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Never Going Back: What Online Teaching in the Times of COVID Can Add to Our Teaching Toolkits – Elisabeth Sandberg

Feb. 19, 2021—by Mohammad Meerzaei Enhanced Quality Time in Teaching: Dr. Elisabeth Sandberg, Senior Lecturer in Psychology Having taught at least one very large class each semester for years, Sandberg found that teaching online this fall helped her achieve new ways of interacting with students in different stages of their learning. She shares with us her thoughts...

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“One of the things that putting the course online forced me to do was to do was to go back to bare bones, like what are the goals?”: Diana Heney talks about her synchronous sessions in her online courses.

Feb. 18, 2021—Diana Heney, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, recently joined Thomas Clements, Kathy Friedman, and Jessica Watkins for a Conversation on Teaching about their approaches to synchronous sessions in online courses. You can see the recording of the entire session here. In the clip below, Diana describes specific ways that she shaped the two classes she taught...

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“It gets us away from staring at all these little boxes on the screen—it gets us all on the same side looking at something else.”: Jesse Blocher talks about his Fall 2020 hybrid course.

Feb. 15, 2021—Jesse Blocher, Associate Professor of the Practice for Finance and Data Science, recently joined Marcy Singer-Gabella and Julie Johnson for a Conversation on Teaching about the hybrid courses they taught in Fall 2020. You can see the recording of the entire session here. In the clip below, Jesse shares key lessons about how he uses...

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PowerPoint hack: A homemade time tracking tool for meetings and classes

Feb. 12, 2021—by Cynthia Brame Have you ever wanted a timer in class or a workshop that would help speakers track their time—without the stress of an actual clock? I recently found something that served this purpose and think it could be handy for a number of situations where you want a visual reminder of time. See...

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“I was trying to re-create the magic of impromptu, small group, in-class work.”: Julie Johnson shares key lessons from her Fall 2020 teaching

Feb. 11, 2021—Julie Johnson, Professor of the Practice of Computer Science, recently joined Marcy Singer-Gabella and Jesse Blocher for a Conversation on Teaching about the hybrid courses they taught in Fall 2020. You can see the recording of the entire session here. In the clip below, Julie shares key lessons from her teaching: Persistent groups are critical...

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Come Work at the Center for Teaching!

Feb. 5, 2021—Each year the Center for Teaching (CFT) hires a number of graduate students as part of its efforts to mentor and train graduate students, including those serving as teaching assistants or instructors of record here at Vanderbilt as well as those interested in developing teaching skills for future faculty careers. The CFT has several types...

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“Relationships were absolutely everything”: Marcy Singer-Gabella shares approaches for connecting people, resources, and ideas across a course.

Feb. 4, 2021—Marcy Singer Gabella, Professor of the Practice in the Department of Teaching & Learning, recently joined Julie Johnson and Jesse Blocher for a Conversation on Teaching about the hybrid courses they taught in Fall 2020. You can see the recording of the entire session here. In the segment below, Marcy shares three key lessons from...

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Come Work at the Center for Teaching!

Jan. 27, 2021—Each year the Center for Teaching (CFT) hires a number of graduate students as part of its efforts to mentor and train graduate students, including those serving as teaching assistants or instructors of record here at Vanderbilt as well as those interested in developing teaching skills for future faculty careers. The CFT has several types...

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Current Events in the Language Classroom

Jan. 14, 2021—by Stacey M. Johnson, CFT assistant director What is our obligation as teachers, even more specifically as language teachers, to bring current events into our classrooms? Following the horrors of January 6th, I saw many of my language teacher acquaintances brainstorm on social media how they might help students navigate these unsettling events in their...

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Striving Towards Inclusion in Academic Biology Spring Webinar Series

Jan. 12, 2021—The webinar series on Striving Towards Inclusion in Academic Biology continues this spring with nine seminars focusing on different elements of inclusion. While the series is supported by the Society for Advancement of Biology Education Research and targets academic biology, the webinars are led by scholars from a variety of disciplines (including Anjali Forber-Pratt, Department...

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