"Empowering Human Relationships Across Developmental Contexts" is a course that Junlei has taught every year over the last 8 years (and later joined by Emily). In a beautiful way, the course design matches the course's students. With a majority of students coming from outside the United States, they bring so many different "developmental contexts" into the thinking and discussion within the class itself, and when they graduate and leave, they take ideas from the course into these places. Here is a reflection from one of our students.
I was lucky to be part of Empowering Human Relationships Across Developmental Contexts, a 6-week introductory Simple Interactions course taught by Dr. Junlei Li at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. While all of my classes have deeply shaped my work, this one shaped both my heart and my thinking in a way that still feels hard to put into words.
Since graduating from HGSE in May 2025, I have been working on building my startup, Emergent Inquiry Studio, in which I have been coaching a group of teachers from India on project-based learning (PBL) for Grade 3. In these sessions, we explore how to design inquiry-led projects, connect with children’s interests, and understand child development so teachers can create meaningful engagements. We also dive into facilitation strategies, ways to support children’s thinking through questioning, how to prepare for PBL, and how to integrate everyday materials and local surroundings into learning. I’ve been trying, very intentionally, to build relationships before diving into content. And honestly, it has changed everything.
The ideas around positive deviance and noticing the “active ingredients” in human interaction, those small, often invisible moments that already exist and are already working, have stayed with me. I now find myself slowing down more. Looking more closely. Noticing the smallest details: a teacher’s shift in tone, a moment of hesitation, a quiet twinkle of confidence, a look of possibility. Teacher A shared, “We felt very comfortable throughout the session, which allowed us to openly share various incidents that occurred during the project. Some of these moments were funny, while others were deep and meaningful. This sense of comfort encouraged open sharing, and I believe that this exchange of experiences truly helped us grow and better understand the process of assessing students.”
Since graduating from HGSE in May 2025, I have been working on building my startup, Emergent Inquiry Studio, in which I have been coaching a group of teachers from India on project-based learning (PBL) for Grade 3. In these sessions, we explore how to design inquiry-led projects, connect with children’s interests, and understand child development so teachers can create meaningful engagements. We also dive into facilitation strategies, ways to support children’s thinking through questioning, how to prepare for PBL, and how to integrate everyday materials and local surroundings into learning. I’ve been trying, very intentionally, to build relationships before diving into content. And honestly, it has changed everything.
The ideas around positive deviance and noticing the “active ingredients” in human interaction, those small, often invisible moments that already exist and are already working, have stayed with me. I now find myself slowing down more. Looking more closely. Noticing the smallest details: a teacher’s shift in tone, a moment of hesitation, a quiet twinkle of confidence, a look of possibility. Teacher A shared, “We felt very comfortable throughout the session, which allowed us to openly share various incidents that occurred during the project. Some of these moments were funny, while others were deep and meaningful. This sense of comfort encouraged open sharing, and I believe that this exchange of experiences truly helped us grow and better understand the process of assessing students.”
Earlier, my mind worked in steps: 1, 2, 3… rushing toward content. Now it moves more slowly, carefully, almost like 0.1, 0.2… honoring the minute details that actually make the biggest difference.
As a person coaching teachers, I realized how essential it was to build relationships before even thinking about the children. This shift—towards believing in teachers, in students, in what already exists within them, became the most important part of my practice. Instead of jumping into strategies, I started with stories. With listening. With seeing them. Teacher B shared, "You have always appreciated our efforts and made us believe that our thoughts and ideas are valuable. I truly felt that we were working collectively as a team, and you made us feel that we are all learning and growing together. You were not just teaching or training us—you were working alongside us. This collaborative approach has truly inspired and motivated us to work even more enthusiastically with you."
Over time, the teachers stopped seeing me as an outsider who had come to “teach” them. Instead, they saw a partner, someone who was walking alongside them for the children, not ahead of them. I focused on showing them what they were already doing beautifully. This simple act of holding up a mirror to their own strengths created motivation that no external tool or training module ever could. As Teacher C wrote, “The discussions we have bring out unique and creative ideas, and at times, we are even surprised by our own contributions. Overall, I feel everything is progressing very well, and the collaborative process is both inspiring and productive.”
They began believing: We can do this.
