From the Stacks…
Aug. 17, 2013—Teaching at its Best by Linda Nilson, former director of the Center for Teaching This expanded and updated edition of the best-selling handbook is an essential toolbox, full of hundreds of practical teaching techniques, classroom activities and exercises, for the new or experienced college instructor. This new edition includes updated information on the Millennial student,...
CFT Staff Can Help You Prepare for Fall Teaching
Aug. 16, 2013— Faculty and graduate student instructors preparing for fall courses are encouraged to take advantage of the CFT’s consultation services. Consultants are available to help you clarify the goals you have for your students’ learning and find ways to align your syllabus, assignments, and lesson plans with those goals. We’re also glad to help you...
Welcome to New Program Coordinator
Aug. 15, 2013—The Center for Teaching extends a warm welcome to our new program coordinator, Tracy Tveit. Tracy comes to us from Vanderbilt’s Department of Cancer Biology, where she was the graduate program education coordinator. At the CFT, Tracy will work with our senior staff to coordinate events and programs for graduate students and faculty, including orientations, workshops,...
Announcing the New Teaching Affiliates for 2013
Aug. 14, 2013—This year’s graduate student Teaching Affliliates are, left to right, Oscar Ayala (Biomedical Engineering), Karen Childress (Economics),Vivian Finch (German), Jane Hirtle (Psychology and Human Development), Mary Keithly (Chemistry), Matt Owen (History), Ryan Ortega (Civil and Environmental Engineering), Danielle Picard (History), Tessy Sebastian (Biological Sciences), and Ansley Quiros (History). The Center for Teaching is excited to...
From the Director: Students as Producers in 2013-14
Aug. 13, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director This summer I’ve been reading College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be by Columbia University humanities professor Andrew Delbanco. The book is this year’s Commons Reading, and I hope it generates thoughtful conversations among the Class of 2017 about the college experience they begin this fall. Between Delbanco’s book...
Call for Applications: Vanderbilt Institute for Digital Learning (VIDL) Graduate Fellowships
Aug. 8, 2013—from Doug Fisher, Director of Vanderbilt’s new Institute for Digital Learning: The Vanderbilt Institute for Digital Learning (VIDL) invites applications for graduate student fellowships for the 2013-2014 academic year. Fellowships ranging from 10 to 20 hours per week, for one or both semesters, will be considered, with health insurance if desired. Because VIDL’s operations are...
Three Tips for the First Day of Class
Aug. 2, 2013—It’s that time of year again: the first day of classes is upon us! At the CFT we often hear the same questions around this time of year: “What should I do on the first day of class?” “Do I delve into course content or just review the syllabus?” “How do I break the ice...
Ask Professor Pedagogy: Leading Review Sessions
Jul. 26, 2013—Ask Professor Pedagogy is a twice monthly advice column written by Center for Teaching staff. One aspect of our mission is to cultivate dialogue about teaching and learning, so we welcome questions and concerns that arise in the classroom; particularly those from Vanderbilt faculty, students, and staff. If you have a question that you’d like...
From a Student’s View: Taking a MOOC on Maps with Friends
Jul. 24, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director We’re soon coming up on the end of the first year in Vanderbilt’s MOOC (massive open online course) initiative, which is, I think, seven years in “MOOC years.” Vanderbilt has offered three MOOCs thus far, all on the Coursera platform, and there are three more in the pipeline. (You can...
HASTAC Scholars, an Opportunity for Graduate Students in the Digital Humanities (New Deadline: July 29th)
Jul. 17, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director Last month here on the blog, we shared a call for applications from graduate students to be HASTAC Scholars. HASTAC (pronounced “haystack”) is the Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory, a global network of academics exploring ways that technology can enhance teaching, research, and scholarship. HASTAC Scholars is a...