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Queer Teaching, Queer Thriving Learning Community
Mar. 21, 2022—The Center for Teaching and the K.C. Potter Center for LGBTQI Life are proud to continue our Queer Teaching, Queer Thriving learning community in 2021-2022 with a conversation and workshop hosted by Stephanie Mahnke, Vanderbilt’s new Director of the KCPC and LGBTQI Life. Building upon our Fall conversations about LGBTQI+ well-being and Queer Pedagogy, this...
Preparing Syllabi for Your First Faculty Job
Mar. 15, 2022—This working group will support graduates students and postdocs who will be new faculty in the Fall of 2022 and expected to teach their own classes. Starting a new faculty position is stressful and demanding; the CFT hopes to ease this transition by helping graduating doctoral students and postdocs create their needed syllabi in advance...
Course improvement grant spotlight: “Music Classroom Technology”
Feb. 17, 2022—Bethany Nickel, visiting assistant professor of Instrumental Music Education, talked about her Course Improvement Grant, “Music Classroom Technology,” in an interview with CFT assistant director Julaine Fowlin. Bethany’s project was inspired by her experience last Fall with teaching a short unit on music technology in her Instrumental Methods for Juniors in Music Education Course (MUED3010)....
13 Faculty Awarded Internal Grants for Teaching
Jan. 27, 2022—The Office of the Provost has announced the second round of grant recipients for the Course Improvement Grant and Educational Advancement Fund that was established in March. Thirteen faculty members across six of Vanderbilt’s schools and colleges will receive support for their teaching. The Educational Advancement Fund provides faculty with additional funds to support excellence in...
Reaching Students through Open Pedagogy and Digital Media
Jan. 24, 2022—In this workshop, participants will be invited to consider how they might pursue a more open pedagogy through the creation and sharing of digital media. Andy Wesolek, director of digital scholarship and scholarly communications at the Vanderbilt Libraries, will explore the practice of open pedagogy and the benefits it can bring to faculty and to...
Come Work at the Center for Teaching
Jan. 20, 2022—Each year the Center for Teaching (CFT) hires a number of graduate students as part of its efforts to mentor and train graduate students, including those serving as teaching assistants or instructors of record here at Vanderbilt as well as those interested in developing teaching skills for future faculty careers. The CFT has several positions...
From the Executive Director
Jan. 18, 2022— As I write this, snow is falling in Nashville, and I’m reminded of all the challenges our local community has faced over the last two years, from tornadoes and storms to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The teaching community at Vanderbilt has had to adapt again and again over the last two years, and I...
Newly Updated Teaching Guide: Personal Devices in the Classroom
Dec. 16, 2021—The CFT first published a guide on considering how to work with wireless devices in the classroom in 2010. Given the rapidly changing digital landscape since then, this guide has been updated to consider how personal electronic devices (especially laptops) can impact learning in the classroom, and how faculty members may design policies and positions regarding their usage. ...
New Additions to the Course Design Resources Site
Dec. 14, 2021—Branching scenarios are much like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” story. In a branching scenario, learners are taken through a scenario where they must make decisions based on the events that are presented. In the newest addition to the CDR (Online Course Development Resources) site, Carrie Sennet and Diana Vasquez (Vanderbilt School of Nursing) teach us how...
Junior Faculty Spotlight: Michelle Marcus
Dec. 9, 2021—Each year, the CFT Newsletter highlights the work of our Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows. This month, Michelle Marcus, Economics, talks about some of the lessons she has gained from the Fellowship. The Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows program has been an invaluable opportunity to reflect on my own teaching practices and to enhance my teaching efficiency and skills. Through teaching seminars,...