cancheckwallmapsoutofthemaplibraryinPusey.

Sectioning: Your next big task!

Sectioningrequiresalotofwork.Thenewonlinesectioningsystemhasafewvirtues:studentscansignupatwill,andtheprogramwillnotdouble-sectionanyone.Italsohasproblems. Itdoesn’t, forexample, take intoconsiderationastudent’sgender,year,orconcentration.Somecoursesfinditdesirabletosectionwiththesefac-torsinmind.Dependingonyourgoals,youcansectiononlineorbyhand,orbysomecombinationofthetwo(thatis,sectiononlineandthenmanuallymovestudentsaroundwhennecessary).

You should set some ground rules about sectioning:

1.You, the Head TF, should be the only one section-ing. YourCourseHeadand fellowTFsmeanwell,butthey should understand that they CANNOT promisestudentsthattheycanswitchsections.Ifyouretainallcontrolovertheprocess,therewon’tbeanyconfusion.

2.After sectioning has been announced, tell studentsthat in order to switch sections, they must find some-onetoswitchwith(insomecases,thismeansastudentofthesamegenderorofthesameconcentration).This

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willeliminateallbutthemostdesperateanddeservingofsectionswitchers.

3. Be aware! Students will attempt to manipulate youandyourTFs inpursuitofadifferentsectionorsomeother special accommodation. Do not let yourself besuckedintosobstories!

4.Spend no more than an hour per day sectioning.Todomoreistoloseyourmind.

5. Sections should be stable after the third week of classes. Resist moving anyone after that time (strenu-ously!).

Maintaining Momentum(aroundthemiddleofthesemester)

1.Conduct some sort of midterm evaluation.YoucanuseoneoftheBokCenter’smidtermevals,ormakeupyourown.Itdoesn’tmatterhowyoudoit,butitwillgiveyouanideaofhowwellthecourseisgoing.

2.Remind first-time TFsthattheHistoryDepartmentrequiresthemtobevideotapedandevaluatedattheBokCenter.Thiscanbeausefulexperienceforeveryone,andallevaluationsareconfidential.

3. When preparing for the midterm, you should re-mindtheprofessortomaketwoorthreedifferentexamswritten,ortohavesomeextraquestionsinhandandbeready todosuch.Studentswillbesick,miss theexamfor athletic competitions, etc., etc., so be prepared formultiplemake-upexams.ExambookletsareavailableinthebasementoftheScienceCenter;youneedaHarvardOfficerIDtopickthemup.Getenoughsothateachstu-dentcanusetwobooklets.SometimestheScienceCen-ter runs out of exam booklets; in that case, haunt thegradstudentofficesinthebasementofRobinson.Mostoccupantsofthoseofficeshavetheirownprivatestashofleftoverexambookletsfromprevioussemesters.

4. After the midterm exam, your professor will get aformthatyoushouldfilloutwithSAT/UNSATforeachstudent.AskTFstogiveyoualistofstudentswithCsor

below.AsHeadTF,youshouldgoovereachcaseandde-cide,inconjunctionwiththestudent’sTF,whetheryouneedtocontactresidentdeansinthehousesorfreshmandeans. Don’t view reporting students who aren’t per-formingaspunitive.Harvardhasaplethoraofservicesforstudentsfacingacademicand/orpersonalproblems.Whenyoualertresidentdeansorfreshmandeanstopo-tentialproblems,theseadministratorscanseetoitthatstudentsgetthehelpandattentiontheyneed.

5.This is also a good time to check on grading consis-tency.Makesuremidtermgradesareroughlyequivalentacrosssections.IfyouhaveagradingpolicylimitingthenumbersofAs,nowisthetimetochecktomakesureyou’reontrackandifnot,tomakethenecessaryadjust-ments.Onewaytoavoidoutliersistohaveamodelpa-pergradingexercise.GiveallyourTFsasetofthesamepapers to grade, one that’s A-range, B-range, C-range,etc.Gradingthesepapersanddiscussingthemtogethermakesyourgradingmorestandardacrosssectionsandmakes it easier forTFs tocommunicatecourseexpec-tationstostudents.IfyoucontacttheHarvardWritingProject,theywilloftensendastaffmemberandwritingexperttohelpyourunthismeeting.

6. Contact the CUE office ifyouwantthecourseevalu-atedattheendofthesemester.Thisisalmostalwaysagoodidea.

Towards the end of the semester:

1. Your professor should receive a form about the fi-nalexam;makesureitisfilledoutandreturnedtotheRegistrar.Ifmorethan100studentsareenrolledintheclass,youcanalsosubmitthefinalexamtotheRegistrarandthestaffwillphotocopyitforyou.Notethatsomestudentswillprobablyneedanalternateexamandexamdateduetoareligiousexemptionorbecause(inthefall)theymustleaveHarvardearlyforaspringstudyabroadprogram. Other students will miss the exam becausetheyaresickorbecausetheyinadvertentlyfailtoappear(they sleep through an alarm, show up on the wrongday,etc.).Harvardhasstrictpoliciesforthosewhomissthefinalexamwithoutpriorpermission.ThesestudentsmustapplytotheAdBoardinordertotakeamakeup.

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Regardless,youwillneedseveraldifferentfinalexamstoaccommodateearlyandlatetest-takers.

2.Makearrangements tohavestudentscompleteCUEevaluations online. Remind them frequently to do it.CUEscoresarenogoodtoanyoneifyoudon’tsignaltostudentsthatyoutakethemseriously.

After the Final:

1.Schedule a final grading meetingtoreviewgradesandtalkoverproblems.Yourprofessor(s)definitelyshouldbepresentforthis.Itisusefultoprepareaspreadsheetintowhichgradesforcourseassignmentshavebeenin-putted.Youwillfilloutthefinalgradesheet.It’shelpfultoenlistoneofyourTFstohelpyouproofreadit.

2.Althoughthecourseisdone,youwillhavelingeringincompletes. Stay on top of these to make sure everystudent’sgradegetsturnedin.

3.Write an “exit memo” foryoursuccessordetailingthespecificproblemsandjoysofyourcourse. YoushouldalsoburnaCDwithcopiesofthesyllabus,assignments,andothercoursematerial for thenextHeadTFof thecourse.

When things go wrong:

Course Packs I’ve had bad experiences with course packs andgenerally think they are tools of the devil. They areeasy todealwithonly if youareaHeadTF inaCoreclass,inwhichcaseallyouneedtodoissendthepho-tocopieddocumentstotheCore,whohandlestherest.ForHistoryDepartmentcourses, youmustphotocopyreadingsyourself. Fromthere,youhavethreechoices:obtaincopyrightpermissionyourself,use theCoop toobtaincopyrightsandproducethepackets,orusesomeothercopyshopintheSquaretoobtaincopyrightsandproduce the packets. The first of these options is theleastappetizing;infact,Iwouldrefusetodoitwithoutadditional compensation. Clearing copyright yourselfis time-consuming, stressful, and often unsuccessful.

Gnomon Copy in the Square gets my vote. Gnomonwill clear copyright for you and produce the packets.Theyarealsoefficient.Asanalternativetocoursepackcreation,checktheE-ResourcesavailableonlineatHar-vard.Manyarticlesonce included incoursepackscannow be found through Harvard’s electronic resources.SpeakwithBarbaraBurgatLamont(bburg@fas)orrefertothelibrary’ssite(seebelow).IfyouaretheHeadTFofacoursethatwillhaveacoursepack,startEARLYandcheckonitsprogressOFTEN.

Student Complaints Studentswillcometoyou,asHeadTF,withvaria-tionsontwothemes.

1) “My TF gave me an unfair grade. Will you regradeit?”Irequire thatstudentsrequestingaregradegiveme a clean copy of the assignment in question andbringthegradedcopywiththem.Never,everoverruleyourTFsunlesstheyhavefailedapaperthatisclearlybrilliantandofpublishablequality(thiswillnothap-pen). Students who realize that you will not changethegradewillusuallygoawayafterawhile.Somewillbemorepersistent. It isunlikely thatyourprofessorwillwanttogetinvolved.Igenerallyrecommendthatyou threaten to LOWER the grade of a particularlypersistentand/orrudestudent.Sometimes,astudent’sgradingcomplaintissymptomaticofagradingprob-lem(aTFisgradingtooharshlyor isn’tgivingcon-structivecommentsonwrittenwork),andthatshouldnotbeignored.ArrangeaspecialgradingsessionwiththeCourseHeadandTFstoaddressandresolvetheseproblems.

2)“MyTFdoesn’tknowwhats/heistalkingabout/isadimwit/badteacher.” (Imyselfwas theobjectofonesuchcomplaint:thestudenttoldtheHeadTFthatI,asanAmericanist,wasnotqualifiedtoteachWesternCiv. Ahem.) You should deal with these complaintsforcefully but thoughtfully. As a Head TF, it is yourresponsibilitytostandbehindyourstaffwhentalkingto students. At the same time, sometimes a TF willhave some difficulty in the classroom, and studentcomplaintscansometimesalertyoutothis.Insuchacase,intervenebypointingtheTFtoresourcesattheBokCenterorbyhelpinghim/herformulatesuccess-

hcl.harvard.edu/research/guides/deeplinking

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ful lesson plans. Also, discuss the situation with thecourseinstructor,whocan(andshould!)helpinsuchcases. It goeswithout saying thatyou shouldneveruse a student complaint to single out and humiliateaTF.

Dishonesty in Student Work Your syllabus should have an emphatic state-mentindicatingtheconsequencesofplagiarism(failingthe paper, failing the course, being excluded from thecourse, etc.).TFs shouldbeon the lookout forplagia-rism.Youcangenerallyspotinternetpapersbecauseoftheirfrequentmisspellingsofthesamewordorfrequentchangesoftone.Bytypingonesentence,inquotes,intoGoogle, you can usually trace their origins. If you oroneofyourTFsspotsaplagiarizedpaper,assemblealltheevidenceandsubmit it toyourprofessor,whowillthensubmitittotheAdBoardforadjudication.Donotbeafraidtoconfrontandpunishplagiarizers.Theonlyreasonstudentsdoitisbecausetheythinktheycangetawaywithit—don’tletthemgetawaywithit!

Difficult TFs Head TFs find themselves in a potentially awk-ward position: that is, they sometimes have to be thebosses (in the sense that the smooth running of thecourse is your responsibility) of TFs with whom theyarenormallydrinkingbuddies. Themost likelyprob-lemyou’llencounterisaTFwhoisn’tadheringtocoursepolicies. TeachingFellowsmustupholdthepoliciesofthecourse,eveniftheydon’tagreewiththem.SomeTFsdon’tlikestringentlatepaperpenalties,forexample,butthat doesn’t mean that TFs shouldn’t enforce the rules

for theirstudents. Don’tbebashfulabouttellingaTFwhoisn’tadheringtothepoliciesandproceduresofthecoursetoknockitoff.Thestudentsmustbetreatedfair-lyacrosssections;youdon’twanttodealwithstudents’complaintslike:“MyfriendinLarry’ssectionturnedinhispaperlateandnothinghappened.I’minMark’ssec-tionandherefusedtotakemypaperlateandnowIhaveazero.Itisn’tfair!”

Difficult Course Heads HeadTFsalsofindthemselvesintheunenviableposition of having to nag course heads to take care oftheirresponsibilitiesforthecourse,whetheritissome-thing as small as signing off on official paperwork tosomethingmore important, suchashelpingyoumakesure all the TFs are fairly implementing course policy.Professorshavealotofthingsontheirminds,andun-fortunately theday-to-day fraysaren’talways their toppriorities.Donotbeafraidtoassertyourself.Yourpro-fessorsoweyoutimelyresponsestoemail,andtheyoweyoutheirsupportandconfidence inadministeringtheclass.Ifyoufeellikeyou’renotgettingthissupportfromyour Course Head, make an appointment to see him/herASAP. Bepleasantandpolite,butbefirm. Makesureyourexpectationsareclear,andmakesurethecon-sequencesofnotbackingyouupareclear(usually thethreatofacourseinchaosgetsresults!).

This isn’t a complete list of all the things you’llwindupdoingandalltheproblemsyou’llhavetocon-frontandsolve.ButIhopeithelpsyouplanandtrouble-shoot!

Primary Source Based Section DiscussionsBy Katherine A. Grandjean (History)

Having tolerated several ho-hum sections as anundergraduate,Istartedmyteachingcareerdeterminedtofindthe“key”toleadinggreatdiscussions.Ofcourse,thereisnomagic“key.”Butinmyfirstfewsectionmeet-ings I learnedabig lesson: studentsdon’twant to talk abouthistoryasmuchastheywanttodohistory.Greatdiscussions happened when I convinced my students

thattheyweredoinghistory,ratherthanjustregurgitat-ingit.That’swhyprimarysourcebaseddiscussionscanbe somuch fun.Primary sourcesallowstudents tobethe historians—to find out what intrigues them, to dothedetectivework,andtosolvehistoricalpuzzles. Your first job as section leader is to make sureyourstudentshavethetoolsnecessaryforreading,ana-

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lyzing, and—of course—discussing these sources. Forstarters:

1.Whatisaprimarysource?Aprimarysourceisapiecefromthepast—forexample,anewspaperarticle,ateapot,adiary,abroadside,apainting,theConstitutionoftheUnitedStates,anadvertisementfortoothpaste,agravestone, a woman’s embroidery from revolutionaryConnecticut. A primary source does not have to be awrittentext; itcanbeanobject,animage,orevenoraltestimony. Primary sources are generated by historicalactors (unlike secondary sources, which are the effortsofhistoriansandotherintellectualstouseevidencefromthepasttomakehistoricalgeneralizations).Adocumentisonlyaprimarysourceforthetimeinwhichitiscre-ated.

2.Howdoyou readaprimary source?Primarysources require interpretation. They need to be readcritically.Althoughsomestudentsmaybeaccustomedtoworkingwithprimarysources,manywon’tbe.Earlyinthesemester,chooseoneprimarysourceandhavetheclassanalyzeitasagroup.Bringahandout—apainting,adiaryentry,somethingeveryonecaninterprettogether.Leadthemthroughtheprocessyouhopetheywillfol-lowasbuddinghistorians,identifyingimportantinfor-mationandweighingthesource’sproblems:Whatkindofdocumentisit?Whenandwhywasitcreated?Whowrote it,andwhatdoweknowabout theauthor—anybiases? What’s interesting? What seems odd or unex-pected?Whatdoesthesourcetellusaboutthecultureortimeperiodinwhichitwascreated?Whathistoricalquestionsdoesithelpanswer?Whatelsemightyouwanttoknow?Wheremightyoulookforthatinformation? Encouragestudentstotosseventheirshakiestim-pressionsintotheconversation.You’llsetacomfortableandcollaborativetoneforthesemester.

3. Start with a puzzle or a question. Primarysource-baseddiscussionsworkwellwhenthequestionsare broad and open-ended, so that students can of-ferdiffering interpretationsof theevidence.Youmightbegin by focusing on one source and one puzzle. (Forexample: What motivated some American colonists to

boycottBritishgoodsinthe1770s?Canoneman’sdiaryentry—orprobaterecord,orpensionapplication—helpanswerthebiggerhistoricalquestionathand?Whatevi-dencedoesitofferonthatquestion?)Ifthequestionisopen-ended,studentswillfeelcomfortabledebatingitsanswer. Onceyourstudentsareusedtodebating,youcanevenaskthemtogeneratethemajorquestionsraisedbytheirassignedreadings.(Thisisgoodpracticeforfind-ingpapertopics,too.) 4.Godeep.Teachclosereading.Chooseashortpassage,or—betteryet—focusonaquotehighlightedbyoneofyourstudents,anddoanextremelycloseanalysis.What underlying meanings or assumptions aren’t im-mediatelyobvious?Whyhastheauthorchosencertainwords?Arethereanywordsyoudon’tunderstand?

5. Go broad. Good discussions require studentsto think broadly and synthetically about what they’veread.Get them into thehabitofputting theirhypoth-eses intocontext.Does the impressiongivenbyan in-dividual source match that given by a broad range ofsources? Why do some sources contradict each other?Dothesourcesagreewithhistorians’accountsofwhathappened? If the assigned sources offer contradictoryevidence,haveahandoutthathighlightsthatproblem.Forinstance,whydosomeauthorsofferradicallydiffer-entaccountsofthefallofConstantinople?

6.Surprisethem.Therearemanydifferentkindsofprimarysourcesandmanydifferentwaystoapproachthem.Showyourstudentshowevidencewithinasource(orsources)canbe“unlocked”—bycounting,decoding,mapping.Blowupamapandcharttheoriginsofrun-away slaves in Virginia, or count the number of timesadiaristmentionsacertainacquaintance.Themessage:newapproachesoftenrevealunexpectedevidence.

7. Be excited! Let your students know that youareexcitedby their theoriesand interpretations.Showthem you’re impressed, and they’ll push themselves tobemorecreativeandaskfreshquestions.Goodluck!

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Introduction to Tutorial TeachingBy Professor Joyce Chaplin

TheDepartmentcurrentlyhiresgraduatestudentTutors for two kinds of courses—History 97 and Re-searchSeminars—aswellastoadviseseniortheses.AsmembersoftheDepartment’sBoardofTutors,graduatestudentshiredforthesepositionsplayacrucialroleinensuringthequalityofouradvancedundergraduatein-struction. Ifteachingsectionsforalecturecourseputsyousomewhereinthemiddleofahierarchy(professor,thenTF,thenstudent),tutorialteaching,letaloneadvisingathesis,makesyoumoreof an intellectualpartnerwithastudent.True,youknowmuchmore thananunder-graduatedoesandyourgreaterknowledgeputsyouinapositiontoevaluatetheirwork.But,asaTutororThesisAdvisor, youwillfindyourself giving informationandadviceaboutdoinghistoryinawaythatimagines—mustimagine—thestudentrecipientofthatinformationandadviceasapotentialpeer.Inthisway,theTutorialOfficecan takeadvantageofyourexpertise inorder tomakeourundergraduatesintoactualhistorians. This is no small thing. As students progressthroughtutorials,theyacquireskillsthatenablethemtoreadandwritecriticallyaboutthepast.Cantheybelievewhat they read? You will teach them how to evaluatereadingsandformadefensibleopinion.Cantheymakeagoodargument?Youwillencouragethemtocriticizeeachother inordertocraftaconvincinganalysis.Can

they locate the best possible evidence? You will teachthem how to find primary sources and to select fromthemmaterialtosupporttheirarguments.Ifyou’read-visinga thesiswriter,youradvicecanmakethediffer-encebetweenanindifferentpieceofworkandanimpor-tantessay,onesogoodthatitsauthormightneverhaveimagineditwasinher/hispowertocreatesuchathing. Takeadvantageofthisexperience.InmyadvicetosectionTFs(seeabove)Iencouragedsectionleaderstothinkabouttheir“apprenticeship”asanopportunitytoacquireteachingskillsthatcouldbeusedanywhere.InHistory97,ResearchSeminars,andwiththesiswriters,you have an opportunity to consider (and reconsider)yourownstrategiesasahistorian.Ahistorian’slifeasaresearcherandlifeasaprofessoreachtakeonstrengthif the two lives are joined. This is as true for graduatestudentsasforanyoneelse.Youdon’talwaysneedtotellyourstudentswhatyouworkon,howyouwork,whatworksforyouasaresearcherandwriter—alittleofthisgoesalongway,unlessyourstudentsareveryinterested.(Orpolite.)Butyouwillneedtothinkaboutthesethingsinorderforyourteachingtobeatitsmosteffective.And,intheend,yourownworkwillbenefitfromyourhavingtoarticulatewhycertainwaysofdoinghistoryarebetterthanothers.

The Pleasures and Challenges of Teaching Small ClassesBy John Gagné (History)

The Department’s tutorials and Research Semi-narsallowustorefashiontheRankeanseminar,thehigh-levelGesellschaft,“composednotofsubjectstudentsbutofmembers.”Bereftnowadaysofthemapcabinetsandrevolvingbookcases,andfreedfromnineteenth-centuryideologies,weneverthelesshavethesmallgroupofcom-mitted historians and the very real sense of forming a

fellowship. This sense of fellowship is what makes thetutorialsorewardingforbothTutorandstudent,andit’sworthremindingourselvesthatmostsections–merelybecauseoftheirsize–don’tallowstudentstoenjoyex-tendeddiscussionwithpeersandinstructors,andsoitbehoovesusallthemoretomaketutorialnotonlypleas-ant, but also intellectually stimulating and challenging

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forthem. Theintimacyoftutorialallowsusreallytogettoknow our students and their writing or research proj-ects.Whileinlargesectionswemovefromassignmenttoassignmenthoping that studentshave taken lessonsandcritiques toheart, the tutorialprovidesavenue todiscuss criticism and help them hone particular skills.Don’t underestimate the value of serious and specificwritten comments; students often agree that improve-mentscanbemadeintheirworkandareeagertodis-cuss strategies. It’s really thesediscussionsabout strat-egy, craft, andhistoricalmethod that form thecoreofthetutorial,andtheyusuallyprovideagreatopportunityto tear into important historical and historiographicalquestions(Whatisthedifferencebetweenculturalhis-tory and social history? How do you structure a clearandpersuasiveopeningparagraph?Whyare footnotessoimportant?). While the small size of tutorials and ResearchSeminars is their best feature, it also means that eachstudent bears a sizeable responsibility during discus-sions. Logistically, it’s important to stress to them theimportanceofinformedattendance.TheTutorexiststoencourage,toprod,tomoderate,butnottolecture–tu-torialisatitsbestwhentheTutorjoinsthefabricofthediscussion without managing it too aggressively. Andthoughitcanbesatisfyingforustoleadstudentstowardsaeurekamoment,it’sultimatelymoresatisfyingforthemtohappenuponitthemselves.Theywill,afterall,askforourhelpwhentheyrunagroundonconceptualshoals.Theideahereisthatit’sfine(andsometimesevendesir-able)whentheselittleshipwreckshappen,sincetutorialshouldencouragetopicalandconceptualdepth,andattimesthestruggletoreachthosedepthscanberevela-tory for everyone, Tutor included. While big sectionsencourage breadth over depth, tutorials challenge stu-dentstothinkabout(oftenforthefirsttime)howtodohistoryresponsibly.I’veoftenfoundthatusingmyown

workasanexample–whetherpositiveornegative–canbeuseful inhelping themseeways toconfrontorcir-cumnavigatetheirowndifficulties.It’satruism,buttheTutor’s judicious silencecanalsohelp toachieve theselittlebreakthroughsbylettingthempuzzlethingsoutontheirown. AtechniquethatIhavefoundworksparticularlywellintutorialishavingstudentsdeliveroralpresenta-tions now and then. While in large sections presenta-tionsdon’talwaysworkwell,intutorialtheycansetthetone for thediscussionandhelp to focus it.Preparingtopresentalsoguaranteesthatstudentscometotutorialinvested in the material. It also reminds students thattutorialrequiresacertainlevelofdecorumandserious-ness.I’vediscovered,though,thatthemostrelaxedtuto-rialsaremybest.Thehighenergyofbigsectionsdoesn’ttransfer well to this more intimate environment, andrather than accomplishing more, relentlessness breedsintellectual exhaustion. Students are naturally inclinedtoward making a good impression, but tutorial reallyisn’taboutmakinggoodimpressions.Whenyoulowerthestakesandmakeitclearthatthey’renotalwaysbe-ingevaluated,theyfindafreedomtoexploreideasmorecreativelyandmoredaringly;ultimately,youfreethemtotakesomeinitiativeforthemselvesinsettingthepa-rametersofahelpful,engaging,meaningfuldiscussion. The Tutor-student connection continues evenafter the tutorialhasfinished,andstudents sometimesreturn to us for recommendation letters and informaladvice.Weoftenget toknowour studentsbetter thanprofessorsdo,andsowecanfindourselves in thepo-sition of occasional advisors or mentors. As such, ourfamiliarity with our students’ interests, strengths, andpotential can be marshaled to help them find SeniorThesisadvisors,discoverprofessorswhomtheyoughttoknow,andevenexploresummerjobsandinternships.Inthisway,thefellowshipdevelopedintutorialcontinuesprofitablyduringtherestoftheirtimeatHarvard.

