‘Coursera’
An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching – Starts Today!
Oct. 6, 2014—“An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching” is a free online course that begins today. The course is a production of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL), a network of 22 research universities, including Vanderbilt, collaborating in the preparation of STEM graduate students and post-docs as future faculty members. Vanderbilt...
An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching – Starts October 6th
Aug. 18, 2014—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director I’m very pleased to announce that the free, seven-week, online course “An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching” is now open for enrollment. The course is designed to provide graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) who are planning college and university faculty...
Coordination and Coherence: Behind the Scenes of a Multi-Institution MOOC
Aug. 7, 2014—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director, cross-posted from Derek’s blog, Agile Learning Back in November, I announced that the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching would be part of a $750,000, three-year, multi-institution National Science Foundation supporting the creation of two MOOCs (massive open online courses) on evidence-based teaching practices for future STEM (science, technology, engineering, and...
TAing to Thousands: A Graduate Student MOOC Panel, February 24th
Feb. 18, 2014—What is it like to serve as a teaching assistant in a course with thousands of students? On Monday, February 24th, a panel of graduate students will share their experiences serving as teaching staff in Vanderbilt’s massive open online courses (MOOCs) hosted on Coursera. “TAing to Thousands” is scheduled for 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. in...
MOOCs on Evidence-Based Teaching Practices for Future STEM Faculty: A $750K NSF WIDER Grant
Nov. 4, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director I’m pleased to announce that the Center for Teaching will be part of a $750,000, three-year, multi-institution National Science Foundation WIDER grant supporting the creation of two MOOCs (massive open online courses) on evidence-based teaching practices for future STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) faculty. I am one of the...
Getting to Know Coursera: VIDL and Vital Questions
Oct. 2, 2013—by Kathryn McEwen, (former) CFT Graduate Assistant The new school year is underway, bringing with it some big changes for online learning at Vanderbilt. At the end of May, the new Vanderbilt Institute for Digital Learning debuted. Led by Douglas Fisher, associate professor of computer science and computer engineering, VIDL will not only manage Vanderbilt’s...
Wrapping a MOOC: CFT Study Published in the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT)
Sep. 30, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director Last fall, Vanderbilt computer science professor Doug Fisher “flipped” his graduate-level course on machine learning. Instead of having his students read their textbook before class or watch lecture videos that he created, as is typical for a “flipped” classroom, Doug asked his students to prepare for class by taking another...
Lessons Learned from Vanderbilt’s First MOOCs
Aug. 19, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director When Vanderbilt announced its massive open online course (MOOC) initiative almost twelve months ago, one of the stated goals of the project was to explore ways that digital technologies might enhance Vanderbilt’s teaching mission. As faculty, staff, and students worked over the last year to launch Vanderbilt’s first three MOOCs,...
From a Student’s View: Taking a MOOC on Maps with Friends
Jul. 24, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director We’re soon coming up on the end of the first year in Vanderbilt’s MOOC (massive open online course) initiative, which is, I think, seven years in “MOOC years.” Vanderbilt has offered three MOOCs thus far, all on the Coursera platform, and there are three more in the pipeline. (You can...
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...