SLATE offers an array of programs and services designed to help faculty advance their pedagogy and adopt the latest interactive curricular materials.
For more details, we invite HKS faculty to visit our page on KNet (password required).
Teaching Seminar Series
The HKS Teaching Seminar Series, launched by the academic dean in 2009, provides an opportunity for Kennedy School faculty to surface and share perspectives on a range of teaching and learning issues at HKS. Taking place several times a semester over lunch in the faculty dining room, these seminars are informal gatherings where a couple of faculty begin by sharing some initial thoughts, and then the conversation opens up to the larger group. Click here to see the Fall 2023 Series.
Teaching Week
Each academic year, HKS designates a week as Teaching Week. During that time, several faculty open up their classes for observation by their HKS faculty colleagues. Participants are encouraged to engage in conversation afterward, where both hosts and observers can reflect on what they experienced.
"I cannot overstate how useful [NFI] was for me... and in showing how dedicated HKS is to making what we and the students do here really work."
–2017 NFI participant
New Faculty Institute
We are committed not just to excellence in teaching, but more specifically to excellence in professional-school pedagogy, which often differs from traditional academic approaches. Near the beginning of each academic year, we hosts a two-day institute to welcome new faculty and engage them in the particular challenges and opportunities of this kind of teaching.
Over 60% of full-time faculty have participated in a SLATE consultation.
Consultation Services
Throughout the year, SLATE provides a wide range of confidential consultation services to individual faculty for professional development purposes; all are aimed at promoting deeper understanding of students' learning and evidence-based approaches to teaching that foster deeper learning.
Curriculum Mapping
We encourage faculty to continuously update teaching materials to reflect evolving public leadership challenges. SLATE advances this goal by assisting faculty to find, adopt, and adapt interactive curricular materials such as cases, simulations, and digital content. From faculty looking to rethink a single class session to those developing entirely new courses—and everything in between—SLATE can help identify and tailor appropriate interactive curricular materials.
Case and Curriculum Development
SLATE is available to work with HKS faculty to develop original curricular materials including cases, video, multimedia cases, simulations, issue briefs, concept notes, etc. Our team includes learning designers, professional case writers, and a video producer, all of whom are skilled at crafting high-quality active learning materials that foster critical thinking in the classroom.