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HELP WANTED:GraduatestudenttoserveasTUTORfor History 97. Must be comfortable in various roles:POKER PLAYER, DRILL SERGEANT, DEN MOTH-ER, TRANSLATOR, TAXONOMIST, WILDERNESSGUIDE,CIRCUS-MASTER,BRICKLAYER,andeven,at times,HISTORIAN.If interested,pleasecontact theTutorialOfficeinRobinsonHallforfurtherdetails.

Idon’trememberseeingajobdescriptionbeforeIacceptedmyfirstpositionasaTutorinHistory97.Atmost,Iconsultedthecoursesyllabusandfound97de-scribedas“anintroductiontothedisciplineofhistory.”Accordingtothesyllabus,studentswereto“explorethehistorian’s craft by examining different approaches tohistory” – namely, historical narrative, biography, in-tellectualhistory,andmicrohistory–inaseriesoffourunits,each lasting threeweeks.Witha littlehelp fromsome experienced Tutors, I managed to figure out thecourse’srhythmicschedule.Inthefirstweekofeachunit,professorswouldleadseminardiscussionofarepresen-tativetext.Inweektwo,Tutorswouldguidesophomoresthroughcustomizedpacketsofsourcematerial,whileinweekthree,studentswouldwriteessays(usingthepack-ets as evidence) and participate in peer review. At theendofthesemester,eachstudentwouldselectoneofthefourpaperstorevise.Shouldmysophomorescompleteallfivepapers inatimelyfashion,Iwouldstamptheirpassportsandusher them into thedepartmental com-munity.Easyenough,Ithought. HavinghadsomeexperienceasaTeachingFellowin theDepartmentand in theCore, InaivelyassumedthattheTutor’srolewouldbesimilartotheTF’s–exceptthat I’d have more time (two hours per tutorial, com-paredwithonepersection)andfewerstudents(fourorfive, rather than fifteen or twenty). As a Teaching Fel-low,Ihadleddiscussionsections,convenedofficehours,andgradedpapersbefore.How much different could the Tutor’s job be?AftertwotoursofdutyasaTutorinHis-tory97,I’vecometoappreciatethemanifolddifferenc-es.NiftyTFsdonotnecessarilymakesuccessfulTutors.Take my advice: to teach the skills of historical analysis

effectively, you’ll need to wear a number of hats. You’ll be a poker player. In other words, you’llhavetomakethebesthandoutofthecardsyou’redealt.Every tutorial involves a random mix of students: youmighthavefivefutureHoopesPrizewinnersorfivecon-tenders for the “How-did-they-ever-get-into-Harvard-in-the-first-place?”award.Inmyexperience,you’lltypi-callyhaveoneortwoaces,twoorthreesolidperformers,andoneortwounderachievers.Gettoknowyourstu-dentsearlyinthetermandearntheirtrust;youneedtodiagnosestrengthsandweaknessesrightawayinordertospotpatternsandoffereffectivecriticism.Alwaysbepreparedtochangeyourmindonastudent.Whateveryoudo,tailoryourteachingstyletosuiteachstudent’sneeds.Eventheaces(Godblessthem!)canlearnfromtheirpeers;eventheunderachievers(Godblessthem!)havesomethingtocontribute. You’llbeadrill sergeantandadenmother.Trynottogettoocomfortableineitherrole.Asadrillser-geant,you’reresponsible for instillinggoodhabits intoyourstudentsastheyenterthedepartmentalcommuni-ty.Focusonthefundamentals:nowisthetimeforyourstudentstolearnhowtoreadadocument,craftafoot-note,andcomposeathesisstatement.Repeatexercisesifnecessary.Iftheyskipclass,missappointments,orsub-mitpaperslate,don’tfailtodisciplinethem.Atthesametime,avoidturningHistory97intoHistoryBootCampbyinjectinghumorintotheclassroomandvaryingtheroutine with each unit. Be sympathetic, especially themorningafteratightdeadline.Inmyexperience,strongcoffeeandsugarydonutshelptaketheedgeoffpeerre-view. You’llbeatranslator,taxonomist,andwildernessguide.History97oftenhasthefeelofforeignlanguageinstruction,especiallytheweekofseminar.Whenyourseminar leader (playing thepartofnativespeaker) in-terjects jargon and idiom, your students (operating inanunfamiliartongue)willstruggletokeepup.It’syourchallenge toget everyone to speak the same language!Spendtimeupfrontclarifyingterms(e.g.,“agency”)inordertoavoidmassiveconfusionlater.Inaddition,re-

Teaching the Skills of Historical Analysis: History 97By Dan Wewers (History)

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sistthetemptationtocollapseallcategoriesandconven-tions.Yourprofessors,withgoodintentions,willseektoblur the boundaries between various historical genres,buttheymayendupconfusingallbutthebrighteststu-dents.Thinkofyourselfasataxonomist–organizerulesand conventions into manageable categories, and dis-tinguishclearly(ifneverconclusively)betweengenres.Whentheseminarbookfailstoprovideausefultemplateforthesubsequentpaper,takeontheroleofwildernessguide.Mapthe landscapeforyourstudents–pointingoutproperdirectionsandpotentialpitfalls–sotheyfeelcomfortableventuringontounfamiliarterrain. You’ll be a circus-master in the ring during thetwohoursoftutorial.Don’tbefooledintothinkingthattwo hours, with only four or five students, will offerenoughtimetocovereveryimportantsubject.Itwon’t.Yourtwohourswillbegoneinaninstant.Makesuretostructureyourtimeinadvancewithalessonplan;focuson3-5pointsthatyourstudentsshouldknowcoldwhentheyleavetheroom.Inaddition,makethemostofout-of-classtimetocarryonyourinstruction.Turne-mails,handouts,office-hourconferences,andpapercommentsintocomplementaryteachingexercises. You’llbeabricklayer,sobuildonskillsacquired

inpreviousunits.Byfocusingonthefundamentals,eachunitwillsoundlessthreateningthanitotherwisemightappear.Thebiographyunit,forinstance,sharesmuchincommonwith thenarrativeunit; studentswilldowelltopracticethesameskills(e.g.,chronologicalorganiza-tion).Thefinaltwounits(microhistoryandrevision)of-feropportunitiesforculmination.Studentswillappreci-atethechancetoputintoplayskillslearned(ormissed)in thefirst threeunits.When itcomes tocourseplan-ning,standontheshouldersofgiants.Makeliberaluseof the assignments and lesson plans created by Tutorswho came before you. Your Administrative Tutor willdistributethesematerialsatthefirststaffmeetingofthesemester. Ifyou’relucky,you’llevenhavetimetobeahis-torian.Whileyoumightnotmakeasmuchprogressonyourdissertationasyouhadhoped,youwillcomeawaywith a deeper appreciation for the craft of history. Byteachingyoungscholarshowtoreadsourcescritically,constructargumentsforcefully,andpresentideasclearly,you’llhaveachancetorefineyourowntechniquesandmodelthemforareceptiveaudience.Crossyourfingers:the extra time you spend on pedagogy might just im-proveyourownresearchmethodsandwritingskills.

How to be a Guru: Teaching in the Research SeminarsBy Adam Beaver (History)

What is a Research Seminar? ResearchSeminarsarenewadditions to thede-partment’s course offerings, making their debut in the2007-8academicyear,andit’sbesttobepreparedforamodest amount of improvisation in this pilot year re-gardingboththedesignofthesecoursesandwhatyou,asaResearchSeminarTutor,shouldorshouldnotbeex-pectedtodo.Atthesametime,however,youshouldalsotakeconfidenceinthefactthatthesecoursesarefarfromuntested.Inmanyways,theymerelyupdatethemodel

painstakinglyworkedout over more thana decade in History98, whose place theyare taking—meaning

that most aspects of their mission and design will bequitefamiliartoanyonewithteachingexperienceintheoldJuniortutorials.LikeHistory98,theResearchSemi-nars’ central purpose is to guide students through theprocessofhistoricalresearchinprimarysources,apro-cessthatwillstillculminateinthesubmissionofasub-stantial(ca.20-25page)researchpaperattheendoftheterm.Specifically,theyaremeantto(1)exposestudentstothehistorical literaturesurroundingtheirtopics,(2)train them in the use of primary source materials, (3)introducethemtoproblemsofbibliographyandhistori-calmethod,(4)encouragethemtothinkcriticallyabouttheirsourcesastheygatherthem,and(5)givethemanopportunitytowritehistorythemselves. WhathaschangedfromHistory98isthefactthat

NB:ResearchSeminarTutorsareen-couraged to refer to the Handbookfor Research Seminar Instructors,availablefromtheTutorialOffice.

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27Tutorial Teaching

ResearchSeminarsaretopic-specific;eachyear,thede-partment’s20+offeringswilllikelyrepresentthewholerange of interests and expertise of the History faculty,whetherdefinedchronologically,thematically,ormeth-odologically.Itisthereforeimportantthatthetutorsap-pointedtoResearchSeminarshaveacertainamountofexpertise—atleastofthesortobtainedthroughaGener-alExaminationfield—inthesubjectand/ortimeperiodwhichtheSeminartreats.

Whom do They Serve? TheprimaryaudienceforResearchSeminarswillbejuniorandseniorhistoryconcentrators,thoughoth-er studentswithadequatepreparationandenthusiasmmaybeadmitted.TheSeminarswillbecappedatfifteenstudents,whowillberequiredtoobtaintheinstructor’spermission to enroll. In most cases, this requirementshouldserve toguarantee that thestudentshavesomepriorexperienceinthesubject,mostlikelyintheformofalecturecourseand/oraReadingSeminarinthesamegeneralfield. Incateringtoadvancedstudents,ResearchSemi-narsshouldcomplementourSeniorThesisprogram—inawaythatbenefitsallofourconcentrators.ForstudentswhowishtowriteaSeniorThesis, theResearchSemi-nar—whichtheymustcompletebytheendoftheJunioryear—shouldservetopreparethemforthelargerthesisproject.Forstudentswhochoosenot towritea thesis,theResearchSeminar—which,inthiscase,maybede-layedtotheSenioryear—isnolessimportant:forthesestudents,theSeminarwillrepresentanalternativecap-stone experience, something which was lacking in thedepartment’soldcurriculum.

So What do Tutors Do? Each Research Seminar is staffed by one tutor(who,dependingonenrollment,willbepaid1/5or2/5fortheterm).Tutorsaremeanttobepartnerswiththeirfacultycourseheads,working together toprovide theirstudentsthedual-trackinstructioninbothtopicalcon-tent (ie. historical and historiographical context) andresearchmethodsthatResearchSeminarsaremeanttooffer.Ingeneral,theweeklytwo-hourclassmeeting(pre-sidedoverby thecoursehead)willbededicated to theSeminar’s topical content, as explored through sharedreadings.AstheTutor,youshouldcertainlyattendandparticipate in these meetings; however, your main re-

sponsibility is thecoachingandmentoringof students’individual research projects. This mentoring will takeplacelargelyoutsideofclass,inofficehoursandperhapssomeselect‘tutorial’-likemeetingsstipulatedonthesyl-labus.(Thefactthatmostofyourteachingwillhappenoutsideoftheclassroomdoesnotmeanthatyoushouldbepresentedtothestudentsasifyouwerean‘unofficial’or‘second-class’instructor.)HerearesomemorespecificideasabouthowfacultyandTutorsmightcollaborate:

Planning the Course ForaResearchSeminartobetrulysuccessful,twomattersneedattentionpriortothestartofthesemester. (1) Locating sources and topics. Students needtobeable to launch theirprojects relativelyquickly, inspiteofthefactthatmanyofthemwillhavelittleornoidearegardingviableprimarysourcesavailable inHar-vardLibrarycollections.Forthisreason,youwillwantto work together with your coursehead in advance ofthesemestertodevelopaprogramofprimaryresearchopportunities related to the topicof thecourse—asortof‘virtualarchive’cobbledtogetherfromelectronicandpaperresourcesinHarvardLibraries.Teachingacourseon business history? Visit the Baker Library for a per-sonalorientationtoitsresources.AcourseonwomeninAmerica?Visit theSchlesingerandquestionthe librar-iansabouttheirmostinterestingholdings.Thisadvanceeffortwillservetwopurposes: itwillgenerateaninvit-ing list of possible topics known to be feasible; and, itwillhelptoestablishstandardsforthedepthoforiginalresearchappropriateforthetermpaper.Don’tforgettoconsultwithBarbaraBurg,theHistoryDepartment’sli-aisontotheHarvardCollegeLibrary;rememberaswellthat there may be other relevant libraries and archiveseasilyaccessiblefromCambridgeorBoston,too. NB: This preliminary scouting will be especiallyimportantincoursesfocusedonerasandpolitieswhoseprimarysourcesaremostlyinforeignlanguagesand/ordistant archives. Because the Research Seminars havebeendesignedtoemphasizestudents’useof(publishedorunpublished)primarysourcestoaddressahistoricalquestion or problem, courseheads and tutors in thesecoursesfaceanextraburdentoidentifycollectionsorin-dividualsourcesinHarvardlibrariesthatwouldbewellsuitedtotheseminartopic.Itmayevenbenecessarytorelyheavilyonsourceanthologiesandcrucialpassagesthatappearwithinsecondaryworks.That’sOK—youwill


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justhavetoencouragestudentstoworkaroundthein-evitablegapsinthehistoricalrecord,somethingthatallhistoriansfaceinonewayoranother. (2)Designingthesyllabus.Youandthecourseh-eadshouldalsomeettodecideonaformatandsched-uleofcoursemeetings—includingindividualmeetingswiththeTutor—thatwillbeoutlinedclearlyonthesyl-labus.Becausethemajortaskoftheseminarisstudents’completion of an original research paper, courseheadswillwanttostageassignmentsleadingtowardit.Thesemightinclude(1)earlysubmissionofaproposaloral-ternate proposal ideas; (2) an annotated bibliographyof primary and secondary sources, (3) an additionalassignment regarding sources and their problems, (4)an oral presentation, and/or (5) a full draft 3-4 weeksbeforethefinalduedate.AstheTutor,itwilllikelyfalltoyoutoexplainandgradetheseinterimstages,whichshouldaccountformorethan50%ofthefinalgradeofthecourse.Youandthecourseheadmustdecide,clearlyandinadvance,when/howstudentswillbeexpectedtoconferwithyouabouttheirprogress,tosubmittheseas-signments,andtoreceiveyourfeedback.

Helping Students with Research and Writing As the semester gets underway, and you beginsupervisingstudents’projectsandtheirpreliminaryas-signments,rememberthatyourultimategoalistoteachstudentstheprocessofhistoricalresearch—bibliograph-icaldevelopment,primaryresearch,sourceanalysis,oralpresentation,scholarlyfeedback,andotherskillsprizedbytheDepartmentandrequiredofanyoneplanningaseniorthesis. Oneofyourfirstterm-timedutiesasaResearchSeminarTutorshouldbetogetstudentsorientedintheHarvardLibraries,sothattheywillbeabletobeginworkontheirindependentresearchpromptlyandwithcon-fidence.(It isstronglyrecommendedthatsomesortofgrouplibraryorientation, includinganintroductiontoelectronic databases and primary-source resources, bewrittenintothesyllabusfromthestart.)Thisorientationperiod isagreat time todirect students to the ‘virtualarchives’thatyouhunteddownpriortothestartofthesemesterandexplainthesortsoftopicsthatyouandthecourseheadthoughtmightbepossible. Asstudentsgetintotheirresearch,andthentheirwriting,rememberthesefourtipsfirstofferedbyMargotMinardiinapreviouseditionofthishandbook:

(1)Beself-conscious.Youareteachingaprocessthathasprobablybecomealmostautomatictoyouafterafewyearsofgraduateschool.Takesometimetothinkabout how the research and writing process works foryou,andshareyourmosteffectivetechniqueswithyourstudents.Forinstance,whentheyaretryingtoidentifyrelevantsecondarymaterialfortheirprojects,youmightdiscussusingbookreviewsandreviewarticlesasguidesto the literature, or you might walk students throughtheprocessofminingfootnotesfromonesourcetoleadthem to other useful historiography. Also think aboutthemistakesyou’vemadeinpreparingseminarpapersandtheses,andhelpyourstudentsavoidsimilarpitfalls.Didyouever spendhours trying tocomeupwith theperfect introduction,only todiscoveryouhad toredoit entirely once you had written the rest of the paper?Maybe your students would have a better start if theyfocusedontheheartofthepaper—statinganargumentandbuildingacase—ratherthangettingboggeddowninelegantopeningsanddetailedbackgroundinforma-tion.Begenerousaboutsharingsuchexperiences.Intheidealscenario,teachingthistutorialwillhelpyouwithyour own dissertation work. You might find yourselftakingyourownadvice! (2) Be prepared to be a cheerleader. Many stu-dentshaveneverwrittenapaperaslongastheonere-quired for a Research Seminar, and most students arenot accustomed to working on a single project for anentiresemester.Asaresult,partofyourroleastutoristoconvinceyourstudentsthattheyarecapableofdoingthe seemingly impossible. Making the transition mid-semester from researching to writing might put evenyourmostenthusiasticstudents intoastateofdespair.Commiserate with them. Share with them your favor-itebitsofwisdomfromotherdespondentwriters(IlikeAnneLamott’sBird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writ-ing and Life).Tellyourstudentsthattheirbewildermentindicates they are doing something right: much goodhistoricalwritingcomesoutof the realization that theworldisalmostunbearablycomplicated.Andthenmakesuretheystartwriting. (3)Don’tletstudentsbeafraidofwriting.Ifyourequire students to submit writing to you early in thesemester,youwillhavemoretimetoidentifypotentialwritingproblemsandhelpstudentsaddressthembeforecompletedraftsaredue.Iwassurprisedthatsomestu-dentscoulddescribetheirprojectseloquentlyintutorial

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discussionsbuthadalotoftroubleputtingtheirideasonpaper.Writingearlyandoftenisalsooneofthebestwaysforstudentstofindoutwhichideaswork,whichdon’t,andwhichrequirefurtherresearch.InmanySeminars,students’firstwritingassignmentwillinvolvesomesortofsummaryofthepaper’sargument.Whileit’simportantforstudentstobeabletoarticulatethemajorclaimsoftheirpapers,Ifindsummarizinganargumentadifficultwaytostartwriting.Itaughtinoneseminarinwhichthefirstwritingassignmentwassimplytofillupthreepageswithwhateverstudentsweremostcomfortablewriting.Theycouldwritethefirstthreepagesoftheirpaper,thehistoriographysection,apreliminaryoverviewoftheirargument, an outline in prose, an explanation of whythe topic mattered to them—anything. For those whodidn’tknowwheretobegin,Iadvisedwritingabouttheprimarysourcethatinterestedthemmost.Thisexerciseworkedwellinthatitallowedstudentstowritewithoutmuch pressure and proved to most of them that theyknewmoreabouttheirideasandsourcesthantheyhadoriginallythought. (4)Talkabouthowtocomeupwithanargument.Bythetimehistoryconcentratorsarereadytoenrollina Research Seminar, they have had the mantra “thesisstatement”poundedintotheirheads.Butknowingthatapaperneedsanargumentdoesn’tnecessarilymakeitanyeasiertofindone.Onceagain,thinkingabouthowyouhavedevelopedhistoricalargumentsinyourownworkshouldhelpyouhelpyourstudents.Icameupwithalistofpossibletechniquestostimulatethesisideas,andtriedout several of them. “Write a few paragraphs explain-ingyourprojecttoalayperson(suchasyourroommateor your mother). Tell the person not only what you’restudying,butwhyit’simportant.”“Choosetwoorthreesecondaryworksthatcomeclosesttowhatyou’retryingtodo.Summarize theargumentofeach ina sentence.Thensayhowwhatyou’redoingdiffers.” “Imagine thetitleand/or sectionheadingsof thepaperyouwant towrite.Thinkaboutwhattiesthemtogetherandhowyoumight move from one heading to the next.” “Look forkeytermsor(short!)phrasesthatrecurinmanydiffer-entsources.Figureouthowyoucouldincorporatethosewordsorideasinathesisstatement.”Keepinmindthatsome students will prefer more structured techniques,whileotherswillappreciate theopportunity todo freeassociationsoropen-endedwriting.

Grading and Evaluation Grading and evaluating students’ work in Re-searchSeminarscouldbeabittricky,asweareaskingforcourseheadsandTutorstocollaborateasequals.WhiletheTutorwillhavegradedmanyofthestudents’prelimi-naryassignments,andwillthereforebeveryknowledge-ableaboutstudents’progressandprocess,thecourseh-ead will take the lead in grading the final term paper.ThegradeassignedbythecourseheadshouldtakeintoaccounttheTutor’sinputaboutthestudent’sprocess,butexactlyhowthatconferencewilloccurislefttothedis-cretionofthecourseheadandTutor.Willyoubothgradethe final paper “blindly,” and then meet to hash out acompromisegrade?Will the facultymemberdeclareapreferredgrade,whichtheTutorwill thenbeaskedtoreview?Orwill theTutorofferan initialestimate,andthecourseheadreviewit?Thisisuptoyou,andweurgeyoutobeflexibleinworkingouttheprocess. Howevergradesareassigned, it isexpectedthatyou will prepare for each student a Research SeminarReport,whichwillbekeptonfileinthestudent’sfolderintheTutorialOfficeandused,amongotherthings,todetermine the student’s likelihoodof successwritingaSeniorThesis.

A Final Note AsaResearchSeminarTutor,youhavemuchtodo—sourcesto locate,syllabitodesign,seminarstoat-tend, individual projects to coach, preliminary assign-mentstoevaluate…—butwealsohopethattheprocesswill be an enjoyable and fulfilling experience for you.ResearchSeminarshavethepotential toofferyouyourmost independent teaching role atHarvard, asyouareexpectedtomanageyourownscheduleofmeetingswithasmanyasfifteenstudentsandtooverseetheirindepen-dentresearch.Thoughyoushouldbeinconstantcontactand cooperation with your coursehead, ultimately youwillhavetomakemany judgmentcallsaboutstudents’projectsonyourown.WhatdoesstudentAneedtohearbackabouthisprospectus?Wherecan studentBgo toresearchhertopicfurther?IsstudentCmissingsomekeysubfieldofbibliographydirectlyrelevanttohisproject?AsaResearchSeminarTutor,youwilllearnwhatitistobemorethanasectionleader—youwillbecomeanad-viserandamentor.Wehopethatyou’llappreciatetheex-perienceasmuchasstudentswillcherishyourexpertise.


