Spring 2005 Workshops

January

Making Sense of Student Course Evaluations
A discussion about learning from student course evaluation feedback, focusing on how individual teachers can make sense of student ratings and comments, rather than on institutional policies or the research literature about evaluations.
Facilitators : Peter Felten, Associate Director, and Mozhgan Mirani, Graduate Teaching Fellow, Center for Teaching
Date : Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Time : 4:10pm - 5:00pm
Location : Sarratt 363
F2P2 Track : Teaching and Learning (1 hr)
Part of the Teaching Workshop series

The Posture of the Serious Graduate Student (Women in Academe Series)
In this session we will discuss the Imposter Syndrome and its effects, as well as brainstorm survival strategies for navigating graduate school. We will explore the answers to life's persistent questions: What's the right way of being a grad student? Where do images of the ideal graduate student originate? Do you ever get the message that you are not OK or that you have to wear a mask?  What expectations does your department have of you as a grad student, and how do your professors communicate these expectations to you?
Date : Thursday, January 20, 2005
Time : 4:10pm - 5:30pm
Location : Schulman Center, Upstairs
F2P2 Track : World of the University (1.5 hrs)
Part of the Women in Academe Series

Future Faculty Preparation Program (F2P2) Spring Orientation
Join us for an informal question and answer session for any graduate student, professional student or post-doc wanting to learn about the F2P2 program, as well as for current F2P2 participants with questions about program requirements and graduation deadlines. Learn about GradSTEP, the Partner Institution visits planned for the Spring semester, and a few minor changes to the F2P2 program requirements.
Facilitators : Jeff Johnston, Assistant Director; Katharine Baker, Lisa Battaglia, Mozhgan Mirani and Forrest Perry, Graduate Teaching Fellows, Center for Teaching
Date : Friday, January 21, 2005
Time : 4:10pm - 5:30pm
Location : Alumni Hall 117
F2P2 Track : None

Missing: Class in the Classroom
Why should we pay more attention to class in our courses? How might we help students recognize and analyze class, especially when many Vanderbilt undergraduates come from privileged backgrounds? These and related questions will be addressed in a discussion facilitated by Sherry Linkon.
Facilitator : Sherry Linkon is Professor of English and American Studies, and co-director of the Center for Working-Class Studies, at Youngstown State University . Lingua Franca called her book Teaching Working Class (University of Massachusetts Press, 1999) one of the ten best academic books of the 1990s. As a Carnegie Scholar, she is a leading figure in international efforts to promote innovation in university teaching and learning.
Date : Friday, January 28, 2005
Time : 2:30pm - 4:00pm
Location : Alumni Hall 117
F2P2 Track : Teaching and Learning (1.5 hrs)
Part of the Conversations on Teaching series

GradSTEP (Graduate Student Teaching Event for Professional Development): Technology in Teaching and Learning
Join us for a full day of interactive workshops by graduate students, for graduate students, to increase your knowledge of teaching and learning, professional development and the world of the university. This year our focus is on technological innovation and how it affects graduate students as teachers and future academics.
Date : Saturday, January 29, 2005
Time : 9:00am - 4:00pm
Location : Featheringill Hall
F2P2 credit given for all GradSTEP workshops

February

Residential Colleges
What are residential colleges? More specifically, what role can they play in developing learning communities and instilling in students a variety of habits crucial for the functioning of a democratic society? These and other questions will be addressed this facilitated discussion.
Panelists: Lucius Outlaw, Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education and Howard Sandler Professor of Psychology and Human Development; and Casey Leonetti, Graduate Student in Mathematics.
Date : Monday, February 7, 2005
Time : 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Location : Sarratt 189
F2P2 Track : Teaching and Learning OR World of the University (1.25 hrs)
Part of the Conversations on Teaching series

Frontiers in Open-Access Scholarship
Speaker: Malcolm Getz, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University
Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Time: 4:10 - 5:30pm
Location: Frist Hall 140
Co-sponsored by the Stevenson Science and Engineering Library and the Center for Teaching
(You do not need to register for this event.)

