Why do you do the work you do? What motivates you to persist when it’s tough—when you read a review … More
Author: cynthiabrame
I am a scientist who loves to teach, to learn more about how we build our knowledge and understanding, and to share resources and ideas with colleagues. I'm associate director at Vanderbilt's Center for Teaching, where I get to work with faculty members and graduate students as they think about how they want to grow their teaching abilities. I'm also a senior lecturer in the Biological Sciences department, where I teach biochemistry and get to challenge myself to do that better.
Before I came to Vanderbilt, I was associate professor in the Biology Department at Centenary College, where I taught cell biology, genetics, cancer biology and where I developed a course-based undergraduate research experience in molecular biology.
Grades as a necessary evil? How they affect student motivation and what we can do about it.
By Heather Fedesco, CFT Assistant Director During the December meeting of the CFT’s student motivation journal club, we tackled the perplexing … More
Student motivation journal club: The role of trust and relatedness in our classes
Written with Heather Fedesco, Ph.D. In the November meeting of the CFT’s student motivation journal club, we discussed two papers: … More
Student motivation journal club: If it’s bigger than you, the boring is worth it: the power of self-transcendent motivation on menial tasks
Guest post by Faith Rovenolt, CFT undergraduate intern, and Heather Fedesco, CFT Assistant Director Unfortunately, it’s hard to avoid the … More
Crowdsourcing ideas for student engagement and student challenges
One of the most persistent questions that faculty face is how to engage our students productively, both in and out … More
Using expressive writing and reinterpretation of stress to deal with test anxiety: Study from Harris et al.
One of the issues that I struggle with as an instructor is test anxiety—not my own, but my students’. Every … More
Student motivation journal club: Starting the year with a framework to understand motivation
Last week, my colleague Heather Fedesco and I convened the first meeting of a new, CFT-sponsored journal club on student … More
