The Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching promotes university teaching that leads to meaningful student learning. Our offerings are available to any members of the Vanderbilt community interested in developing their teaching practices.
Event Focusing on Teaching Issues of Race and Racism
Nov. 2, 2020—As part of the 2020-21 learning community on Teaching and Race, the Center for Teaching is hosting a meeting on the subject of resolving classroom conflicts about race. Discussions about race can be among the most challenging students can have in the classroom due to the issue’s intellectual complexities, political implications, and emotional dimensions, all...
Instructional Design Consultations through iDesign
Oct. 28, 2020—Vanderbilt University has partnered with the instructional design firm iDesign to make available a number of services to help faculty and other instructors prepare for online and hybrid teaching this fall. iDesign learning specialists are on-hand to assist with your course design and teaching effectiveness questions. If you have a question relating how to best...
New Resource on Leading Synchronous Online Discussions
Oct. 26, 2020—Check out the latest page on Leading Synchronous Online Discussions posted within the Center for Teaching’s Online Course Development Resources website. Heather Fedesco, CFT assistant director, provides suggestions for effective ways to incorporate group discussions into Zoom class sessions. You can learn more about setting expectations for Zoom discussions, establishing community norms to ensure these...
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...
Creating Effective, Equitable Assessments for Online Courses: An On-demand Resource
Oct. 19, 2020—In the transition to online education many educators have been concerned about how to assess student learning in ways that are engaging, creative, fair, and equitable. Not only do students demonstrate widely differing resources and aptitudes for online learning that raise concerns about equity, but online technologies present instructors with many challenges in assessing students...
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...
New vlog series: Teaching programming online
Oct. 12, 2020—Doug Schmidt, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Computer Science, and Jules White, Associate Professor of Computer Science, are creating a video blog (vlog) series on “Teaching Programming Online.” Schmidt says they were inspired by a CFT-sponsored webinar in August that drew about 25 Vanderbilt faculty members, demonstrating substantial local interest that suggests there may be broader...