Workshops, Seminars and Symposia - Office of Career Development & Outcomes Analysis

TEACHING CERTIFICATE INFORMATION SESSION
Wednesday, October 3, 4:10pm – 5:30pm
Calhoun 117
Sponsored by the Center for Teaching
Advance registration requested at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/regdev/home.php?event=100105
The Teaching Certificate program, co-sponsored by the CFT and the Graduate School, is designed to help graduate and professional students and post-docs develop and refine their teaching skills. This information session will provide an introduction to the program and give attendees a chance to ask questions about how they might begin.

PEDAGOGY, PLAGIARISM AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES (A CONVERSATION ON TEACHING) PART OF THE TECHNOLOGY, VALUES AND TEACHING SERIES
Thursday, October 4, 12:10pm – 1:30pm
Alumni 205
Cosponsored by the Center for Teaching and the Center for Ethics
Advance registration requested at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/regdev/home.php?event=100103
Facilitators: Charles Scott, Director, Center for Ethics;Jeff Johnston, Assistant Director, CFT; Susan Schoenbohm,
Program Coordinator, Center for Ethics; Panelists: Melinda Brown, Instructional Coordinator, Vanderbilt
University Libraries; Cindy Franco, OAK Manager; Michelle Sulikowski, Senior Lecturer, Chemistry and
Director of Education for the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology
The internet has put vast amounts of information at student’s fingertips, making it easier than ever to locate resources for academic assignments. There is rising concern, however, that this greater access to information is leading to increasing incidents of student plagiarism. Plagiarism Detection Technologies, or PDTs (e.g., Turnitin.com), are tools that instructors can use to help detect and combat internet plagiarism by filtering assignments through some text-matching procedure. Vanderbilt has recently adopted at PDT called Safe Assign, which is integrated into OAK, Vanderbilt’s Blackboard course management system. Yet these technologies are no substitute for good teaching, and many institutions have questioned the use of PDTs because of concerns about student privacy and copyright infringement. Do PDTs incite, what some scholars have called, “a culture of suspicion” on campus? How might this technology undermine the various aspects of learning that often take place around written assignments, including that of helping the student to distinguish his or her own ideas and words from those of others? Furthermore, what role do instructors play in informing students of the definitions of plagiarism and their use of this technology to check student assignments? What is the proper role for these technologies? This panel discussion will explore the pedagogical uses and limitations of PDTs.

BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR ADVISOR (WOMEN IN ACADEME SERIES)
Friday, October 5, 12:10-1:30 pm
Warren Center for the Humanities (view campus map)
Sponsored by the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center, the BRET Office of Career Development, and the Warren Center for the Humanities
Session will cover communication and relationship building with your advisor. This will include gender and cultural differences that may arise. Information and resources will be available at session. This is a brown bag event, so bring your lunch and join us (a light snack will be provided). This series of workshops, cosponsored by the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center, the BRET Office of Career Development and the Warren Center for the Humanities explores issues pertinent to women in the academy and aims to foster dialogue between women in varying locations within the academy. Sessions are open to all Vanderbilt graduate students, professional students, and post-docs. For more information, please contact stacy.nunnally@vanderbilt.edu. RSVPs are appreciated, but not required.

LEADING A WRITING WORKSHOP (A CONVERSATION ON TEACHING—PART OF THE TEACHING WRITING AT VANDERBILT SERIES
Thursday, October 11, 4:10pm – 5:30pm
Alumni 205
Cosponsored by the Center for Teaching and the Undergraduate Writing Program
Advance registration requested at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/regdev/home.php?event=100100
Facilitators: Roger Moore, Director of Undergraduate Writing; Patricia Armstrong, Assistant Director, CFT
Panelists: Jeff Johnston, Assistant Director, CFT & Lecturer, Earth and Environmental Sciences; Jennifer
Clement, Lecturer, English.
One of the challenges of the writing classroom is incorporating meaningful writing instruction into class time. The three panelists will discuss how they structure in-class writing workshops and encourage participation in them, and how the workshops they lead fit into an overall strategy of writing instruction in their discipline.