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Advising the Senior ThesisBy Bradley Zakarin (History)

Theone-on-onerelationshipbetweenstudentandadvisorisanessentialelementofthethesisexperience.Thoughrewardinginmanyways,advisingthesiswritersrequiresagreatdealoftime,energy,effort,andpatience.TheHistoryDepartment’sTutorialOfficelargelyleavesittoadvisorstoestablishthenormsofadvisor-adviseerelationships. Forexample,someadvisors liketoholdweeklymeetingsataregulartime,whileotherspreferamoreflexibleschedulebasedonastudent’sprogress(orlack thereof). Regardless of how advisor-advisee rela-tionshipsareorganized,theDepartmenthasanoverallstructureinplacetosupporttheserelationships.Advi-sorsareencouragedtocontacttheSeniorThesisSemi-nar leaders if they have questions or concerns abouttheiradvisees. TheSeniorThesisisaspecificintellectualexperi-enceintendedtobeacapstoneforundergraduatespur-suing the thesisprogram inHistory. Partof thechal-lengeissubmittingafinalproductinthespring.Whenthesesarrive inblackbinders, theyshouldbepolishedessays that are well-organized, well-researched, andwell-written;theyarenotintendedtobedraftsofessaysforpublicationorproposalsforfutureresearch. Advi-sorsneedtoknowwhatisexpectedofthesiswritersandhowpaststudentshavemettheseexpectationssotheycan better manage the process that begins in earnestinthefallterm.Tosupportnewandveteranadvisors,theDepartmentcollaboratedwiththeHarvardWritingProjectinthesummerof2005toproducethefirstedi-tionofA Handbook for Senior Thesis Writers in History. Distributedtoallthesiswritersandadvisors,thishand-bookprovides everyonewitha commonguide for thedevelopment,research,drafting,andrevisionofaSeniorThesis. Whilethereisnosinglewaytoapproachare-searchprojectofthismagnitude,thehandbookremindsstudentswhattheylearnedinearliertutorials,outlinesstrategies for the various stages of the thesis process,andciteselementsofpastthesesasmodelsforstructure,method,andanalysis. Throughout the thesis process, the Departmentworkswithstudentsingroupstohighlightthecommon

experiencesall thesiswriters share. TheSeniorThesisSeminar,whichmeetsroughlyeveryotherweek,com-plements the individualized, subject-specificwork thatadvisorsdowithadviseesbygivingstudentsanoverallsenseofthestepsinvolvedinproducingaSeniorThesis.Duringthesesessions,thesiswritersexamineapastthe-sis,discuss thechallengesof interpretationandsourcemanagement,revieweachother’swork,andprepareforthefinalstagesofthethesis.Thegoalistomakestudentsawareofthebiggerpicturesotheycanbepreparedforthekindsofdecisionstobemadeduringadvisor-adviseemeetings. The“TimetableforThesisWritersinHistory”isintended to help both students and advisors approachthethesisprojectinsegments.Studentswhocompletetasksaccordingtothisschedulewillhaveafullmonthfor revisions in the spring. The History Department’sthesis submission date (traditionally the Thursday be-foreSpringBreak) isnotnegotiable,but there is someflexibilityinthe“Weekof…”natureofearlierdeadlines.Manyadvisorsadjustthedeadlinesbasedonastudent’sinterests,schedule,andgoals. Advisorscanalsomakeadjustments to suit their schedules, but they shouldmakesuretoreturndraftstostudentsaspromisedtore-inforcetheneedtomaintaintheoveralltimetable.Advi-sorsshouldalwayskeepinmindthattimemanagementisoneofthebiggestchallengesforthesiswritersbecausethisisthelargestacademicprojecttheyhaveeverunder-taken. “InstructionsRegardingThesesinHistory”con-tainsmanyformattingdetailsthatwillberelevantinthelater stages of thesis production. There are, however,twoitemstoconsiderinearlyadvisor-adviseeconversa-tionsabout thesisorganization. Thefirst is the lengthofthesesintheHistoryDepartment.Theminimumof60pagesandmaximumof130pagesreflecttherealitythataSeniorThesisdoesnotneedtofit intoanarrowrangeofpages. Sometopicswith limitedsourcebasesmight lend themselves to shorter studies while othertopicsrequireextensivehistoriographicalortheoreticalintroductions. Advisees count on advisors for help in

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mappingoutandrevisingthetrajectoryandscopeofthethesis.Theseconditemofnoteistheremindertostu-dentsabouttheproperuseofsources.Whileintentionalplagiarismisunlikely,accidentalplagiarismispossibleasstudentstransferresearchnotes,reorganizefilingsys-tems,cutandpastesegmentsoftext,andrevisemultipledrafts.Advisorscanhelpbyremindingadviseesabouttheneedtobecarefulandconsistentwhentakingnotes,filing documents, and citing sources. Students oftenconsidercitationamatterofbureaucracy,notafunda-mentalpartofresponsiblescholarship. Within any class of thesis writers (usually be-tween 35 and 55 students), there is a broad spectrumofpreparation inSeptember. Some studentshave justconfirmedadvisingrelationshipsandsettledonabroadtopicinneedofrefinement,whileothersarebuildingonpasttermpapersorsummerresearchatdistantarchives.Muchoftheearlyfall-termadvisinginvolvesgivingad-visees tasks for establishing their topics: reporting ontheexistingliteratureoftheplannedtopic;meetingwitha research librarian and reporting on archival materi-alsavailableforthetopic;and,preparinganannotatedbibliography.Thedeadlinesandexpectationsforthesetasksshouldaccountforanadvisee’sfamiliaritywiththetopic. Occasionally, advisorsoverseeaprojectoutsideoftheirspecialty.Insuchcases,itisusefultoestablishadynamicwherebythestudenthastotakeresponsibilityforeducatingtheadvisoraboutthehistoriographyandsourcesrelevanttotheproject. RegardlessofwheretheystandinSeptember,allthesiswriterswillhavetomakeenoughprogresstopar-ticipateintheDecemberSeniorThesisWritersConfer-ence.Muchoffall-termadvisingisgearedtowardsthisannualevent. Eachstudentspeaksfor15minutesandthe presentation is followed by a short question-and-answer period. Panels have 3-4 presentations and are

arrangedthematically(insofarasthisispossible).Advi-sorsareexpectedtoattendtheiradvisees’presentationsandarealsoencouragedtoattendothersessionstolearnhowtheiradvisees’peersareprogressing. Theconfer-enceisintendedasaspringboardintothewritingpro-cess.Moststudentsusethisopportunitytopresenttheirpreliminaryfindings,usuallyapieceoftheirfirstchap-ter,whichisdueduringtheweekaftertheconference.Advisors should review the audience’s questions withtheiradviseesatsomepoint,particularlyiftheyraiseis-suesthatneedattentionbeforemorewritingisdone. In Januaryand the firsthalf of the spring term,thesisadvisingturnstothereadingofchapterdraftsandsteeringadviseestowardscompletionofafinalproduct.Advisors should not hesitate to send students back tothearchivesforfollow-upresearch,buttheduedateofthethesisshouldalwaysbekeptinmind.Bythispoint,advisorsshouldhaveagoodsenseofthespeedatwhichadviseeswork.Ifastudent’sdraftsrequirelittlerevisionand are produced quickly, then pushing for more re-searchmightbeagooduseoftime.If,however,anadvi-sorisconcernedthatextraresearchmightleaveinsuffi-cienttimetoeditasloppyfirstdraft,thenconcentratingonthematerialsinhandmightmakemoresense. Sincestudentshaveneverembarkedonaprojectofthismagnitude,advisorsneedtosharethewisdomofexperiencetohelpadviseesmanagetheprocess.Advi-sorsplayacriticalroleinguidingadviseesthroughde-velopment (mostly fall term) and production (mostlyspring term) of the thesis. Time will always be a con-straintonaSeniorThesisbecauseofthefirmduedate.Whilesomethesisprojectsbeginearlierthanothersdueto diligence, serendipity, or some combination of thetwo,advisorsareresponsibleforhelpingadviseesrecog-nize the limits and realize the potential of their thesisprojects.

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Teaching and Running a Core ClassBy Rick Bell (History)

Asagraduatestudent,teachingintheCoreCur-riculumisamixedblessing.Comparedtosomedepart-mental offerings, the lighter reading load, shorter as-signments,andrangeofstudentinterestsinCoreclassescanbeawelcomerelief.However,thevariedpopulationinCoreclassesbringsitsownchallenges,andadjustingtothevastrangeofabilitiescanbedaunting.TheCoreisa requirement forallundergraduatesandmanystu-dentstreatitwiththecontemptthatmandatorylearningsometimes deserves. Core courses usually rank loweston students’ list of academic priorities each semester–evenamongthemostwell-intentionedofstudentsas-signments can get rushed, readings can get skimmed,andevenbasicattendancecanbeamatterofchance. Yet theCore is alsoawonderfulopportunity tomeetbrightundergraduatesfromacrosstheartsandsci-ences,andmanyofthebestteachingmomentsI’vehadhaveemergedwhennon-specialistshaveappliedsomeof their own training to historical questions. Teachingin the Core is thus a perfect opportunity to underlinewhatmakeshistorywhatitis,whetheritbeinHistoricalStudyAcoursesthatexamineanenduringissueoverthelongduréeorHistoricalStudyBofferingsthattackleadiscretehistoricaleventindepth.Howwehistoriansdothings differently from, say, anthropologists or literarycritics,andwhywe’resoobsessedwithchange over time aresubjectsthatflownaturallyfromclassdiscussionsinbigCoreclasses. Indeed,TeachingFellows intheCoreare also recruiters, salespeople who can showcase thefundamentalsofhistoricalscholarshiptofreshmenandeventemptstudentsinotherconcentrationstostepintothelight.

Serving as Head TF in a Core Class

AsaHeadTeachingFellowinHistoricalStudies,theadministrationismorecomplexandtime-consum-ingthanitisformostdepartmentalcourses.Thesheervolume of student requests and bureaucratic hoops tojump through can exacerbate the semester-long head-

ache,particularlyasstudentsexpectCoreclasses,oftentheirlowestpriority,tobeespeciallyresponsivetotheirownschedules.Outofrespectforthesubjectandthein-structor,itfallstoHeadTeachingFellowstoensurethatthecoursestructureandpoliciesencouragestudentstoprioritizetheclass.Firmlatepolicies,regularwritingas-signments,clearmessagesaboutplagiarismandasize-ableandmeaningfulsectionparticipationrequirementareusefulaidshere.Likewise,resistingthetemptationtorunconcentrator-onlysections,elitesectionsforhistoryconcentrators, should discourage other students fromshirkingtheiracademicresponsibilities. As the semester begins you should establish acleardemarcationofauthoritybetweenyourselfandtheCourseHead–agreeingwhoisresponsibleforwhat(andwhen) will pay dividends later. Consistency and clar-ity shouldbe thewatchword forany largeclass.Usingaminuteoftheweeklylecturetimetodisseminateclassannouncementscanserveasanimportantwaytokeepthe class as a whole on message. It makes more sensethanpassingannouncementsthroughTeachingFellows–theresultacrosstenormoresectionscanseemlikeagameoftelephone. Thesameprinciplesapplytopedagogy.RunningaCoreclass,whichintroducesnewmethodsaswellasnewknowledge,requiresanevengreaterattentiontoba-sicteachingstandardsacrosssections.Schedulingami-croteachingsessionorarrangingtovideotapeearlydis-cussionsectionsattheBokCenterisanexcellentwaytoaddressdifferencesinteachingapproachandskill,par-ticularlyifyourstaffisdrawnfrommorethanonede-partment.Similarly,withsucharangeofstudentinterestandabilityinthesubjectmatter,theuseofstaffmeetingstoagreeontheweeklyprioritiesforsectionteachingisessential.InlargeCorecourses,studentsshouldfeelthatallsectionsareequalandthatallteachingandgradingisbeingconductedtouniformstandards.Thusgradingexercises, team grading (for example, having each TFgradeonesectionofeverystudent’sexam),andtheco-ordinatedplanningandexecutionofreviewsessionscanaverthorriblemesses.

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Midterm evaluations are great ways to gaugethe course’s strengths and weaknesses while allowingtimetocorrectanyemergingproblems.Inthisandallendeavors Core-related, you are never alone: the CoreOfficeprovideslunchfunds,coursepackassistance,freephotocopying,andhandbooksfornoviceHeadTFs;theBok Center offers evaluation tools of every shape and

size;andthefolksattheInstructionalComputingGroup(ICG) add functionality and relevancy to your coursewebsiteifrequested.Theseresources,inadditiontotheskills and support of your Course Head and teachingstaff,areatyourdisposaltohelpagoodCorecoursebe-comeevenbetter.

Teaching in History and LiteratureBy Sean Pollock (History)

HistoryandLiteratureisnot,strictlyspeaking,adepartment, but a “committee on degrees.” Unlike theHistory Department, it has no full-time senior facultymembers,nograduateprogram,nocoursesof itsownexcept tutorialsandtutorialseminars. Instead, itcoor-dinatesaninterdisciplinaryprogramofstudyassembledfromcoursesofferedintheCollegeandgivesitsstudentsdepthandfocusthroughinstructioninfield-specifictu-torials.Indecidingonafieldofstudy,studentschoosefromamongthreeoptions:a)asinglecountryorregion(e.g.,Russia)throughoutitsearlymodernandmodernhistory;b)atime-period,usuallyfocusingontwocoun-tries(e.g.,FranceandBritain);c)analternativefieldofstudyconstructed inconsultationwith theDirectorofStudies.AllstudentsareexpectedtowriteaSeniorThe-sisandto takeanoralexaminationat theendof theirsenioryear. ToteachinHistoryandLiteratureistoserveonitsBoardofTutors.WhilegraduatestudentswhoteachintheHistoryDepartment’stutorialprogramserveonaBoardofTutorstoo,theresponsibilitiesentrustedtoTu-torsinHistoryandLiteraturearemuchmoreextensive.Tutorsconductadmissionsinterviews.Theydesign—of-ten in consultationwith their students—and teach thetutorialsthatformtheheartoftheconcentration.Theyserveastheirstudents’primaryacademicadvisor,help-ingthemchoosecoursesandplantheiroverallprogramofstudy.TutorsmeettodiscussproposedSeniorThesistopics,evaluatesophomoreandjunioressaysaswellasSenior Theses, and give oral examinations. Tutors, inotherwords,areinvolvedintheacademiclivesofcon-centratorsateverystage,fromentrytoexit.Arepresen-

tativegroupofTutorsalsoservesontheCommitteeonInstruction,whichmeets to consider studentpetitionsandtooverseecurricularmatters. The teaching load in History and Literature de-pendsonone’sfieldandcanoftenbenegotiatedbytheTutorandDirectorofStudies.WhenfirstappointedtotheHistoryandLiteratureBoardofTutors,agraduatestudentreceivesaletteroutliningtheextentoftheworkoffered(thatis,thenumberof“fifths”).Tutorsmightnotlearnhowthosefifthswillbedivided—somecombina-tionofyearlongsophomore,junior,orseniortutorials—untiltheacademicyearbegins.Incomingtotermswiththesecircumstancesandresponsibilities,I’vefoundtheHistory and Literature Tutor Handbook and my fellowTutorstobeexcellentresources. If History and Literature has a mission, it is tobringtogetherhistoriansandliterarycriticsforthein-terdisciplinarystudyofbothhistoryandliterature.Thenotionof“interdisciplinarity”shouldnotgiveyoucausetopause.Mosthistorians Iknoworwhosework Iad-mirehabituallyworkacrossdisciplines.Moreover,His-toryandLiteraturedoesnottakeamonolithicapproachto the integration of these disciplines. Instead, it pro-videsTutorsandstudentsalikewithmanyopportunitiestodiscusswhatdoinginterdisciplinaryworkentails.FormeasahistorianofRussia,doinginterdisciplinaryworkmeansbeingopentotheinsightsofscholarswhosharemypassionfortheseriousstudyofRussiabutwhoap-proachthetopicfromotherdisciplinaryangles. HistoryandLiterature,asitsnamesuggests,isaconcentration inwhichhistorianscan feelathome. Intutorials, historians are expected to bring their special



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training and perspectives to bear on any given text ortopic.Tutorsandstudentsreadanddiscussavarietyofprimarysources:officialdocuments,privatecorrespon-dence, statistics, memoirs, maps, literary works, andgraphic images, to name only several kinds. We alsoread what historians and literary critics have writtenabouttextsandtopicsthatinterestus.Additionally,weread what some call “theory,” that is, critical literatureontopicssuchas“thehistorianandhisfacts,”mythandmadness,nationandnarrativity,geopoliticsandgender.Thecritical toolshistoriansbring to thestudyanduseofthesematerials intheirwritingareessentialforstu-dentsconcentratinginHistoryandLiterature.TheskillsIworkwithstudentstodevelopinHistoryandLitera-ture—readingcriticallyandwritingeffectively—arethesameonesItaughtincoursesofferedthroughtheHis-toryDepartment.Inmanyways,then,teachinginHis-toryandLiteratureismuchliketeachinginHistory. Buttherearealsoimportantdifferences.Interdis-ciplinaryscholarshiphappenswhentheapproachesandperspectivesof scholarsworking indistinctdisciplinesare brought to bear simultaneously on a given topic.Nowhereisthethrillandfrustrationofdoingthiskindofworkmoremanifest—forTutorsandstudentsalike,Ithink—thanintheyear-longSophomoreTutorial.Un-likeitscounterpartinHistory,theSophomoreTutorialinHistoryandLiteratureisco-taughtbytwoTutors(onehistorianandoneliterarycritic)whoworktogethertodevelopasyllabus,leadweeklytwo-hourseminars,andevaluate student work. Designing the tutorial involvesnegotiatingwhichtextstoreadandtopicstocover,andwhich study questions and paper assignments to give;gradingisalsoanegotiatedprocess.Thiswasallnewtome,andatfirst,asourceofanxietyandfrustration. AsaTutorinHistory,Iwasaccustomedtotakingfull responsibility for leading discussions and gradingpapers.AsaTutorinHistoryandLiterature,incontrast,I’mexpected toshare thestagewithsomeonewhoof-tenhasverydifferent ideasabouthowtoreadsourcesand what constitutes good writing. Of course, histori-ansthemselvescanbeofdifferentmindsonthesemat-ters.Butthedisciplinarydisconnect,Ithink,canfurthercomplicate attempts to find a common language. (I’vebeenthroughthisprocess twice,eachtimewithacol-leaguewho, likeme,hadnopriorexperience teachingthisway.)ForsomereasonIdecidedthatfindingacom-

mon language meant agreeing on questions of inter-pretationandpresentingaunitedfronttothestudents.Worse,Iworkedhard,ifvainly,toconvincebothmycol-leagueandstudents that thehistorian’sapproach(as iftherewereonlyone!) to thematerialsbeingdiscussedwas usually the most sensible and productive one totake.Imaystillholdthisview,butI’vestoppedinsistingonitintutorial. The Sophomore Tutorial is about exposing stu-dentstodifferentpointsofview,andaboutdevelopingtheskillsthatcanhelpthemdecideforthemselveswhichapproachorapproachesaremostsensibleandproduc-tivewhenitcomestoreadingandwritingabouthistoryandliterature.Asforsharingteachingresponsibilities,ittookmonths,maybeevenanentireyear,formetofeelcomfortablewith lettingsomeoneelse leaddiscussion.ItwasonlyafterlettinggointhiswaythatItrulybegantounderstandthevalueofinterdisciplinarywork.Now,whenI sitand listencarefully todiscussion, I seenewthingsinfamiliartextsandseestudentsinafreshlight.I’ve found that I listen and learn better when I’m nottalking. Unlike the Sophomore Tutorial, Junior and Se-niortutorialsareindividual:oneTutorworkswithonestudent.AndunliketheSophomoreTutorial,JuniorandSenior tutorials are tailored to students’ interests. Thisdoes not mean that they should be allowed to studywhatevertheywant,however.Inmyexperience,juniorsrequireandrespondwelltoguidanceinselectingbooksandtopicstobeexaminedintutorial.Infact, thepur-poseoftheJuniorTutorialistohelpstudentsfillgapsinthecoverageoftheirfieldandexpandtheirknowledgeofvariousmethodsofhistoricalandliteraryinquiry.ButIhaveworkedwitha junior sowellprepared thatourtutorial amounted to an independent study on SovietinvolvementintheSpanishCivilWar.Ideally,studentswill emerge from Junior Tutorial better writers andreaders who are able to conduct research in Harvard’slibrariesandhaveatleastsomeideaofwhattheymightwritetheirtheseson.Andyouarelikelytoemergefromthe experience having learned a lot about topics out-side your area of expertise, perhaps even outside yourdiscipline.(Forexample,I’veadvisedstudentsworkingonliteraryrepresentationsofnon-Whitesandnon-Rus-sians in nineteenth-century North America and Rus-sia, and on Nabokov’s use of the literary device of the



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double—topics far removed my own work on Russianempire-buildingineighteenth-centuryCaucasia.) IndesigningJuniorandSeniortutorials,itisim-portanttokeepinmindthatstudents’needsvary.Thebestway toget toknowyour juniorsandseniors is toreadtheirfiles(whereyou’llfindtheirtranscripts,soph-omoreandjunioressays,andprevioustutorialreports),listentothemtalkabouttheirstrengthsandweaknessesasstudentsofhistoryandliterature,havethemexecuteclose-readings, and ask them to write well-structuredpaperswith argumentsinthefirstweeksoftheterm.Inguidingseniorsthroughtheirthesiswritingandprepa-ration for oral exams, it is crucial that Tutors find outabouttheirstudents’otheracademicandextracurricularcommitments, as success in these matters can depend

onhowwellstudentsmanagetheirtime.IfmuchofthissoundsfamiliartothosewhohavetaughtJuniorandSe-niorTutorialsintheHistoryDepartment,itshould. Myintellectualhorizonshavebroadenedasare-sultofteachinginHistoryandLiterature.Myownworkis richer for the insights gleaned from scholarship Iprobablywouldnothavereadinthecourseofpreparingmydissertation.BecauseI’moftenforcedtoworkout-sidemyintellectualcomfortzone,IthinkI’vebecomealessrigidandmoreempatheticteacher.I’venotalwaysthrilledathavingmydisciplinarycertaintieschallengedby colleagues in History and Literature, but the resulthas been, for me, both intellectually enlightening andpedagogicallyproductive.

