There are a number of items one has to dive into before teaching a class. From choosing a topic to delivering the lesson, Jenna Ahn, a spring 2014 student, shares with her mentee Andrew Petrisin, a spring 2016 student, useful tips in running a successful class. 

Andrew Petrisin:

I spoke with Jenna Ahn, who had some fantastic advice related to running a class:

1) It may seem obvious, but be an expert on the topic, do heavy research in order to know it front to back in order to create a more meaningful experience.

2) Begin the class with the learning goals in order to make it clear to everyone the direction of the class, and so that they may better contribute

3) Match learning goals with others in your module to ensure that the module builds on itself in order to allow for a synthesis paper at the end of each module

4) Talk a lot within each module team, talking to your module team will allow for instant feedback, as well as provide someone to iterate your lessons and exercising with

5) Don't try to do too much, focus your topic so that you are able to have very clear learning objectives

6) Use on the spot application of your topic, this will engage your audience as well as provide something they will remember down the road

7) When designing your reading, ensure that they are very pertinent to the class

8) Think about how "prepared" you want the rest of the class to be when they start class, do you want them to come in (with your readings) to be very knowledgeable on the subject, or would you like that to happen in class?

9) Don't just tell people, have them experience what you are teaching. Think of it as a journey.

 

JENNA AHN 

Development Advisory Team: Partners in Health, Mexico

"After graduation, I spent 10 months in Guatemala and Honduras working with an NGO called Farm of the Child. This past summer, I moved to the Bay Area and started working on a start-up initiative surrounding affordable and sustainable housing for developing countries (focused in Indonesia and in El Salvador). Now I work in community-based learning initiatives at Santa Clara University and work on the start-up when I can."