Conversations on Teaching focus on emergent teaching and learning issues in an informal, discussion-based format.  These sessions provide members of the Vanderbilt teaching community a chance to share their teaching experiences and learn from each other.

Conversations on Teaching typically begin with opening remarks from panelists and then open up to larger group discussions.

Spring 2013 Conversations on Teaching include:

• Teaching to Thousands: A Conversation about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
• Teaching Large Classes

Panelists Douglas Schmidt and Jamie Pope

Teaching to Thousands: A Conversation about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Last September, Vanderbilt announced a partnership with Coursera, an online platform for open-access, non-credit classes, available at no cost to participants.  Such courses have been dubbed “MOOCs,” or massive open online courses, and Vanderbilt faculty will offer five such courses via Coursera this spring. What is it like to design and teach an online course for tens of thousands of students around the world? Join us for a conversation with two faculty members teaching Coursera courses this spring: computer science professor Douglas Schmidt, whose course on pattern-oriented software architectures launches March 4^th, and nutrition instructor Jamie Pope, whose nutrition course starts in April.  You’ll hear from our panelists about the tasks and mindsets involved in teaching a MOOC, and participate in a discussion of how these kinds of courses might fit into the teaching and learning landscape here at Vanderbilt.

Co-Sponsored by the Vanderbilt Library
Facilitator: Derek Bruff,  CFT Director
Date & Time: Thursday, February 21, 3:10-4:30pm
Location: Community Room, on the ground floor of the Central Library
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Panelists Carl Johnson, Andrew Van Schaack, and Sandra Rosenthal

A Conversation on Teaching Large Classes

Teaching large classes can pose particular challenges. How do you personalize interaction in a class with more than 100—or even more than 200—students? How do you promote student engagement when it’s so easy for a student to hide in the crowd? How do you provide helpful feedback without burying yourself with grading?

This Conversation on Teaching will provide a forum for Vanderbilt instructors to share some of the strategies they have developed or adapted from the literature to deal with the challenges of large classes. Panelists Carl Johnson, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences and Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and Andrew Van Schaack, Assistant Professor of the Practice, Department of Human and Organizational Development, and Sandra Rosenthal, Jack and Pamela Egan Chair, Chemistry will kick-start the conversation by describing some of their successful strategies and ongoing challenges.

Facilitator: Cynthia Brame,  CFT Assistant Director
Date & Time: Tuesday, February 26, 4:10-5:30pm
This workshop will be held at the Center for Teaching.
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