The Open Classroom 2023: Four Weeks of Teaching Visit Opportunities
Would you like to watch 
one of your colleagues teach to see how they manage the classroom, engage students, or address challenging subjects? Do you ever feel like you toil in private to learn how to teach? You’re not alone.
Too often in higher education, we instructors do not have the opportunity to watch and discuss each other’s teaching, and therefore, we struggle in what Lee Shulman has called “pedagogical solitude.” The Center for Teaching has long worked to change this isolation by creating occasions for the pedagogical community.
Thanks to the willingness of faculty across the Vanderbilt campus, for the first time since the interruption of COVID-19, we are proud to offer Open Classroom ’23. Between September 11th and October 6th, classes taught by some of the most well-respected and awarded teachers across Vanderbilt’s many disciplines will open their classroom doors to faculty and graduate students.
Participating faculty hosts will host classroom visits to a set number of faculty and graduate student guests to observe classroom management, pedagogical choices, teaching techniques, and student engagement.
To deepen their educational experience, participating visitors will participate in a CFT-facilitated 30-minute post-class discussion immediately following their visit.
This year open classrooms have been separated into the following focus areas:
- Small-Sized Courses
- Medium-Sized Courses
- Large Courses
- Graduate-Level Courses
Click on a tab for details about each class and to register.
Host: Dr. Danyelle Valentine, Andrew Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Senior Lecturer
AMER 1002: Introduction to American Studies Survey
An interdisciplinary approach to American culture, character, and life.
Date: Wednesday, September 13th
Time: 8:45 am – 10:00 am
Location: Moore College House A117
Host: Dr. Mark Schoenfield, Professor of English
ENGL 4998: English Honors Colloquium
The Honors Colloquium prepares students to write their Honors Thesis in the spring. Through shared readings, students explore critical, theoretical, and creative approaches to literary texts and methodologies. Students learn research methods, effective modes of argumentation, and creative techniques. Over the course of the semester, students develop their thesis topics, both critical and creative, as they work collaboratively together in writing groups.
Date: Thursday, September 14th
Time: 2:45 pm – 5:30 pm
Location: Buttrick 306
Host: Melanie Hundley, Professor of the Practice in English Education
ENED 3380/6380 Teaching Writing in the Secondary Schools
Designed to encourage student teachers to examine the complexities of teaching writing in middle and high school settings and to develop a theoretically sound methodology that will allow them to design meaningful, engaging, and thoughtful writing instruction.
Date: Monday, September 18th
Time: 1:15 pm – 2:40 pm
Location: Wyatt Center 50-3
Register Here
Host: Dr. Paul Stob, Professor of Communication Studies and Chair of the Program in American Studies
INDS 1111: Being Human, Becoming Citizens
This course is part of the pilot program for the new A&S Core Curriculum. Independent learning and inquiry in an environment in which students can express knowledge and defend opinions through intensive class discussion, oral presentations, and written expression.
Date: Thursday, September 21st
Time: 8:00 am – 9:15 am
Location: Buttrick 141
Register Here
Host: Dr. Elizabeth Covington, Principal Senior Lecturer of English and Gender and Sexuality Studies
ENGL 2311: Representative British Writer
An in-depth look at Science, Technology, and Values in the contemporary world. Selections from British literature with attention to contexts and literary periods from 1660 to the present. Provides a broad background for more specialized courses and is especially useful for students considering advanced studies in literature
Date: Wednesday, September 27th
Time: 9:05 am – 9:55 am
Location: Buttrick 306
Register Here
Host: Dr. Elizabeth Covington, Principal Senior Lecturer of English and Gender and Sexuality Studies
INDS 1111 27: Science, Technology, and Values
In this course students will explore what it means to live in a scientific and technological civilization. Starting with ancient forms of science in China, Greece, Mesopotamia, and other cultures, and working our way through the centuries to the modern global era, we will engage with the human thirst for discovery and innovation – charting both the benefits and the dangers of our emergence as technologically dominant creatures on the planet. We will investigate the fertile interconnections among the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, showing how these three domains complement each other in shedding light on the human experience.