Life on the Tenure Track (Women in Academe Series)
In this workshop we will have the opportunity to meet women faculty who are on the tenure-track and hear their answers to questions such as:  What is life like trying to get tenure? How does one balance a personal life with the responsibilities established in trying to get tenure? And most importantly, has it been worth it?
Date : Thursday, February 10, 2005
Time : 4:10pm - 5:30 pm
Location : Schulman Center, Upstairs
F2P2 Track : World of the University (1.5 hr)
Part of the Women in Academe Series

Teaching Gender and Sexuality
What happens when gender and sexuality are discussed in Vanderbilt classrooms? When we frame gender and sexuality as cultural and social constructions, what are the implications for our students? We will discuss these and related issues in this session.
Panelists : Monica Casper, Director of Women's and Gender Studies and Associate Professor of Sociology; Brad Lane, Graduate Student in Teaching and Learning; and John Sloop, Associate Professor of Communication Studies
Date : Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Time : 3:00 pm - 4:15pm
Location: Sarratt 116
F2P2 Track : Teaching and Learning (1.25 hrs)
Part of the Conversations on Teaching series

What Will Your Dissertation Do When It Gets Out of Graduate School ? (sponsored by The College of Arts and Science Dean's Office)
William Germano will offer a talk about structure and writing, and about the process of thinking through the shape of academic prose with an eye to book publication. William Germano, Vice-President and Publishing Director of Routledge, is the author of "Getting It Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious About Serious Books ( University of Chicago Press, 2001). His new book, on what to do with your dissertation, will be published in 2005.
Presenter : William Germano, Vice-President and Publishing Director of Routledge, hosted by the College of Arts and Science Dean's Office
Date : Friday, February 18, 2005
Time : 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Location : Wilson 126
F2P2 Track : Professional Development (1.5 hrs)

Personal Response Systems
Having trouble motivating your students in a large lecture course? Looking for new ways to encourage your students to engage with the material during lectures? Personal response systems allow instructors to receive real-time answer and assessment data from students using hand-held remote control units. The PRS workshop will bring together PRS users from a variety of disciplines and introduce the technology and related pedagogy to those interested in employing it in their courses. Experienced PRS users are invited to attend and to share their insights with new users.
Facilitators : Jeff Johnston, Assistant Director, Center for Teaching; and Jonathan Blake, Academic Technology Consultant, Center for Teaching and Office of Innovation Through Technology
Date : Monday, February 21, 2005
Time: 4:10pm - 5:30pm
Location : Stevenson Center 4309
F2P2 Track : Teaching and Learning OR Technology (1.5 hrs)
Part of the Teaching Workshop series

STEM CATs: Classroom Assessment Techniques for people teaching in science, engineering, and math
Facilitator : Alene Harris, Research Assistant Professor of Teaching & Learning
Date : Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Time : 12:15pm - 1:15pm (Cookies, drinks, and conversation from 12:00 to 12:15; workshop from 12:15 to 1:15)
Location: Peabody Library Computer Lab, Room 304 (new!)
F2P2 Track : Teaching and Learning (1 hr)
Part of the Teaching Workshop series

All You Ever Wanted to Know about Faculty Governance But Were Afraid to Ask (for graduate / professional students / post-docs)
What do faculty members do in their committee and service work across the university, and how much of their time does it take? What kinds of faculty committees are at work here at Vanderbilt--and in the College of Arts & Science in particular--and how do they inter-relate? We'll explore these and related questions in this session.
Facilitators : Carolyn Dever, Associate Dean of Graduate Education (College of Arts & Science) and Associate Professor of English and Women's and Gender Studies; Jonathan Bremer, Program Coordinator, College of Arts & Science Dean's Office
Date : Friday, February 25, 2005
Time : 11:30am - 1:00pm (drinks and snacks provided; feel free to bring your lunch)
Location : Alumni Hall 117
F2P2 Track : Professional Development (1.5 hrs) OR World of the University (1.5 hrs) OR can count for Hands-on Activity #1 in Professional Development Track: Attending a Faculty Meeting

March

Focusing Course Design on Student Learning
This workshop will examine course design and syllabus preparation from the perspective of student learning, using a variety of models from across the disciplines. Workshop activities will allow you to modify an existing syllabus or prepare a new one to reflect your current goals for student learning and to create assignments that are effective in promoting that learning.
Facilitator : Patricia Armstrong, Assistant Director, Center for Teaching
Date : Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Time : 4:10pm - 5:30pm
Location: Calhoun 117
F2P2 Track : Teaching and Learning OR Professional Development (1.5 hrs)
Part of the Teaching Workshop series

