Senior Lecturer Tara Holland reveals the secret sauce of great teaching

Tara Holland commented:

"I see my students as partners in the classroom with me, because I want them to take ownership over their own learning. That may sometimes be a different classroom environment than they are used to, which means I need to demonstrate that it's a safe space. Part of that is showing them that I have empathy and that I care about them as an instructor and a human. And that I care about their success. I think one way this is expressed is when students work on community-engaged projects in my classes. These projects require students to trust each other, trust themselves, trust the process. The feedback that I've had from students is that they felt a responsibility to do a really good job and appreciated that it wasn't just about getting a grade, but about learning through doing work that made a real impact—and that’s something they are really proud of, and so am I."