The Center for Teaching is offering course design institutes on two different themes in May as a way to help faculty and other instructors prepare for teaching this summer and fall. The Online Course Design Institute will be offered May 17–21, and the Course Design Institute on Inclusive Teaching will be offered May 24–27.
The course design institutes will provide faculty an opportunity to spend focused time refining their teaching philosophies and practices and expanding their peer networks of Vanderbilt educators with similar teaching interests. “After a very challenging year of teaching, I am looking forward to spending a couple of weeks in May helping colleagues reflect on lessons learned and plan for the future,” said Derek Bruff, director of the Center for Teaching.
The five-day Online Course Design Institute is a revised and updated version of the institute that the Center for Teaching offered in summer 2020 to more than 500 participants. During this year’s institute, participants will be guided through a systematic approach to designing online courses and facilitating synchronous and asynchronous interactions. This institute will benefit instructors seeking to design or redesign an online course, particularly those teaching online this summer.
The four-day Course Design Institute on Inclusive Teaching is a new offering from the Center for Teaching. During the institute, participants will redesign courses with careful attention to the ways they can help all students thrive through greater belonging and engagement. A variety of facets of inclusive teaching will be addressed in the institute, including motivating students, engaging diverse voices, navigating difficult dialogues, providing accessible assignments and closing performance gaps.
The course design institutes are open to all Vanderbilt faculty with teaching responsibilities, as well as graduate students and postdocs who will be serving as instructors of record at Vanderbilt. Each institute will be limited to 40 participants, and each will be offered virtually through a combination of Zoom meetings and Brightspace resources and activities.
Applications for the institutes are due Friday, April 23, and application instructions are available on the Center for Teaching website.