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Brightspace Help is Available!

Mar. 21, 2019—Come the the CFT and get individual help during Brightspace drop-in hours or by appointment in a one-on-one consult with one of our instructional technologists. You can also email us at Brightspace@vanderbilt.edu or check out this collection of step-by-step guides for help getting started.   Drop-In Hours Mondays 2:30pm – 4:30pm Tuesdays 9:00am – 11:00am Wednesdays 1:00pm – 3:00pm...

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“Students as Producers” Course Design Institutes for Faculty and Graduate Students

Mar. 18, 2019—The CFT invites Vanderbilt faculty and graduate students to apply to its 2019 Course Design Institutes on the theme of “Students as Producers.” During the three institutes in May, participants will design (or redesign) courses that engage students not only as consumers of information, but producers of knowledge. Short videos created to explain computer algorithms....

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Book Recommendation From CFT’s Stacey Johnson

Mar. 13, 2019—If you are one of the many faculty or staff at Vanderbilt focusing on immersion initiatives, community engagement, or teaching for global citizenship, one of our newest books at the CFT library might be a useful tool in your work. The book is Community-Based Global Learning: The Theory and Practice of Ethical Engagement at Home and...

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Science Teaching Essentials, a New Book by the CFT’s Cynthia Brame

Mar. 11, 2019—By Derek Bruff, CFT Director I am very excited to announce a new book from Cynthia Brame, associate director here at the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching. Science Teaching Essentials: Short Guides to Good Practice (Academic Press, 2019) provides research-based strategies and resources for addressing common teaching challenges in the sciences, health professions, and engineering. Written...

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Teaching 101: Part 2 Graduate Student/Postdoc Workshop

Mar. 8, 2019—Do you want students to view your class within the framework of their lives or communities? Have you considered strategies for connecting class materials to social realities? This interdisciplinary workshop will introduce basic strategies for incorporating active and collaborative learning, community engagement, and social outreach activities into a variety of classroom environments. We will also...

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Junior Faculty Spotlight: Elizabeth Self

Mar. 7, 2019—Each month, the CFT highlights the work of our Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows. This month, Elizabeth Self, Teaching and Learning, talks about her teaching philosophy and interests. I have been a lecturer at Peabody College in the Department of Teaching and Learning for the last two years but have been at Vanderbilt University for much...

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Teaching Innovations at Vanderbilt: Allison Leich Hilbun and Student Mini-Lectures

Mar. 4, 2019—By Faith Rovenolt, CFT undergraduate intern Dr. Allison Leich Hilbun, Senior Lecturer in Biological Sciences, teaches BSCI 3270: Statistical Methods in Biology, also called biostatistics. Dr. Leich Hilbun loves teaching biostatistics, as I witnessed firsthand when I took her class last semester. She pairs her genuine excitement for sharing the material with various activities and assignments...

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2019 Summer Residency Program for PhD Students in the Humanities

Feb. 25, 2019—Objects and Places in an Inquiry-Based Classroom: Teaching, Learning, and Research in the Humanities July 15-26 at the National Humanities Center Application deadline:  March 18, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. The Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities and the Graduate School invite applications from graduate students in good standing in the humanities and the humanistic...

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Leading Lines Ed Tech Podcast Featuring Christopher Parrish

Feb. 21, 2019—In this episode, we hear from Christopher Parrish, senior vice president and portfolio general manager at 2U. In this interview, John Sloop, Vanderbilt’s associate provost for education development and technologies, talks with Chris Parrish from 2U about 2U’s model for online education, why 2U’s standard university partnership is a ten-year commitment, and where Chris Parrish...

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Improved Multiple Assignment Options Brightspace

Feb. 20, 2019—Did you know Brightspace now gives you multiple assignment options to give students? The new types include: Text Submission, On Paper Submission, and Observed In-Person. Students no longer have to submit a file to a folder in order to obtain an assignment grade! If you want to know more, come by during our drop-in hours...

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