Harriet Schwartz presents Excellence in Teaching keynote

Harriet L. Schwartz, PhD, presented the Simmons University 2021 Spring Keynote on Excellence in Teaching on April 6, via zoom. Through this interactive keynote session, Dr. Schwartz provided an introduction to Relational Cultural Theory and engaged with Simmons faculty to explore questions such as how do we teach relationally in a pandemic, and what is connected teaching. She also helped faculty consider role and relational clarity in teaching and faculty fatigue. In addition, Dr. Schwartz acknowledged the Simmons University connection with Relational Cultural Theory, noting that Joyce Fletcher, PhD, now a Distinguished Research Scholar at Simmons and a long-time member of the faculty authored “Disappearing Acts: Gender, Power, and Relational Practice at Work” (MIT Press, 1999), the first book to apply RCT to understanding organizations.

Dr. Schwartz will continue her work with the Simmons faculty in early May when she will meet with the Simmons Faculty book club, to discuss “Connected Teaching: Relationship, Power, and Mattering in Higher Education” (Stylus, 2019).

Connected Teaching & UBC Scholar Rounds

Harriet was the featured speaker for Scholar Rounds at a virtual event for the University of British Columbia’s Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy on Thursday, August 27. She worked with faculty to discuss connected teaching in the current moment – including the pandemic and the North American focus on racial justice.