2026 Conference Resources

In an environment saturated with media resulting in a heavy demand on attention we, as educators, need to shift our course content strategies and think more creatively, meeting our learners in ways that feel familiar to where they spend much of their time: within their digital life. The session will include multiple reflection questions followed by discussion, as well as a workshop portion where attendees will have the opportunity to ideate, plan, and even create a piece of content.

Organizers/Speakers: Michael Oliveri, Senior Media Producer, HGSE Teaching and Learning Lab (HGSE); Sean Snyder, Senior Educational Media Designer, Multimedia Producer, HGSE Teaching and Learning Lab (HGSE); Leah Waldo, Director of Learning Design, Technology, and Media, HGSE Teaching and Learning Lab (HGSE).

Teaching is a negotiation. We are negotiating for students’ engagement, willingness to take risks, own mistakes, tackle particularly difficult material and be open to feedback. This fast-paced session will examine the three kinds of feedback students need to learn and grow, how to reverse engineer your approach to engage students’ internal voices, and how to facilitate class discussion to meet students’ interests in autonomy, affiliation and appreciation.

Organizer/Speaker: Sheila Heen, Thaddeus R. Beal Professor of Practice (HLS).

This session explores a simple but often overlooked question: If collaboration is central to learning, should teaching students how to collaborate effectively be considered part of the curriculum? Drawing upon experiences from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, presenters will share practical approaches for helping students better understand differences in communication, decision-making, conflict, and collaboration styles.

Organizers/Speakers: Rob Toomey, CEO and Co-Founder of Type-Coach; Scott Westfahl, Professor of Practice; Director of Executive Education (HLS); Dan Yi, Senior Director, Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs (HLS).

This breakout session will bring together educators from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, the FAS, HMS, and HBS to stimulate reflection and cross-campus dialogue about educational innovations related to teacher training initiatives and other efforts to promote a Harvard teaching culture. This interactive session will begin with a short panel discussion through which faculty panelists will reflect on the ways in which teacher training efforts at different Harvard schools effectively mentor and train the newest members of the instructional community and foster a positive teaching culture at each school.

Organizers/Speakers: Willis Emmons, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration; Director, C. Roland Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning (HBS); Karina Lin-Murphy, Associate Director, Course Design and Pedagogical Innovation (HBS); Annabelle Royer, Assistant Director of Curriculum Innovation (HMS); Matthew Sohm, Assistant Director, Civil Discourse and Classroom Culture (FAS-Bok), Lecturer on History and Literature (FAS); Taralyn Tan, Assistant Dean for Educational Innovation and Scholarship; Lecturer on Neurobiology (HMS); Karen Thornber, Harry Tuchman Levin Professor in Literature; Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard College Professor, Richard L. Menschel Faculty Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning (FAS); Hannah Waits, Postdoctoral Fellow in Civil Discourse (FAS-Bok), Lecturer on History and Literature (FAS).