Workshop: The Art and Joy of Teaching

Note: for first-year Sociology Doctoral Students only. This class will prepare you to teach Stanford students in your role as a TA or instructor. It rests on the idea that teaching is both an art to learn and cultivate, and a source of great joy and personal meaning during your graduate career and beyond. The course's main goal is to help you become an effective instructor in your day-to-day teaching, covering skills such as how to deliver a powerful lecture, lead an engaging discussion section, build an inclusive classroom, describe your personal pedagogy to others, juggle teaching logistics and competing demands, and make the best use of technology and campus resources. You will also discover that teaching is, above all, a deeply personal process that should take into account the different backgrounds, stories, and learning styles of both students and instructors to enable students to flourish academically and personally. Throughout this class, we will explore different philosophies and ways of teaching so that you can cultivate and employ your own, personalized pedagogy. It is my hope that you will use this course as a springboard to embark on your own teaching journey. With a growth mindset and the right tools in our hands, we can begin to both transform and be transformed by our students: this is the art and joy of teaching.