Active Learning in the Sanskrit Classroom

Nell Shapiro Hawley

Harvard University 

We have long known that students learn best when they learn actively—that is to say, when they actually practice the skills they are supposed to be developing. But in many Sanskrit classes today, students sit quietly and gaze at whatever text is in front of them, speaking only when it is their turn to read out a prepared translation. In this presentation, I discuss three strategies that I use to support active learning in Sanskrit classes: (1) designing class sessions around active learning objectives, (2) creating in-class activities for students to do in pairs or small groups, and (3) calling on students directly (cold-calling). These techniques are staples of modern pedagogy, but we rarely see them used in Sanskrit classrooms. I argue that they make the experience of learning Sanskrit more accessible, more effective, and more confidence-building for students at all levels. 

BIO: Nell Shapiro Hawley is the Preceptor in Sanskrit at Harvard University and a PhD candidate in South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. In addition to teaching Sanskrit language classes at all levels, Nell studies the Mahābhārata and its interations in Sanskrit poetry and drama. She is the co-editor, with Sohini Pillai, of the forthcoming volume Many Mahābhāratas (SUNY Press).