2010
Visual Presentations and Classroom Response Systems
Sep. 1, 2010—Last week, CFT assistant director Derek Bruff was invited to give a presentation to DigitalVU, a group of web developers and other technology folks at Vanderbilt. They asked Derek to talk about technologies useful for engaging students in a classroom or audience members at a presentation. He talked about some tools for enhancing the visual...
Digital Storytelling, Sustainability, and Preparing for Review Headline CFT’s Fall Workshops
Aug. 30, 2010—This fall the Center for Teaching will offer a variety of events for Vanderbilt faculty, staff, and students. These events are designed to help participants develop and refine their teaching skills and to foster dialogue among members of the Vanderbilt teaching community. Conversations on Teaching Conversations on Teaching focus on emergent teaching and learning issues...
Undergraduates Interested in Working with International Graduate Students…
Aug. 27, 2010—JOIN ITAP, THE INTERNATIONAL TEACHING ASSISTANT PROGRAM! Are you a sophomore, junior or senior who wants a fun and rewarding job for the Fall 2010 Semester? Are you interested in learning about other cultures and languages? Are you interested in English as a second language (ESL)? Do you want to learn more about teaching skills and practices? Are...
Grading Effectively and Efficiently
Aug. 23, 2010—Last week, CFT assistant director Derek Bruff facilitated a faculty workshop titled “Assessment of Student Learning: Grading Effectively and Efficiently.” During the workshop, the participants surfaced a few reasons why grading can be challenging, particularly in small classes and when grading student papers. Grading in Small Classes In a small class, students expect a lot...
Using Visual Thinking in the Classroom
Aug. 20, 2010—As part of training for the CFT’s new Teaching Affiliates and Graduate Teaching Fellows, CFT assistant director Derek Bruff facilitated a workshop on using visual thinking in the classroom. Topics included enhancing one’s presentations with visuals and using visual thinking techniques as part of in-class activities. The visuals from Derek’s presentation can be seen below....
“Why I Am a VUceptor” by CFT Assistant Director Kat Baker
Aug. 19, 2010—Today at the Commons, about a hundred Vanderbilt faculty are participating in training to be VUceptors. Each of these faculty members will partner with a Vanderbilt undergraduate and meet regularly with a small group of Vanderbilt first-years during their orientation experience and into the fall semester as part of Vanderbilt Visions. Visions is designed to...
New CFT Guide on Sustainability and Pedagogy
Aug. 16, 2010—As part of the CFT’s ongoing work on sustainability across the curriculum (including a fall workshop, “Sustainability in the Classroom: Ecological Footprints“), we’ve developed a new teaching guide titled “Sustainability and Pedagogy.” The guide includes a discussion of the environmental, economic, and social aspects of sustainability, as well as strategies and resources for teaching issues...
Call for Proposals – NEA Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants – Due October 5, 2010
Aug. 12, 2010—The Office of Digital Humanities at the National Endowment for the Humanities is requesting proposals for another round of digital humanities start-up grants. From the call for proposals: The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) invites applications to the Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants program. This program is designed to encourage innovations in the digital humanities....
Resources for Syllabi and Course Design
Aug. 10, 2010—Just in time for Fall, in this ProfHacker column from The Chronicle for Higher Education, Natalie Houston provides a useful set of resources for syllabi and course design featuring our own Assistant Director, Derek Bruff. If you are interested in receiving further help (re)designing your Fall course, please register for the CFT’s “Just-in-Time Course Design”...
New Book Offers a Fierce Critique of Modern Academia
Aug. 5, 2010—Andrew Hacker, professor emeritus at Queens College, and Claudia Dreifus from the New York Times have written a provocative new book, Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids and What We Can Do about It. Written as a jeremiad for higher education, it argues that an over-emphasis on disciplinary research,...