Getting to Know Coursera: Who is everyone?
Feb. 20, 2013—by Katie McEwen, graduate assistant In our blog posts up to now, we’ve taken a descriptive approach to look at what Coursera does and how they do it. Today, we’re going to turn our attention to a different aspect of the Coursera platform that, I would argue, is no less important: the question of access...
Upcoming Event: A Conversation on Teaching Large Classes
Feb. 19, 2013—Join us for this upcoming Conversation on Teaching! A Conversation on Teaching Large Classes Teaching large classes can pose particular challenges. How do you personalize interaction in a class with more than 100—or even more than 200—students? How do you promote student engagement when it’s so easy for a student to hide in the crowd?...
Ask Professor Pedagogy: Tips for Engaging Lectures in Large Classes
Feb. 15, 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...
Upcoming Event: Teaching to Thousands: A Conversation about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Feb. 14, 2013—Join us for this upcoming Conversation on Teaching! Teaching to Thousands: A Conversation about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) Last September, Vanderbilt announced a partnership with Coursera, an online platform for open-access, non-credit classes, available at no cost to participants. Such courses have been dubbed “MOOCs,” or massive open online courses, and Vanderbilt faculty...
Junior Faculty: Visit the classroom of Mark Wollaeger on February 18
Feb. 13, 2013—A Teaching Visit involves a small group of faculty who observe a colleague’s class (on a selected day), followed by an hour of conversation about what was observed, particularly shared teaching challenges. The Center for Teaching has hosted Teaching Visits for many years and they have been among the most productive and helpful events we...
gradLEAF pools resources from throughout the VU community
Feb. 12, 2013—gradLEAF is designed to be a one-stop shop for graduate student professional development needs. Drawn from offerings by schools and departments across the Vanderbilt community to provide students a matrix of offerings, the topics and resources have been vetted by a PhD student advisory council and a council of faculty/staff across the university. A professional...
Junior Faculty: Visit the classroom of John Geer on February 14
Feb. 11, 2013—A Teaching Visit involves a small group of faculty who observe a colleague’s class (on a selected day), followed by an hour of conversation about what was observed, particularly shared teaching challenges. The Center for Teaching has hosted Teaching Visits for many years and they have been among the most productive and helpful events we...
Grad Students, Come Work at the CFT!
Feb. 11, 2013— The Center for Teaching is now accepting applications for its 2013-14 Graduate Teaching Fellow and Teaching Affiliate positions. Graduate Teaching Fellows (GTFs) are employed for the entire academic year, engage in a variety of CFT activities around training and supporting Teaching Assistants across the university, and are paid $20,000 August – May. Teaching Affiliates...
Junior Faculty Teaching Fellow Spotlight:Allison Schachter
Feb. 8, 2013—Each month, the CFT Newsletter highlights the work of our Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows. This month, Allison Schachter, Assistant Professor, Department of English and Program in Jewish Studies, talks about her teaching philosophy and interests. My most exciting moments as a teacher come when I watch students discover the depth and difficulty of a literary...
Junior Faculty: Visit the classroom on David Weintraub on February 12
Feb. 8, 2013—A Teaching Visit involves a small group of faculty who observe a colleague’s class (on a selected day), followed by an hour of conversation about what was observed, particularly shared teaching challenges. The Center for Teaching has hosted Teaching Visits for many years and they have been among the most productive and helpful events we...