As teachers, we need to be intentional about our course design and activities because they impact how we engage students and recognize their diverse identities and experiences. While it can be challenging to identify ways to show a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, checking in with colleagues and discussing their approaches is helpful. The …
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Teaching Tips from the Pandemic
As the pandemic continues, its lasting impact on our pedagogy is evident in how our shift included unexpected silver linings. Our first Teaching Center luncheon explored what colleagues learned about their pedagogy and how they decided to stick with those techniques/activities that may have started as temporary. Here are a few highlights from the luncheon: …
Recording of the Tenure and Promotion at Belmont Online Workshop Now Available
In partnership with the Belmont University Tenure, Promotion and Leaves Committee, the Teaching Center recently hosted the workshop, “Tenure & Promotion at Belmont: Best Practices in Creating an Effective Faculty Portfolio.” During this workshop, members of the Tenure, Promotion and Leaves Committee walked attendees through the process of preparing the tenure and promotion portfolio. Faculty …
An Invitation for Reflection on Teaching During COVID-19
Teaching by its nature is a reflective process, and so the Teaching Center invites you to reflect on your teaching during COVID-19. We offer four open-ended questions to guide your reflection. Your responses will be thematically organized and presented (without identifiers) on the Teaching Center’s “The Art of Teaching” blog in late May. The Teaching …
Summer 2020 Reading Groups
The Teaching Center will offer summer reading groups again this year. To sign up for a group, email the Teaching Center (teachingcenter@belmont.edu) with the title(s) of the book(s) you are interested in reading. You are welcome to sign up for more than one group. Please reply by Friday, April 17 so that we have adequate time to determine which books have sufficient interest to …
Campus Partners: Coping with COVID-19
I recently reached out to Belmont’s Director of Counseling Services Katherine Cornelius, LCSW, on how we can help students cope during COVID-19. As I read through the resources she provided, I realized that like our students we as faculty need tools to help us manage this change, and in many ways our sense of loss. …
Three Miles an Hour
Three miles an hour – it’s roughly the speed humans walk. Mind you, I haven’t timed it. I probably move a bit faster when walking from my 8 a.m. class in the sport science building to my 9 a.m. class in JAAC. If I’m being honest, I dash more than I walk – dash to …
Advice from Teaching and Learning Sources: Do Less
The move of classroom structure to an online format has pushed many of us from our comfort zone. As we navigate this new terrain, we wanted to share an article that offers advice to faculty in their pivot to online instruction. Anya Kamenetz in the article “Panic-gogy: Teaching Online Classes During the Coronavirus Pandemic” encourages …
Critical Thinking: Knowing It When You See It
In a recent Teaching Center workshop, participants discussed how to see and cultivate critical thinking in the classroom. As part of this workshop, Jeremy Lane, director of the School of Music, offered a 4×4 matrix of critical thinking focused on identifying critical thinking, discerning its unique characteristics, developing critical thinking in the classroom, and …
Resource of the Month
It’s that time of year when Belmont faculty review their year-end accomplishments and set goals for the upcoming year. Student course evaluations are often used in this process, but how can faculty best utilize the qualitative student comments? Todd Zakrajsek in his article Analyzing Student End of Course Written Comments offers some practical tips. Using …