February Lunch Discussions
Embedding Career Readiness in the Classroom
Belmont University aspires to be a premier teaching university, bringing together the best of liberal arts and professional education in a Christian community of learning and service. We know that 94% of Belmont’s graduates are employed or pursing graduate school within six months of employment—but are they truly prepared? On February 15th, the Teaching Center partnered with the office of Career and Professional Development to host a lunch discussion about how employers rate our graduates—and how that differs from their self-perception. Attendees engaged in dialogue with colleagues about strategies for developing students’ collaboration, communication, creativity, problem solving, professionalism, global fluency and leadership skills in the classroom, both in person and virtual. Panelists included: Angela Clauson, Pharmacy; Jeremy Fyke, Communication Studies; Ryan Fox, Mathematics Education; Jeff Overby, International Business; Catherine Graham, Honors; Adrianne Archie, Student Affairs; Lori LeBleu and Chris Agans, Massey College of Business Career Development Center.
Faculty Peer Review Effective Practices
Belmont faculty determined a few years ago that part of our continuing professional development associated with teaching would include annual peer feedback through review and/or observation. But what does effective peer review and observation look like? Which methods are most successfully used by our Belmont colleagues? In addition to teaching improvement, what are other benefits of the peer review process? On February 26th, the Teaching Center partnered with the Faculty Senate Continuous Improvement of Teaching Committee (CITC) for a panel discussion highlighting the differences and possibilities of peer review across our campus. Faculty panelists include Liz Usman (Law and CITC Chair), Natalie Michaels (Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy, CHS), Michelle Corvette (Art, CVPA), Judy Williams (Faculty Librarian, Bunch Library), Marnie Vanden Noven (Sport Science, CLASS), and Elena Espiritu (Occupational Therapy, CHS).