Teaching after Charlottesville

By Derek Bruff, CFT Director This weekend’s events in Charlottesville, Virginia, saw hateful and bigoted speech turn into deadly violence. As classes at Vanderbilt resume this month, these events will be on the minds of students and faculty returning to campus. They’re certainly on my mind. I think of my visit to the University of…

Posted on August 15, 2017 in News, Difficult Moments, Discussion Leading, Mindfulness, Teaching Difference and Power

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Reflections from the Teaching Difference, and Power Symposium: Class Matters

On April 25th, the CFT hosted a Teaching, Difference, and Power symposium focused on the ways teaching and learning can be shaped or challenged by social class.  This was as an event to celebrate and extend discussions that took place over the Fall and Spring of a CFT learning community on social class. About thirty…

Posted on May 8, 2017 in Events, News, Learning Communities, Teaching Difference and Power

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Teaching Difference, and Power Symposium: Class Matters

This year, the Center for Teaching hosted a learning community of faculty and graduate students focused on social class, particularly the challenges faced by lower income and first generation students in the classroom, and class-conscious methods of teaching. On April 25th, join the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching for an end-of-year symposium in which we’ll share…

Posted on April 5, 2017 in Events, diversity, Inclusive Teaching, Teaching Difference and Power

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Teaching Difference, and Power Symposium: Class Matters

Among the greatest challenges facing higher education is that of creating diverse and democratic campus cultures that seek to confront, rather than replicate, social inequalities. One of the most challenging inequalities to confront is that of social class, since it shapes all of our lives in profound and often uncomfortable ways. Class touches every aspect…

Posted on March 10, 2017 in , Teaching Difference and Power

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Brown Bag Lunch Series: LGBTQI Inclusivity & Allyship in Learning Spaces: February (2/1, 2/8, 2/15, 2/22)

This month-long series of 4 workshops aims to create an active learning community wherein current and future educators can build their capacity to personally enact and support LGBTQI inclusivity & allyship in postsecondary academic contexts. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following: LGBTQI resources on campus and beyond, information on the contemporary LGBTQI…

Posted on January 16, 2017 in News, Teaching Difference and Power

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Teaching in Response to the Election

by Joe Bandy, CFT Assistant Director Before and certainly after Tuesday’s election, there has been much discussion in higher education about the incivilities and conflicts of this electoral season, and the potential impacts they are having on our students, particularly those students who are least represented on our campuses and most vulnerable to trauma.  Many…

Posted on November 10, 2016 in Resource, Discussion Leading, Mindfulness, Teaching Difference and Power

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Claiming Your Authority in the Classroom

by Cynthia Brame, CFT Assistant Director One of the most persistent questions about college teaching is how to establish authority while being student-centered and giving your students voice. It ranks right up there with—and is related to—questions about how to engage students. For a scholarly perspective, we can turn to a model proposed by Paul…

Posted on September 28, 2016 in News, authority in the classroom, Discussion Leading, Educational Technology, Teaching Difference and Power

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New and Continuing Learning Communities at the CFT

by Derek Bruff, CFT Director The CFT hosts a number of learning communities, intended for members of Vanderbilt’s teaching community interested in meeting over time to develop deeper understandings and richer practices around particular teaching and learning topics.  This year’s learning communities are: Teaching and Social Class – The CFT continues its attention to issues…

Posted on August 16, 2016 in News, Educational Technology, Language Pedagogy, Learning Communities, STEM, Teaching Difference and Power

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Upcoming Faculty Teaching Visit with Dr. Lisa Guenther: Tuesday, Oct 20th

Lisa Guenther, Associate Professor of Philosophy PHIL 2110: Contemporary Philosophy: Critical Responses to Mass Incarceration Lisa Guenther is Associate Professor of Philosophy.  In PHIL 2110: Contemporary Philosophy: Critical Responses to Mass Incarceration, she engages students in critical discussions of the issues raised by mass incarceration in the US, and as she states, “asking both what…

Posted on October 14, 2015 in Events, News, Community-Based Teaching, Teaching Difference and Power, Teaching Visit

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From the Director

Think, Pair, Share. It’s a simple approach to engaging students in class discussions. Instead of asking a question of your class and waiting for a few students to respond, ask students to think about the question silently for thirty seconds, then pair up and discuss their responses for a minute or two. When you ask…

Posted on September 11, 2015 in News, blackboard, Educational Technology, From the Director, Teaching Difference and Power

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