The Vanderbilt Center for Teaching is accepting applications for its annual “Students as Producers” Course Design Institute. During the three-day institute May 6–8, 15 faculty participants will learn and apply a process for designing courses in which learning objectives, activities and assessments are aligned and in which students are engaged not only as consumers of information, but also as producers of knowledge.
Some of the projects students created in courses at Vanderbilt using the “students as producers” approach to course design include short videos explaining computer algorithms, a radio drama exploring the future of gene editing, proposals for museum acquisitions of African American art, a water conversation education program aimed at children, a virtual reality simulation of protein-protein interactions, and a candle-making device developed through human-centered design for a local nonprofit. Through this year’s Course Design Institutes, the Center for Teaching will continue to help instructors build these high-impact practices into their courses.
Faculty and graduate students who will be designing (or redesigning) courses for next year are encouraged to apply. The Faculty Course Design Institute will be held May 6–8. The faculty institute is open to all Vanderbilt faculty members, and faculty participants will receive $500 in research funds to be used to enhance their teaching.
The Graduate Student Course Design Institute will be held May 1–3. This institute is open to both graduate students and postdocs. If you’re leaving Vanderbilt to take a faculty position, the CDI is a great way to launch your new faculty career.
For more information on the Course Design Institutes or to apply to either, visit the Course Design Institute webpage.