Author
See What I Mean: Using Prezi in Mathematics
May. 3, 2011—This is a guest post by Hang Wang, a graduate student in mathematics. The post is part of our spring “See What I Mean” blog series highlighting the effective use of visuals in presentations and lectures. At a math conference in May 2010, I was impressed by a presentation in which the speaker, Scott Morrison...
The CFT Is Hiring – Assistant Director Applications Due May 20th
Apr. 29, 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...
See What I Mean: A PowerPoint Makeover
Apr. 22, 2011—This is a guest post by Emily Bigelow, a doctoral student in Teaching, Learning, and Diversity. The post is part of our spring “See What I Mean” blog series highlighting the effective use of visuals in presentations and lectures. I attended CFT assistant director Derek Bruff’s GradSTEP 2011 presentation on using visual thinking in the...
Karl Smith: Engineering Education Research, Teaching as Design, & the Connected Mind
Apr. 20, 2011—by CFT Assistant Director Derek Bruff Last week, the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) hosted a talk by Karl Smith, Professor of Cooperative Learning in Engineering Education at Purdue University. Professor Smith’s talk was titled “Studies at the Interface: Engineering Education Research and Engineering Education Innovation,” and in the talk,...
Teaching Science by Reacting to the Past
Apr. 19, 2011—by CFT Assistant Director Derek Bruff Last month CFT graduate teaching fellow Lily Claiborne and I attended the AAC&U / Project Kaleidoscope conference “Engaged STEM Learning: From Promising to Pervasive Practices.” (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics.) Most participants were STEM faculty from a range of disciplines with some administrators and teaching center staff in...
CIRTL Coffee Hour April 21 – Making the Transition from Grad Student to Faculty
Apr. 18, 2011—The 2010-2011 CIRTL Coffee Hour Series provides an opportunity for STEM (science, technology, engineering, & math) graduate students and post docs to get together online and talk about careers and the academic job search. The series is facilitated by a mix of young faculty who have recently secured positions and more seasoned tenured faculty. The...
Student and Faculty Expectations about Responsibilities – Highlights from a Conversation
Apr. 15, 2011—by CFT Assistant Director Derek Bruff Last month, the CFT hosted a conversation titled “Negotiating Student Expectations about Freedom and Responsibility.” We’ve found that when students and faculty have very different expectations about teaching and learning, a variety of teaching challenges can result, frequently leading to frustration for both teachers and students. We’re planning to...
From a Student’s View: Distributions of Grades
Apr. 14, 2011—This is a guest post by Travis Meyer, Vanderbilt Class of 2012 and biomedical engineering major. The post is part of our spring “From a Student’s View” blog series. We occasionally feature guest posts here on the blog as part of our efforts to cultivate dialogue about teaching and learning among Vanderbilt faculty, students, and...
CIRTL Network Online Courses on the College Classroom and Problem-Based Learning
Apr. 7, 2011—The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) has announced their fall online courses on college teaching open to graduate students and post-docs in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics. These courses are interactive, synchronous, online learning experiences designed to prepare grad students and post-docs for future faculty roles. Course descriptions are included...
See What I Mean: Visual Presentations
Apr. 7, 2011—by CFT Assistant Director Derek Bruff This post is part of our spring “See What I Mean” blog series highlighting the effective use of visuals in presentations and lectures. Yesterday I led a workshop for doctoral students in the Teaching & Learning department here on the use of effective visuals in presentations. The 20 or...