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.
CFT Thanks Open Classroom Hosts!
Oct. 10, 2019—On September 9-13 , classes taught by some of the most well-respected and awarded teachers across Vanderbilt’s many disciplines opened their classroom doors to faculty and graduate students. We sincerely want to thank the many hosts (listed below) who participated in the event for their exemplary teaching and for being willing to serve as sage...
Proposals for University Courses Due November 22nd
Oct. 9, 2019—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director I am excited to announce that the Center for Teaching is the new home for Vanderbilt’s University Courses program. This program was launched by the Provost’s office in 2016 to encourage and support “cross college” teaching, one of the cornerstones of the Vanderbilt Academic Strategic Plan. Over the last three...
Crowdsourcing ideas for student engagement and for dealing with student challenges
Oct. 1, 2019—by Cynthia J. Brame, CFT Associate Director One of the most persistent questions that faculty face is how to engage our students productively, both in and out of the classroom. In some settings this is easier than others: when students are taking elective courses in their area of interest, the road is often smoother than...
Teaching Innovations at Vanderbilt: Garrett Tate, Lily Claiborne, and student analysis of real-world data
Sep. 30, 2019—By Faith Rovenolt, CFT undergraduate intern It’s pretty hard to not find volcanoes exciting. That’s part of the reason why I think a new active learning activity in EES-1510: The Dynamic Earth: Introduction to Geological Sciences, is so cool. The other reason I think it’s amazing is that it represents a great example of an...
CFT Thanks Our Teaching Affiliates!
Sep. 20, 2019—L to R: Amanda Brockman (Sociology), Laura Carter-Stone (Teaching & Learning), Emma Guiberson (Chemistry), Ethan Joll (Biomedical Engineering), Cait Kirby (Biological Sciences), Kelley Knowles (Psychology), Nazirah Mohd Khairi (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science), Jose Luis de Ramon Ruiz (Spanish and Portuguese), Aaron Stevens (Physics and Astronomy), Nadejda Webb (English) Every August, the Center for Teaching...
Graduate Student/Postdoc Workshop: Teaching 101
Sep. 19, 2019—Have you been thrust into an instructional role for which you feel unprepared? Are you a multi-semester teacher who wants a refresher on some of the basics? Regardless of your teaching experience, this workshop will provide practical, concrete guidance on the mechanics of teaching and classroom presence, with an eye towards small tweaks and adjustments...
The CFT welcomes the 2019-20 BOLD Fellow Teams!
Sep. 18, 2019—The BOLD Fellows program helps graduate students from all disciplines design and develop online learning experiences, from building online learning modules to fostering online spaces for their students to interact. Each Fellow works with a faculty member who has identified a teaching “problem” in a particular course and develops a potential solution that they then...