2011
GradSTEP: Graduate Student Teaching Event for Professional Development
Dec. 16, 2011—Held in January each year, GradSTEP provides several workshops and discussions on teaching, learning, and professional development issues across the disciplines. All Vanderbilt graduate and professional students, as well as post-doctoral fellows, are invited to attend. The 2012 GradSTEP event will be held Saturday, January 21, 2012, in Wilson Hall and will feature two sessions...
Interpreting and Making Sense of Course Evaluations
Dec. 14, 2011—As the semester draws to a close, our students are given the opportunity to provide us with a potentially valuable source of feedback on our teaching and its effects on their learning. You may find it challenging, however, to interpret what your end-of-semester course evaluations mean and decide how to act on them. The CFT...
PhD Career Connections December Seminar
Dec. 12, 2011—Vanderbilt PhD Career Connections is a monthly seminar series about career options for PhD scientists. Speakers from a diverse range of exciting scientific careers present their career path and share insights from their professional experiences. The series is run by VUMC PhD students and postdoctoral fellows and sponsored by the BRET Office of Career Development. Advance...
From the Stacks…
Dec. 9, 2011—Teaching Unprepared Students: Strategies for Promoting Success & Retention in Higher Ed by Kathleen F. Gabriel From the publisher… As societal expectations about attending college have grown, professors report increasing numbers of students who are unprepared for the rigors of postsecondary education—not just more students with learning disabilities (whose numbers have more than tripled), but...
VMAT an example of Classroom-learned skills solving real-world problems
Dec. 8, 2011—This week the Vanderbilt Mobile Application Team (VMAT) was profiled in Campus Technology. VMAT develops iPhone- and Android-compatible apps for the Vanderbilt campus, teaches dozens of students how to program mobile apps – which has become a lucrative business for many, including current and former members who have landed jobs across the country. Of note, is Chris...
Junior Faculty Teaching Fellow Spotlight: Emily Nacol
Dec. 7, 2011—“The initial challenge for undergraduate teachers of classic texts like the ones on my syllabi is finding a way to ease students’ trepidation about their ability to understand, much less criticize, daunting works like Plato’s Republic or Marx’s Capital.” A class of many students generates a diverse set of comments and questions, but as I...
Join the CFT’s Teaching Certificate Program
Dec. 5, 2011—The CFT’s Teaching Certificate Program is a self-guided program designed so that Vanderbilt graduate students, professional students, and post-doctoral fellows have an opportunity to develop and refine their teaching skills through three cycles of teaching activities, each consisting of inquiry, experimentation, and reflection phases. In the first cycle – which is accepting applications now – participants...
The CFT Is Hiring – Assistant Director Applications Due January 15th
Dec. 2, 2011—We’re now accepting applications for an assistant director position at the CFT. The assistant director will work with faculty, teaching assistants, and other instructors across the university to advance excellence in teaching and learning at Vanderbilt. This work will take a variety of forms, in three general areas: Teaching: Consults with individuals and academic units...
Registration begins for GradSTEP 2012
Dec. 2, 2011—Held in January each year, GradSTEP provides several workshops and discussions on teaching, learning, and professional development issues across the disciplines. All Vanderbilt graduate and professional students, as well as post-doctoral fellows, are invited to attend. The 2012 GradSTEP event will be held in Wilson Hall and will feature two sessions in which attendees will...
Four Are Honored as U.S. Professors of the Year
Nov. 21, 2011—This year, almost 300 nominees were evaluated by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education on their involvement with students, their contributions to their communities and profession, their support for colleagues and students, and their teaching methodologies. The Chronicle of Higher Education has published interviews...