News Category
Curricular Redesign with the CFT
Jul. 14, 2014—One characteristic of “the best college teachers,” according to Ken Bain (author of the book by this name and founder of the Vanderbilt CFT), is the ability to “reflect deeply on the nature of thinking within their fields“: They know what has to come first, and they can distinguish between foundational concepts and elaborations or illustrations of...
HASTAC Scholars, an Opportunity for Graduate Students in the Digital Humanities (Deadline: July 18th)
Jul. 7, 2014—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director Today on the blog, we’re sharing a call for applications from graduate students to be HASTAC Scholars. HASTAC (pronounced “haystack”) is the Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory, a global network of academics exploring ways that technology can enhance teaching, research, and scholarship. HASTAC Scholars is a professional development...
Reflections from SoTL Scholar Hasina Mohyuddin
Jul. 2, 2014—The SoTL Scholars Program introduces participants to the principles and practices of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, an international, multidisciplinary field of disciplinary specialists studying student learning. SoTL (pronounced “sō-tul” in the U.S.) is a synthesis of teaching, learning, and research in higher education that aims to bring a scholarly lens—the curiosity, the inquiry,...
Gearing up For Teaching at Vanderbilt (TAV) Orientation for New Faculty
Jun. 20, 2014—At the beginning of every academic year, the Office of the Provost and the Center for Teaching host “Teaching at Vanderbilt,” an orientation for junior and senior faculty new to Vanderbilt. This year Teaching at Vanderbilt 2014 will be held Wednesday, August 13th Buttrick Hall, Atrium 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. This year’s program will...
‘Educationally Purposeful’ Thoughts about Race on Campus
Jun. 18, 2014—by Nancy Chick, CFT Assistant Director This week, Vanderbilt is hosting the fourth annual Institute on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, sponsored by the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U). On the opening night, CFT Director Derek Bruff and I attended the plenary session, along with the 220 participants from as far away as the...
Students as Producers: Animating Organic Chemistry
Jun. 16, 2014—By Nayana Bose, CFT Graduate Teaching Fellow The CFT’s “Students as Producers” theme year culminated in our end-of-year event, the Celebration of Learning. As a part of the celebration, an exhibition of 25 student projects from all four undergraduate schools showcased a wide variety of student work. This series of blog posts highlights some...
Student as Producer: Poverty in the US: How Education Becomes a Scapegoat
Jun. 10, 2014—By Nayana Bose, CFT Graduate Teaching Fellow The CFT’s “Students as Producers” theme year culminated in our end-of-year event, the Celebration of Learning. As a part of the celebration, an exhibition of 25 student projects from all four undergraduate schools showcased a wide variety of student work. This series of blog posts highlights some...
Reflecting On and Documenting Your Teaching Experiences
Jun. 6, 2014—Reflecting on Teaching: What? For Whom? Why? Often, the motivation to improve one’s teaching by revising practices or experimenting with new initiatives stems from reflection. This reflection often focuses on feedback received from others, such as student evaluations or peer reviews. Reflection further involves one’s own assessment of experiences, through self-observation and activities that foster...
Make the Most of Your Course Preparation Time This Summer
Jun. 5, 2014—Summer time is here, and many faculty members have a break from their usual schedules, a chance to slow down a bit and start planning their fall courses. If you have a breather, you may find this an opportune time to review and refresh your teaching plans and practices. The Center for Teaching is open...
Summer Reading Recommendations from the CFT
Jun. 4, 2014—by Nancy Chick, CFT Assistant Director I think I’ve begun an annual tradition of offering summer reading recommendations. Last summer, I suggested a collection of short essays by famous writers looking back on the poems that made them fall in love with writing. The summer before, I recommended a professor’s memoir of her days as a...