Teaching in Response to the Election
Nov. 10, 2016—by Joe Bandy, CFT Assistant Director Before and certainly after Tuesday’s election, there has been much discussion in higher education about the incivilities and conflicts of this electoral season, and the potential impacts they are having on our students, particularly those students who are least represented on our campuses and most vulnerable to trauma. Many...
Leading Lines Episode 7: Video Games, History, and Students as Producers
Nov. 7, 2016—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director In our latest Leading Lines episode, we feature an interview with Vanderbilt’s Lynn Ramey, associate professor of French. Lynn is the author of multiple books and essays, including most recently Black Legacies: ‘Race’ and the European Middle Ages. Lynn is currently engaged in several ambitious digital projects exploring the use...
Consultations for University Courses and TIPs Proposals
Nov. 1, 2016—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director The Office of the Provost has issued a call for proposals for Trans-Institutional Programs and University Courses for 2017-2018. TIPs pre-proposals are due November 28th, and University Course proposals are due December 12th. If you’re a faculty member thinking about a submission to either program, feel free to reach out...
Instructors Open Classroom Doors for Two Days of Teaching Visits Across Campus
Oct. 6, 2016—by Marianna Sharp, CFT Communications Intern This year’s Open Dores Teaching Visits program was a success. On September 27th and 28th dozens of faculty, post-docs, and graduate students visited forty classrooms and observed the teaching practices of faculty in a wide variety of disciplines. On Wednesday afternoon, a number of the hosts and visitors gathered...
Blackboard Blogging for the Classroom
Oct. 5, 2016—by Brandon N. Crawford, CFT Instructional Technologist The Vanderbilt Center for teaching recently released a comprehensive guide to Teaching with Blogs. Blackboard users on campus will be interested to know that a blog tool is included in every Blackboard course, and can be used to support student learning inside of the secure course management environment....
Leading Lines Episode 5: Digital Textbooks and Language Instruction
Oct. 3, 2016—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director In our latest Leading Lines episode, we feature an interview with Lee Forester, Professor of German at Hope College, and Bill VanPatten, Professor of Spanish and Second Language Studies at Michigan State University. The CFT’s Stacey M. Johnson, Assistant Director for Educational Technology, sat down with Forester and VanPatten at...
Link Your Online Textbook Content with Blackboard
Sep. 29, 2016—Does your textbook have online materials for students? Did you know that Blackboard can create a seamless link between many publishers’ content and your course allowing you to download content and import grades? Two new resources from the CFT will help you make the connection between your Blackboard course and textbook-based online platform. ...
Claiming Your Authority in the Classroom
Sep. 28, 2016—by Cynthia Brame, CFT Assistant Director One of the most persistent questions about college teaching is how to establish authority while being student-centered and giving your students voice. It ranks right up there with—and is related to—questions about how to engage students. For a scholarly perspective, we can turn to a model proposed by Paul...
Advancing Open Access & Open Education at Vanderbilt Talk this Thursday
Sep. 27, 2016—Members of the Vanderbilt teaching community interested in open education might be interested in a talk this Thursday at the library. Nick Shockey, Director of Programs and Engagement, and Nicole Allen, Director of Open Education, at the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) are speaking at Vanderbilt on Thursday, September 29 at 10:00am in...
Open Dores: Two Days of Teaching Visits
Sep. 21, 2016—by Marianna Sharp, CFT Communications Intern On September 27th and 28th some of Vanderbilt’s talented faculty members will be opening their classrooms to their fellow professors and graduate students. This year’s Open Dores CFT event differs somewhat from past years’ Teaching Visit programming—more condensed, but with a wider selection of classrooms open for visitors. In...