Date: Wednesday, September 27th
Time: 12:30 pm – 1:35 pm
Location: Murray 208
Register Here
Host: Dr. Holly Tucker, Mellon Foundation Chair in the Humanities and Professor in French
EUS 2230W: European History and Culture Through Immersive Gaming- French Revolution
Through an immersive role-playing game, students plunge into the intellectual and political currents that surged through revolutionary Paris in 1791. How does one find a balance between individual desires/goals and the responsibilities of citizenship? Do revolutionaries have a right to use violence to eliminate an oppressive government? Conversely, does a state have the right to employ violent means to suppress rebellion?
Date: Wednesday, September 27th
Time: 2:45 pm – 4:00 pm
Location: Buttrick 101
Register Here
Host: Dr. Douglas Fisher, Associate Professor of Computer Sciences
CS 3252 Theory of Automata, Formal Languages, and Computation
The course focuses on finite representations of infinite languages, where the representations are amenable to computational analysis and characterization. Class content includes finite-state machines, regular expressions, context-free grammars, computational complexity and languages and The Chomsky hierarchy.
Date: Wednesday, October 4th
Time: 2:30 PM – 3:20 PM
Location: Featheringill Hall 211
Register Here
Host: Dr. Alan Wiseman, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Political Economy
PSCI 2259: Political Strategy and Game Theory
Political Strategy and Game Theory introduces students to the foundational tools of game theory and formal modeling and applies these tools to the analysis of campaigns and elections, legislative politics, political bargaining, and political organization. Applications of decision and game theory. Models of complete and perfect information, and games of incomplete information.
Date: Tuesday, September 12th
Time: 11:00 pm -12:15 PM
Location: 335 Commons Center
Host: Dr. Claire Sisco King, Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Chair of the Cinema and Media Arts program
CMA 1600: Introduction to Film
CMA 1600 introduces students to the fundamentals of cinema and media arts, with a focus on form, style, genre, and history.
Date: Tuesday, September 12th
Time: 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Location: Buttrick 103
Register Here
Host: Dr. Claire Sisco King, Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Chair of the Cinema and Media Arts program
CMST 3710: Cultural Rhetorics of Film
The class considers the role of the small scale on the big screen, looking specifically at the role miniature art and objects have played both in the production of films and as the subjects of films themselves.
Date: Tuesday, September 12th
Time: 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm
Location: Buttrick 312
Register Here
Host: Dr. Doug Schmidt, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Engineering
CS 3253: Parallel Functional Programming with Java and Android
This course provides students with a deep understanding of conceptual and practical aspects of designing, implementing, and debugging parallel software apps using patterns and frameworks related to Java and Android.
Date: Wednesday, September 13th
Time: 8:40 am – 9:55 am
Location: Engineering and Science Building, Room 048
Host: Dr. Sophie Bjork-James, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Anth 1111: Culture and Climate Change
This seminar examines how cultural values and cultural politics coalesce in public attitudes and debates over climate change. Media coverage of scientific research on climate will be a major focus, with attention to how journalists, interest groups, and other writers represent climate change, climate science, and competing perspectives. Students will learn to use qualitative research methods for interviewing, media analysis, and data analysis to carry out an original research project.
Date: Wednesday, September 13th
Time: 8:40 am – 9:55 am
Location: Calhoun 117
Register Here
Host: Dr. Dan Arena, Associate Professor of the Practice, Computer Science
CS 2212 – Discrete Structures
Survey of the mathematical tools necessary for an understanding of computer science. Sets, relations, functions, basic counting techniques, permutations, combinations, graphs, recurrence relations, simple analysis of algorithms, O-notation, Boolean algebra, propositional calculus, and numeric representation.