Teaching in Harvard’s Summer SchoolBy Judy Kertész (History of American Civilization)

Eachsummer,HarvardCollegestudentsdepart,leaving Cambridge quiet and Lamont ghostly empty.By mid June, however, a new troop of students—bothyounger and older than Harvard undergraduates—hasarrivedforSummerSchool HarvardoffersseveralhistorycoursesinitsSum-mer School each year, and when enrollment numbersmeritit,graduatestudentsarehiredasTeachingAssis-tants.Classmeetsfivedaysaweekforlectureandtwiceweeklyfordiscussionsections.Thesummertermrunseightweeks,fromtheendofJuneuntilmid-August. WhileyoumightthinkthatteachinginHarvard’sSummer School would enable you to gain a sense ofwhatitwouldbeliketoteachatapublicuniversity,thisisnotnecessarilytrue.SummerSchoolstudentsfallintothreebasiccategories:1)overachievinghighschoolstu-dents fromprivilegedbackgroundswhoina fewyearswillfindthemselvesatplaceslikeHarvard(oratsmall,eliteliberalartscolleges);2)internationalstudents,alsofromprivilegedbackgrounds,whoarebetweentheagesof18-22andwhohopetogainexperienceinanAmeri-canuniversity;3)slightlyolder,nontraditionalstudentswhoholdwhitecollarjobsandwhoaretakingsummercoursestowardamaster’sdegreeorteachinglicense,or

whoarepreparingtochangecareerdirections. All Summer School students tend to be hard-working. The high schoolers in your Summer Schoolsectionsmightnotbethebrighteststudentsyou’veevertaught,butasistrueofallstudentsattendingHarvard,theyare incrediblymotivated.So, too,are the interna-tionalstudents.Asuniversitystudentsabroad,theyareaccustomedtothewayuniversitycoursesoperate,andthey are generally responsible. Because they are alsotourists interested inexploringBostonand theUnitedStates in general, however, the international studentswillnotthrowthemselvesintothecourseworkaswhole-heartedlyaseitherthehighschoolornontraditionalstu-dents.Theyareinsomewaystheeasiesttoteachsincetheytendtoberelaxedabouttheenterprise.Thenon-traditional, white-collar students, in contrast, pose thegreatest challenge. Already successful in a career, theyhavethemostdifficultydealingwithaTAwhoisyoung-er then they are, and in a position of authority. Thesestudents may challenge you on your teaching methodandanalysisofcoursematerial.Becausetheyaretechni-callygraduatestudents,however,theTAneednotgradetheirexamsorpapers.Theseresponsibilities shouldbeassumedbytheCourseHead.



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Summer School courses are FAS courses. Espe-ciallyiftheCourseHeadoffersthesamecourseduringthe summer as he/she does during the academic year,coursereadingassignmentsandthecoursegradingscaleshouldbethesame.

Should you teach Summer School?

I signed on as a Summer School TA because aCourseHeadforwhomIwascurrentlyteachingplannedtorepeattheclassduringtheSummerSession;sheaskedif I would continue on as her TA during the summermonths.SinceIwasalreadyfamiliarwiththecoursema-terialandenjoyedworkingwiththeprofessor,Iagreed.

HadInotbeenaTeachingFellowinthatspecificcoursetheprevioussemester,however,Iwouldneverhavecon-sideredTAingtheSummerSchoolclass. WhiletheSummerSchoolisonlyeightweeksinduration, the pace is intense. Courses consist of dailylecturesandtwodiscussionsectionmeetingsperweek.Givensuchaschedule,accompaniedbypoorpay(littlemorethanhalfof1/5),aTAtakingonanunfamiliarsyl-labuswouldnotbeabletoprioritizehisorherdisserta-tionresearchandwriting. TheoneincentiveforaHarvardPhDstudenttoTAintheSummerSchoolistheopportunitytoexpandone’steachingrepertoireinpreparationforgoingonthejobmarket.



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Teaching Writing in Departmental and Historical Studies Core Courses

By Lauren Brandt (History of American Civilization)

Teaching students how to write a history paperisprobablythehardestpartofbeingaTeachingFellow.In my experience, many students also find that learn-inghowtowriteahistorypaper is thehardestpartofthecourseforthem.InlargelecturecoursesandinCoreclasses,youwillencounterstudentswithverylittleex-periencewriting incollege, letalone incollegehistorycourses.Yetweexpect these students toproducewell-written,interesting,andperceptivehistorypapers,examessays,andresponsepapers,evenwhentheactofpro-ducingsuchworkisrarelydiscussedinlecturesorread-ing assignments. Working to help these students honetheirwritingskillscanbeademandingprocess,butitisalsooneofthemostrewardingpartsoftheTFjob.Usingsectionasanopportunity to improvestudents’writingcan help undergraduates feel more comfortable aboutassignments, and it will improve their general perfor-manceinthecourse. As a Teaching Fellow, the most important stepinaddressingwriting issues is to recognize thevarietyandrangeofstudents’writingbackgrounds.Inanyonesection, you might have first-year students encounter-inghistorypapersforthefirsttimeaswellasseniorsinthe process of finishing their history theses. Althoughthefirst-yearstudentandnon-concentratormaynotbeabletowriteassophisticatedapaperastheseniorhis-toryconcentrator,theycanstillproduceexcellentworkifgivenadequatetoolstoworkwith. Studentswhoarearticulateandwell-preparedforsectionbutwhofalterwhenitcomestoessayexamsandwritingassignmentsmaydosobecausetheyareunclearabout the goals of and techniques for history writing.Many first-year students and non-concentrators cometoclasswithonly theirhigh-schooleducationand theHarvard Expository Writing course as preparation forwritinganalytical,evidenced-basedessays.AsaTF,youwanttoequipyourstudentswiththetoolstheyneedtowritepapersthatmatchthesophisticationoftheirthink-ingandoralcontributionstoclassdiscussion. One of the most common problems for non-

concentrators and first-year students concerns theirunfamiliaritywithtermslike“primarysource,”“histori-cal context,” and “discourse,” which are often used byCourseHeadswhenframingessayquestionandwritingassignments.Ioncehadastudentwhowasconfusedbytheterm“closereading.”Settingasidetimeinsectiontodiscuss assigned papers gives students a chance to askforclarificationaboutunfamiliarterms.ItalsogivestheTFanopportunitytowalkstudentsthroughthekindofexercise theyarebeingasked todo; forexample,aTFcan guide students through an exercise in close read-ing. Making sure that everyone understands academicterminologygoesa longway towards reassuring thosestudentswhoareintimidatedbythedemandsofwritingahistorypaper.

Anothertechniquethathelpsequipfirst-yearstu-dentsandnon-concentratorswiththetoolsofhistoricalwritinginvolvespreparingahandoutthatguidesthemthroughthequestionstheyshouldaskthemselvesastheyprepareahistoricalargument.Forexample:doIhaveaclear,well-definedargument?Doesthisargumentgrap-plewiththehistoricalquestionofchange-over-time?DoIdrawonmultipledocumentsas sourcesofevidence?DoIaddressthebiasesofmysources?HaveIavoidedgeneralizations? Do I address counter-arguments? Attimes,youmayfindithelpfultoprepareahandoutthataddressesaparticularaspectofahistorypaper(i.e.,onethatdiscussesthedifferentformsofhistoricalevidenceorthemeaningofacademictermslike“historiography”and“secondarysources”). Additionally,youwillfindithelpful togivestu-dentsexplicitinstructionaboutfootnoting,whichtendstobeconfusingandalientomostfirst-yearconcentratorsandnon-historystudents.Thefollowingwebsite,createdbytheExpositoryWritingProgram,isextremelyusefulasaquickreference(see URL to right).You can also pointstudents to Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Term Pa-

www.fas.harvard.edu/~expos/sources/

Teaching Students Key Academic Skills


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pers, Theses, and Dissertations.Bothof theseresourcesprovidedetailedoverviewsofthepropercitationformatformanydifferenttypesofdocuments.Atthemoreba-siclevel,yourpaperwritinghandoutshouldalsoincludeinformationontheexpectedformatandstyleofthepa-per(pagelength,fontsize,citationguidelines).Andit’salwaysagoodideatoremindstudentsoftheimportanceofspellcheckingandreadingoverapaperbeforesub-mittingit. Althoughinstructioninsectionandpaperwrit-inghandoutsprovidegoodmeansofteachingstudentshistorywritingskills,individualmeetingswithstudentsprovide thebestopportunities foraTFtowork inten-sivelyontheirstudents’writing.Ideally,studentsshouldmeet with you before an assignment is due. For manynon-history students, constructing a historical argu-mentisanewandsomewhatdauntingprocess.Individ-ualmeetingsofferasafeenvironmentforthemtotryoutsomeideas,toaskforsuggestions,andtogetfeedbackbefore actually beginning to write. For most students,theprocessofgeneratingaworkablethesisstatementisthehardestpartofwritingahistorypaper.Requirestu-dents tobringashortparagraphoroutlinecontainingtheirthesisstatementtoyourofficehours.Youcanthenworkwiththemtoreviseandrefinetheircentralargu-ment.Thiswillnotonlyimprovethequalityofthestu-dent’sfinalpaper,itwillalsofosteradialoguebetween

youandthestudent.Thisopensthedoortodiscussingotherwritingconcerns(i.e.structuralproblems,howtoworkwithdifferenttypesofevidence,etc.)afterthepa-perissubmittedandreturned. Individualmeetingsalsogiveyouanopportunitytogettoknowyourstudentsoutsideofsection,andtogainabettersenseofhowtheythinkaboutthereadingsandthecourseingeneral.Ifastudenthasdoneparticu-larlypoorlyonanassignment,itisoftenusefultomeetwiththemagainafterthepaperhasbeensubmitted.Youcanusethismeetingtoexpanduponyourwrittencom-ments as well as provide constructive criticism. If thestudenthasdonesomethingwell,lethimorherknow.Thenbe sure tooffernegative criticism ina construc-tivemanner.Thequestionguidingthepaperconferenceshouldbe“Howcouldthispaperbebetter?”not“Whatiswrongwiththispaper?”Rememberthatyoucanal-waysreferstudentstotheWritingCenterforextrahelp. Not all of your students will become historiansorwritingprofessionals.Andthereisonlysomuchyoucandoinfivemonths.Hopefully,however,youwillseeimprovementintheirwritingoverthecourseofthese-mester.Byestablishingclearexpectationsandprovidingsomebasicguidelines,youcanleaveyourstudentswell-equippedwiththetoolstowriteasuccessfulhistorypa-perandearntheundyinggratitudeoftheirfutureTFs.

Techniques to Help Students Write As HistoriansBy Professor Jill Lepore

Yourjob,ofcourse,isfirsttohelpstudentslearntowritewell,andonlysecondtohelpthemlearnto“writeashistorians.”Tobeginwith,assumethatyourstudentshaveneverbeforewrittenahistorypaper.Butcountthisasanadvantage.Itmeanstheyhavefewerbadhabitstobreak.Meanwhile,makeclearthatwritingmatters—toyou,andinyourclassand,moreimportantly,toanyonehopingtohavehisorherideasunderstood—byspend-ingtimetalkingaboutitwhenyoudiscussreadings,andnot just when you’re handing out paper assignments.Andifstudentsgrumble,“Butthisisahistoryclass,notanEnglishclass,”askthemiftheywouldmakethesame

complaint abouthowmuchmath there is inaphysicscourse. Eveniftheprofessorhasn’t,don’thesitatetoaskyour students to buy Strunk and White, The Elements of Style,andrequirethattheypurchaseacitationguide,likeKateTurabian’sManual of Style.And,eventhoughclass time is precious, devote some time to discussingoneofyourmostbelovedessaysaboutwriting:mineareE.B.White,“WillStrunk,”andGeorgeOrwell,“ThePoli-tics of the English Language,” from which my favoritepassageiswhereOrwellquotesEcclesiastes(a)andthenoffersasubstitute(b)in“modern”(i.e.,vagueandslov-



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enly)English:

(a)Ireturnedandsawunderthesun,thattheraceisnottotheswift,northebattletothestrong,neitheryetbreadtothewise,noryetrichestomenofun-derstanding,noryetfavortomenofskill;buttimeandchancehappenethtothemall.

(b) Objective consideration of contemporary phe-nomenacompelstheconclusionthatsuccessorfail-ure in competitive activities exhibits no tendencytobecommensuratewithinnatecapacity,butthata considerable element of the unpredictable mustinvariablybetakenintoaccount.

Iliketospendtimeaskingstudentstonamethedifferencesbetween (a)and (b)and,betteryet, to talkaboutpassagesinthewritingwereadforclass.Learningtowritehistorywellrequireslearningtoreaditcritical-ly.Whenyou’rereadingsecondarysources,requirethatyourstudentsbring toclassaconcisestatementof theauthor’sthesis,toreadaloud.Themoreyoutalkaboutwriting when you discuss course readings, and dissectspecificpassagesforargumentandclarityandevidenceandvoice,thebetteryourstudentswillwrite. Whenstudentssetabouttacklingwritingassign-mentsforthecourse,thereareafewcommonproblems,particular to historical writing, you should anticipate,andheadoff.

•What kind of assignment is this?Isitresearch(writ-ing about the past) or historiography (writing aboutwhathistorianssayaboutthepast)?It’sadistinctionyoucaneasilymake,butone that isharder for students tointuit.

• Citation.Besurethatyouhavefullyexplainedyourex-pectationsforcitationofprimaryandsecondarysourc-es—andthedifferencesbetweenthosekindsofsources.Don’tassumethattheyknowhowtocite;teachthem.

• Evidence. How much evidence, and what kind, is

enough to support an historical argument? When andwhereisspeculationwarranted?Ifyou’vemadeapriori-tyoftalkingaboutthiswhendiscussingcoursereadings,itwillbeeasiertoaddressstudents’concernsaboutevi-denceinawritingassignment.Indiscussingtheassign-ment,beasspecificaspossibleaboutwhatyouexpectbywayofevidence.

•Presentism.Ahold-overfromhighschoolwritingistomeasureandrelateeverythingtosomecontemporaryproblemordebate. It’snota terrible idea—thepresentmatters—but it leads tosomeawfulhistoricalanalysis,especially at this level. Forbid the use of phrases like“longago”and“intoday’sworld”andthekindofvaguethen-and-nowcomparisonsthatcreepintofartoomanyundergraduatehistorypapers.

•Verb tense.Thisseemslikeaminorissue,butitcanre-allytripstudentsup:theyaresounusedtowritingaboutthepastthattheirpapersareriddledwithinconsistentverb tenses, as in “John Winthrop lived in the seven-teenthcenturybuthewrites, ina ‘ModellofChristianCharity,’thatBostonisa‘cityonahill.’”Often,studentshavebeenschooledintheuseofthe“literarypresent,”so that they want to use the present tense when theyquote.Iusuallyadvisethemtoalwaysusethepasttense,whetherofferingdescription,orquotingfromaprima-ry or secondary source. (Although another reasonablerouteistoaskthemtousethepresenttensewhentalk-ingabout secondary sources.) Inanyevent, give themspecificexamplesandinstructiononthis.

Someusefultechniquesformakingsurestudentsareontherighttrackastheydraftpapersincluderequir-ingeitheranoutlineor,betteryet,athesisstatement,oneweekbeforetheassignmentisdue.Urgethemtoreadadraftoftheirpaperaloudtoafriendorroommateortoyou,duringofficehours.Andforstudentswhocometodiscussapaperwithyouafteryou’vegradedit,requirethattheyreaditaloudtoyouinyouroffice—mostlikely,theywillhearproseandevidenceproblemsbetterthantheycanseethem.



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Incorporating Low-Stakes Writing and Writing-to-learn Exercises Into Your Teaching

By Laura Serna (History of American Civilization)

As a Teaching Fellow, you might think, “whywouldIwanttoaddmorewritingtocoursesthatalreadydemand substantial written work? Do I really want toreadanymoreundergraduatewriting?WhywouldIgivemyselfmoretograde?”Allreasonablequestions.Iarguethat adding more writing to your section and tutorialteachingwillbothhelpyourstudentslearnand,surpris-ingly,minimizetheend-of-the-semesterburdenofread-ingandgradingassignedstudentessays. Iliketothinkofwritingasthinkingonpaper—puttingone’sthoughtsintophrases,completesentences,orevenparagraphs.Writingisawayofanalyzingsourc-es,developingtheses,andorganizingfacts.Andasmostgraduatestudentsknow,themoreyouwrite,nomatterwhat form that writing takes, the better your writingbecomes. Incorporating short, ungraded writing as-signments—“low-stakes writing” or “writing-to-learn exercises”—into your teaching can lead to more pol-ished, well-thought out, sophisticated student essays. Andwritingexercisesthatmakestudentsbetterwriterswillmakeyourjobofevaluatingstudentpaperseasierintheend.

Low-Stakes Writing as a Warm-up

“Low-stakes” writing assignments break downtheprocessofwritingahistoryessayintosmallersteps–first readingcritically, thengatheringevidence, thenmakinganargument.Learningtobreakanassignmentintostepswillhelpstudentsnotonlywithformalcourseassignments in your class, but also with other coursestheytakeinthehistoryconcentration. Low-stakeswritingworksparticularlywellinhis-torycoursesinwhichatleastsomestudentsarefacingprimarysourcesortheanalysisofhistoriographyforthefirsttime.Trytodesignlowstakeswritingassignmentsthat teach students ways of approaching primary andsecondarysources.Showthemhowtousewritingasamoreformalversionofnotetaking.Illustratehowtheycanwork through sources criticallybyaskingparticu-

larquestionsastheyreadandidentifykeyinformation.Throughout,trytomaketheassignmentsfun. BelowIhavelistedsomeshort,ungradedwritingassignments that I have found work particularly well.Theseexercisescanbeassignedashomeworkorusedaspartofanin-classexercise,whicheveryouthinkwillbemostusefultoyourstudents.

•Compilealistofthekeyactorsin…•Prepareachronologyofalltheimportanteventsin…

Whyyouincludeandexcludetheeventsyoudo?•Writeabriefevaluationofoneoftheassignedsources.

[Possible questions for secondary sources include:identifythemainargument,evaluateitseffectiveness,identifythesourcesusedbytheauthor,etc.Forpri-marysources:Whoistheauthor?Whendidheorshewrite?Isthesourcereliable?]

• Write two 1-sentence theses that you could use tostructureapaperon…

•Makeanindexofthethemesyoufindinoneprimarysource.

•Writethreeparagraphs(approx.onepage)usingjusttwosources. (Askstudents towrite inresponse toaparticular question or encourage them to come upwiththeirownapproachtothematerial).

•Askstudentstocreatea“handout”fortheirfellowstu-dentsaboutthematerialyou’llbediscussinginclass.Thelistofpossibletopics isendlessanddependsonthesourcesassignedandwhatyouwanttofocuson.

•Writeatwo-paragraphresponsetoaprimarysourceasifyouwereoneofthehistorians(orauthors)ofasec-ondarysourcewe’veread.Howwouldthathistorianinterpretthispieceofevidence?Whatsortsofques-tionswouldhe/sheask?

•Writefor10minutes(in-class)about…•Givestudentsanimage(filmclip,photo,drawing,etc.)

orothersource(music,materialobject)andaskthemto write about how that source can be understoodgiventhecourse’sassignedreading.

•Askyourstudents todebatea topic(acontestedhis-toricalinterpretation,thepointsofviewoftwogroups



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ofhistoricalactors,etc.)inteams.Allowtheteams10-15minutestoprepareandWRITEDOWNthemainpointstheywilluseintheirarguments.

Ingivinglowstakeswritingassignments,empha-sizethattheexercisesareungraded(butwillcountto-wardtheirparticipationgrade)andaredesignedtohelporientstudentstowardstheirlongerpaperassignments.Studentsaremuchmore likely to respondenthusiasti-callyiftheyunderstandthepointoftheexercise—thatitwillhelpthemdevelopintobetterwritersandpreparethemtowritestrongeressays. Ifindithelpfultogivestudentsbriefwrittencom-mentsontheseshortlow-stakesassignments.Indoingso,TFshaveanopportunity toworkwith studentsonbothmajorconceptualissuesandmoreminorproblems,likerepetitivewritingoroveruseofpassivevoice.Ide-ally, comments on low-stakes writing assignments canhelpminimizeoreliminatewritingproblemsbeforestu-dentsbegintheirlonger,gradedpapers. Alternatively, you can have students share theirlow-stakeswritingwitheachotherinclass.Youcanhavethem read what they’ve written out loud—a great waytogetshystudentstalking—havethemreadandpresenteachother’swork,orhavestudentspairoffandpeer-re-viewthewriting.Ifyoufindaparticularclassdiscussionseemstostagnate,a10minute in-classwritingassign-mentfollowedbyoneoftheabovesharingmodelscanprovideamuch-neededbreakandgeneratefreshideasfordiscussion.

Low-Stakes Writing as Part of the Formal Writing Process

Since the rapidpaceofmostcoursesdoesn’t al-lowmuchtimeforreadingpaperdrafts(andbecauseIgenerallyfindthatthepayoffofreadingdraftsislesssig-nificantthantheamountoftimereadingthemrequires),Iinsteadaskmystudentstomeetwithmebeforethefirstandlastpapersaredue.Thefirst,shortmeetingisagoodwaytogettoknowstudentsandhavethemdiscusswithmetheirperceivedstrengthsandweaknessesasawriter.The second time I meet with students, before the lastpaperisdue,Iaskthemtobringawrittenthesisstate-mentandsomeideastheywouldliketodevelopintheirpaper.Duringthismeeting,Iengagewiththethinking

they’ve already done and help them develop strategicarguments.Additionally,youmightconsideraskingstu-dentstoprepareashortoutlineorathesisparagraphfora paper—low stakes writing again—both of which areeasiertoreadthananentiredraftandprobablyenableyoutogivesufficientfeedbacktostudents.

Low-Stakes Writing as Self-Reflection

Ioftenaskmystudentstoturnina“writingself-evaluation” with their formal writing assignments. Inthis informal and un-graded reflection piece, studentscantellmewhattheirargumentis(orwhattheyintend-edittobe),whattheylikedbestaboutthepaper,whattheylikedleast,andwhattheywouldlikefeedbackon.SomeTeachingFellows feel thismightbias theirread-ingofthepaper;personally,ithelpsmefigureoutwhatstudents think they are up to (sometimes, but not al-waysamystery)andcanhelpmeaddressareasthattheythemselvesperceiveasweaknessesintheirwriting.Thisexercisealsoreinforcestheideaofwritingasaprocess—evenafinishedproductcanbeimproved.Ifyou’reafraidyoumightbebiased,youcouldreadself-evaluationsaf-ter reading the essay and arriving at a grade. You canthencommentonstudentconcernsinyourfinalwrittencomments. I’ve also experimented with asking students towrite short written evaluations of their peers’ writingwhenpeerevaluation is a formalpartof theclass (forexample, in History 97). This helps students organizetheir thoughtsbeforepeer-reviewsessions, encouragesthemtotakethetaskofpeer-reviewmoreseriously,andperhapsmostimportantly,givesthemideasaboutques-tionstoaskwhenevaluatingtheirownwriting.

Alloftheaboveexamplesoflow-stakeswriting—warm-up exercises, paper planning, and self-reflectiveessays—enableyoutostreamlineyourprocessofreadingandcommentingonstudentpapers.Whenwritingendcommentsonstudentessays,youcanreferbacktocom-ments you’ve made on shorter, ungraded assignmentsaswellastocommentsstudentsthemselveshavemadein their reflective self-evaluation essays. This not onlysavesyoutime,butalsoreinforceskeyideasforstudents,therebyhelpingthemtobecomebetterwriters.



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Responding To and Evaluating Student WritingBy Emily O’Brien, Preceptor in Expository Writing

“The influence of comments can’t be overstated. Good com-mentsarethedifferencebetweenreadingthecoursebooksandtakingthecourse.”

“Itmadesuchadifferencewhentheinstructorwouldwrite‘in-sightful’nexttosomethingIhadwritten.Itwassoencourag-ing.Hetookourviewssoseriously.”

