One of these things was not like the others: Experiences with standards- and specifications-based grading
Aug. 30, 2021—This guest blog post comes from Richard F. Haglund, Stevenson Professor of Physics. The following comments are reflections after a year of fruitful dialogue with colleagues in an on-line learning community sponsored by the Center for Teaching, organized and led by Cynthia Brame. What I experienced about grading in 2020-2021 is a significant difference...
Center for Teaching 2020-21 Year-in-Review
Aug. 27, 2021—by Derek Bruff, CFT Executive Director I am excited to share the Center for Teaching’s 2020-21 Year-in-Review, now available as a PDF on our website. When higher education pivoted to remote and online instruction in the face of COVID-19, the Vanderbilt teaching community faced the herculean task of fostering student learning during a pandemic. They...
Lessons from a Journal Club: Investigating Student Learning – Post 2: Affective/Cognitive Inquiry and Qualitative/quantitative approaches
Aug. 25, 2021—by Leah Marion Roberts, Senior Graduate Teaching Fellow Assessment of student learning is an essential practice in teaching. As mentioned in the first post in this blog series, asking questions and collecting data about our classes systematically can deepen our knowledge of student experience in our classrooms, and hopefully lead to improved teaching practices. ...
A Survey to Assess Student Needs in Your Course
Aug. 20, 2021—As we near the beginning of a new semester, many of us are thinking about how we can make space in our classrooms to learn about our students’ needs. In higher education, the question of how we can support students coming back to campus after mostly online experiences is a hot topic in almost every...
Upcoming Workshop: Group Work That Works
Aug. 20, 2021—Date: Tuesday, August 24th Time: 10:30am – 12:00pm Facilitator: Ransford Pinto, CFT assistant director Group work is an effective teaching approach that enhances student learning and encourages critical thinking and decision-making skills. In this workshop, we will explore strategies and leverage some lessons learned from last year to foster better group work during our in-person classes. REGISTER (A...
Upcoming Workshop: Teaching in Stereo – Strategies for Class Participation
Aug. 20, 2021— Date: Tuesday, August 24th Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm Location: CFT Classroom or Zoom Facilitator: Derek Bruff, CFT director Zoom classes showed us that having students participate using their voices isn’t the only meaningful kind of participation. How can we take a more inclusive, accessible approach to class participation once we’re back in the classroom? Join us in...
Upcoming Workshop: Inclusive Teaching
Aug. 19, 2021—Date: Monday, August 23rd Time: 9:00 -10:30am Facilitator: Joe Bandy, CFT assistant director This workshop provides an introduction to some of the foundational principles and practices of inclusive teaching. Inclusive teaching is that which supports all students in their efforts to find greater belonging, equity, and trust in a course’s learning community. Inclusive teaching is predicated upon thinking through...
Digital Media Lab Open House
Aug. 19, 2021—Date: Monday, August 23rd Time: 1:00-3:00pm Location: Digital Commons, 1101 19th Ave. South, Room 012 Facilitators: Rhett McDaniel, CFT assistant director Tracye Davis, digital media specialist Seth Shepherd, digital media specialist Visit the CFT’s new Digital Media Lab located in the Digital Commons. This new facility provides instructors with the software, equipment, environment, and instructional staff needed to...
Lessons from a Journal Club: Investigating Student Learning – Post 1: What is vs. what works?
Aug. 18, 2021—by Leah Marion Roberts, Senior Graduate Teaching Fellow Assessment of student learning is a familiar and essential component of teaching. As college instructors, we constantly ask ourselves questions like: “Are my students learning?” “What do they still not understand?” “Do students feel they can approach me with questions or concerns?”or, “That cool new thing...
Upcoming Workshop: Teaching for Wellbeing
Aug. 13, 2021—Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2021 Time: 1:00 – 2:30 Facilitators: Julaine Fowlin, CFT assistant director and Stacy Simplican, Senior Lecturer, Gender and Sexuality Studies Wellbeing is not the absence of challenges, but being equipped with internal and external resources to cope. The return to campus may bring new challenges. In this workshop, we will give an overview of...