Author
Upcoming: Karl Smith on Engineering Education Research (April 12)
Apr. 6, 2011—by CFT Assistant Director Derek Bruff The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is sponsoring a talk next week by Karl Smith, Professor of Cooperative Learning in Engineering Education at Purdue University and Morse–Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor and Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Professor Smith’s talk, titled...
Teaching Calculus through Fingerpainting
Apr. 1, 2011—by CFT Assistant Director Derek Bruff As part of the Center’s continuing exploration of the role of visual thinking in teaching and learning, we’re glad to share this interview with Vanderbilt mathematics professor Sal Froipol on his use of fingerpainting to teach calculus. We recognize that everyone’s teaching context is different, but we hope that...
From a Student’s View: Fair Attendence Policies
Mar. 21, 2011—This is a guest post by Erin Baldwin, Vanderbilt Class of 2014. 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 staff. We recognize that...
CIRTL Coffee Hour March 17 – The Academic Interview
Mar. 16, 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...
What Should You Do When Student Evaluations Are Wrong?
Mar. 10, 2011—by Derek Bruff, Assistant Director Over on the ProfHacker blog today, Vanderbilt PhD alumna Heather Whitney shares her recent experience discovering that students were saying things on her end-of-course feedback survey that were verifiably incorrect. Several students complained that they felt it unfair that they weren’t told how their final projects were going to be...
Preventing Plagiarism – Some Resources
Mar. 3, 2011—by Derek Bruff, CFT Assistant Director Earlier this week the CFT and the College of Arts & Science’s Undergraduate Writing Program co-sponsored a conversation on teaching titled “Beyond the Quotation Marks: Preventing Plagiarism and Teaching about Academic Discourse.” Our three faculty panelists–Lynn Ramey (French), Andy Van Schaack (HOD), and Roger Moore (English)–shared some valuable perspectives...
See What I Mean: Using Prezi for Non-Linear Presentations
Mar. 2, 2011—This is a guest post by Hillary Knudson, Vanderbilt Class of 2013 and political science major. The post is part of our spring “See What I Mean” blog series highlighting the effective use of visuals in presentations and lectures. I created my first PowerPoint presentation in 1999 for a research project on Ecuador. Since that...
Why Do Students Cheat?
Feb. 28, 2011—by Derek Bruff, CFT Assistant Director In preparing for this afternoon’s conversation on teaching, “Beyond the Quotation Marks: Preventing Plagiarism and Teaching about Academic Discourse,” I’ve run across a few resources that explore the question, “Why do student cheat?” Here are some possible answers to this question drawn from these resources… 1. It’s not cheating...
Academically Adrift? A Talk by Richard Arum Today on Undergraduate Learning
Feb. 23, 2011—The Center for Teaching is co-sponsoring a presentation this afternoon by Dr. Richard Arum, Professor of Sociology & Education at New York University, and co-author of Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. Professor Arum’s research has garnered much publicity, including coverage by the New York Times, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed,...
Leveraging Diversity in the Classroom – Some Resources
Feb. 23, 2011—by Derek Bruff, CFT Assistant Director Last night I facilitated a teaching workshop titled “Leveraging Diversity: The Wisdom of Crowds in University Teaching.” The workshop was co-sponsored by the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, & Learning (CIRTL), a six campus network sponsored by the National Science Foundation focused on preparing future faculty in...