HarvardstudentsfromtheClassof2001

(Harvard Study of Undergraduate Writing)

Thewords,letters,andnumbersyouwriteonyourstudents’papersareamongthemostpowerfulteachingtoolsyouwilluseasaTF.Inadditiontohelpingstudentssharpen their skills of historical thinking and writing,yourfeedbackcanbuildtheirself-confidenceaswriters,deepentheir interest intheirmaterial,andmakethemfeel part of an intellectual community. Responding tostudentwritingisoneofthemostimportanttasksyouwill takeonasaTF in theHistoryDepartment,but itcanalsobeoneof themostchallenging.Whatare thehallmarksofagoodwrittencomment?Whatandhowmuchshouldyouwriteinthemarginsofastudentes-say?Whatarethebeststrategiesforgradingastackofpapers?Thetipsheetbelowisdesignedtoanswerthesedifficultquestions.Whileitmaynotmakegradingandcommenting more enjoyable, it will help to make theprocess more efficient and the results more useful foryourstudents.

Final Comments

Thefinalcommentisyouropportunitytoevalu-ateyourstudents’writtenwork,butitservesotherpur-posesaswell.Youcanuseittoarticulateyourexpecta-tionsaboutwriting,andtoofferyourstudentsguidanceandencouragementontheirfuturewritingassignments.Tohelpyoufulfillthesegoals:

•Limit your points.Threeorfourmajorpointsofcriti-

cismareusuallyenough.Addingmoremayleaveyourstudentsfeelingoverwhelmed.

•Pair criticism with praise.Studentsbenefitfromsee-ingwhatthey’redoingrightaswellaswheretheyarestruggling.

• Organize your comments logically. Arrange yourcriticisms hierarchically, beginning with your mostseriousconcern.Tryusingheadingsandbulletpointsto make your points more accessible, and considerusing the following as an overarching framework:salutation / restatementof theessay’s thesisor topic/ summary of strengths / summary of weaknesses /concludingremarks/signature.

•Be specific.Studentswillunderstandyourpointsmoreclearly if you illustrate them with specific examplesfromtheirpaper.

•Use a stable vocabulary.Byusingaconsistentsetoftermstodiscussyourstudents’writing(thesis,analy-sis,counter-argument,etc.),youwillhelpthemtoun-derstandyourstandardsandtoseehowtheiressaysrelatetooneanother.

•Make your comments portable.Showyourstudentshowthelessonsthey’velearnedwritingoneessaycanhelpthemtacklefuturewritingassignments.

•Use a respectful tone. Showyour students the samerespectthatyouwouldyourcolleagues.Doingsowillmakeitclearthatyouaretakingtheirideasseriously.

Margin Comments

Your margin comments show students that youhave read their papers carefully. They also documenthowyouarrivedatyourfinalcomment.Whenyouwritemargincomments,striveto:

•Identify patterns.Ratherthanmarkingeverystrengthandweaknessyouspotinanessay,lookforpatterns—andmarkthosepatternsonlyonceortwice.

•Ask questions.Byaskingquestions,you’llbeabletoguide your students’ thinking without telling them



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what to think. You’ll also teach them to anticipatesimilarqueriesinfuturepapers.

• Make your comments reader-friendly. Strings of“????,”sentencefragments,andpoorhandwritingaremorelikelytoconfuseyourstudentsthanhelpthem.

•Make some positive comments(seeabove)•Use a respectful tone(seeabove)

Grading

Your goal when grading a student paper is tomeasure that paper’s accomplishment. Accurate mea-surements depend on your ability to remain objectiveandtoapplyaconsistentsetofstandards.Tohelpyoudothis:

•Read or skim through your stack of papers first.Thiswillhelpyoutodiscerntherangeofresponsestotheassignment.Itmayalsohelpyoutoclarifyyourgrad-ingrubric.

•Design a grading rubric.Clarifyforyourselfthecri-

teriaaccordingtowhichyouwillassigngrades(the-sis,evidence,structure,etc.)andconsultyourrubricregularlyasyougothroughyourstackofpapers.

•Grade only the essay.Othercriteriasuchasthepaper’sauthor,theeffortputintothepaper,orthenumberofimprovements since thedraft shouldnot factor intothegrade.

• Pace yourself.Giveyourself a reasonable amountoftimetoread,commenton,andgradeeachpaper,andstick to your schedule. Take breaks when you needthem, especially if you find yourself getting tired orimpatient.

•Finalize your grades at the end.Youmayfinditeasierto determine if an essay deserves a “B+” or a “B,” a“B-/C+”ora“B-,”bycomparingittootheressaysinthestack.

• Distribute the grading rubric to your students. Bymakingyourstandardscleartoyourstudents,youwillhelp themtounderstandtheirgradeonaparticularpaper and to see how to strengthen their writing inthefuture.

Responding to Student WritingBy Michelle Morris (History)

We’veallbeenthere. It’s theFridaynightafteralongweek,andinsteadofsittingbackwithaCokeandtheTVremote,youarehunchedoveryourdeskwithastackofstudentessays.Someareengagingandinsight-ful.Othersarea jumbleof factanderrorwithnodis-cernablepointandalimitedgraspofspellingandpunc-tuation.Mostofthem–byfarthemostdifficulttograde–aresomewhereinthemiddle.Howcanyouevaluateandrespondtothesepapersinsuchawayastoassignconsistentgrades,motivateyourstrongerstudents,en-couragethosewhoarehavingproblems,andhelpallofyourstudentstowritebetterhistorypapers? Ifinditusefultobeginbyreadingthroughanen-tiresetofpapersquicklytogetasenseoftherangeandqualityoftheessays.Onthefirstread,Imakeanoteofthethesisofeachpaper,writeonlythemostbasicmar-ginalnotes,recordmygeneralimpressionsofeachpa-

per,andassignaprovisionalgradeonaseparatesheetofpaper.Ithenorganizethepapersingradeorderbeforesittingdowntotherealworkofevaluatingandrespond-ingtotheessays.Afterall,veryfewstudentpaperslookgoodifIhavejustfinishedreadingtheworkofaprofes-sionalhistorian,butallofmy“B”levelpaperswilllooklike“A’s”ifIhavejustreadthroughtwo“D”papers.Onthesecondreading,Ispendmoretimeoneachindivid-ualpaper.ThisiswhatIlookfor:

1) Does the essay fulfill the assignment? An essay may be engagingly written, clearly ar-guedandwellsubstantiated,butifitfailstoanswerthequestionaskedorspeaktothetopicassigned,it isstilldeeplyflawed.Althoughyoushouldrespondtotheessayaswritten,itmaybenecessaryforyoutoaskthestudenttorewritehis/heressayifitfailstofulfilltheassignment.



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Anessaywhichdoesnotquitefulfilltheassignmentmaysometimesbeasignthatastudenthasfoundanessayonasimilartopicandsubmitteditashis/herownwork.Ifone of your students submits an off-topic essay whichdiffers substantially in character from that student’susualwork,youmayneedtoinvestigateforevidenceofplagiarism. Very specific assignments can be the easiest toevaluate.Ifthequestionisspecificandtiedtoapre-se-lectedsetofreadings,itmaybehelpfulforyoutomakealistofimportantpointswhichallpapersshouldincludeandcheckthemoffasyouread.

2) Does the essay have a thesis? Sometimesthehardestconcepttoconveytostu-dents–especiallylessexperiencedoneswhoareusedtowritingreportsratherthanessays–isthatpapersshouldbewrittentoadvanceargumentsratherthansimplytorecitefacts.Thefirstthingtolookforandcommentoninastudentessay is thethesisstatement. Ifindituse-ful tounderline the thesis statementboth formyownreferencelateronandtounderscoreitsimportanceforthe student. When such a statement is missing, I usu-ally write “thesis?” at the end of the paper’s introduc-tion.Moreoftenyoumayneedtosuggestthatstudentsstatetheirthesesmoreclearlyorrevisethemtofitmorecloselytheevidencetheyhavepresented.

3) Does the student’s evidence support his/her thesis? All too often, students find their theses as theywrite.Atitsmostbasiclevel,evaluatingwhetherornottheevidencesupportsthethesisisanexerciseinseeingwhethertheargumentattheendofthepaperisthesameastheargumentatthebeginningandinthemiddle.Thisisalsothepointatwhichyouneedtoevaluatehowdeft-lyyourstudenthasusedtheavailableevidence.Arethefactssupportingthethesiscorrect?Doesthepapershowsignsofstrongcriticalreasoningskills?Hasyourstudentsimplytakenprimarysourcesatfacevalueorhashe/shethoughtaboutissuessuchasaudience,genre,etc.?Isthestudentmakingbroadgeneralizationsbasedonasingleeventoropinion?Doesthepapermakegooduseofallavailableevidenceordoesitignoreinconvenientfacts?

4) Does the student convey his/her argument clearly? Writing counts. Organization, appropriate dic-

tion,punctuationandclearprosearewhatallowthestu-denttoconveytoyouwhathe/sheisthinking.Butifastudentfailstowriteclearly,youdostillneedtomuddlethroughhis/herthesisstatement,whichappearsforthefirsttimeonpageseven.Youdoneedtoforceyourselftoreadtheparagraphswritteninpassivevoice,aswellasallthosewordswhichdonotmeanwhatthestudentthinkstheymean.Youthenneedtohelpstudentsunder-standhowpoorwritingskillsunderminetheargumentstheyaretryingtomakeandhowstrongprosecanmakereadingtheirpapersapleasure.Wemaynotbeteachingcomposition courses, but we are, nevertheless, alwaysteachingwriting.

Writing Comments

Onceyouknowwhatyouthinkofapaper,thenextstepistoconveythoseideastoyourstudentinclearandconstructiveways.Rememberthatifyoudemandgoodwritingofyourstudents, it isessential thatyoumodelgoodwritinginyourwrittenresponsetotheirwork.Inpractice,youwillmaketwosetsofcomments.Thefirstisthemarginalnotesinterspersedthroughoutthebodyofthepaper,andthesecondistheparagraphortwoatthe end of the paper. The two sets of comments servecomplementary purposes. The marginal notes are themostimmediatewaytoaddressspecific,andsometimesrelatively minor, issues. This could be anything frompointingoutspellingmistakesandoveruseof thepas-sivevoicetoflaggingfactualerrorsandnotingthelackofathesisstatementattheendoftheintroduction.Thechallengehereistofindabalancebetweenbeingcom-prehensiveandbeingnitpicky.Ononehand,youwanttopointoutanyglaringerrorsinthepaper.Ontheother,youdonotwanttodiscouragestudentsbycoveringtheirpapersinredink,ordistractingthemwithminorissueswhentherearemoreimportantareasthatneedwork.Ifyouhaveapaperwithmany,manyproblems,beselec-tive.Forinstance,ifapapercontainsahostofspelling,grammaticalandpunctuationerrors,youmightwanttosimplycorrectthefirstparagraph.Iffactualerrorsandargumentareaproblem,youmaywanttonotetheseandsuggestthatthestudentvisittheWritingCenterforhelpwithhis/herproseratherthanpointingouteverygram-maticalmisstep.



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Marginalnotesarenotjustforcriticism,ofcourse.Whenever possible, write something positive. The oc-casional“goodpoint”and“wellput”isasimportantas“thisdoesnotsupportyourthesis”and“clarifythis.”Stu-dentsneedtoknowwhat theyaredoingright.Finally,becarefulaboutmakingstraynotationalmarkswithoutexplainingtheirpurpose.Somestudentswilllookcare-fullyateverythingyouwrite,sowhenyoumakemarksontheirpapers,besurethattheimportofthosemarksisclear. Thesecondsetofcomments,thoseyouwriteupattheendofanessay,summarizesyouroverallevaluationof the broader strengths and weaknesses of the paper.Ifindithelpfultobeginbyrestatingthepaper’sthesis.Thisletsstudentsknowthatyouhaveengagedwiththeirworkanditmayalsohelpthemrememberwhat,exactly,theyarguedintheirpaper.Restatingthethesisalsopro-videsa startingpoint foryourcomments. If thepaperdoesnotcontainathesisstatement,youcanstilltrytosummarizetheargumentofthepaper(asbestyoucandiscern it).Thelackofa thesisstatement is,ofcourse,anomissionyouwillalwayswanttoaddress.Evenmorethanwithmarginalnotes,itiscrucialtopickyourbattlesinendcomments.Choose the threeor fouraspectsof

thepaperyouwouldmostliketoseeimproved,anddonotwasteyourtimeortheirattentiononthesmallstuffwhen there are larger issues to be addressed. It is im-portanttobeasconstructiveaspossiblewhenaddress-ing these issues. Although you certainly do not wantto rewritea student’spaper,youdowant togive themsomeconcreteideasabouthowtheymightimprovetheweakeraspectsoftheirwork.Suggestothersourcestheymight have used or ways to revise their theses so thatthey fit more neatly with their evidence. Be careful ofyourphrasing.Althoughyoudoneedtobecritical,youshould avoid belittling students at all costs. “You mayfinditusefultoreviewasurveytextforbackgroundonthissubject”isfine.“Iwouldexpectanyonewhogotintocollegetoknowthis”isnot.Aswithmarginalnotes,lookfor opportunities to say something positive. Even theweakestessayshaveoneortwogoodpoints. Iliketotreatallpapersasiftheyweredraftsbe-causethisturnscriticismintosuggestionsforthefuture.Studentsmaynotrewrite,butyoudohopethattheywillrethink.Aboveall,yourcommentsshouldtellyourstu-dentsthatyoubelievetheyarecapableofwritingstrongpapers, even if they need to improve certain skills (orworkalittleharder)toachievethatresult.

Improving Students’ Speaking Skills in SectionRebekah Maggor, Research Fellow at the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning

“Um…sortof,inthesamesense,like…Ithink,alotoftimesweassumethat…like…whenyouseeagraphoratablethat,like,thescience factsarealwayscorrect,or that, like, institutions,like,thecourtsarealwaysfair,um…andwesortofoperatelikethat—that’ssortofthemindsetwe’retaughtwhenwe’reyoung,andsowhenwehearsomethinglike,oh,thecourtsaidthiswesortofassumethat,oh,thatmustbetrue,thatmustberight.Andyousortofhavetounlearn—or,like,learnthattherearebiases,likethereare—like,allthosethingsarefallibletoo.”

-aHarvardCollegestudent,insection

Improvingstudents’speakingskillsnotonlyem-powersthemtovoicetheiropinionsclearlyandpersua-sively,italsoteachesthemtolistenactivelytotheirfel-lowclassmates,anditmovesthemfrompassivetoactiveengagementwithcoursematerial.Even though speak-ing,likewriting,isintegraltothelearningprocess,many

professorsandTeachingFellowshesitatetocommentonorcritiquetheirstudents’speech.Whilestudentsareac-customed to receiving constructive criticism on theirwriting,theyusuallyconsidertheirspeakingskills, thewaythey“talk,”tobeapersonalmatteroutsidetherealmofpedagogicalreview.Becauseofthisattitude,instruc-torsfearthatcommentingonstudents’speechwouldbecounterproductive:studentsmight“shutdown,”avoid-ing class participation altogether. There are, however,manywaystoadvancestudents’speakingskillswithoutdeterringclassparticipation. Inthepast,teachingstudentstospeakandreasonwellinpublicwasoneofthecentralgoalsoftheCollege.Becausespeakingwasnotconsideredanaturalgiftbutratheraskillthatrequireddedicationandpractice, in-structioninspeakingwasarigorousandregularpartof



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thecurriculum.In1642,PresidentHenryDunsterim-plemented theRamean teachingmethodwhereby stu-dentsstudiedonesubjecteachdayinathree-partratio-nal procedure including: professor’s lecture, individualstudy, and discussion and disputation with classmates.AccordingtoHarvardhistorianSamuelEliotMorison,thisthirdoralelement“gavethestudentspracticeinap-plying their knowledge, taught them to think on theirfeet, sharpened their wits, and provided a wholesomeelementof competitionand fun foreachclass.”At theend of the eighteenth century, when the emphasis ontheteachingofspeakingfaded,studentscomplainedofa“coldindifferencetothepracticeoforatory.”1Theyre-spondedbyformingtheirownclubsinwhichtheycouldpracticepublicspeaking. Forthemostpart,instructioninspeakingslowlydeclinedthroughoutthenineteenthcenturydespitepe-riodicattemptstoreviveit.In1806JohnQuincyAdamswasnamedthefirstBoylstonProfessorofRhetoricandOratory. While Quincy Adams used the post to teachthepracticalskilloforalpersuasion,themenwhofol-lowedhimfocusedmoreonthescholarlyratherthanthepracticalaspectsofrhetoric.In1903IrvahWintersuc-ceeded inorganizinga formaldepartment for instruc-tionofspeech,but thedepartmentsufferedfrompoorfunding.WhenFrederickCliftonPackardJr.tookoverthedepartmentin1920,hewasthesolefacultymember.Although many of Packard’s students, including JohnF.KennedyandPeter J.Gomes,built successfulpubliccareersinnosmallpartduetotheartsofcommunica-tiontheystudiedunderhistutelage,theDepartmentofPublic speakingceased toexist followingPackard’s re-tirementin1965. Packard recognized “the importance of speechtraininginpreparingmenforlifeintherealworldwheresuccessseemstodependon‘ourswiftandfullcommu-nicationwithoneanother.’”2Thereisnodoubtthattheseskillsarejustascrucialforstudentstodayastheywerefor the students of Harvard’s past. Whether your stu-dentschoosetopursueacareerinacademia,law,medi-cine,business,oranyotherprofession,theywillneedtolearnhowtoexpresstheirideasorally. As a Teaching Fellow, you can raise the level ofyour class discussion by setting an example of good

speakingandbyhelpingyourstudentsbecomeawareoftheirspeech.

Set an Example for Your Students

•Speakslowlyandclearly.• Emphasize important words. When you use histori-

cal terminology or mention important names, slowdown,enunciate,andusepitchandvolumevariationtostressthesekeywords.Asagraduatestudent,youare immeasurably more familiar with the materialthanyourstudents.

•Eliminatefillerssuchas“like,”“um,”“sortof,”“kindof,”and“youknow.”

•Donotfearsilence.Pausinggiveslistenersachanceto“catchup”withyou.

•Makeeyecontactwithyour students.Byconnectingwithyourclassinthisway,youcanmakesuretheyarefollowingyouandeachother.

•Listentoandwatchyourselfteach.Thisisthebestwaytoimproveyourspeaking.

-Videotapeyourclassat theBokCenterandmeetwithateachingconsultanttodiscussthetape.

-Makeanaudiorecordingofyoursection(besuretoobtainstudents’permissionifyouwishtorecordtheclass).

Improve Your Students’ Speaking

Preparation Passive learning during lectures and reading ofcoursematerialbecomesactiveknowledgeduringsec-tiondiscussion.Gooddiscussionscanmotivatestudentstopreparebetter for section,encouraging themtode-veloptheiropinionsaboutthematerial.AsaTF,youcaninspirelivelypreparationfordiscussioninseveralways:

•Beexplicitaboutthepurposeofsection:thegoalisforstudents toparticipate inagroupdiscussion,not togetasummaryofthereadingsorthe“rightanswers”fromtheTF.

•Organizeanoccasionaldebateduringsection.Assign

1SamuelEliotMorison,The Founding of Harvard College(Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress,1935),140-147. 2WilliamAlfred,PeterJ.Gomes,andB.J.Whiting,“FacultyofArtsandSciences-MemorialMinute”Harvard Gazette,Jan.20,1989.



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eachstudenttoonepointofview.• If “responsepapers”are required, emphasize toyour

students that the papers should present a cohesiveargument.Remindthemtocritiquethematerialandconnectittopriorreadings.

Commenting on the Quality of Discussion Address the issue of speech with your studentsearly in the semester, emphasizing that quality of par-ticipation isas important, ifnotmore important, thanquantity of participation. Explain that demandingthoughtful participation of themselves and each otherenables everyone to improve their ability to form andexpresstheiropinionsandideas.

•Donotshyawayfrommakingexplicitcommentsonthequalityofclassdiscussion.

• Remind students to back their arguments with sup-portfromthetextandtoconnectthemesappearingthroughoutthereadings.

• Review the progress of discussion mid-way througheachsection. It isbetter tocommenton thegeneraltrendsinthatday’sdiscussionthantosingleoutindi-vidualstudents.Youmightsay:

- “The discussion so far has been interesting, butsomecommentslackedtextualevidence.Remem-ber to support eachclaimwith specificevidencefromthetext.”

-“Someofyouhavemadeexcellentpoints,butcer-taincommentshavebeenquiterepetitive.Trytolisten more closely to what your classmates aresayinganddon’trepeatwhatothershavealreadysaid.”

• End each section by summarizing the quality of thediscussion as well as the important content points.Youmightsay:

-“Today’sdiscussionwasuseful,butunbalanced.Afewofyouparticipatedoften,whilemostofyouparticipatedverylittle.Ihopethatduringthenextsession,moreofyouwillspeakup.”

- “Clearly most of you have done the reading, buttrytoavoidgeneralcommentssuchas‘Ilikedthispartofthereading,”or,“thisessaywasinteresting.’Tell me why you believe this particular readingwas assigned and what it might have to do withlastweek’sreadings.”

Encouraging Participation A sure way to help your students improve theirspeakingskillsistopointout,andevenrepeat,theirin-sightfulandwell-phrasedcomments.Youmightsay:•“Wellsaid.”or“Wellspoken.”•“Youmadeaveryimportantandeloquentargument.

Dideverybodyhearthelastcomment?”•“That’sanexcellentwayofexpressingthatpoint.”•“Thatwasanarticulatewayofpresentingthatidea.”

Oftentimesyoumighthaveastudentwhoturnsin perceptive and well-written papers, but who rarelyspeaks in class. By offering some encouragement, youmighthelpthatstudentvoicehisorheropinionsorally.• If this student has turned in a particularly good re-

sponse paper or in-depth discussion questions thatweek, bring up one of his or her points during sec-tion.Youmightsay:“Judybroughtuparelevantpointinherresponsepaper…Judy,couldyouexplainyourperspectivetotheclass?”

•Ifashystudentspeaksupinclass,taketimetocom-mendthestudentverballyorbye-mail.

Commenting on Language and Voice

BothTFsandprofessorsfind thatdirectlycom-mentingonstudents’useoflanguageandvoicecanbeachallenge.Buttherearemanyexplicitandimplicitwaystohelpyourstudentsspeakarticulatelyandconfidentlywithoutoffendingthem. If a student uses language that is not useful forsection(forexample:“theKaiserwas,like,totallypissed-offbythat”),youcanaddressthisuseoflanguageeitherdirectlyorindirectly.Youmightsay:“Yes,Bismarck’sac-tionsangeredtheKaiser.”Thisindirectmethodrephras-es the idea and models appropriate language. A moredirectmethodwouldbetoask,“Howmightahistorianmakethatstatement?” Ifyoucannotunderstandastudentbecauseheorshemumbles,speakstooquietly,orspeakstooquickly,trytoaddresstheissuedirectlywithoutmakingitper-sonal.Stateafact,followedbyasuggestion:• “I didn’t hear what you just said. Could you speak

up?”•“Ididn’tcatchyour lastpoint.Couldyouslowdown



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alittle?”

Ifyouhaveastudentwhospeaksparticularlyun-clearlyorastudentwhotendstorambleandtakeupalotoftimeinsection,meetwiththestudentprivately.Youmightsay:• “Youmakesomeexcellentpoints inclass,but some-

timeswemisswhatyouareattemptingtosaybecauseyoutendtotakealongtimetogettothepoint.Ifyoucould be more concise when you speak, your ideaswillgetheard.”

