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Evidence-based teaching: my definition
Jun. 19, 2019—by Cynthia J. Brame, CFT Associate Director I’ve been thinking lately about what we mean when we say “evidence-based teaching.” It’s a term I’ve used a lot (e.g., the Evidence-Based Teaching Guides feature of LSE that I co-edit with Kristy Wilson of Marian University), but I didn’t really think about the definition until earlier this...
Who’s doing all the work? Who’s having all the fun?
Jun. 4, 2019—Part 2: Five adaptable steps to active learning by Cynthia J. Brame, CFT Associate Director I recently wrote about Barb Stengel’s challenge to ask ourselves “Who’s doing all the work? Who’s having all the fun?” in our classes. I find that Barb’s questions keep me thinking about the fun and work of learning and help...
Getting Started with Active Learning: Behind-the-scenes Development of a Cheat Sheet
May. 28, 2019—by Greg Smith, CFT Graduate Teaching Fellow This year, I helped lead a learning community focused on active learning. Together, Cynthia Brame and I guided a group of about 25 faculty and graduate students through seven sessions to investigate the “why” and “how” of active learning. As our meetings progressed, we started thinking about how...
Teaching Innovations at Vanderbilt: Neil Kelley, Jennifer Bradham and Class Simulations
May. 27, 2019—By Faith Rovenolt, CFT undergraduate intern Neil Kelley teaches EES 1030L: Oceanography Lab, assisted by his TAs, Michaela Peterson and Jennifer Bradham. I was able to speak with Kelley and Bradham about a specific lab that, quite frankly, made me want to take the course just so I could be a part of it. And...
Teaching Innovations at Vanderbilt: Mary Lauren Pfieffer, Anna Richmond, and Pediatric Simulations
May. 13, 2019—By Faith Rovenolt, CFT undergraduate intern Teaching Advanced Practice Nursing in Primary Care of the Child is a challenge: students need to understand a range of concepts for caring for children and adolescents across a large developmental spectrum, building knowledge that has cognitive, psychosocial, and motor components. Mary Lauren Pfieffer, Instructor in Nursing, and Anna...
Teaching Innovations at Vanderbilt: Daniela D’Eugenio and Selective Technology Use
Apr. 29, 2019—By Faith Rovenolt, CFT undergraduate intern Personal technological devices, such as phones and laptops, are ubiquitous in society as well as the classroom. Their use is banned outright by some professors and encouraged by others, but just as outside of the classroom, the exact role and extent they should be used is still being explored....
Season 2 Coming Soon!
Apr. 25, 2019—Thanks to the Vanderbilt students and faculty who contributed to the first season of VandyVox! We were thrilled to share student-produced audio from anthropology, game studies, health policy, human and organizational development, law, mathematics, and women’s and gender studies. Be sure to listen to our final episode of the season, which features the audio introduction...
Junior Faculty Spotlight: Josh Caldwell
Apr. 23, 2019—Each month, the CFT Newsletter highlights the work of our Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows. This month, Josh Caldwell, Mechanical Engineering, talks about his teaching philosophy and interests. . . I joined the Mechanical Engineering Faculty at Vanderbilt University in May 2017, moving here from the US Naval Research Lab where I had been for the...
Leading Lines Ed Tech Podcast with Sophie Bjork-James
Apr. 18, 2019—In this episode, we first hear a short, speculative fiction audio story by Vanderbilt undergraduate Sarah Saxton Strassberg called “Hagar Rising” that explores the future of gene editing. Sarah created this piece for a course on the politics of reproductive health taught by Vanderbilt anthropology professor Sophie Bjork-James. After Sarah Saxton’s audio piece, Derek Bruff...
Teaching Innovations at Vanderbilt: Ravindra Duddu and Cyberlearning Tools
Apr. 15, 2019—By Faith Rovenolt, CFT undergraduate intern I had the privilege to sit down with Dr. Ravindra Duddu, an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering who recently won an NSF CAREER grant that focuses on understanding Antarctic ice sheet fracture. To understand this phenomenon of iceberg calving, the grant proposes applying engineering tools and techniques...