Date: Friday, September 15th
Time: 10:10 am – 11:00 am
Location: Featheringill Hall 136
Register Here
Host: Dr. Gil Whiting, Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies
AADS 1706 Capoeira: Afro-Brazilian Race, Culture, and Expression
Origins of an Afro-Brazilian martial art form. Influence on Brazilian and world culture in the areas of religion, dance, and music. Development as a social protest movement. Intersections of race, gender, class, power, and national identity.
Date: Monday, September 18th
Time: 4:10 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: Wilson Hall 112
Register Here
Host: Dr. Julie Johnson, Professor of the Practice of Computer Science
CS 3250 Algorithms
In this required CS course, students utilize of small group worksheets, in class polling and a few other “tricks” to keep them focused as they work on the problem-solving skills, they need to be a good programmer. Advanced data structures, systematic study and analysis of important algorithms for searching; sorting; string processing; mathematical, geometrical, and graph algorithms, classes of P and NP, NP-complete and intractable problems.
Date: Tuesday, September 19th
Time: 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Location: Featheringill Hall 110
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Host: Dr. Jeong-oh Kim, Senior Lecturer of English
ENGL 1230W: Literature and Analytical Thinking
Close reading and writing in a variety of genres drawn from several periods. Productive dialogue, persuasive argument, and effective prose style.
Date: Wednesday, September 20th
Time: 1:25 pm – 2:15 pm
Location: Commons West House 102
Register Here
Host: Dr. Jonathan Hiskey, Professor of Political Science
PSCI 2219: The Politics of Mexico
A survey of contemporary Mexican politics from a comparative perspective. Interaction of economic, social, and political forces that led to the demise of one of the world’s most durable one-party political regimes and the prolonged transition to democracy.
Date: Thursday, September 21st
Time: 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm
Location: Commons 335
Register Here
Host: Dr. Katie Clements, Senior Lecturer
CHEM 2221: Organic Chemistry I
The course is a foundational course for understanding biological and chemical processes, the reactions of molecules containing C, H, O, and N. Fundamental types of organic compounds.
Date: Thursday, September 14th
Time: 9:45 am – 10:45 am
Location: Stevenson Center 4309
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Host: Dr. Carrie Russell, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Education, College of Arts & Sciences Principal Senior Lecturer Director of Pre-Law Advising
PSCI 2265: Constitutional Law, Institutions and the Separation of Power
U.S. constitutional system and fundamental principles of constitutional interpretation. Judicial development of principles of distribution and scope of governmental powers. Case method.
Date: Friday, September 15th
Time: 8:40 am – 9:55 am
Location: Alumni Hall 201
Register Here
Host: Dr. Ken Frampton, Professor of the Practice of Mechanical Engineering and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Mechanical Engineering
ME 3234: System Dynamics
This course integrates student backgrounds in mechanics, math and engineering for modeling, analysis and design of mechanical systems.
Date: Monday, September 18th
Time: 11:15 am – 12:05 pm
Location: Engineering and Science Building 048
Register Here
Host: Dr. Thomas Clements, Senior Lecturer of Biological Sciences
BSCI 1510: Introduction to Biological Sciences
The purpose of this course is to help students gain foundational knowledge at the core of modern molecular and cellular biology through an integrative approach to the science of life for science and engineering students. Macromolecular structure and function. Cell structure, reproduction, metabolism, and energy production. Genomes, replication, gene structure, RNA, and protein synthesis.
Date: Monday, September 18th
Time: 9:05 am – 9:55 am
Location: Engineering and Science 4309
Register Here
Host: Dr. Michael Bess, Chancellor’s Professor of History
HIST 2790: Human Flourishing
Two millennia of interdisciplinary debates over the nature and causes of happiness, meaningful experiences, and a life well-lived. Ancient Asia and Greece to Contemporary Positive Psychology. Global, national, personal, and spiritual dimensions. Human agency and impactful choices in processes of societal and individual change. The course is unconventional, with hands-on assignments and exercises such as gratitude journals and meditation.