JustasTFsshouldbeselectivewhencommentingon students’ papers—being careful not to overwhelmthemwithcriticismandadvice—TFsshouldbediscrim-

inatoryincritiquingstudents’speaking.Agoodwaytogetastudentto“clamup”fortherestofthesemesteristogivethestudentalistoftenthingshedoes“wrong”when he speaks (constantly uses the word “like,” doesnot speak in complete sentences, rambles, etc). Try toaddresstheoneortwothingsthatmostaffecthiscom-prehensibility.

Ifstudentsrecognizethatspeakingisaskill,theywillmorewillinglyacceptguidancefromyou.Teachingspeakingskillsisinseparablefromteachingtheskillsofhistoricalanalysisandargumentation.Whenyouteachyourstudentstoprepare, topersuade, to listen,andtospeakeloquently,youareinfactinstructingthemintheartofthinking.



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Teaching and Professional Development

TheBokCenteroffersavarietyofprogramscen-teredonprofessionaldevelopmentasitrelatestoteach-ing.Whileparticipationinthefollowingofferingsisre-wardinginitsownright—inparticular,itconnectsTFstograduatestudentsandpostdocsacrosstheUniversitywhoareinterestedineffectiveteachingandlearning—itcanalsoindicatetofutureemployersacommitmenttodevelopingintoaskilledteacher.

TF Professional Development Dinners The Bok Center offers a series of dinnertimelectures, panel discussions, and workshops focused onteachingandprofessionaldevelopment.Pasttopicshaveincluded Creating a Teaching Portfolio, Teaching forStudentLearning,Lecturing,Gender&Pedagogy,Men-toring&AdvisingStudents,andPublish&Flourish:Be-comingaProlificScholar.Watchfornoticesofupcom-ingdinnersintheGSAS BulletinandontheBokCenter,DudleyHouse,OfficeofCareerServices,andGraduateStudentCouncilemaillists.

Christensen Discussion Leading Seminar for Faculty and Advanced Teaching Fellows This ten-weekMasterClassuses theCaseStudyMethod to enhance participants’ skills in discussionleadingandmanaging“hotmoments”intheclassroom.Seminarmembers,whoaredrawnfromacrosstheUni-versity,worktogethertofosteropen,reflectivedialogueaboutteachingandlearningatHarvard.Foradditionalinformation,contactBokCenterAssociateDirectorLeeWarrenatlawarren@fas.harvard.edu

Senior Teaching Fellow Program Eachyearagroupofexemplarypost-doctoralin-structorsandadvancedTeachingFellowsareselectedasBok Center Senior Teaching Fellows. Fellows meet sixtimesoverthecourseofthesemestertodiscussteachingandlearning.Discussions,whichdrawonrecenteduca-tionalresearchandonparticipants’ownexperiencesintheclassroom,arecharacterizedby thesamescholarlyrigorparticipantsbringtobearontheiracademicfields.Formoreinformation,orforanapplication,contactBok

CenterAssociateDirectorCassandraHoriiat:[email protected]

Bok Center Consultant Successful,experiencedTeachingFellowscanap-plytobecomeaBokCenterTeachingConsultant.AftercompletinginitialtrainingwithoneormoreBokCenterAssociateDirectors,theConsultantwillassistBokCen-terstaffmembersinconductingmicroteachingsessions,offering videotape consultations, and giving presenta-tionsattheFallandWinterTeachingConferences.BokCenterconsultantsreceivecompensationfortheirwork.Formoreinformation,contacttheBokCenter:617-495-4869.

Lead Teaching Fellow Eachyear,oneadvancedTeachingFellowinHis-tory may be appointed by the Derek Bok Center as aLeadTeachingFellows.LTFsareusuallynominatedforthepositionbytheHistoryDepartment. AftercompletinginitialtrainingwithoneormoreBokCenterAssociateDirectors,theLeadTeachingFel-lowidentifiesdepartmentalTF-trainingneedsandworksindependentlyandwithothers,intheDepartmentandaround the University, to address them. Additionally,theLeadTeachingFellowholdsweeklyofficehoursforTFs in the Department and offers microteaching ses-sionsandvideotapeconsultations.

Cabot Postdoctoral Fellowships in Innovation in Teaching Advanced graduate students who are nearingcompletion of their degrees and have a strong interestinteachingmayconsiderapplyingforaCabotPostdoc-toralFellowship.CabotFellowsdesignandcarryoutaresearch project centered on pedagogy, particularly asit relates to teaching and learning at Harvard College.Thefellowshipsupportshalf-timecommitmentforoneacademicyear;thisisusuallysupplementedbysupportfromthefellow’sacademicdepartment.Formoreinfor-mation,or for anapplication, contact theBokCenter:617-495-4869.

Teaching, Professional Development, and the Job Market


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Watching Yourself On Videotape

All first-time Teaching Fellows in History arerequiredtohaveoneoftheirdiscussionsectionvideo-tapedandtodiscussthisrecordingoftheirteachingwitha member of the Bok Center staff. Because some uni-versitysearchcommitteesnowrequestevidenceofajobcandidate’s successful teaching, some advanced Teach-ingFellowsalsochoosetohaveadiscussionsection(orguestlecture)videotapedfortheirTeachingPortfolio. Althoughwatchingavideotapeofyourteachingcanbeabitnerve-wracking,it isaninvaluableexperi-ence.Observingyourclassinactionhelpsyougetafeelforwhatitisliketobeastudentinyoursection.Italsogives you an opportunity to pay close attention to thedynamicsoftheclassroomdiscussionsyoulead.

Strategies for Success

1.Arrange forvideotaping throughtheBokCenterbycalling617-495-4869oremailingbokcenter@fas.

2.Selectatypicalclasstobetaped;teachasyounormallywouldonanyotherday.

3.Let thestudentsknowinadvance that theclasswillbevideotaped,andthatthetapeistohelpyouimproveyour teaching. The tape is not a means to assess theirclassperformance.

4. While you are being videotaped, try to focus on your teaching, not on the camera.

5.Getwrittenfeedbackfromthestudentsonhowclassisgoingaroundthesametimeyougetvideotaped.Read-ingstudents’commentsbeforewatchingyourselfontape

canhelpyouinterpretwhatyouseeand what students said. Sampleearlyfeedbackformscanbefound

onlineattheBokCenter’swebsite.

Viewing the Videotape

1.View the videotape as soon as possible.Whenyourmemoryisfresh,youcanrecallwhatyouwerethinkingandfeelingduringclass.

2. View the tape with a supportive consultant. Mostpeople are hypercritical when watching themselves. Aconsultantcanhelpyouidentifyyourstrengthsandar-easforimprovementandcantemperyournaturalten-dencytobeoverlycritical.YoumayviewthetapeintheDepartmentwiththeLeadTeachingFelloworattheBokCenterwithanAssociateDirectororTeachingConsul-tant.

3.Plantospendabouttwiceaslonganalyzingthetapeasittooktotapeyourclass.

4.Go for the gestalt.Watchthetapeandaskyourself:•WhatarethespecificthingsIdidwell?•WhatarethespecificthingsIcouldhavedonebetter?•Whatdostudentsseemtoenjoymost?•Whatdostudentsseemtoenjoyleast?•If Iwereastudent,whatwouldI likeaboutthissec-

tion?•IfIcoulddothissectionoveragain,whatthingswould

Ichange?•HowcouldIgoaboutmakingthosechanges?

5.The next time you view the tape, focus on selected aspects of your performance. For example, look atthetapeandanalyzethekindsofquestionsyouask,orhowyourespondtostudents’questionsandcomments.Identifybothyourstrengthsandtheareasthatneedim-provement.

6. Chart the frequencies and types of classroom in-teractions.Whodoesmostofthetalking?You?Orthestudents?Howmanyquestionsactuallyrequestedare-

bokcenter.harvard.edu



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sponsefromstudents?Didallofthequestionsstartwiththe same phrase? Did they all require yes/no or shortanswers? What level of thinking was required in theresponses?Didyouallowsufficienttimebetweenques-tionsforstudentstorespond?

7.Use checklists to focus your analysis.Broadcatego-riestoconsiderincludethefollowing:

•organizationandpreparation•styleofpresentation•clarityofpresentation•questioningskills•studentinterestandparticipation•classroomclimate•discussionDerek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning

Adapted from Barbara Gross Davis, Tools for Teaching (Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.,1993),355-361.

On Being VideotapedBy Sonia Lee (History)

Whether this is your first semester teaching oryou consider yourself a well-seasoned TF, you shouldhaveoneofyourdiscussionsectionsvideotaped.Thinkof itasanopportunitytofinallydiscernthedifferencebetweentherealweaknessesinyourteachingstyleandthe unnecessary, nagging, self-criticism of your teach-ing thatnobodycaresaboutbutyou.Afteryouvideo-tape a section and sit down to evaluate it with one oftheBokCenterstaffmembers,you’llbeable toaskallsortsofquestions—bothsillyandimportant—aboutthewayyouteach:doItalktoomuchortoolittle?DoIpaytoomuchattentiontoparticularlyshyoraggressivestu-dents? Do I know how to listen to students’ questionsandcomments?DoIknowhowtodirectthediscussiontoaspecificpoint?Aremystudentscomfortableenoughtospeaktheirmindseveniftheydisagreewithme?Al-thoughthepost-videotapingevaluationsessionisatimeto confront your weaknesses and self-doubt, it’s also achanceforyoutohearsomebodypointoutyournaturaltalentsasacommunicator.Youwillreceiveaffirmationonwhatyouhavealreadyaccomplishedasateacher. WhenIpreparedtoteachthediscussionsectionIhadscheduledtohavevideotapedbytheBokCenter,I made the typical mistake of trying to do somethingnew.Idecidedtouseanoverheadprojectorwhilewalk-

ingtheclassthroughareviewexercise.Sureenough,ImisplacedthemarkersIhadjustboughtandgotreallydistractedasIfranticallysearchedforthematthebegin-ningofclass.AsIwatchedthisveryembarrassingclipwithMary-AnnWinkelmes,anAssociateDirectorattheBok Center, she helped me step back and think aboutpriorities. Worrying about lost markers distracted mefromthemore important taskof focusingtheclassontheparticularquestionIhadraised.Bynotmaintainingeyecontactwithmystudents,IhadnotbeenabletodothatassuccessfullyasIcouldhave.Thetaskoffindingthemarkerscouldhavewaitedforalatertime,or,Icouldhavejustchuckedtheplanentirelyandusedtheblack-boardinstead. Surprisingly,Mary-Annalsogavemealotofaffir-mationsaboutmyteaching.Forexample,asIwassquea-mishlywatchingmyself infrontoftheTVscreenwithher,webothnoticedthatIhadaskedthestudentsacon-fusing, long-windedquestionatonepoint.Theirfacialexpressionsclearlyshowedhowpuzzledtheywere,andIhadnoticedthatassoonasthequestionleftmymouth.IquicklyadmittedIhadmadenosenseandrephrasedthequestion.Theclassburstintolaughter,andoncetheyunderstoodme,theyrespondedtothequestion,whichfurtheredclassdiscussion.Mary-Annpointedout that



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myrephrasingofthequestionnotonlyshowedhowself-awareIwasaboutcommunicatingwithmystudents,butalsoshowedthelevelofcomfortIhadestablishedwiththeclass–wewereabletolaughatmymistakeandmoveontotheactualworkathand. OnceIsatdownandbegantothinkmorecritical-lyaboutmyteachingwithMary-Ann,webrainstormedtogether about all sorts of situations and students.Amongthetopicswediscussedwerehowtodealwithparticularly provocative and aggressive students, howtocreateanenvironmentinwhichstudentsfeelencour-agedtodisagreeopenly,andhowtoestablishauthorityasateacherwithoutscaringstudentsintosilence. I know that it can seem really scary to watchyourselfonascreenandscrutinizethewayyouspeak,look,andmovewithinaclassroom.Afterfiveminutesof watching yourself on tape, though, I guarantee thatyou’ll completely forget about how your voice sounds,how you look, and any other silly self-judgment thatdoesn’thelpyoudevelopasa teacher.You’llbeable tofocusonyourstudents’expressionsandthewaytheyre-actandrespondtoyou,andtoeachother.Thiswillgiveyouvaluable insight intoyourclass andyour teachingthatyoucan’tgaininanyotherway.

The Specifics: How to Arrange for a Videotaping Call theBokCenter to setupavideotapingap-

pointment (617-495-4869). Make sureyou do this during the first few weeksof class so that you can schedule a tap-ingduringthemiddleofthesemester–atimewhenyou’vegottenfamiliarandcomfortablewithyourclass,butstillhavelotsoftimetoimproveyourin-teractionwiththem.TheBokCenterwillassignyouameetingroomintheScienceCenterduringyourregularsectiontime(anadjacentroomwillcontainvideotapingequipment).Duringtheweekofyourvideotaping,youwilltellstudentsthatsectionwillbeheldinthisScienceCenterclassroom,andyou’llpostaremindernoticeonthedoorofyourregularsectionroom.Makesureyoutell students that the purpose of the videotaping is tohelpyouimproveasateacher–it isnotatooltohelpyou evaluate them. This will help minimize their ner-vousness.Youcanalso letstudentsknowthattheHis-tory Department requires all first-time TFs to have asectionvideotaped.It’sonewaythey,asstudents,canbeassuredthattheirTFsarewell-preparedtoteach. Afterward the videotaping, call the Bok CenteragaintoarrangeforaconsultationwithoneoftheBokCenterstaffmembersorarrangetoviewitwiththeLeadTF.Afterviewingthetape,youcanrequestacopyofthevideotoreviewonyourown.Youcanalsofileawaythetapetouseaspartofajobapplicationteachingportfoliointhefuture.

BokCenter617-495-4869bokcenter@fas

Making Sense of CUE EvaluationsProfessor Mark Kishlansky

In teaching sections for large lecture courses,Teaching Fellows will inevitably become familiar withCUE evaluations. Since no one works harder or caresmore profoundly about the quality of their teachingthandobeginningTeachingFellows,CUEevaluationsareadouble-edgedsword.OfficiallytheyareformssentoutandgatheredtogetherbyacommitteeoffacultyandundergraduateseponymouslynamedtheCommitteeonUndergraduate Education (hence the acronym CUE).Mostoftheformevaluatesthecourseanditsprofessor,but one section is directed at the performance of sec-tion leaders and asks for both numerical ratings (1-5)

andproseresponsestogeneralquestions(strengthsandweaknesses).Thenumericalscoresaretabulatedtocreateanoverallevaluationofcourse,professor,andTeachingFellow,thoughtheactualweightingoffactorsisslightlymysterious.Thesescoresandaqualitativelyneutralac-countofthecommentaryarepublishedannuallyintheCUEguide. CUE evaluations are necessarily a blunt instru-ment.BecausetheyaretheonlystructuredwayinwhichTeachingFellowsgainfeedbackontheirteaching,theyare eagerly anticipated and studiously examined bythosebeingevaluated.Theyarecommonlythecauseof



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muchelationandmuchdepression;bothresponsesareinappropriate.Inthefirstplace,CUEevaluationformsareoftenfilledinhurriedlyandthoughtlesslyandmostoffer no substantive information whatsoever. Studentssimplycolorinthenumericaldotsandleavetheevalu-ative sectionsempty.Manywhohavehada rewardingexperience in thecoursewill simplyuseone-wordsu-perlatives(GREAT!!!)toexpresstheirapproval.Second,themostcomprehensiveinformationonCUEformsisusuallyprovidedbystudentswhohaveagrievance(le-gitimateorotherwise)andthusevenhighlyratedTeach-ingFellowswillgainthemostlastingimpressionoftheirevaluationsfromnegativecommentaries.Someofthesecanbequitedeliberatelyhurtfulandneedtobeseenasmirrorimagesofwrittenfeedbackonnotverycompe-tentassignments.Finally,whenconstructivecriticismisofferedonCUEforms,itisusuallyofthecontradictory“speakstooquickly”/“speakstooslowly”variety. ForallofthesereasonsitisnecessarytouseCUEevaluations cautiously in attempting to improve one’ssectionperformance.Despitethefactthattherewillbesomeunfaircriticism,itisvitalthatitnotbedefensively

dismissed, just as unabashed praise cannot be enthu-siastically embraced. The best use of CUE evaluationsis to identifyandactonwhatappear tobe thoughtfulassessments.Thismaymean repeating techniques stu-dentsdescribedashelpfuloralteringonesdescribedasineffective or unhelpful. Frequently students will pro-vide evidence that key concepts are not being clearlycommunicated,thatdiscussionsdonotflowproperly,orthatquestionsarenotclearlyanswered.ThisisthekindofusefulinformationthatcanbegainedfromacarefulreadingofCUEevaluations. ThefinalthingtobeobservedisthatforalloftheCUE’sshortcomings,thereisaroughequitytotheover-all scores that Teaching Fellows receive in their evalu-ations. Students are usually evaluating performancescomparatively,andwhentheyrateoneTFa“5”andan-othera“4,”theyaremakingacomparative,ratherthananabsolute,judgment.OvertimethesejudgmentstendtoholdupandwhileindividualTFsfrequentlyimprovetheirscoresastheygainexperience,itisrarethattheyexperiencesignificantdeclineor thatmultiplesectionsjudgethesameTFdifferently.

On Cue: Teaching EvaluationsBy Mara Mills (History of Science)

InhiscontributiontoPedagogy: The Question of Impersonation, JosephLitvakaddressesapassage from“TheResistancetoTheory”inwhichPauldeMandis-avowsthetheatricalandthe intimateaspectsof teach-ing.Resistinghis formerdissertationadvisorand, inamomentofstrongreading,hisownstudent-evaluators,Litvakwrites:

Thepassagechillsmebecause, to tellyouthe truth, thereason I got into teaching is precisely that it seemed tocombine the best of both show business and guidancecounseling.Startinginaboutthefirstgrade,Icathectedmy teachers—and hoped to be cathected myself oneday—inmuchthesamewaythatIcathectedmyfavoritestarsofstage,screen,andtelevision.(MuchasIsuspectabackhandedcompliment,I’minfactdelightedtoreadon

acourseevaluation:“Mr.Litvakshouldbeanactor.”Andthough I know it was meant as a put-down, one of theevaluationsthatIremembermostfondlyistheonethatcommented,“MyfriendandIreferredtothisclassasTheLitvakShow.”)1

Wouldthatweallreceivedsuchtendercriticism!Consideroneof themorecuttingcomments frommypersonal archive of CUE evaluations—“The TF set upandreliedonalargedividebetweenherselfandtheclass.Sheoftenansweredquestions,insteadofopeningthemuptotheclass,byrestatingthequestioninthecontextofheradvancedknowledgeofthearea.”Thisisacriticismredeemableonlybyavanitylackingallplayfulness. Impersonation, ventriloquism, mimesis, and

1JosephLitvak,“Discipline,Spectacle,andMelancholiainandaroundtheGayStudiesClassroom,”inPedagogy: The Question of Imperson-ation.Ed.JaneGallop(Indianapolis:IndianaUP,1995),19.



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play are keywords in pedagogical theory, but there’ssomethingaboutbeingcriticizedforone’steachingthatelicits the most literal feelings of fraudulence. What’smore,evenlaudedteachersexperienceinsecurityabouttheirclassroom“performances.”WhenIwasrecruitingspeakers for a Derek Bok Center panel on “TeachingStrategies fromCUEAwardWinners,”mostof the tenormoregraduatestudentsIapproachedfelttheyweren’tqualifiedtolectureonthetopic,despitethefactthattheyhadwonCUEawards,ofteninmultipleyears.Someofthisambivalencetowardsteachingmustbearemnantofthepreviousgeneration,whenLynneV.Cheneywasthemostvisibleadvocatefortakinginstructionasseriouslyasresearch,andarticlessuchas“TeachingAwards:AidtoTenureorKissofDeath?”appearedinThe Chronicle of Higher Education.2

In the last tenyears, trendshavebeguntoshift.Our institution has launched “Harvard College Pro-fessorships” and “Excellence in Mentoring Awards” torecognizefacultydedicationtoteaching,inadditiontothe“CertificateofDistinctioninTeaching”availabletograduatestudents.The Chroniclehasmorerecentlypub-lishedarticlestitled“WhatMakesaTeacherGreat?”and“StudentEvaluationsDeconstructed,”whichreport,withsomecircumspection,ontheincreasinglyspecificevalu-ationsystemsbeingdevelopedforuniversityteachingaswell as the establishment of increasingly remunerativeteachingprizes.3 Afewstraightforwardwords,then,abouttheCUEGuide system, which many of us know nothing aboutuntilourstudentsreceiveanemailfromtheCUEofficeintheirinboxesinformingthemthattheevaluationsareavailableforthemtofilloutonline.(TFsdonotgetanemailfromtheCUEguidebuttheycancheckhowmanyoftheirstudentshavefilledouttheevaluationbygoingtotheirclasstabatmy.harvard.edu.)First,attheendofeachsemesteryourstudentswillbegiventhechancetorate nine aspects of your teaching (for instance, “En-

couragedparticipation,”“Usedblackboards,visualaids,handoutsandproblemsetkeyswell”andthegrim“As-signmentsand/orproblemsetsreturnedpromptly”).Ifyouroverallscorefallsbetweena4.5anda5.0,asitdoesfor10-15%ofTFseachterm,youwillreceivetheCUEcertificate from the Bok Center, an award that can benotedonyourC.V. Accordingtothe2004-2005data,thereisusuallyapositivecorrelationbetweengradingandCUEscores,within and across disciplines. Departmental averagesrangefromStatistics(3.79)toSanskritandIndianStud-ies(4.59),withtheHistoryandHistoryofSciencede-partmentsaveraging4.32and4.45,respectively.Ohyes,and a description of your performance may becomepubliclyavailable intheCUEGuide, ifyouteachforaregularly-offeredcourse. Moreimportant,andaffecting,Ithink,thanthistallying,yourstudentswillalsohavetheopportunitytowrite about you.Theircommentscanbejudiciouslyex-cerpted for job applications, more and more of whicharerequiring“teachingstatements”or“teachingportfo-lios.”4TFsshouldremindtheirCourseHeadtoforwardtheonlineevaluationstothem.Besuretoprintthefilesinfullortokeepthemelectronicallyinasafeplace.TheCUEofficewillnotnecessarilystorethemforyourfu-tureuse. All business-mindedness aside, an afternoon’shappinesscanbecrossed-offsomewherebetweenanN/Aanda“prettyhelpful”inthe“comments”sectionoftheCUEbubbleforms.Ofcourse,howmuchteachingeval-uations matter really depends on what we’ve gambled,daytoday,inourclassrooms.Intermsofmyaspiration-alpedagogy,I takecounsel fromEveSedgwick,whoserecentTouching Feeling: Affect, Pedagogy, Performativitytellsofanotherwaytotakestudentcriticism:

Teaching privileged undergraduates, I sometimes hadachillingintimationthatwhileIreliedontheirwishto

2ScottHeller,“TeachingAwards:AidtoTenureorKissofDeath?”The Chronicle of Higher Education,16March1988,A14.Foramorerecentcritiqueofteachingawards,seeDavidG.Evans,“HowNottoRewardOutstandingTeachers,”The Chronicle of Higher Education,20May2005,B20.

3ThomasBartlett,“WhatMakesaTeacherGreat?”The Chronicle of Higher Education,12December2003,p.8;JoelGold,“StudentEvaluationsDeconstructed,”The Chronicle of Higher Education,12September1997,p.B8.Foranothertakeonthecurrentperformance-imperative,seeJonMcKenzie’sPerform or Else: From Discipline to Performance(NewYork:Routledge,2001).

