SoTL Symposium Connects Research with Teaching
Apr. 25, 2011—Last week the CFT held a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Symposium that offered a unique, interactive format aimed to give attendees practical knowledge and methods for developing, analyzing, applying, and sharing scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) work. Brought together to connect, exchange ideas and strengthen the research community in teaching and learning at...
See What I Mean: A PowerPoint Makeover
Apr. 22, 2011—This is a guest post by Emily Bigelow, a doctoral student in Teaching, Learning, and Diversity. The post is part of our spring “See What I Mean” blog series highlighting the effective use of visuals in presentations and lectures. I attended CFT assistant director Derek Bruff’s GradSTEP 2011 presentation on using visual thinking in the...
Karl Smith: Engineering Education Research, Teaching as Design, & the Connected Mind
Apr. 20, 2011—by CFT Assistant Director Derek Bruff Last week, the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) hosted a talk by Karl Smith, Professor of Cooperative Learning in Engineering Education at Purdue University. Professor Smith’s talk was titled “Studies at the Interface: Engineering Education Research and Engineering Education Innovation,” and in the talk,...
Teaching Science by Reacting to the Past
Apr. 19, 2011—by CFT Assistant Director Derek Bruff Last month CFT graduate teaching fellow Lily Claiborne and I attended the AAC&U / Project Kaleidoscope conference “Engaged STEM Learning: From Promising to Pervasive Practices.” (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics.) Most participants were STEM faculty from a range of disciplines with some administrators and teaching center staff in...
CIRTL Coffee Hour April 21 – Making the Transition from Grad Student to Faculty
Apr. 18, 2011—The 2010-2011 CIRTL Coffee Hour Series provides an opportunity for STEM (science, technology, engineering, & math) graduate students and post docs to get together online and talk about careers and the academic job search. The series is facilitated by a mix of young faculty who have recently secured positions and more seasoned tenured faculty. The...
Student and Faculty Expectations about Responsibilities – Highlights from a Conversation
Apr. 15, 2011—by CFT Assistant Director Derek Bruff Last month, the CFT hosted a conversation titled “Negotiating Student Expectations about Freedom and Responsibility.” We’ve found that when students and faculty have very different expectations about teaching and learning, a variety of teaching challenges can result, frequently leading to frustration for both teachers and students. We’re planning to...
From a Student’s View: Distributions of Grades
Apr. 14, 2011—This is a guest post by Travis Meyer, Vanderbilt Class of 2012 and biomedical engineering major. The post is part of our spring “From a Student’s View” blog series. We occasionally feature guest posts here on the blog as part of our efforts to cultivate dialogue about teaching and learning among Vanderbilt faculty, students, and...
Celebration of Teaching :: May 3, 2011
Apr. 13, 2011—The Center for Teaching (CFT) in conjunction with the Graduate School will be honoring the achievements of the Vanderbilt teaching community at the annual Celebration of Teaching on May 3, 2011 at 4:00pm at the Center for Teaching. The celebration includes remarks by: Richard McCarty, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dennis Hall, Vice Provost for Research and...
Educational Components in Your Grant Proposal? The CFT Can Help!
Apr. 13, 2011—“The CFT consultant’s comments and suggestions greatly improved the educational components of my NSF grant proposal, making it a true CAREER one.” – Assistant Professor, Arts & Science Many research grants now require faculty members applying for them to consider educational initiatives that will broaden the impact of the grant. CFT consultants are available to...
Vanderbilt View Article about CFT’s Junior Faculty Teaching Fellowship Highlights Phillip Ackerman-Lieberman
Apr. 12, 2011—Teaching Well by Joan Brasher The Center for Teaching’s new fellowship helps junior faculty craft their curriculum Phillip Ackerman-Lieberman knows a lot about economics, the Talmud, rabbinic ordination and more. But when he arrived at Vanderbilt in 2009, there was something he wasn’t quite ready to handle despite his three master’s degrees and Ph.D....