News Category
Overcoming the “busywork” dilemma
Jan. 11, 2021—by Julaine Fowlin, CFT assistant director What is the busywork dilemma? The busywork dilemma is where students perceive that assigned learning activities or assessments are not meaningfully contributing to their learning. Instructors put a lot of effort and time into the design and implementation of these activities, which can be very frustrating. Sometimes activities are...
CFT Now Offers Instructional Design Consultations
Jan. 8, 2021—The Center for Teaching is pleased to offer instructional design consultations to the Vanderbilt teaching community. Julaine Fowlin, assistant director for instructional design, is available to consult with instructors on the design of online courses, moving an existing course online, or the development of online programs. As an instructional designer, Julaine collaborates with faculty and...
Lessons from teaching in Fall 2020: what to keep, what to ditch, and what to change
Dec. 18, 2020—by Cynthia Brame, CFT associate director This fall, I got the opportunity to teach online for the first time. I had been thinking about online teaching for several years because of my work in developing Vanderbilt’s BOLD (Blended and Online Learning Design) Fellows program. But although I read about, thought about, and helped others with online teaching,...
Come Work at the Center for Teaching!
Dec. 9, 2020—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...
Making the Most of In-Class Reading Days
Dec. 8, 2020—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director Last week, the university approved four “in-class reading days” for the spring 2021 semester: February 23-24 and April 7-8. These days in the undergraduate and graduate school schedules are meant to encourage students and instructors to practice self-care and avoid burnout during this exceptional academic year. In this blog post,...
Join us TODAY for a secure testing Q&A Session all about Proctorio!
Nov. 30, 2020—Do you have questions about using Proctorio, Vanderbilt’s secure testing software? If you plan to give a timed, secure exam using the Brightspace Quiz tool, using Proctorio in Brightspace provides a range of security options. Drop in for a Q&A session at noon on Monday, November 30th or on Tuesday, December 1st. The CFT’s Lead Instructional...
Spring Journal Club: Investigating Student Learning
Nov. 9, 2020—In this journal club we will explore different approaches that college instructors can use to investigate how and what our students are learning. We will discuss research articles that illustrate how a range of methods can be used to understand our teaching and our students’ learning, considering benefits and limitations of the methods for answering...
Meeting in Tents with Students
Oct. 21, 2020—If you have been on campus lately, you may have noticed that there are more tents than one usually sees outside of Commencement week. These tents have been set up to provide more outside, socially distanced meeting space for faculty, students, and staff. Faculty and other instructors are welcome to use these tents to meet...
New CFT Assistant Director for Graduate Programs Shares His Research Interests
Oct. 13, 2020—Yes She Can: Examining the Educational and Career Pathways of African American Women in Senior Leadership Positions in 4-Year Public Universities This qualitative study explores how Black women in senior leadership positions in 4-year public universities in the United States speak about the experiences and characteristics that contribute to their academic achievements, career advancement, and...
All About Recording Zoom Meetings – New Guides for Faculty!
Oct. 8, 2020—Have you been wondering about recording your live class meetings? We have several new guides available on our On-Demand Resources page that will walk you through some commonly asked questions. Should I record my live class meeting? New! How can I record and share my class meetings with my students? New! How can I record...