Online Learn high-leverage Instructional Moves to make your classroom discussions more inclusive, student-centered, and purposeful.
Overview
Engagement. Equity. Purpose. Good classroom discussions at any level of education consider all of these elements -- and more. Effective facilitators guide discussions, position students’ thinking at the center of the conversation, and find creative ways to incorporate more student voices into the mix.
A growing body of research demonstrates the importance of student-centered discussions in classrooms. Nevertheless, facilitating such discussions is easier said than done. Ensuring classroom exchanges that consistently achieve inclusivity and engage students poses many challenges, particularly for early-stage professors, graduate students, and K-12 practitioners.
Instructional Moves: Making Classroom Discussions More Inclusive and Effective, a two-week online workshop from Professional Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, builds on the resources delivered by Instructional Moves, an HGSE project that promotes high-leverage teaching strategies. Featuring video examples of instruction by Harvard faculty, the course offers instructors a roadmap for strengthening classroom discussions, new insights that can help them match teaching strategies – or “moves” – to specific discussion scenarios, and opportunities to learn from Instructional Moves experts and fellow course participants.
Program Details
This two-week online workshop includes self-paced learning, online discussion, and exposure to a variety of faculty and classroom settings. Activities include:
- Videos that combine classroom footage, instructor insights, and student reflections
- Readings
- Research summaries
- Written reflections
- Facilitated online discussions
- Opportunities for real-time practice and reflection
A core part of the HGSE experience is cohort learning, and this curriculum is designed to create a community of practice for participants to learn with and from each other.
This online workshop is an asynchronous learning experience with no live components and is designed to be self-paced. All materials are provided at the start of the program and can be completed at times that best fit a participant’s schedule within the two-week program period. Participants should plan to devote a total of 5-7 hours of work. Participants who complete all individual assessments and contribute to group discussions prior to the end of the course period will receive a certificate indicating completion of five clock hours of instruction.
Objectives
- Integrate into practice Instructional Moves – high-leverage teaching strategies – that foster productive and inclusive student-centered classroom discussions
- Develop a deeper understanding of available research on the topic of student-centered discussions and how this research can inform and refine teaching practices
- Learn to challenge existing assumptions around classroom discussion leadership, especially when it comes to the role of the teacher
- Reflect on ways to identify Instructional Moves that encourage students from all backgrounds to find their voices and more fully shape the direction of group discussions
- Learn to afford students greater ownership discussions
Who Should Participate
- Instructors from higher education levels interested in leading more inclusive and effective discussions
- Graduate students ready to enter the job market
- K-12 instructors interested in translating higher education practices into their contexts
