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Clicker Controversy at Johns Hopkins University
Sep. 24, 2010—According to Inside Higher Ed, some students at Johns Hopkins University are protesting the fees associated with using clickers in their classes. The clicker vendor used at Johns Hopkins, eInstruction, charges not only for the clicker device itself, but also charges an enrollment fee each semester the clicker is used. Over the last few years,...
Teaching through Hot Points: Navigating Bodies in the Classroom, Saturday, October 2
Sep. 20, 2010—CFT Teaching Affiliate Elizabeth Weber, a graduate student in German, is facilitating a workshop on Saturday, October 2nd, titled “Teaching through Hot Points: Navigating Bodies in the Classroom.” The workshop is part of the “Bodies and Oddities” graduate student conference hosted by the Department Spanish & Portuguese, but graduate students not involved in that conference...
Wireless in the Classroom – Highlights from the Conversation
Sep. 17, 2010—On Tuesday of this week, the CFT hosted a Conversation on Teaching titled “Wireless in the Classroom: Is a Ban on Student Laptop Use During Class a Good Idea?” The subtitle was intended to be provocative, and it seemed to have worked. We had over 30 participants in the conversation, including faculty from all around...
Wireless in the Classroom – Some Resources
Sep. 14, 2010—Below you’ll find some resources relevant to today’s CFT workshop, “Wireless in the Classroom: Is a Ban on Student Laptop Use During Class a Good Idea?” CFT “Wireless in the Classroom” Teaching Guide – This guide includes questions to consider when developing course policies about wireless in the classroom, as well as sample syllabus statements...
CIRTL Coffee Hour, September 16 – The CIRTL Network Exchange
Sep. 13, 2010—Since Vanderbilt is a member of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) Network, Vanderbilt graduate students and post-docs in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics are eligible to apply to participate in the CIRTL Network Exchange. “Exchange students” are funded by CIRTL to visit other campuses in the CIRTL Network (Howard,...
Grading in Red Ink a Bad Thing?
Sep. 10, 2010—According to a study in the European Journal of Social Psychology reported on NPR, instructors who grade with red pens tend to grade more harshly than instructors who grade using blue pens. Here’s Abraham Rutchick from Cal State-Northridge: And just before [the subjects] start, they’re given a pen with which to do the corrections and...
New CFT Guide on Contemplative Pedagogy
Sep. 6, 2010—As part of the CFT’s ongoing work on contemplative pedagogy, including a Contemplative Pedagogy “working group” open to faculty and graduate students, we’ve developed a new contemplative pedagogy teaching guide. The guide includes a discussion of contemplation’s role in teaching and a variety of contemplative activities for the classroom, including guided meditation, listening, beholding, journaling,...
CFT Announces Inaugural Cohort of Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows
Sep. 3, 2010—This year, the Center for Teaching is proud to welcome its inaugural cohort of eight Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows. They include Philip Ackerman-Lieberman (Jewish Studies and Law), Kimberly D. Bess (Human and Organizational Development), Chris Bennett (Economics), Shaul Kelner (Sociology), Jinah Kim (History of Art), Haoxiang Luo (Mechanical Engineering), Sean Polyn (Psychology) and Lijun Song...
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...