Teaching Race and Ethnicity
Panelists will begin the session by briefly describing a significant experience they have had teaching issues related to race and ethnicity at Vanderbilt. We will then discuss practical strategies for and cultural barriers to helping Vanderbilt undergraduates think about race and ethnicity in ways they might not be accustomed to.
Panelists : Richard Blackett, Professor of History; Ronnie Steinberg, Professor of Sociology; Gilman Whiting, Professor of African-American Studies
Date : Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Time : 11:00am - 12:30pm (drinks and cookies provided; feel free to bring your lunch)
Location: Sarratt 116
F2P2 Track : Teaching and Learning (1.5 hrs)
Part of the Conversations on Teaching series

Roundtable Discussion with Robyn Dunbar, Women in the Sciences (co-sponsored by The College of Arts and Science Deans Office)
An open discussion of the career challenges unique to women in the sciences. Come talk with Robyn Wright Dunbar, Senior Associate Director for Stanford University's Center for Teaching and Learning. Dunbar, a specialist in the marine geology of Antarctica, is an award-winning teacher and Consulting Associate Professor of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Stanford. (This workshop is primarily for graduate students, but also open to faculty).
Facilitators : Carolyn Dever, Associate Dean of Graduate Education (College of Arts & Science) and Associate Professor of English and Women's and Gender Studies; and Robyn Wright Dunbar, Senior Associate Director for Stanford University's Center for Teaching and Learning and Associate Professor of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Stanford
Date : Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Time : 12:00 - 1:30: (drinks and cookies provided; feel free to bring your lunch)
Location : Alumni Hall 117
F2P2 Track : Professional Development (1.5 hrs)
Part of the Conversations on Teaching series

What Research Tells Us About Science Learning
Never before in the history of teaching has there been more practical wisdom and more available research to inform the process by which we create learning experiences for students. Yet, unlike our professional practice, where collaboration and existing literature underpin every step we take, we are more likely to teach in isolation, "as we were taught." This interactive seminar will describe how certain key principles, applicable through a wide range of teaching styles, can enhance retention and ensure deeper student learning.
Facilitator: Robyn Wright Dunbar, Senior Associate Director for Science and Engineering, Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning and Associate Professor, Geological and Environmental Sciences
Date : Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Time : 4:10pm - 5:30pm
Location: Frist Hall 140
F2P2 Track: Teaching and Learning (1.5 hrs)  
Part of the Teaching Workshop series

Methods / Tools To Enhance Memory in the Classroom
In this workshop, we will discuss the ways in which memorization is necessary for learning, and explore useful methods for improving students' memory capacities and thereby enhancing their 'on-site' learning.
Facilitator : Dehui Mi, Biochemistry Post-doc
Date : Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Time : 4:10pm - 5:15pm
Location : Calhoun 103 (NOTE: new location!)
F2P2 Track : Teaching and Learning (1 hr)
Part of the Teaching Workshop series

Race in Academe (Women in Academe Series)
What are the experiences of women of color in academe? What are the challenges they face in this profession? How do women of color interact with their white women colleagues? What do they need from their colleagues, and what do their colleagues need from them?
Date : Thursday, March 31, 2005
Time : 4:10pm - 5:30 pm
Location : Schulman Center, Upstairs
F2P2 Track : World of the University (1.5 hrs)
Part of the Women in Academe Series

Graduate Women Retreat: Life in Balance
Graduate students have enormous demands upon their time, and are constantly pulled in a thousand different directions.  Dr. Gina Frieden, psychologist with a specialty in women and stress will guide us through a relaxing and inspiring day that will help us to reach balance in our lives. This event is free and open to any graduate student. For more information, contact Jennifer.Hackett@Vanderbilt.edu
Facilitator: Dr. Gina Frieden
Date: Saturday, April 2, 2005 
Time: 10am - 2:30pm
Location: Branscomb Hall Rec Room

Open Access Publishing at Vanderbilt
Panel Members: Moderator: John Haar, Associate University Librarian. Panelists: Robert Barsky, Professor of French & Italian, Editor of AmeriQuests; Larry Marnett, Professor of Biochemistry, Editor of Chemical Research in Toxicology; Roberta Winjum, Assistant University Librarian and Director of VU e-Archive, the Vanderbilt institutional repository.
Date: Tuesday, April 5, 4:10-5:30
Location: Frist 140

