‘CFT staff’
From the Director, Joe Bandy
Sep. 12, 2022—As many of you may already know, Derek Bruff is stepping down as Assistant Provost and Executive Director of the Center for Teaching in order to pursue other job opportunities. We wish to thank him for his leadership and for his commitments to improving teaching and learning across the university. In this moment of change,...
From the Executive Director
Apr. 11, 2022—It is with mixed emotions that I share the news that long-time Center for Teaching staff member Rhett McDaniel is moving on to another position at Vanderbilt. Rhett started at the CFT back in 2009 as our educational technologist, overseeing the center’s internal technology needs. From the beginning, however, Rhett was an excellent faculty consultant,...
Come Work at the Center for Teaching
Feb. 7, 2022—Each year the Center for Teaching (CFT) hires a number of graduate students as part of its efforts to mentor and train graduate students, including those serving as teaching assistants or instructors of record here at Vanderbilt as well as those interested in developing teaching skills for future faculty careers. The CFT has several positions...
From the Executive Director
Jan. 18, 2022— As I write this, snow is falling in Nashville, and I’m reminded of all the challenges our local community has faced over the last two years, from tornadoes and storms to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The teaching community at Vanderbilt has had to adapt again and again over the last two years, and I...
From the Executive Director
Sep. 14, 2021—by Derek Bruff, executive director, Vanderbilt Center for Teaching Vanderbilt’s return to the classroom this fall isn’t going exactly as we might have predicted or hoped back in June, given the changing conditions of the pandemic. However, between Vanderbilt instructors’ experience with adaptive teaching last year and an impressively high vaccination rate for the Vanderbilt...
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...
From the Director
Sep. 7, 2020—This summer I marked 15 years on staff at the Center for Teaching. Looking back at those 15 years, I can’t remember any season as busy or as fulfilling as this summer. With hundreds of Vanderbilt instructors looking ahead to an uncertain fall, the Center for Teaching launched new programs to help our community prepare...
Teaching Workshops
Jul. 23, 2020—These workshops focus on practical, concrete strategies for common teaching tasks, challenges, and opportunities. These sessions draw on research-based best practices from the literature on teaching and learning and help participants consider ways to apply those best practices in their teaching. Vanderbilt University is committed to providing universal access to all of our events. Please...
CFT Announces New Graduate Teaching Fellows
Sep. 10, 2019—L to R: Chad Carpenter (Mechanical Engineering), Rachel Gould (English), Leah Roberts (Human & Organizational Development), and Chelsea Yarborough (Religion) The Center for Teaching is excited to announce the Graduate Teaching Fellows for 2019-20. GTFs provide a variety of services for Vanderbilt’s graduate, post docs and professional students, including one-on-one consultations on teaching issues and professional development, syllabus...
Strategies that Stick: Memorable Moments that Enhance Student Motivation
Oct. 22, 2018—Meet the newest assistant director at the CFT, Dr. Heather Fedesco! Prior to Vanderbilt, Heather served as the Mellon Pedagogy Researcher at Colorado College where she spent two years conducting research on student motivation. Please join us as Heather shares some of her research exploring the teaching strategies that students find memorable and motivating...