What was meant to be a one-month coaching cycle with five Grade 3 teachers at Brainz Edu World in India (focused on project-based learning) has now turned into a year-long collaboration—because the teachers themselves asked their school leader to continue working with me. We built trust slowly, through conversation, through shared struggles, through laughter, through vulnerability. Teacher D described this moment so beautifully: "I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you. I believe the potential was always within us, but you were the one who helped ignite that spark. You reminded us of our own strengths and capabilities. It may sound simple, but it truly reflects how your guidance has inspired and empowered us."
I mostly just held the space. The teachers stepped in and led the learning.
As a person coaching teachers, I realized how essential it was to build relationships before even thinking about the children. This shift—towards believing in teachers, in students, in what already exists within them, became the most important part of my practice. Instead of jumping into strategies, I started with stories. With listening. With seeing them. Teacher B shared, "You have always appreciated our efforts and made us believe that our thoughts and ideas are valuable. I truly felt that we were working collectively as a team, and you made us feel that we are all learning and growing together. You were not just teaching or training us—you were working alongside us. This collaborative approach has truly inspired and motivated us to work even more enthusiastically with you."
Over time, the teachers stopped seeing me as an outsider who had come to “teach” them. Instead, they saw a partner, someone who was walking alongside them for the children, not ahead of them. I focused on showing them what they were already doing beautifully. This simple act of holding up a mirror to their own strengths created motivation that no external tool or training module ever could. As Teacher C wrote, “The discussions we have bring out unique and creative ideas, and at times, we are even surprised by our own contributions. Overall, I feel everything is progressing very well, and the collaborative process is both inspiring and productive.”
They began believing: We can do this.
What was meant to be a one-month coaching cycle with five Grade 3 teachers at Brainz Edu World in India (focused on project-based learning) has now turned into a year-long collaboration—because the teachers themselves asked their school leader to continue working with me. We built trust slowly, through conversation, through shared struggles, through laughter, through vulnerability. Teacher D described this moment so beautifully: "I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you. I believe the potential was always within us, but you were the one who helped ignite that spark. You reminded us of our own strengths and capabilities. It may sound simple, but it truly reflects how your guidance has inspired and empowered us."
I mostly just held the space. The teachers stepped in and led the learning.
At first glance, it may seem unclear how simple interactions and human relationships connect to something like project-based learning. But through this journey, I’ve come to understand that they aren’t a separate layer of work, they are the ground everything else stands on. What I learned in Empowering Human Relationships Across Developmental Contexts didn’t stay in the classroom; it quietly began shaping the way I enter every session, every conversation, every moment with teachers.
Simple Interactions taught me to look closely, to slow down enough to notice the “active ingredients” of human connection. And in the process of practicing that with teachers, I began to see something else: they started doing the same with their students. The shift was subtle at first—a teacher waiting a little longer for a child’s idea, another asking a more open-ended question, another stepping back so children could take the lead. These were the same relational moves we talked about in the course, now appearing in classrooms thousands of miles away.
It felt like watching the course ripple outward. What I was doing with teachers, they were now doing with children.
In all my coaching work, I now find myself drawing from Simple Interactions every day: slowing down, looking closely, honoring the small moments that hold big meaning, and building growth from what is already working. The teachers I work with didn’t change because I brought in new strategies—they grew because they felt seen, valued, and supported. And that way of seeing came directly from this course. Positive change doesn’t come from adding something new. It comes from noticing what is already there.
Ultimately, Simple Interactions taught me something profound: When we start by noticing what is already there, we create the conditions for everything else to flourish.
And that belief now sits at the center of my practice, my startup, and the way I hope to move forward in education.
Simple Interactions taught me to look closely, to slow down enough to notice the “active ingredients” of human connection. And in the process of practicing that with teachers, I began to see something else: they started doing the same with their students. The shift was subtle at first—a teacher waiting a little longer for a child’s idea, another asking a more open-ended question, another stepping back so children could take the lead. These were the same relational moves we talked about in the course, now appearing in classrooms thousands of miles away.
It felt like watching the course ripple outward. What I was doing with teachers, they were now doing with children.
In all my coaching work, I now find myself drawing from Simple Interactions every day: slowing down, looking closely, honoring the small moments that hold big meaning, and building growth from what is already working. The teachers I work with didn’t change because I brought in new strategies—they grew because they felt seen, valued, and supported. And that way of seeing came directly from this course. Positive change doesn’t come from adding something new. It comes from noticing what is already there.
Ultimately, Simple Interactions taught me something profound: When we start by noticing what is already there, we create the conditions for everything else to flourish.
And that belief now sits at the center of my practice, my startup, and the way I hope to move forward in education.