News Category
Graduate Teaching Fellows 2013-14
Jul. 1, 2013—The Center for Teaching is excited to announce its incoming Graduate Teaching Fellows (GTFs) for 2013-14. GTFs provide a variety of services for Vanderbilt’s graduate, post doc and professional students, including one-on-one consultations on teaching issues and professional development, syllabus and course design, interpreting and responding to student evaluations, writing teaching statements, and engaging techniques...
New Teaching Guide: Just-in-Time Teaching
Jun. 27, 2013—Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) is a teaching and learning strategy designed to promote the use of class time for more active learning. Developed by Gregor Novak and colleagues, JiTT relies on a feedback loop between web-based learning materials and the classroom (Novak et al., 1999). Students prepare for class by reading from the textbook or using...
New Teaching Guide on Metacognition
Jun. 24, 2013—Metacognition is, put simply, thinking about one’s thinking. More precisely, it refers to the processes used to plan, monitor, and assess one’s understanding and performance. Metacognition includes a critical awareness of a) one’s thinking and learning and b) oneself as a thinker and learner. This new teaching guide, written by CFT Assistant Director Nancy Chick, defines...
New Teaching Guide for Statistics Instructors
Jun. 19, 2013—Statistical analysis is a critical tool in many fields, and as such, it is taught in courses across many disciplines. This new teaching guide, written by CFT Assistant Director, Cynthia Brame, provides an overview of techniques and strategies that have been shown to improve student learning in statistics courses. It also provides links to resources...
Teaching with Technology: Profile of Eric Mentges
Jun. 18, 2013—by Zoe LeBlanc, CFT’s HASCTAC Scholar 2013 Eric Mentges (B.A., The Ohio State University) is a second-year student in the Masters of Arts program in the Classics Department at Vanderbilt. In the program, all second-year students are required to teach both semesters, and Eric has used the opportunity to explore teaching Latin with PowerPoint. So...
Teaching with Technology: Profile of Paul Morrow
Jun. 17, 2013—by Zoe LeBlanc, CFT’s HASCTAC Scholar 2013 Paul Morrow is a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. He is writing a dissertation on the application of the concepts of conventions and social norms to theories of mass atrocity and transitional justice. Paul is currently teaching the McGill Seminar in Philosophy, a...
New Teaching Guide: Team-Based Learning
Jun. 10, 2013—Team-based learning is one version of a flipped classroom, which is supported by a 1998 study by Richard Hake. Hake gathered data on 2084 students in 14 introductory physics courses taught by traditional methods (defined by the instructor as relying primarily on passive student lectures and algorithmic problem exams), allowing him to define an average...
HASTAC Scholars, an Opportunity for Graduate Students in the Digital Humanities (Deadline: July 1st)
Jun. 7, 2013—Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching, Center for Second Language Studies, Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy, and Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities invite applications from graduate students who would like to be 2013-2014 HASTAC Scholars. HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory) is a global network of individuals and institutions...
Experiments in Open Education and Active Learning: A Report from the Celebration of Teaching
May. 21, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director, and Sarah Collier, 2013 Teaching Certificate Recipient and 2012-13 SoTL Scholar Colleges and universities across North America focus a significant amount of attention on the student-to-instructor ratios in their classrooms, often touting low ratios as reasons to enroll. In recent months, however, it has been fashionable to announce incredibly high...
Real Science for Real Student: The Scientist in the Classroom Program
May. 20, 2013—by Sarah P. Collier, 2013 Teaching Certificate Recipient and 2012-13 SoTL Scholar Staff from the Scientist in the Classroom Program (SCP) led a fantastic morning session during the CFT’s Celebration of Teaching on Friday, May 3rd. The SCP is one of nine programs offered by the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach, which works to unite...