2010
Highlights from “Teaching First-Year Students” Conversation – What Is Deep Learning?
Apr. 21, 2010—On April 1, the CFT held a conversation on teaching titled “Teaching First-Year Students: Cognitive Challenges of the First Year.” About twenty-five faculty, staff, and graduate students participated in the discussion. Panelists at the session were Doug Christiansen (Dean of Admissions), Susan Kevra (French, American Studies), and Adam List (Chemistry). One of the questions...
Should Doctoral Education in the Humanities Be a Marathon?
Apr. 20, 2010—The April 9th Chronicle Review includes an essay titled “Doctoral Education Shouldn’t Be a Marathon” by Lee Shulman, president emeritus of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. In the essay, Shulman argues that doctoral education in the humanities could benefit from adopting some of the pedagogical practices of education in the professions (law,...
Science, Math, and Engineering Grad Students Engage in Teaching-as-Research
Apr. 19, 2010—As part of the CIRTL Network activities at Vanderbilt, the CFT co-sponsors the Teaching-as-Research (TAR) Fellows program for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields at Vanderbilt. CIRTL defines TAR as follows: “Teaching-as-Research involves the deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of research methods to develop and implement teaching practices...
Episode 21 – Sustainability Across the Curriculum
Apr. 18, 2010—Colleges and universities play a vital role in ensuring that students acquire the knowledge and skills to meet the sustainability challenges of the future. This panel talks about both disciplinary and interdisciplinary opportunities and challenges prompted by tackling complex environmental problems in the classroom. According to what definition and principles of sustainability can we educate...
CIRTL Network Coffee Hour 4/21 – Academic Careers: Where Are Grads Going and Why?
Apr. 16, 2010—From our colleagues at the CIRTL Network: Join a CIRTL Network Online Coffee Hour April 21 at 2 pm CT (1 MT/3ET) a time to get together to informally talk with others throughout the CIRTL Network. Mark Connolly will be facilitating a discussion on: Academic careers: Where are grads going and why? Is being a...
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy – A Framework for Assessing Student Learning
Apr. 12, 2010—As you head into the final few weeks of classes, you’re probably starting to think about end-of-semester assessments of your students’ learning. If you’re not familiar with Bloom’s taxonomy of learning objectives, it’s worth getting to know since the taxonomy is a useful framework for thinking about the questions we ask of our students, particularly...
Outsourced Grading of Student Papers?
Apr. 8, 2010—A recent Chronicle of Higher Education article reports on the emerging practice of outsourcing the grading of student papers to third-party companies. For example, University of Houston professor Lori Whisenant has outsourced some of the work her TAs used to do to a company called EduMetry: The graders working for EduMetry, based in a Virginia...
Teaching Creativity Through Quilts and Jazz
Apr. 6, 2010—This semester, two CFT senior staff members are teaching courses in the College of Arts & Science. Director Allison Pingree is teaching a new course, American Studies 100W — Quilting and Jazz: American Modes of Creativity. The course is focusing on quilting and jazz, both for what they reveal as quintessentially American forms of artistic expression, and...
CIRTLcast 4/7 – Preparing to be a Faculty Member: What Do I Need to Know about Faculty Work?
Apr. 5, 2010—The CIRTL Network is hosting a webinar titled “Preparing to be a Faculty Member: What Do I Need to Know about Faculty Work?” as part of its CIRTLcast series on Wednesday, April 7th. The webinar features Ann Austin, Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education and Director of the Global Institute for Higher Education at...
Contemplative Pedagogy
Apr. 2, 2010—“Opening the contemplative mind in schools is not a religious issue but a practical epistemic question… Inviting contemplative study simply includes the natural human capacity for knowing through silence, pondering deeply, beholding, witnessing the contents of consciousness and so forth.” ~ Tobin Hart, Opening the Contemplative Mind in the Classroom, Journal of Transformative Education Vol....