4TheBartlettarticlenotesthatasoflastyear,over2000collegesweremakinguseofportfolios,thoughgenerallyfortenurereview,andthatthissystemhademergedfrommarketingprograms.



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mirrormeandmyskillsandknowledge,theyweremo-tivatedinsteadbyseeingmeasacautionaryfigure:whatmightbecomeofthemiftheyweren’tcoolenough,sleekenough,adaptableenoughtoescapefromthethicketofacademiaintothecorporateworld…It’ssooftentoolatewhenwefinallyrecognize the ‘resistance’…ofastudent/patient as a form of pedagogy aimed at us and invitingour mimesis. We may wonder afterwards whether andhowwecouldhavemanagedtoturnintotheparticular

5EveKosofskySedgwick,Touching Feeling: Affect, Pedagogy, Performativity(Durham:DukeUP,2003),154.

teacher/therapistneededbyeachone.Perhapstheirim-plicationhasbeen:Tryitmyway—ifyou’regoingtoteachme.Oreven:Ihavesomethingmoreimportanttoteachyouthanyouhavetoteachme.5

Whetherourteachingismetwithimpersonationor with intense dissent, these anonymous dispatchesfromtheclassroom—theseCUES—arealwaysspursasmuchasevaluations.

Giving the Guest LectureBy Lauren E. Brown (History)

You’ve stared down the steely eyes of your gen-erals committee, you’ve mastered the art of leading adiscussionsection,andyoumaybewellonyourwaytoactuallywriting thatdissertation.Butareyouready totakeonaroomof100+studentswhojusthadtoomuchdininghallchickenparmesanforlunch?Howaboutthe50 students in your 11 a.m. lecture class who seem tohaverolledoutofbedwithoutdrinkingtheirmorningcoffee?Herearesomethingstoconsiderasyoupreparetodeliveryourfirstguestlecture:

Know your audience.Youhavetwo–theprofessorandthestudents.First, theprofessor.Thinkabout the typeoflecturesshenormallygives:aretheyheavyonaudio-visuals? are they argument driven? do they encourageaudienceparticipation?dotheyadliboraretheyverystructured? what kind of lessons have they (and thecourse) been trying to teach the students? Now thinkabout which of these aspects you’d like to emulate orpracticeusing. Givesomethoughttowhoitisyou’resubstitute-lecturingfor.Bythispoint,youknowtheCourseHeadwell and can gauge how she will respond to differentscenarios. Is she open to you doing something totallydifferentinclass,orwillshereadthatapproachasyounottakingthesituationseriously?Thebestwaytoavoiddisappointmentoneitherendistocommunicate.Mostprofessorswillhappilychatwithyouabouthowtheyseeyou putting your own stamp on things, as well as the

goalsthey’dliketoseeyouaccomplishintakingontheparticularlecturetheyhaveassignedtoyou. Inanidealscenario,youwouldscheduleameet-ing with the Course Head a month in advance of thelecture(orearlier).Comepreparedwithoneortworea-sonablydetailedplansofattackforyourlecture.Priortothemeeting,thinkaboutansweringthefollowingques-tions(ifyougetstuck,youcanalwaysasktheprofessortothinkthroughthemwithyou):

1.Whatmaterialleadsintothislecture?2.Whataremymaingoals?amI focusingmoreon

substance (facts, narratives, timelines) or method(howhistorianshavedealtwithatopic,particularwaystoapproachhistory)?

3.Whatmustbecovered tohead into the followingweek’smaterial?

4.WhatwaysmightIbeabletotapintomethodsI’veused in section during the lecture? (for example,doingaclose-readingofa text,askingstudents toansweraquestion,takingapartavisualimage?)

Thelastitem,inparticular,playstoyourstrengths.Youalreadyknowseveralwaystomakelearninginterac-tive.Reviewtechniquesyou’veusedsuccessfullyinsec-tionandseeifthey’lltranslatetoalecturescenario.ByrunningoneortwooutlinesorproposalsbytheCourseHead,youwillhaveaclearersenseofwhatyouneedtoaccomplish when you finally sit down to write. Some



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professorswilloffertolookoverdraftsaheadofthelec-ture,otherswon’t.Aswithanythingyouwrite, agoodproofisalwaysasmartmove.

Know your audience: the students. Those surly kidswho are wont to nap during lecture… Humor aside,oddsarethatthestudentsareonyourside.Theyknowthatguest-lecturingisabigdealforyou,andunlessyouarethenotoriousTFwhogivesnothingbutCs,theywillcheeryouonthroughout,regardlessofyouractualper-formance.Nonetheless,thestudentsareyourtrueaudi-ence,andyouneedtogivesomethoughttohowbesttoappealto(andentertain)them.Hereyou’veactuallybeendealtabetterhandthantheprofessor,asyouknowthesestudentsfarbetterthanshedoes.You’vetaughttheminsectionandhaveadecentsenseofwhattheythinkisandisn’tworkinginthecourse.Havingreadtheirpapersandlistenedtotheirin-classcomments,youalsohaveaclearsenseoftheirskilllevelandbackgroundknowledge.Usethistoyouradvantage.Doestheprofessortalktoofastorcovertoomuchmaterialforstudentstoprocess?Ifso,sayless,talkslower,andemphasizemore.Thinkaboutways to mediate between what the students want andneedandwhattheCourseHeadwillexpectfromyou.

Know yourself.Theoretically,youcametogradschoolbecauseyouwanttobeaprofessor.Theideaofgettingupinfrontofstudentsandlecturing,thatis,explainingconceptsinwhichyoufind(anadmittedlyperverse)joy,shoulddonothingbutexciteyou.Excitement,however,doesnotnecessarilytranslateintopublicspeakingtalent.Bythispointyou’vehadenoughexperienceinsmallerpresentations toknowyour tics.Areyoua fast-talker?Doyoupaceortwitch?Ifthisisyourfirsttimedeliver-ingalecture,getyourselfintothatlecturehallanddoafewdryrunswithatrustyfriend.Makesureyouremindyourselftopause.Timeyourself.Askyourcolleagueorfriendtokeepaneyeoutforquirkybehavior.Themorecomfortableyouareinyoursurroundingsandroutine,thesmootherthelecturewillgo.

Know the task. Also important, however, is knowingwhat’srequiredtoprepareagoodlecture.You’vealreadytaken the first step in meeting with the professor anddevisingagameplan.Butinsittingdowntowrite,first-timelecturersareoftenata loss forwhattodo,where

tostart,andhowtofindmaterial.Inotherwords,whatrulesapplytothistypeofwritingexercise?Youwillberelievedtoknowthatyouroptionsareopenintermsofsourcing.Mostfirst-timerslaterrevealthattheyessen-tially “cribbed” the factualmaterial (not thewording!)fromoneortwotexts.Extensiveresearchisnotneces-sary, with two exceptions: one, if you’re lecturing in atopicareanewtoyou;andtwo,ifyou’retryingtomakeamethodologicalpoint.Inthesecases,doing(andshow-ing)someprimaryresearchishelpful.Letyourwritingstyle,beittext-oriented,narrative,orargument-drivenguideyouinbuildingyoursourcebase. As you prepare to write, consider that for a 45-minutelecture,youwillneedapproximately14double-spacedpages.Iguaranteethatthefirstfewlecturesyouwritewilltakeyoutwiceaslongtoprepareasexpected.Youwilldevelopanewfoundrespectforjuniorfacultywholecturetwiceaweekwhilecontinuingtheirownre-searchandwriting.Makesureyougiveyourselfplentyofleadtimeforyourlecture–you’llneedit.Asthisisyourfirstgoandyouwanttomakethebestimpressionpossible,workingonyourlectureoffandonforamonthisnotunreasonable.Remember,however, that eventu-allyyouwillbethejuniorfacultymemberandyouwillneedtobeabletowritethesewithareasonableamountofspeedandefficiency.Fortunately,onesolidlywrittenlecture can frequently be re-used and re-tooled againandagainforavarietyoflecturingoccasions.Thus,timewellspentnowmayindeedsaveyoutimelater.

Know your point. Goodteachingandlecturingcanbeboileddowntosimpleshowandtell.Or,morespecifi-cally–tell,show,andtell.Thereisnothingmorefrus-tratingforstudentsthansittingforanhourlistening,co-piouslytakingnotes,andleavingnotknowingwhattheywere supposed to take away from the lecture, or whattheymaybeaskedtorecall.Itisakintoreadinganessaywithoutanearlythesisstatement–theauthormayknowwhere he/she is taking the reader, but the reader suredoesn’t!Soasalecturer,youmusttell,show,andtell.Youmustknowthe2or3largepointsyouwantthestudentstotakefromthelecture.Tellthemupfront:“Todaywe’regoing todiscusssituationX. I’dreally likeyoutokeepinmindYandZ.”(Beitinasectionoralecture,Istartalmost every class by listing these items on the boardoraslide).Thenshowthemhowthematerialfitsthese



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points.Andthentellthemagainwhatthoseimportantpointswere.Thebest lecturesfindways tocontinuallyreiteratethemainpointsasthelecturerusesmaterialtoillustrate those points. Like signposts in essay writing,take moments during the lecture to summarize whatyou’vecoveredandwhatyou’reabouttocover.Andthentell themwhat thosemainpointsareagain. Itwill feelpainfullyredundanttoyou.Itwillsoundgloriouslyco-herentandcohesivetothestudentsandtheywillthankyouforit.

Know your purpose. The easiest way for a first-timelecturer to understand the purpose of a lecture is, insomeways, to thinkofwhat itneednotbe. It isnotadissertation.Itdoesnotinvolveacomplicatedexplana-tionofhistoriography,whereinyoushowhowallpriorhistoricaleffortswereweak-mindedandwrong.Itneednotbeheavyonoriginalargumentormaterial.Hereiswhere lecturing differs from article writing. First, youmust realize that students do not have the wealth orbreadthofknowledge thatyoudo (see,you’ve learnedsomethingingraduateschool!).Youareinchargeofex-plainingtothematimeperiod,aphenomenon,agenre,oramethod.Whatfeelsoverlysimplistictoyouisstillprobablysomethingtheyneedtohear.Makenoassump-tionsofpriorknowledge.(Harvardkidsinparticularareextremely skilled in talkingexpertly about things theyhaveabsolutelynoknowledgeof.)ItaughtasectioninwhichIaskedtheclasstodefinetheword“canon.”The

response,givenseriously:“Whenonepersonstartssing-ing,thenanother,andthenanother.”It’salwaysgoodtowork with the basics and then build one or two morecomplicatedpointsintothelecture. Next, do not feel as if your lecture need be ap-propriateforaconferencetalk.Again,morelikelythannot,youwillrelyheavilyon2or3textsandwillessen-tiallycribthelecturefromthem.Themorelecturesyouwriteandgive,theeasieritwillbecometolearnhowandwhentoassertyourownvoiceandopinions.Butinthebeginning,it’sfairtorelyontheworkofothers–para-phrasingandattributingasnecessary.(Note:it’sagoodidea to write footnotes or parenthetical citations foryourselfsoyouremember,downtheroad,whichideaswere“borrowed”andwhichwereyourown.)Finally,re-member your purpose is also to enjoy the experience.Think about the things that draw you to this materialandfeelfreetoshapethelecturearoundthat!

Ihopethesesuggestionswillgetyouthinkingac-tivelyabouthowtostepintotheroleofprofessorforaday.Themostimportantthingtorememberistobepre-pared.Thismeanshavingthosewrittenpagesinfrontofyou,whetherornotyoureadfromthemcontinuouslyorinsertsomemomentsofdiscussion,questioning,orad-libbing.Andfinally–whenallelsefails:everyonelovesaudio-visuals.Goodluck!

Writing Letters of RecommendationBy Heather Smith (English and American Literature & Language)

This essay is reprinted, with permission, from the TeachingFellowHandbook:DepartmentofEnglish (2003).

AsbothaTFandaresidenttutor,Ihavewrittenanumberoflettersofrecommendation.Duringmyspellas Junior Secretary for Admissions at Homerton Col-lege,Cambridge,Ihavealsoseenafew(aswellassomeheinousIDphotos).Herearemytips/thoughts/thingstoconsider:

Can You Do It?

The first thing to remember about writing for

people is that you can refuse if you really can’t bringyourselftodoit.NB–notknowingastudentverywellisnoreasontodeclinetorecommendthem.Theycansup-plyplentyofsupplementaryinformationtoyou.Writinglettersforpeopleisagreatwaytogettoknowthem.Thisprovisoappliestotherarestudentwhoappallsyouandwhomyoujustcannotpraise. If you cannot honestly recommend the student,thenthereareavarietyoftactfulwaystotellthemthatyou’renotthebestpersonforthistask.Somethingabout



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howyoudon’tfeelyoucanwritethemagreatletter,oreventhatyoureallydon’thavetime,willbeinoffensive,and will spare you the morally damnable position ofwritingthemalukewarmletterthatwill losethemthejobanyway.Employersorfellowshipcommitteescanseerightthroughfaintpraise,andit’sawasteofyourtimeand the student’s two/three chances for strong lettersifyouwriteaflabbyonebecauseyou’venothingmuchworthsayingaboutthisperson. Ifyouareindoubt,considerwhetheryoucanhon-estlyrecommendthestudent.Occasionallyyouwillfindyourselfinapositionwhereastudentyoujustcan’tlikeasksyouforaletter.Bearinmindthat,ifthey’redesper-ateenoughtohavetoaskyou(theirrandomTF),itmaybethatnoonewhohaslivedorworkedwiththemwantstoperjurethemselvesbypraisingthispersononpaper.TherearealotoflinesofdefensebetweentheaverageTFandtheletterofrecommendation–thestudent’shouseentrywaytutor,theirhouseSeniorTutor,maybetheirju-niororseniortutorialsupervisor,etc.Ifyou’reuncom-fortable, it’s reasonable to ask them if there’s someonewhoknowsthembetter,whocouldwritethelettertheywant.

Is There Time?

You will need at least a week’s notice, absoluteminimum. Two weeks is the practical minimum forcomfort.Sincewhattheyareaskingyouforisaprofes-sionalservice,thisisreasonable. Alsobearinmindthatyouwillverylikelyneedtoobtainasignedwaiverformfromthestudent,wheretheycertifythattheywaivetheirlegalrighttoseeyourletter–oftenthishastobeenclosedinthesealedenve-lopeyouputyourletterinto,sobesureyougetthatintime. NB – of course I’ve written an occasional briefthing for people who need it at the last minute, any-thingupto10pmthenightbefore itwasdue,but thisistotallydowntowhatmoodyou’rein,whetherthere’sphysicallytimetodowhattheyask,andwhetheryou’vebeen drinking – it is therefore entirely at your discre-tion.Thisismuchmoreofanissueforthelive-intutor(whosestudentsarealsoherneighbors)thanfortheTF,butI’veneverfelttaken-advantage-ofineithercapacity.

Studentsherecanfeelenormouslyentitled,butnobodycandespiseyouforhavingtorefusetowriteat24hoursnotice-nordotheydespiseyouifyouareavailabletodothemthismassivefavor.

The Devil is in the Details Firstofall,onapracticalformattinglevel,makesurethatthestudent’snameisrightnearthestartoftheletterinbold,orputitasa“Re:AngelaThing”onasepa-rate linebelowthe“DearSirs”.Dosomethingtomakeitniceandclearwhoyouarewritingforandwhy.Asageneral rule, employers etc. will not waste time tryingtoextractorintuitembeddedinformationfromafuzzyletter.Thatis“gameover”beforeyouevenbegin. Beyondthat,thebestadviceistoknowyourtask.Itisoftenusefultoaskthestudentwhoelsewillbewrit-ingintheirsupport,sothatyourletterwillnotoverlapwith theothersandyoucanprovide freshevidenceofthe student’s strengths. No committee or employerwants three similar letters about a person. So find outiftheywouldlikeapurelyacademicletterfromyou,oronetailoredmoretoshowcasetheirefficiencyandotherabstractbusinessqualities,forexample. So,onceyou’vebeenaskedingoodtime,andhavedecidedtodoit(andonceyouknowyourboundaries),find out more details about what the letter is for. Youshouldhavenoqualmsaboutaskingthestudenttowriteyouabriefexplanationof thefellowship/ job/ fundingthey’reapplyingfor,ortophotocopytheirownapplica-tionmaterialsforyourinformation.Allofthis isgreatfodderforyoutowritethestrongest letterpossible,soit’sverymuchintheirbestinterest. Itisalsofine,andsometimesagoodidea,toaskthestudenttoexplainhowtheywanttolookinthispor-trait you are writing – you don’t have to stick to theirself-imageifitdoesn’tfithowyouseethem,butthestu-dentwillknowmoreabouttheapplicationthanyoudo,andif theywanttheir independentresearchtobeem-phasizedintheletter,thenitwillbeveryusefulforyoutoknow that. It’smucheasier toproceedaccording toyourconscience(andyourpersonalperjuryradar)onceyouknowwhatspintheywantandwhatthepurposeoftheletteractuallyis.Youcandecidewhatyouareorarenot willing or able to say about them, once you know



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whattheywant. Thestrongest lettersIhaveseenorwrittenhavebeenoneswheretheauthorhaswrittenbothgenerallyandspecificallyabout the student,giving (brief) anec-dotes that illustrate their outstanding qualities. This iswherethedetailsyouhavebeenobtainingabovewillre-allymakeadifference.Forinstance–youknowthatthestudentisalwayspunctualforyourtutorial,andalwayshands intheirneatlyproofreadworkontime.In itselfthis isn’t make-or-break material. However, you canthengoontoqualifyandenhancethiswithmentionoftheir demanding extracurricular public-service career;wheretheyalsogivetheirallbutgeteverythingdone,ef-ficiently,thoroughly,andontime.AspecificexampleisoneofmystudentswhotakesalotofChineselanguageclasses–IwasabletowriteinhisrecommendationthathealsocontributesalottoaprograminChinatown,giv-ingEnglishlessonsandcitizenshipclassesbilingually.Sothecontextorramificationsofanactivityorachievementarealsoimportant.Beingagreatfootballerissomethinganydoofuscando.Beingagreatfootballer,atthesametime as gradually overcoming dyslexia, and also goingfromaC-toaB+inyourclassismuchmoreinterestingtoanemployerorfellowshipcommittee.(Withregardtogrades,itcan’thurtinthiscontexttopointoutthatMr.Linebacker’sfinalB+grademeanthe’drisentorank6thoutofaclassof24). Theletterofrecommendationisthereforeacol-laborativeeffort,somethingwhereyouuseinformationsupplied to you by the student (or by your colleaguestoo) in order to really stand behind their application.Yourletteractuallywillmakeahugedifferencetotheirchances.Doasyouwouldbedoneby.

An Aside About Harvard ‘Financial Aid’ Recommendations Ifyouareaskedtowritea“letter”forafinancialaid student’s application for further years of internal,Harvard financial aid funding, be aware that these areextraordinarilyeasy,veryquick,andaresubmittedon-line. Youwillneedtofillinandsignoffonfourpara-graphsofinformation:1)Inwhatconnectionhaveyouknownthisapplicant?(125words)2.Whatcanyoutell

usaboutthisstudent’sintellectualinterestandabilities,andacademicachievements? (125words)3.Whatcanyoutellusabouttheapplicant’spersonalqualities?(125words) and 4. We welcome any further statement youmay wish to make about the applicant. (an unlimitedamountoftext). Itisnotconsideredstrictlyunprofessionaltohavethe student draft the latter three replies themselves, ifthey’renottooshytopuffthemselvesabit–oriftheyareverymodest, the least theycando is togiveyouabarelistoftheirextracurriculars,awards,etc.Theselittleonline financial aid recommendations are basically ar-bitrarypaperworktomakesurethatthestudentisnotutterly goofing off in their time here, so although youshouldmakethemstrongandpositivelikeafull-lengthletter of recommendation, they are much shorter andcan be done with more student collaboration. Bear inmind that you need the student’s Harvard ID numberin order to submit it, and keep the confirmation codeyoureceive,inordertoupdateoredittherecordifneedarises.

Ordering Your Information into a Killer Letter Firstpieceofadviceisnottorepeatpartsofthestudent’sownapplication.ThestudentmayhavechosentogiveyouherownapplicationletterandCVforyourinformation,butyoushouldwriteasacomplementandsupporttothis,nottoreiterateanypartofit,buttofleshitoutandbackherupwithyourprofessionalopinion. Allthiscanbedoneasbestpleasesyou.Mypre-ferredmodelistointroducemyselfverybriefly,sothatthe reader is not left to wonder if I am a janitor, or abloodrelativeofthecandidate.Itneverhurtstoexplainquickly that you have “been their Teaching Fellow forXYZclass,andhaveworkedcloselywithMissThingallsemester.” If you have been her junior or senior tuto-rialsupervisor,evenbetter,becauseyourletterbecomesmoreplausiblethemoretimeyouhavespentprofession-ally with the student. This all strengthens the reader’sinterest inyoursupportfortheapplicant’smagnificentqualities. Youcanthengoon,inthebodyoftheletter,tolisttheirveryhighlevelofcommitment,thequalityandmaturityoftheirwork,thestrengthoftheirindependent



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study,orwhateverelse seems tailor-made in relevancetothepurposeoftheletter.Amanagementconsultancyfirmisgoingtocareverylittleaboutessaysperse,butwillbepleasedtohearaboutthestrengthandcogencyofthestudent’sverbalexpression.Pitchitfortheaudi-ence.Mostofthisiscommonsense…butmakesureyoukeep itnicely focused.Youdon’twant tomakeahugelistofpersonalexcellencesandgiveequalweighttoallofthem,withanexampleforeverything.Thisis(again)whereitreallyhelpstoknowwhattheletterisfor.Men-tionasmanygreatthingsaboutthisstudentasseemrel-evanttoyou,butyouneedonlyuseacoupleofstunningexamplestoreallygetyourpointacross.

Time

Theaverage1.5pageletterwillprobablyrequire2drafts,andwilltakearound3hourstotal.Thiswillbeaserioustimeinvestmentifyouhaveseverallettersdueat thesametime,sobudgetcarefullysothatyoudon’thavetotossthemoffinalunchbreak.Theideallengthforaletterisonetooneandahalfpages(usuallysinglespaced)–sodependingonyourfont,onepageisoftenalittleshorttogetallthegoodbitsin.Besuccinct,butincludeaspreadofgreatdetails.

What If There’s Something Bad? Hmmm.RarehereatHarvard,butnotunheardof. Plenty of students are depressed for a semester ormore,orhavepersonalorfamilycrisesthatcausetheirgradestosuffer,orevenmakethemdropoutofschool.Luckily,theemployer/fundingcommittee,etc.isgener-allyinterestedintheirpotential,thepersonnotthegradetranscript,andhereyour letterreallyhasthepowertomakeadifference. Contextualize and explicate an underachieve-mentsomewhereinthebodyofyourletter,notnearthebeginning. Pay attention first to the sketch of the stu-dent’s achievementsorprogress in theareawhereyouhaveworkedwiththem.Youcanthengoon,againstthisbackground,toexplainthatthelossofaparent,ortheirepisodeofseriousdepression,ortheirboutofmonoetc.,resultedinalossofgradesbutwashandledbravelyand

withmaturity.Thestudentnevermadeexcusesforhim-self,butstilltriedtoperformatahighstandard–orper-hapstheysensiblyandmaturelydecidedtogethelp.Youcan find some way to turn a student’s darker momentto their advantage, simply by explaining an admirablequalitythatyouwouldnototherwisehavehadchancetoseeinthem. Admittedly, you are unlikely to need to do this–usuallytheirhouseSeniorTutorwillwritethedetailedand admittedly difficult explanatory letter for the un-derperformingorprematurelydepartingstudent,butincaseyoueverneedto,it’sprettycommon-sensical.Giveinformationinanorderwhichbestservesthestudent’sinterest.

