C. Roland Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard Business School

Colloquia, Seminars, and Events

A full program of events for the 2009-10 academic year is forthcoming.

Details on previous years colloquia, workshops and events can be found below.

Faculty Colloquium on Teaching and Learning

Beginning in 2005, the Christensen Center has developed and hosted an annual fall Faculty Colloquium on Teaching and Learning. The colloquium is designed to serve as a forum for exploring teaching-related topics of particular salience and interest to HBS faculty members, and it serves as a pedagogical counterpart to the spring Faculty Research Symposium hosted annually by the Division of Research and Faculty Development.

Topics for the colloquium are identified through on-going interactions with HBS faculty members. The Christensen Center engages in an extensive research effort in preparing each colloquium, typically involving interviews with HBS faculty, students, and administrators, consultations with outside experts, and review of relevant literature on the topic. Active discussion and debate among the faculty are encouraged during the colloquium sessions, and the Center looks for opportunities to continue the exploration of colloquium topics throughout the remainder of the academic year and beyond.

Faculty Workshops

Throughout the academic year the Christensen Center hosts workshops and seminars open to all HBS Faculty on topics related to teaching. Many workshops continue the discussion begun in our annual fall Faculty Colloquium on Teaching and Learning. We also offer workshops on topics like participation tracking in preparation for each term.

HBS Faculty can access presentations and handouts through our secure I-site

Colloquia and Workshops

April 14, 2009	Workshop: Managing Challenging Situations in the Classroom As a follow-up to the fall 2008 Faculty Colloquium, the Christensen Center hosted a workshop on Managing Challenging Situations in the Classroom. The workshop primarily utilized role play to explore strategies for addressing a range of challenging situations in the classroom.
Jan 8, 2009	Participation Tracking Workshop In preparation for the winter term we hosted our participation tracking workshop to share strategies and explore alternative approaches. The workshop also features a review of the Center sponsored participation tracking tool.
Nov 18, 2008	2008 Faculty Colloquium: Challenging Situations The fourth annual Faculty Colloquium focused on challenging situations in the MBA classroom. It featured a discussion of a new case produced by the center and a presentation on best practices and approaches for responding to difficult, and often unexpected, dilemmas or provocations.HBS Faculty can access presentations and handouts through our secure I-site.
Dec 16, 2008	Grading Workshop The session featured caselets exploring alternative approaches for grading class participation (e.g. weighting quality vs. frequency), combining grades for class participation and written work, and managing challenges of the fixed curve (e.g. assigning final grades to students clustered at the boundary between grade categories).
Sep 4, 2008	Participation Tracking Workshop In preparation for the fall term we hosted our participation tracking workshop to share strategies and explore alternative approaches. The workshop also features a review of the Center sponsored participation tracking tool.
Dec 10, 2007	Workshop on EC Teaching: Challenges and Strategies This workshop was created in response to faculty looking to discuss the differences between RC and EC teaching. EC faculty face different student expectations, an early-term "shopping period," cross registrants, the absence of a section culture/infrastructure, and a lack of formal feedback mechanisms. All of these differences, plus the absence of teaching groups to share insights and perspectives, makes the shift to EC teaching a challenge for many faculty members.
Oct 16, 2007	2007 Faculty Colloquium: Teaching Groups The third annual Faculty Colloquium focused on teaching groups. Professor David Garvin led a case discussion in the first session, featuring "Have a Good Class Tomorrow"—a case developed by the Christensen Center specifically for the colloquium. The second session featured a presentation on best practices associated with teaching groups by Willis Emmons, including data gained from faculty interviews and anonymous poll results. HBS Faculty can access presentations and handouts through our secure I-site.
March 26 & 29, 2007	Faculty Workshop on Difficult Conversations with Students This workshop was created in response to faculty interest following our fall 2007 Colloquium on Grading and Feedback. The workshop focused on strategies for approaching office-hour conversations on class participation, midterm and final exam performance, and other topics. HBS Professor Tom DeLong and Senior Triad Consultant Jeffrey Kerr facilitated the workshop and highlighted best practices for effective communication with students.
Oct. 16, 2006	2006 Colloquium: Grading and Feedback The second annual Faculty Colloquium focused on grading and feedback in the MBA program. The colloquium began with greetings from Dean Light followed by a brief presentation of video clips of HBS student perspectives on grading and feedback. Professor David Garvin led a discussion of "How am I Doing?"—a caselet developed by the Christensen Center specifically for the colloquium. The second part explored challenges and best practices in grading and feedback through a presentation and discussion led by Director Willis Emmons. HBS Faculty can access presentations and handouts through our secure I-site.
Oct. 31, 2005	2005 Colloquium: Executive Education The Christensen Center's first Faculty Colloquium on Teaching and Learning took place on October 31, 2005. The event, a joint venture with HBS's Executive Education group, explored the challenges and innovations associated with executive teaching at the school. After a welcome from Dean Light, Professor David Garvin led a presentation and discussion of teaching challenges inherent in transitioning from the MBA classroom to the executive education environment. This session included perspectives of executive education participants drawn from videotaped interviews. The second half of the colloquium examined innovations in executive teaching, materials, and programs through a presentation and panel discussion led by Director Willis Emmons. Panelists included Professors David Garvin, Jim Heskett, Bob Kaplan, and Michael Rukstad. Over 50 members of the HBS faculty and senior staff took part in the colloquium. HBS Faculty can access presentations and handouts through our secure I-site.