Beginning this Fall, Vanderbilt students will have access to quantitative information from course evaluations so that they may be more informed about their choices of instructors and classes.  This is part of a larger undertaking to review Vanderbilt’s evaluation system to more accurately assess teaching effectiveness and student learning. What is the policy on publicizing course and instructor evaluations?  What is the history of this policy at Vanderbilt and the university’s interest in it?  What impacts might this have on students, faculty, or even entire departments or schools?  How might this change the process of assessing teaching and learning at Vanderbilt?  What other changes to teaching assessment might be possible?  This Conversation on Teaching will be a forum to begin to address these and many other questions regarding course evaluations.  It also will be an opportunity for faculty to consider how we might participate in the development of better methods to evaluate learning and teaching at Vanderbilt.

Panelists are:

• Tim McNamara, Vice Provost for Faculty and International Affairs and Professor of Psychology
• Karen Campbell, Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, College of Arts and Science, and Associate Professor of Sociology
• Craig Smith, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Peabody College, and Associate Professor of Psychology and Human Development
• Maryclaire Manard, President of Vanderbilt Student Government

Facilitator: Joe Bandy,  CFT Assistant Director
Date & Time: Tuesday, September 25 4:10-5:30pm
This workshop will be held at the Center for Teaching.

Register for this event

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.

Fall 2012 Conversations on Teaching include:

• Going Public with Teaching Evaluations
• Feminist Pedagogies
• Teaching with Blogs – It’s Not About Sharing What You Had for Breakfast