WRITING A CV FOR ACADEMIA OR INDUSTRY
Thursday, October 18, 12:00-1:30pm
Light Hall 415
Sponsored by the BRET Office of Career Development
This event is a brown bag lunch. This session will provide an overview of the essential elements that every
academic or industry CV should (and should not!) have. Advance registration is requested. Please register
online at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ApFFKN6QBkxzdS9xlwnHJw_3d_3d

WRITING THE DISSERTATION, A DISSERTATION WRITER'S WORKSHOP FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
Tuesday, October 23, 1:00-4:30 pm
location confirmed upon admission to the workshop
advance registration required at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/gradschool/dissertation_writing_workshop/
Sponsored by the Graduate School
This free workshop is practical in nature and designed to help students make effective use of their writing time, work through writing blocks, and complete the dissertation. Topics will include: better understanding the task; recognizing the obstacles; working with your committee; creating a workable writing system; diversifying the modes of writing; managing time and sustaining productivity; and completing the task. The workshop leader is Robert Lucas, Ph.D., a scholar and writing consultant from the Institute for Scholarly Productivity. Dr. Lucas has extensive experience in presenting writing seminars and workshops to students and faculty nationally. Registration for this free workshop is limited to 75 Ph.D. students. To request a space, please submit an application via the website link above before the deadline of 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 17. Admission and reservation will be confirmed after October 19, via email. Enrollment will be on a space-available basis, with preference given to students who are at the writing stage of their dissertation. If you are selected to attend you will be provided additional details (including workshop location). Questions? Contact Steven Smartt, Assistant Provost for Graduate Education and Research, 322-3825, or steven.smartt@vanderbilt.edu

TEACHING LABORATORY CLASSES (A TEACHING WORKSHOP)
Tuesday, October 23, 4:10pm – 5:30pm
Stevenson Center 5502
sponsored by the Center for Teaching
Facilitators: Jeff Johnston, Assistant Director Center for Teaching; Arun Krishnan,
Civil & Environmental Engineering; Sarah Musser, Chemistry; Erin Perez, Physics & Astronomy; Michael Risen,
Graduate Teaching Fellow Center for Teaching
advance registration requested at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/regdev/home.php?event=100098
Laboratory classes are an important companion to many science courses at Vanderbilt in providing an opportunity for students to explore material in a “hands-on” way. Leading a lab session has particular challenges and opportunities for TAs that differ from those in a classroom setting. In a format combining presentation and small-group activities, workshop facilitators will focus on a wide range of lab teaching issues, including ideas for improving student motivation and learning in the lab. This session is intended primarily for graduate students currently teaching lab classes and looking for additional information to help the lab sessions run smoothly.

AAAS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY POLICY FELLOWSHIPS INFORMATION SESSION
Thursday, October 25, 1:30 - 2:30pm
512 Light Hall
Speaker: Brianne Miers, Senior Program Associate, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships
Drinks and snacks will be served.
Sponsored by the BRET Office of Career Development
Since 1973, nearly 2,000 AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellows have bridged the divide between science and public policy, gaining significant knowledge about the federal government system while advancing their careers and helping promote science in the U.S. and around the globe. Year-long opportunities are available in approximately 30 congressional offices and nearly 15 federal agencies in Washington, DC. Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent degree (DVM, MD, etc.) in any physical, biological, medical/health, or social/behavioral science, any field of engineering, or any relevant interdisciplinary field. A master's degree in any engineering field plus 3 years of post-degree professional experience also qualifies. All degree requirements must be completed by the application deadline, 20 December 2007. Federal employees are not eligible and U.S. citizenship is required. For more information, visit: http://fellowships.aaas.org/. Contact Kim Petrie, kim.petrie@vanderbilt.edu or 615-322-6885 for more information.