Open Access publication is a form of publishing in which authors and copyright holders grant to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute, transmit and display a given work. Open Access (OA) publishing has caused a shockwave in the world of academic publishing and research libraries, and it raises many serious questions about the future of disseminating scholarly research. Vanderbilt has entered the OA arena with the publication of AmeriQuests, its first online peer-reviewed Open Access journal, and with the library's creation of an institutional repository to house works written by VU faculty. On campus there are also editors of other prestigious society journals, Chemical Research in Toxicology being one, that have not yet taken the Open Access path. Please join us for a lively discussion about the current status and merits of Open Access publishing and how it affects traditional publishing. (You do not need to register for this event.)

Ten Guaranteed Ways to Decimate a Perfectly Good Lecture
Dr. Tim Slater, Director of the University of Arizona Science and Mathematics Education Center and professor in the astronomy department will lead an informal discussion of ten sound strategies to subvert a perfectly good lecture.
Facilitator : Dr. Tim Slater, Director of the University of Arizona Science and Mathematics Education Center
Date : Friday, April 15, 2005
Time : 12:15pm - 1:30pm (drinks and cookies provided; feel free to bring your lunch)
Location : Alumni Hall 117
F2P2 Track : Teaching and Learning (1 hr)
Part of the Conversations on Teaching series

May

F2P2 End of Semester Celebration
The Center for Teaching cordially invites you to attend the end-of-year F2P2 celebration scheduled for Thursday, May 12, 2005, from 4:30-6:00 pm! Please come join us under the Portico of Calhoun Hall for an evening filled with delicious hors d'oeuvres, wine and beer, collegiality and festivities as we honor F2P2 graduates and recognize the contributions of everyone who has participated in F2P2 programming throughout the year!
Date : May 12, 2005
Time : 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Location : Calhoun Portico

Semester-long

Course Design Cohort
This cohort is a working group for graduate students and post-docs who want to design a new course or rethink the structure of an existing course. We will meet around four times during the semester, for about two hours per meeting. During each meeting, each participant will present his or her course design issues for group consideration so that together we will help each other achieve a course design. F2P2 credit will be awarded in Teaching and Learning.

If you are interested in participating in this cohort, please email Kat Baker at katharine.h.baker@vanderbilt.edu by January 30. In your email, please include a brief description of yourself (e.g., "I'm a Ph.D. candidate in history") and the course you will design ("I will be teaching this introductory course next summer at Vanderbilt" OR "I am developing a course syllabus to go in my application file.") as well as the times you are available to meet.

Partner Institution Cohort
In this cohort--a requirement for completion of the F2P2 certificate--F2P2 participants will get together to visit two local partner schools, one public and one private institution. During the visits, participants will observe faculty teaching, and interview faculty from their respective departments about the faculty's roles and responsibilities. After completing both visits and discussing them with the cohort, participants will write a reflective essay summarizing what they have learned during the partner institution visits. If you are interested in participating in this cohort this semester, please contact Forrest Perry at forrest.r.perry@vanderbilt.edu.

Professional Development Cohort
To assist in preparation for the job market, F2P2 participants can join the Professional Development Cohort. This working group will meet four times during the semester to learn about teaching portfolios, cover letters, curriculum vitae and the interview process. While participating in this cohort is optional, many students have found the exchange of ideas and feedback valuable. Group size will be kept small. If you sign up for this cohort, it is necessary for you to attend all four meetings. Attendance will count towards fulfilling workshop hours in the Professional Development track of F2P2. If you are interested in participating in this cohort this semester, please contact Mozhgan Mirani at mozhgan.mirani@vanderbilt.edu.

The Women in Academe Series is co-sponsored by the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching and the Margaret Cuninggim Women's Center. This series explores issues pertinent to women in the academy and aims to foster dialogue between women in varying locations within the academy. Sessions are open to all Vanderbilt graduate students, professional students, and post docs.

The Teaching Workshop Series offers practical, applied sessions on basic teaching practice. Vanderbilt teachers of all levels are welcome, but the sessions will be intended primarily for faculty, grad students, and post-docs with relatively little teaching experience.

Conversations on Teaching are occasional, informal, and topical. Sessions typically begin with an individual or panel offering brief remarks, followed by open discussion.

HOME | ABOUT CFT | PROGRAMS | SERVICES | RESOURCES