Finding the Time to Teach Part 1 – Finding Balance
Feb. 18, 2011—Finding the Time to Teach Part 1 – Finding Balance is the first of a series of posts written by CFT Graduate Teaching Fellow, Lily Claiborne. These blog posts are intended to share ideas for prioritizing, planning, working efficiently, and avoiding procrastination – resulting in a more balanced, successful life in academia. There are many...
Strategies for Developing Information Literacy – A Conference Report
Feb. 17, 2011—by Derek Bruff, CFT Assistant Director Back in November I attended the 30th annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching at Miami University in Ohio. I thought I’d share some session highlights with my Vanderbilt colleagues. Here’s the fifth (and last) in a series of posts about the conference. Easily Integrating Information Competency Into the Classroom:...
New Spring Teaching Workshop Added: Course & Syllabus Design
Feb. 16, 2011—Demand for a workshop on Course and Syllabus Design among Vanderbilt Graduate Students has led the CFT to add a new Teaching Workshop to the Spring 2011 lineup. On April 6, the CFT will offer the workshop which will introduce participants to basic tools and strategies for designing a course from the ground up. Participants are...
Upcoming Teaching Workshop: Leveraging Diversity: The Wisdom of Crowds in University Teaching (Feb 22)
Feb. 15, 2011—Date & Time: 4:10-5:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 22 Location: CFT Workshop Space, Center for Teaching Facilitator: Derek Bruff, Assistant Director Audience: Faculty, Graduate and Professional Students, and Post-docs Co-Sponsored by the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, & Learning (CIRTL) Our students bring a rich array of knowledge, skills, experiences, perspectives, interests, and values...
From a Student’s View: What Does an A Mean?
Feb. 14, 2011—This is a guest post by Xiaoyu Qi, Vanderbilt Class of 2012, the first in 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 staff. We recognize that everyone’s teaching...
Leveraging Diversity: The Wisdom of Crowds in University Teaching
Feb. 11, 2011—In The Wisdom of Crowds, author James Surowiecki describes an interesting phenomenon. When county fair visitors are given the chance to guess the weight of a cow, the average of the guesses is very often right on target. In fact, the average guess is frequently more accurate than any single guess, even guesses by those...
Upcoming Teaching Workshop: Interactive Lectures (Feb 16)
Feb. 9, 2011—Time & Date: 4:10—5:30 p.m., Wednesday, February 16 Location: CFT Workshop Space, Center for Teaching Facilitators: Manya Whitaker, Graduate Teaching Fellow, CFT Audience: Graduate and Professional Students and Post-docs Given that students have an attention span of around 15 to 20 minutes and that university classes are scheduled for around 50 or 75 minutes, instructors...
Fractals, Metacognition, and the Affective Domain – A Conference Report
Feb. 7, 2011—by Derek Bruff, CFT Assistant Director Back in November I attended the 30th annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching at Miami University in Ohio. I thought I’d share some session highlights with my Vanderbilt colleagues. Here’s the fourth in a series of posts about the conference. A Fractal Thinker Ponders Bringing Faculty Development to Students:...
Junior Faculty Teaching Fellow Spotlight: Shaul Kelner
Feb. 4, 2011—Each month, the CFT Newsletter highlights the work of our Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows. This month, Shaul Kelner, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Jewish Studies Vanderbilt University talks about his teaching philosophy and interests: In designing my curricula, I use broad orienting questions and overarching conceptual frameworks both as structuring principles that divide the units...
Student and Faculty Expectations about Grades – Highlights from a Conversation
Feb. 3, 2011—by Derek Bruff, CFT Assistant Director Last week, the CFT hosted a conversation titled “Negotiating Student Expectations about Grades and Goals.” 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...