my daughters and i spent a few days in washington, dc, this summer. one highlight of the trip was watching my nine-year-old explore the national building museum. she likes to build dollhouses out of cereal boxes and craft sticks and hot glue, so a museum devoted to the built environment was her happy place. it was a joy to see the smile on her face as she learned about frank lloyd wright and the burj khalifa and timber construction.<\/p>\n
not all of the students in our courses this fall will bring the same kind of enthusiasm my daughter brought to the national building museum. sometimes, a student just has to take statistics. however, there is a kind of deep learning that can happen when we help our students see themselves and their interests in the courses we teach. as you plan your fall courses, i encourage you to take advantage of cft programs and services to help you design deep learning experiences for your students.<\/p>\n
the cft\u2019s just-in-time teaching conference<\/a> on august 18 and 22 offers workshops on inclusive teaching, syllabus design, and creative assignments, among other topics. on september 5 and 6, the cft is organizing open dores: two days of teaching visits<\/a> to provide members of the vanderbilt teaching community the opportunity to observe and discuss each other\u2019s teaching. the cft also offers a range of individual teaching consultations<\/a> for instructors interested in reflecting on and refining their teaching practices in particular courses. and we are available to provide teaching workshops<\/a> for departments, schools, and other units on particular teaching topics upon request.<\/p>\n
technology often plays a role in supporting student learning at vanderbilt, and we have a busy fall planned for our educational technology resources. the cft supports brightspace<\/a>, vanderbilt\u2019s new course management system, as well as top hat<\/a>, our new classroom response system. we will soon launch season 3 of leading lines<\/a>, the podcast on edtech we produce with a few partners around campus. and i would like to welcome erica brandon<\/strong>, our new instructional technologist, to the cft. she comes to us from the university of colorado-boulder and will help provide brightspace support in the afternoons and evenings.<\/p>\n