In Defense of Multiple-Choice Exam Questions
Mar. 8, 2010—CFT assistant director Derek Bruff authored a guest post on the group blog ProfHacker last week. In the post, he offered a defense of the use of multiple-choice questions on exams, arguing that they do more than save time grading. He described the kinds of multiple-choice questions he includes on exams, ones that are tied...
Call for Proposals – Exploring More Signature Pedagogies – Due March 15
Mar. 6, 2010—Interested in writing about your disciplines signature pedagogies? Here an interesting call for proposals from Nancy Chick of the University of Wisconsin. We are seeking proposals for chapters in follow-up to Exploring Signature Pedagogies: Approaches to Teaching Disciplinary Habits of Mind (Stylus, 2009), under contract with Stylus Publishing. Each chapter should briefly introduce a discipline,...
Smile! You’re on Camera! – Using the Digital Video Consult Service
Mar. 4, 2010—“Thanks so much for such a helpful video consultation. It was incredibly valuable for me to be able to talk through ideas about teaching. That process is actually one of the ways I learn best. I was, in fact, thinking of our consult the other day as I tried to step back and let the...
New Assistant Director Brings Experience in Junior Faculty Mentoring, Community Engagement, and Sustainability
Mar. 2, 2010—We’re delighted to announce the upcoming appointment of Joe Bandy as a new Assistant Director. Joe is currently an Associate Professor of Sociology at Bowdoin College, and will begin here at the Center for Teaching this summer. Joe grew up in Nashville, received his B.A. from Rhodes College, and his Ph.D. in Sociology from the...
Meet Our Advisory Board
Mar. 1, 2010—The CFT’s Advisory Board will be here at the CFT tomorrow for its spring meeting. Our current advisory board was formed in 2007 with thirteen or so faculty, staff, and students who join the board for one-to-three-year terms. The board assists the CFT in the following ways: Guide long-term strategic planning for the CFT and...
Podcast Series – Time-Efficient Teaching
Feb. 26, 2010—Last year on the CFT podcast, we featured a series on time-efficient teaching. Faculty at a research university like Vanderbilt must balance a number of competing demands on their time, including teaching, research, and service. For the series, we interviewed senior faculty members at Vanderbilt and asked them to share ways they teach effectively while...
Are Teaching Statements Bunk?
Feb. 25, 2010—In a recent Chronicle of Higher Education opinion piece, Kevin Haggerty of the University of Alberta asserts that teaching statements are bunk. He argues that most teaching philosophy statements, written for the faculty job market or for promotion and tenure committees, are filled with platitudes about teaching so vague that they don’t communicate anything about...
Three Steps for Integrating In- and Out-of-Class Learning Experiences
Feb. 24, 2010—At yesterday’s Junior Faculty Teaching Series workshop, “More than 150 Minutes a Week: Integrating In- and Out-of-Class Learning,” CFT assistant director Derek Bruff shared three steps instructors can take to be more intentional about directing their students’ in- and out-of-class learning. Each step is a question instructors might ask as they design their courses: What...
The CIRTL Coffee Hour – Online, Informal Conversations for STEM Grad Students and Faculty
Feb. 22, 2010—The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is an NSF-sponsored network of six universities interested in enhancing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education through professional development of future STEM faculty. Vanderbilt is a member of CIRTL, and Vanderbilt STEM grad students, postdocs, and faculty are invited to participate in the...
Resources from Yesterday’s Workshop on Teaching Large Lecture Classes
Feb. 18, 2010—On the online “home base” for yesterday’s CFT workshop titled “Engaging Students in Large Lecture Classes,” facilitated by CFT assistant director Derek Bruff, you’ll find a variety of resources relevant to the topic, including Derek’s PowerPoint and Prezi presentations, as well as a record of questions asked by participants before and during the session via...