The Dismount Agreatwaytoendastrongletteriswithaphraselike–“Inshort,IwholeheartedlysupportMissThing’sapplication to thisprogram. Itwillprovideexactly theenvironmentwhich, inmyopinion,willmaximizeherskills,aswellasenhancinghercontributiontothe[com-pany/community/whatever]. Many thanks for yourtimeandattention….”Feelfreetouseyourofficialtitles(TeachingFellow,etc.)underyournameifyouwantto,ifyoudidn’talreadytotallyblowyourwadatthestartofyourletter.Don’tforgettosignitproperly,too. Other similarly strong notes to finish on arethingslike“Ibelievethisfundingwouldbekeytomaxi-mizing the great potential that Mr. Such has alreadydemonstratedinhisfield.”Thekeytothesebeingreal-isticendings,notjustsomuchpuff,isthatthebodyofyour letter shouldalreadyhave shown, in lovelydetailandbeautifullysetoutfortheeaseofthereader,allthewaysinwhichthestudenthasalreadydemonstratedhisorherability, resourcefulness,greatpotential,etc.,etc.Yourendingjustsumsthisup.Lettersdonotlook“in-flated”oroverlyenthusiasticwhentheycontainagooddensityofsupportingevidence,specificinstances,etc.

Save it! File It So You Can Find It Justwhenyouthought itwassafe togoback inthewater,someone’sinevitablygoingtoaskyouformore



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copiesoftheirpreviousletterforlaterapplications…filethemonyourharddrive,andbepreparedtodoalittleupdating.Thisisespeciallyimportantifyouarewritingagenericlettertobeheldoveruntilthestudentisreallyapplyingforthings–bepreparedtobringituptodate.

Print It on Letterhead, and Other Points of Etiquette Also, as you tidy it up to print and mail: makesureyouaddressthelettertothespecificcommitteeorpeople for whom it is written. “To whom it may con-cern”isnotapleasantorparticularlyprofessionalwaytobegin,especiallysinceyoushouldhaveaclueabouttheaudience for your letter. Even if it’s “Dear AdmissionsTutor,”that’sbetterthan“whomitmayconcern.”

Also ascertain, if you’re revising the letter for adifferentaudience,thatyouhavere-tailoredit.Youdon’twant tobewriting toa law-firmand telling themthatMissThingwillbesuperastheirswimmingcoachbe-causesheisgreatwithkids,unlessthisreallyisentirelythecase.

For additional information on writing a letter ofrecommendation,see:

“WritingYourfirstLetterofRecommendation”bokcenter.harvard.edu/docs/TFTrecs.html

“GSASGuideforTeachingFellowsonWritingLet-tersofRecommendation”bokcenter.harvard.edu/docs/Verba-recs.html

Professional Development: Advice from the DepartmentBy Professor Hue-Tam Ho Tai

Most graduate students going on the academicjob market will be asked about their teaching experi-ence.Themoreextensiveandvariedyourexperienceatthetimeofyourjobinterview,thebetter.Itisthereforeimportant to begin accumulating a variety of teachingexperiencesearlyon inyourgraduatecareer.Ordinar-ily,youwillbegin teachingafteryouhavepassedyourGeneralExams.Bearinmindthatatmostinstitutions,especiallyliberalartscolleges,professorswillbeexpect-edtoteachoutsidetheirareaofexpertise;try,therefore,to gain teaching experience both in and outside yourimmediatefieldofspecialization.Graduatestudents inHistorycan serveasTeachingFellowsandTutors inavarietyofcourses,includingintroductorydepartmentalofferings,CorecoursesinHistoricalStudiesorForeignCultures,departmentaltutorials,andlecturecoursesandtutorials offered in related departments or programs,suchasHistoryofScience,HistoryandLiterature,EastAsianStudies,SocialStudies,andsoon. Graduatestudents’teachingcareerscantakeoneofseveraltrajectories.MostG3studentsbeginbyserv-

ingasasectionleader(“TeachingFellow”)orasatutori-alleader(“Tutor”)intheDepartmentorCore.AfteroneormoresemestersservingasaTFand/orTutor,agradu-atestudentmaybeaskedtoserveasa“HeadTeachingFellow”orasan“AdministrativeTutor.”Inthesecases,agraduatestudentnotonlyteacheshisorherownsec-tionortutorial,butalsoworksinconjunctionwiththeCourseHeadtocoordinatethestaffofgraduatestudentsteaching in the course. Beginning in the G3 year, butmore often in the G4 year or later, graduate studentsmayalsoadviseseniortheses.Evenmorethanservingasa sectionor tutorial leader, this teaching jobentailssignificantindependentwork.Graduatestudentsdirect-ing senior theses design exercises and structured one-on-onemeetingstohelpanindividualstudentcompleteamajorresearchproject.Eachoftheseteachingoppor-tunitiesprovidesvaluableexperience. As a section leader, you will practice variousteaching techniques as you learn how to vary sectioninstruction by using debates, role playing, and otherpedagogical tools. You will also gain valuable experi-



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enceinbeingareflectiveteacherasyouthinkaboutthewaystheprofessor’slectureandyourownsectionteach-ingfit together to formacoherentwhole.Youwillactonthisknowledgebycontributingweeklystudyand/orresponse paper questions to the course’s Teaching Fel-low staff meeting and by commenting on and gradingstudents’responsepapers,essays,andexams.Moreover,asaTeachingFellowyouwillgainvaluableexpertiseinasubjectmatterbycompletingboththereadingsassignedtostudentsandsupplementalreadingsthatwillgiveyoumore detailed knowledge, enabling you to answer thequestionsyourstudentswilllikelypose. Asatutorial leader,youwillhoneskills inlead-ingsmall-groupdiscussions.Withonly4-6studentsperclass and a two-hour meeting period, tutorials in theHistory Department enable you to use active learningtechniques,suchashavingstudentsgiveoralpresenta-tionsandconductpeerreviewsofeachother’swriting.Because of the small class size and frequent assign-ments, tutorial teaching also enables you to develop adeeprelationshipwithstudents,whomyouwilladvise(informally)aswellasteach.Duringthecourseofase-mester,youwillcometoknowyourstudents’strengthsandweaknessesaswritersandthinkers,probablymoresothananyoneelseoncampus.Teachingatutorialalsoprovidesyouwiththeopportunitytoreflectonthetu-torialprogramas awhole—howdoes theDepartmentconceptualizethelearningprocessstudentsundergoinlearningtothinkandwritelikehistorians?Andasinthecase of section leading, tutorial teaching gives you anopportunitytoreflectontherelationshipbetweenyourteaching,conductedintutorial,andtheCourseHead’steaching,conductedincourseseminars. IfyoubecomeHeadTeachingFelloworAdminis-trativeTutor,youwillgainexperienceintheadministra-tivesideofteachingasyoulearnhowtoreserveclass-rooms,orderbooks,assignstudentstosection,maintainacoursewebsite,anddealwiththeCollegebureaucracy.Mostimportantly,youwillleadorco-leadTeachingFel-loworTutorstaffmeetingsanddiscussionsaboutpeda-gogy,andyouwilllearnhowtoutilizeHarvard’sexten-siveteachingandlearningresourcecenterssuchastheDerekBokCenterforTeachingandLearning,theHar-vardWritingProject,andtheInstructionalComputingGroup.

Specific Recommendations for Professional Development

Keep a teaching notebook on the courses in which you have assisted.Evenifyouhadnohandindesigningthecourse,takeacriticallookatthesyllabusasthecourseprogresses. How would you have constructed the syl-labus differently? What different readings would YOUhaveassigned?Takegoodnotesonthevolumeandtypeof readingsassigned, andkeep trackof students’ reac-tions to the assignments. Note what worked and whatdidnot inbothsectionsand lectures.Howwouldyouhavepresentedthelecturesdifferently?IfPowerpointorothertechnologywasused,howeffectivewasit?Wouldyoubecomfortableusingit?Ifthecoursehadawebsite,howwouldYOUhavedesignedit?

Gather syllabi of courses you might like to TFifgiventheopportunity,orthatyouwouldliketoteachinthefuture.Usetheseasastartingpointfordesigningyourowncourses.Manysearchcommitteesexpectjobcandi-datestobringsamplesyllabi.

Give a lecture in the course in which you are assisting.Deliveringaguestlecturewillgiveyouagoodsenseofhowlong it takes todesignafifty-minute lecture,howmuchinformationyoucanpresentinoneclassperiod,and what level of difficulty you should aim at. Again,make sure to record your observations about the pro-cessofputtingtogetherthelectureanddeliveringit inyourteachingnotebook.Wereyourjokeswellreceivedordidtheyfallflat?Wereyouabletogetyourmainpointacross?Didyourunoutoftime?Ifyoumakearrange-mentsinadvance,theDerekBokCentercanoftenvid-eotapeyourguestlectureandhaveateachingconsultantreviewitwithyouafterward.

Keep teaching evaluations.Eventhemostcriticalonescanbeusefulasyouthinkabouthowtoimproveyourteaching.Ifyoureceiveplaudits,youwillbeabletopointtotheminjobinterviewsand/orincludetheminyourteachingportfolio.

Ask the course instructor for a recommendation when the course is over.Thisisthebesttimeforseekingone,whentheinstructorstillhasyourperformancefreshin



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mind.

Keep track of the time you spend teaching as opposed to doing your own research and writing.Trytomain-tainahealthybalancebetweenthetwo.

Use the resources of the Office of Career Services.ItcanprovidetipsonwritingCVsandresumes,onself-presen-tation,onpublicspeaking,andvariousothertopics.

Attend job talks.Donotlimityourselftotalksinyourownfieldofinterest.Acommonchallengeforspeakersis how to address mixed audiences. Consider whetherthetopicwaswellchosenfortheaudienceandtheocca-sionandwhetherthespeakerprovidedenoughcontextforthelistenerstofollowtheargumentsbeingpresented

andevaluatetheinterpretationbeingoffered.

Give mock job talksandseizeopportunitiestopresentyourworkinprogresstoothers.Thiswillgiveyouexpe-rienceintime-managementandinpresentingyourre-searchtoamixedgroup.Commentswillrangefromthesubstantivetoissuesofstyleandself-presentation.

Attend professional workshops and conferences; bet-ter yet, participate in some.Harvardgraduatestudentshaveawealthofopportunitiesoncampus.Animpressivenumberofstudentsalsoparticipateinpanelsatnationalandinternationalconferences.Thislevelofinvolvementgivesthembothvaluableexperienceandahighlevelofvisibilityamongprospectiveemployers.Takeadvantageoftheseopportunities.

Preparing for Teaching-Related Questions on the Job Interview

A Few Basic Guidelines

Doasmuchbackgroundresearchaspossibleontheinstitution,department,andfaculty/searchcommit-tee conducting the interview. Check the undergradu-ate catalogue for courses and authors typically taught.Checktheschoolwebsiteforlearningresourcessuchaslibraryorcomputingassistance. Havesamplesyllabipreparedinadvance(includ-ingtexts,courseoutlines,andmeansofassessment),butdonotreadaloudfromthem.Youmayormaynotbeaskedtodistributesyllabi. Arrangeformock-interviewsintheDepartmentorattheOfficeofCareerServices. Beable todescribeyourresearch, teaching,andfuture projects succinctly and engagingly. Interviewerswillaskgeneralquestions,butyoushouldgivespecificanswers. Be prepared to answer the same questions overandoveragainduringaday-longinterview. Sound flexible. (Or, rather, do not sound toospecialized/esoteric).Bewillingtoteachtodepartmentneeds and student interests, as well as to experimentwithvariousformats(teamteaching,computer-assisted

learning,etc.). If you have the opportunity to give feedback attheendoftheinterview,donotaskanyquestionsyoushouldhaveresearchedalready.Use“Doyouhaveanyquestions forus?”asanopportunity to sayabitmoreaboutyourself.(Forinstance,“IranaworkinggrouponXatHarvard.Doyouthinktherewouldbeanyinterestinasimilarendeavorhere?”Or,“Inoticedthatyouhavea Humanities/Gender Studies/Teaching and LearningCenterhere.Howinvolvedaredepartmentfacultywiththisoutsideinstitute?”

Sample Interview Questions asked of Recent PhDs

1.Whatisyourbasicteachingphilosophy?

2.Howwouldyouteach...?(Anythingfromanintroduc-toryserviceclasstoaninnovativecourseinthedepart-ment.)

3.Ifyoucouldteachanycourseyouwanted,whatwoulditbe?Whatwouldyouteachnextifyoucouldteachtwoofthem?



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4.Whichtextwouldyouuse(haveyouused)fortheU.S.Survey,forWesternCiv,etc.?Or,howwouldyouteach(specificmajorworkinyourfield)?

5.TakecourseX.Asyouwouldteachit,whatthreegoalswouldthecourseachieve?Whenstudentshadcomplet-edyourcourse,whatwouldtheyhavelearnedthatisoflastingvalue?

6.Tellushowyourresearchhasinfluencedyourteach-ing.Inwhatwayshaveyoubeenabletobringtheinsightsof your research to your courses at the undergraduatelevel?Howdoyoubalanceteachingandresearch?

7.Howdoyouusetechnologyintheclassroom?

8.Describeyourclassroomenvironment.

9.Howwouldyourworkfitwiththeworkofthisdepart-ment?

10.Doyouknowxhistorian’swork?(Readuponyourorals list before your interview!) How does it relate toyourteaching?

11.WhatisthedifferencebetweenhistoryandAmeri-canStudies?

12.Howdoyouteachwriting?Whatkindsofessaysdoyou want students to write? How do you know you’vebeensuccessful?

13.Whatcriticalapproachesdoyoufindmostpersua-sive?Howdotheytranslateintoyourteaching?

14.Whatinterdisciplinarycoursescouldyouteach?

15. How will you deal with “hot topics” (for example,explosivepoliticalissues)inyourcourse?

16.Howdoyou(asaHarvardgraduate)anticipateteach-ingstudentsatthisschool?

17.Whatroledoprimarysourcesplayinyourclassroom?

18.Describeyourbestteachingexperience.

19. How will you teach nontraditional students? Non-nativespeakers?

20. What teaching-related responsibilities are you pre-paredtoassumeinthedepartment?

Derek Bok Center for Teaching and LearningMuchoftheinformationhasbeendrawnfromthefollowingwebsites:•www.otal.umd.edu/~sies/jobquess.htmlMaryCorbinSies,Dept.ofAmericanStudies,UniversityofMaryland,CollegePark•www.english.upenn.edu/Grad/placement.phpUniversityofPennsylvania,DepartmentofEnglishPlacementInformationwebsite


Creating a Teaching Portfolio

Search committees are increasingly consideringteaching experience and pedagogical expertise as sig-nificant factors when evaluating faculty members’ pro-files.Thereisevidencethatinacompetitivejobmarket,and when other things are equal, the candidate with astrong—and documented—teaching record will get thejoboffer. BecauseteachingisoftenundervaluedatHarvard,despiterecenteffortsbytheDeanstochangetheUniversi-

tyculture,GSASstudentssometimesoverlooktheimpor-tanceoftheirskillsandexperienceintheclassroomwhenenvisioning their overall “package” as a job candidate.This is understandable: at most large research universi-ties,teachingdoesnotplayasignificantaroleinhiringorpromotiondecisions.Ifgraduatestudentschatwithju-niorfacultymembersintheirdepartment,theywilllikelyhearthattheassistantprofessorstheyadmiredonothaveateachingportfolioorstatementofteachingphilosophy


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andhaveneverbeenaskedtoshowone.ButthisdoesnotmeanthatGSASstudentsshouldfollowtheirexample. Therealityoftoday’sjobmarketisthatmostGSASgraduates will apply for college and university jobs inwhichteachingplaysacentralfactorinmakinghiringde-cisions.SmallliberalartscollegesrangingfromAmhersttoSweetBriar,aswellasstateuniversitieslargeandsmall,look carefully at a job candidate’s ability to teach andadvise effectively. And the culture at top-flight researchinstitutions like Harvard is also changing, albeit slowly.Asaresult,almostallschoolswillrequirethatjobcandi-datessubmitastatementoftheirteachingphilosophy.Atagrowingnumberofcollegesanduniversities, teachingportfolios,“acollectionofmaterialsthatdocumentteach-ing performance,” are often requested in addition.1 Insomecases,thesehaveevenbecomethepreferredmeansofevaluatingajobcandidate’spotential.PeterSeldinhasestimated that 2,000 colleges and universities in NorthAmericauseTeachingPortfoliosforevaluativepurposesinhiring,promotiondecisions,orboth. Because Harvard graduate students operate in auniversity environment that elevates research far aboveteaching,itmayatfirstseemsillytodevotetimeandefforttocreatingaTeachingPortfolio.Therearethreethingstokeepinmind:1)Harvardistheexception,notthenorm.Teaching, and documentation of teaching, is importantin the larger academic world. Moreover, Harvard itselfis changing. Despite a longstanding culture of devalu-ingteaching,theDeansareworkinghardtoensurethatteachingisafactorinpromotiondecisions;2)althoughtherearealotofuninspiringTeachingPortfoliosfloatingaround the Web, teaching documents can be organizedintoaPortfolio thatdemonstratesboth serious thoughtandrigorousstandardsofdisciplinaryscholarship;3)Pe-terSeldin,theacceptedauthorityonTeachingPortfolios,suggests that they take between 12-15 hours to create.Thatisasmalltimecommitmentgiventhattheprocesscangenerateconsiderableresults,bothintermsofone’sowngrowthasateacherandintermsofmorepragmaticbenefits,likeattractingattentiononthejobmarket. TheBokCenterandtheOfficeofCareerServicesadvise Teaching Fellows to develop and then update aTeachingPortfolioearlyintheirteachingcareersatHar-vard.TFscanbegintheprocessduringaregularteaching

consultationappointmentattheBokCenter.ThestaffwillbrainstormwithyoudifferentwaystodesignaTeachingPortfoliothatcapturesyoureducationalphilosophyanddocumentsyourongoingteachingefforts.TheycanalsoprovideatemplatedevelopedforthetypicalHarvardex-perience.

Before making an appointment, take some initial steps:

•Save all syllabi, handouts, and assignments fromcoursesinwhichyouteach.Makesuretomakeanoteofquestions, exercises, andmaterialsyoudevelopedyourself.

• Think about and begin working on a statement ofteachingphilosophy,whichareoftenarequiredpartofajobapplication.Thestrongeststatementsarethosethathavereceivedasmuchattentionasastatementofresearchaimsdevelopedforafellowshipapplication.Theyshouldberootedinrealexperiencesintheclass-room.

• Request letters from professors who have employedyou to teach, particularly those who have observedyour teaching and/or read over your comments onstudentwork.Ask for these letterswhile theprofes-sors’memoriesarefresh.

•Whencoursegradesaresubmittedandthereisnoap-pearanceof improprietyor favoritism,considerask-ingastudentortwoforaletterofrecommendation.

•Haveasection(orifyougiveaguestlecture,thelec-ture)videotapedaspartofaconsultationattheBokCenter. Ask to keep a copy of the tape. Videotapedsegments of teaching are occasionally requested inlieuoforinadditiontoanonsitejobtalk.Watchingyourselfteachontape,especiallyinconsultationwithaBokCenterstaffmember,canbeaspringboardtoreflectingonandarticulatingyourteachingphiloso-phy.UsetheBokCenterhandouts“WatchingYourselfonVideotape”and“ObservationGuide”asaidsdur-ingthisprocess.

1PeterSeldin,The Teaching Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Improved Performance and Promotional Tenure Decisions,3rded.(Boston:AnkerPublishingCo.,1994),3.



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•Keepallstudentevaluationsofyourteaching.Mid-se-mesterevaluations(usingformsyoudeveloporformsavailablefromtheBokCenter),combinedwithfinalCUE evaluations, make a good package. Your CUEscoresaresenttoCourseHeadsattheendofthese-mester, and the portion pertaining to your teachingmay be detached from these. A shortage of storagespaceandconcernsaboutconfidentialitylimitaccesstoyourCUEscores,butyoudohavearight(andre-sponsibility!) to examine them. If the Course HeaddoesnotpassthemalongtotheTFs,askforcopies.

Theabovemayseemlikea lotofwork thatwilldistractyoufromcompletingthePhD.Trynottoseeitassuch.Instead,envisiontheprocessofcreatingaTeach-ingPortfolionotasanecessaryevil—somethingakintoassemblingaCV—butratherasameansofproductivelypreparingforthejobmarketandasuccessfulacademiccareer. The process of creating a Portfolio should pro-vokethekindofthoughtandattentiontoteachingthatacademicsmorecommonlyreserveforresearch.

Obtaining Letters of Recommendation from your Students

Iftheshort-answerquestionsonCUEevaluationsdonotprovidesubstantivecommentaryonyourteach-ing from students, you may wish to solicit “teachingrecommendations”from2-3undergraduateswhomyouhave instructed. These letters can be included in yourTeachingPortfolio.Ofcourse,youshouldonlyrequestaletterofrecommendationfromastudentwhenyouarenolongerinvolvedinevaluatingtheirwork. Becauseundergraduatesusuallydonothaveex-perience writing letters of recommendation, you willwant to give them some guidance. Direct them to theBokCenterwebsiteforassistanceincomposingaletter.Youmightalsowanttoprovidethemwiththefollowingtips,whichhavebeenadaptedfromCynthiaVerba’sThe GSAS Guide for Teaching Fellows on Writing Letters of Recommendation.

a.Youshouldpromptly identifyyourselfand thebasisofyourknowledgeof the instructor:Wereyoutheirstudentinatutorialorsmallseminarfordepartmentconcentrators?Howoftendiditmeet?Howmanystu-dents were in the class? How many papers were as-signed?Doyoualsoknowtheinstructorthroughex-posureinthetutorialsystem,orthroughsomeothercapacity?Hasyouracquaintancebeensustainedoveranumberofyears?

b.Inevaluatinganinstructor’sintellectualandpedagog-icalcapabilities,trytodescribetheinstructorintermsthat reflect their distinctive or individual strengths.Whateverstrengthsstrikeyouasparticularlysalient,bepreparedtobackupyourjudgementwithconcreteexamples - class activities, organization, discussionleadingor lecturingskills,papercommentsorotherwriting assistance, general mentorship. Above all,avoid the misconception that the more superlativesthatyouuse,thestrongertheletter.Heavyuseofstockphrasesorclichésingeneralisunhelpful.Yourlettercanonlybeeffective if it contains substantive infor-mationabouttheinstructor’squalifications.

c. In discussing an instructor’s character, proceed in asimilar fashion to the intellectual evaluation, high-lighting individual traits and providing concrete il-lustrations.

d.Afterdiscussingeachoftheabovepoints,yourlettershouldhavesomebriefsummation,givingthemainthrustofyourrecommendationforthecandidate.

RememberthatlettersofrecommendationcanbefiledthroughHarvard’sweb-basedDossierService.ContactPatPearsonatOCS([email protected])formoreinformation.

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