Teaching and Learning includes surfacing the unspoken norms of academic culture and helping students understand both what to learn and how to learn it.
For graduate students in particular, navigating an advanced degree in a specific discipline means learning nuanced language, navigating increased expectations, and adapting professional identity all at once. Teaching and learning professionals serve as translators, coaches, and community builders, helping scholars find their footing in environments that often assume everyone already knows the rules. In an era when AI can answer almost any question, this work is a reminder that human connection, expertise, and belonging are still irreplaceable.
Pamela M. Pollock is the Interim Graduate Program and International Legal Studies Specialist at Harvard Law School, and also runs Polished Owl Consulting. Check out what she has to say about working with graduate students.
What drew you to higher education specifically, rather than a similar role in another sector?
I originally wanted to be a Spanish teacher. I was fascinated by foreign languages and wanted to learn as many as I could. During my Master’s Program in Foreign Language Education at UT Austin, I got a job as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for a class at the Center for Teaching and Learning that international graduate students had to take to build their English language, teaching, and communication skills to work as TAs. That experience changed my life. I became deeply curious about graduate education and how students become successful in their disciplines, and I realized how fascinating our classrooms really are: how do we teach, how do students learn, and what do we expect? My career in higher education grew from there.
What's something people outside your office frequently misunderstand about what you do?
I think that "teaching and learning" is frequently misunderstood: isn't that what everyone in higher education does? As much as universities are places of learning, we don't always focus enough on understanding how people learn and planning programs designed with clear learning goals. It can be hard to explain that the skills you need to help academics succeed- especially through teaching and communicating their research- as well as working with and learning from scholars across disciplines prepares you for so many different areas of work in higher education. There is a lot of invisible work in planning programs and supporting students as well.
What's one project you led that you're especially proud of?
I built a teaching certificate program for graduate students at a research university where teaching was not always a top priority. Through quality offerings and strong organizational and relationship- building skills, I built a strong program over time. My first year 26 students received the certificate, and in the final year I was there, 90 students received the certificate! 340 total students between 2017-2024. I am a builder and a motivator and I am really proud of that program!
What would break, slow down, or fall through the cracks if your position didn't exist?
I think now more than ever, it is important that there are human professionals available to coach and advise students, to help them build community, to make sure they know they are not alone. I worry that too many of these positions are being cut. In the age of AI, students can ask chat bots for advice, but they don’t provide the real human connection, expertise, and community that professionals can. If there aren’t enough people supporting students, they won’t be able to achieve their goals, to become their best selves, to get connected to the right resources, to find other like-minded students, all of which I see as core goals of residential higher education!
With more than 20 years of experience at Harvard, Cornell, and other universities, Pamela is a program administrator, planner, and community builder, who specializes in helping graduate students across disciplines navigate academia, teach and communicate their research, and learn to present the best version of themselves for success in the university and beyond. She helps multilingual scholars build their oral English language proficiency, understand the norms and rules for success in their disciplines, and learn how to communicate their ideas clearly in the US cultural context. In addition to her current work in the Graduate Program at Harvard Law School, Pamela runs Polished Owl Consulting, where she writes a weekly blog post on learning and communication themes and how they come up in her life, designed to help scholars reflect on their own goals and values.
Do you have a colleague who is doing impactful work on a college campus? I’d love to connect and highlight their work!