Date: Monday, September 18th
Time: 11:15 am to 12:05 pm
Location: Buttrick 1017
Register Here
Host: Dr. Meredyth Wegener, Director of Honors in Neuroscience Senior Lecturer of Neuroscience.
NSC 3250 Neurological Disease
Biological basis of neurological diseases and their treatments. Neurodevelopmental disorders, TBI, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s Disease. Established knowledge, patient experiences, mechanisms of pharmacological treatments, and ongoing research. Data from primary literature and clinically-relevant case studies.
Date: Thursday, September 21st
Time: 2:45 pm – 4:00 pm
Location: Featheringill Hall 136
Register Here
Host: Dr. Ilana Horn, Professor of Mathematics Education
EDUC 7700: Humanizing Pedagogies
Schools are one of the primary socialization agents in modern society, yet they do not serve all children and communities equally, more often working towards social reproduction than liberation. In this course, we will examine how scholars and educators have sought to redress these problematic patterns through their teaching – what we call humanizing Pedagogies – by pursuing the following essential questions: What is a pedagogy? How do schooling practices humanize or de-humanize children and communities? How can educators work in ways that work toward humanization of children and communities?
Date: Monday, September 11th
Time: 1:10 pm to 4:00 pm
Location: Wyatt 050
Host: Dr. Sarah Suiter, Associate Professor of the Practice in Human and Organizational Development
HOD 6200: Program Evaluation
This course is a master’s level introduction to evaluation research. It is designed for people who expect to work as agency directors, educational administrators, or program directors, and who want to evaluate their own organization’s offerings and be able to communicate and work with professional evaluators. The course covers multiple approaches and types of evaluations and how they are embedded in social and political contexts. It also includes practical techniques for program developers and administrators, such as needs assessment, performance evaluation, cost-benefit analysis, qualitative approaches, and approaches to evaluation that take time and funding constraints into account. In this project-based class, students spend the semester working with partners from local community-based organizations to develop an evaluation plan and related tools (e.g., logic models, surveys, etc.).
Date: Wednesday, September 13th
Time: 4:15 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: Wyatt 201
Register Here
Host: Julia Phillippi, Nurse-Midwifery Specialty Director, Chair of the Family Care Community, and Professor of Nursing
NURS 6812: Evolution of Midwifery in America
This course surveys the diverse history of midwifery in the context of larger societal structures and pressures. The development of the profession of midwifery is examined in relation to societal, economic, and political issues involved in healthcare systems. The course fosters the development of personal identification with the midwifery profession and engagement to promote health and health equity.
Date: Thursday, September 14th
Time: 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Location: Nursing Annex 167
Register Here
Host: Dr. Ed Cheng, Hess Chair in Law
LAW 6090: Torts
An introductory course on the law of personal injury and property damage.
Date: Monday, September 18th
Time: 1:40 pm – 2:55 pm
Location: Renaissance Room, Law School
Register Here
Host: Dr. Victor Judge, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and Lecturer in Literature and Religion
Divinity 5404: Religious Questions in the Canon of Albert Camus
Participants in this seminar are invited to engage in an objective investigation of the religious themes that comprise the canon of the French Nobel laureate who argued that all of our troubles spring from our failure to use plain, clear-cut language.
Date: Tuesday, September 26th
Time: 10:00 am – 12:40 pm
Location: Divinity School classroom 128
Past teaching visits
2019 Fall Open Classroom Teaching Visits See the full descriptions
2018 Fall Open Classroom Teaching Visits See the full descriptions
2017 Fall Open Classroom Teaching Visits See the full descriptions
2016 Fall Open Classroom Teaching Visits See the full descriptions
2016 Spring Teaching Visits
2015 Spring Teaching Visits
2014 Fall Teaching Visits
2013 Fall Teaching Visits
2012 Fall Teaching Visits