Workshops & Seminars October 2007 ASSESSING CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING THROUGH CONCEPT INVENTORIES AND CONCEPT MAPS (A CONVERSATION ON TEACHING) PART OF ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING SERIES Tuesday, October 2, 12:30pm - 2:00pm Sarratt 189 Sponsored by the Center for Teaching Facilitator: Derek Bruff, Assistant Director, CFT; Panelists: Paul King, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Ken Schriver, Senior Lecturer, Physics & Astronomy. Advance registration requested at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/regdev/home.php?event=100101 Do your students understand the concepts and ideas that are central to your discipline? How do you know? In this session, two Vanderbilt faculty members will share their experiences using two tools of assessing student understanding. Ken Schriver (Physics & Astronomy) will describe his use of concept inventories, multiple- choice tests that assess conceptual knowledge independently of computational ability. Paul King (Biomedical Engineering) will describe his use of concept maps, annotated pictures that students produce to demonstrate their understandings of the “big picture” in their courses. A portion of the workshop will be spent facilitating a discussion among participants about the ways in which they can use these tools in their own assessment activities. The “Assessing Student Learning” series of workshops is intended for Vanderbilt faculty, post-docs, and graduate students interested in learning about effective methods of assessing and understanding the learning of individual students, as well as groups of students at the course and program level. Faculty and administrators involved in program-level assessment efforts for accreditation or other reasons are encouraged to attend, as are those interested in the “scholarship of teaching and learning.” TEACHING CERTIFICATE INFORMATION SESSION Wednesday, October 3, 4:10pm – 5:30pm Calhoun 117 Sponsored by the Center for Teaching Advance registration requested at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/regdev/home.php?event=100105 The Teaching Certificate program, co-sponsored by the CFT and the Graduate School, is designed to help graduate and professional students and post-docs develop and refine their teaching skills. This information session will provide an introduction to the program and give attendees a chance to ask questions about how they might begin. PEDAGOGY, PLAGIARISM AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES (A CONVERSATION ON TEACHING) PART OF THE TECHNOLOGY, VALUES AND TEACHING SERIES Thursday, October 4, 12:10pm – 1:30pm Alumni 205 Cosponsored by the Center for Teaching and the Center for Ethics Advance registration requested at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/regdev/home.php?event=100103 Facilitators: Charles Scott, Director, Center for Ethics;Jeff Johnston, Assistant Director, CFT; Susan Schoenbohm, Program Coordinator, Center for Ethics; Panelists: Melinda Brown, Instructional Coordinator, Vanderbilt University Libraries; Cindy Franco, OAK Manager; Michelle Sulikowski, Senior Lecturer, Chemistry and Director of Education for the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology The internet has put vast amounts of information at student’s fingertips, making it easier than ever to locate resources for academic assignments. There is rising concern, however, that this greater access to information is leading to increasing incidents of student plagiarism. Plagiarism Detection Technologies, or PDTs (e.g., Turnitin.com), are tools that instructors can use to help detect and combat internet plagiarism by filtering assignments through some text-matching procedure. Vanderbilt has recently adopted at PDT called Safe Assign, which is integrated into OAK, Vanderbilt’s Blackboard course management system. Yet these technologies are no substitute for good teaching, and many institutions have questioned the use of PDTs because of concerns about student privacy and copyright infringement. Do PDTs incite, what some scholars have called, “a culture of suspicion” on campus? How might this technology undermine the various aspects of learning that often take place around written assignments, including that of helping the student to distinguish his or her own ideas and words from those of others? Furthermore, what role do instructors play in informing students of the definitions of plagiarism and their use of this technology to check student assignments? What is the proper role for these technologies? This panel discussion will explore the pedagogical uses and limitations of PDTs. BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR ADVISOR (WOMEN IN ACADEME SERIES) Friday, October 5, 12:10-1:30 pm Warren Center for the Humanities (view campus map) Sponsored by the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center, the BRET Office of Career Development, and the Warren Center for the Humanities Session will cover communication and relationship building with your advisor. This will include gender and cultural differences that may arise. Information and resources will be available at session. This is a brown bag event, so bring your lunch and join us (a light snack will be provided). This series of workshops, cosponsored by the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center, the BRET Office of Career Development and the Warren Center for the Humanities explores issues pertinent to women in the academy and aims to foster dialogue between women in varying locations within the academy. Sessions are open to all Vanderbilt graduate students, professional students, and post-docs. For more information, please contact stacy.nunnally@vanderbilt.edu. RSVPs are appreciated, but not required. LEADING A WRITING WORKSHOP (A CONVERSATION ON TEACHING—PART OF THE TEACHING WRITING AT VANDERBILT SERIES Thursday, October 11, 4:10pm – 5:30pm Alumni 205 Cosponsored by the Center for Teaching and the Undergraduate Writing Program Advance registration requested at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/regdev/home.php?event=100100 Facilitators: Roger Moore, Director of Undergraduate Writing; Patricia Armstrong, Assistant Director, CFT Panelists: Jeff Johnston, Assistant Director, CFT & Lecturer, Earth and Environmental Sciences; Jennifer Clement, Lecturer, English. One of the challenges of the writing classroom is incorporating meaningful writing instruction into class time. The three panelists will discuss how they structure in-class writing workshops and encourage participation in them, and how the workshops they lead fit into an overall strategy of writing instruction in their discipline. WRITING A CV FOR ACADEMIA OR INDUSTRY Thursday, October 18, 12:00-1:30pm Light Hall 415 Sponsored by the BRET Office of Career Development This event is a brown bag lunch. This session will provide an overview of the essential elements that every academic or industry CV should (and should not!) have. Advance registration is requested. Please register online at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ApFFKN6QBkxzdS9xlwnHJw_3d_3d WRITING THE DISSERTATION, A DISSERTATION WRITER'S WORKSHOP FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS Tuesday, October 23, 1:00-4:30 pm location confirmed upon admission to the workshop advance registration required at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/gradschool/dissertation_writing_workshop/ Sponsored by the Graduate School This free workshop is practical in nature and designed to help students make effective use of their writing time, work through writing blocks, and complete the dissertation. Topics will include: better understanding the task; recognizing the obstacles; working with your committee; creating a workable writing system; diversifying the modes of writing; managing time and sustaining productivity; and completing the task. The workshop leader is Robert Lucas, Ph.D., a scholar and writing consultant from the Institute for Scholarly Productivity. Dr. Lucas has extensive experience in presenting writing seminars and workshops to students and faculty nationally. Registration for this free workshop is limited to 75 Ph.D. students. To request a space, please submit an application via the website link above before the deadline of 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 17. Admission and reservation will be confirmed after October 19, via email. Enrollment will be on a space-available basis, with preference given to students who are at the writing stage of their dissertation. If you are selected to attend you will be provided additional details (including workshop location). Questions? Contact Steven Smartt, Assistant Provost for Graduate Education and Research, 322-3825, or steven.smartt@vanderbilt.edu TEACHING LABORATORY CLASSES (A TEACHING WORKSHOP) Tuesday, October 23, 4:10pm – 5:30pm Stevenson Center 5502 sponsored by the Center for Teaching Facilitators: Jeff Johnston, Assistant Director Center for Teaching; Arun Krishnan, Civil & Environmental Engineering; Sarah Musser, Chemistry; Erin Perez, Physics & Astronomy; Michael Risen, Graduate Teaching Fellow Center for Teaching advance registration requested at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/regdev/home.php?event=100098 Laboratory classes are an important companion to many science courses at Vanderbilt in providing an opportunity for students to explore material in a “hands-on” way. Leading a lab session has particular challenges and opportunities for TAs that differ from those in a classroom setting. In a format combining presentation and small-group activities, workshop facilitators will focus on a wide range of lab teaching issues, including ideas for improving student motivation and learning in the lab. This session is intended primarily for graduate students currently teaching lab classes and looking for additional information to help the lab sessions run smoothly. AAAS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY POLICY FELLOWSHIPS INFORMATION SESSION Thursday, October 25, 1:30 - 2:30pm 512 Light Hall Speaker: Brianne Miers, Senior Program Associate, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships Drinks and snacks will be served. Sponsored by the BRET Office of Career Development Since 1973, nearly 2,000 AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellows have bridged the divide between science and public policy, gaining significant knowledge about the federal government system while advancing their careers and helping promote science in the U.S. and around the globe. Year-long opportunities are available in approximately 30 congressional offices and nearly 15 federal agencies in Washington, DC. Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent degree (DVM, MD, etc.) in any physical, biological, medical/health, or social/behavioral science, any field of engineering, or any relevant interdisciplinary field. A master's degree in any engineering field plus 3 years of post-degree professional experience also qualifies. All degree requirements must be completed by the application deadline, 20 December 2007. Federal employees are not eligible and U.S. citizenship is required. For more information, visit: http://fellowships.aaas.org/. Contact Kim Petrie, kim.petrie@vanderbilt.edu or 615-322-6885 for more information.
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