Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Faculty Focus Live
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| From Concept to Practice: Implementing Liquid Syllabi in Higher Ed | 09 Jan 2025 | 00:18:48 | |
Join us as we dive into an innovative approach to student engagement with Margie Pannell and Frank Plunkett from Peirce College. In this episode, they share their journey of implementing a liquid syllabus pilot program inspired by a previous podcast episode. Discover how Pannell and Plunkett utilized Google Sites to create engaging, intuitive syllabi that fostered connections with students before the course even began. They outline the steps of their pilot program—from assembling a collaborative team and training faculty to creating consistent syllabi and gathering actionable student feedback. Recommended Resources:
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| Streamline Your Teaching and Workload with Artificial Intelligence | 01 May 2024 | 00:16:39 | |
We are back on the conversation of artificial intelligence (AI) since we’re seeing AI being used more and more in our everyday lives. In this episode, we dive into how AI can offer assistance to faculty overwhelmed by escalating workloads. We’ll explore the practical applications of AI in higher education, from enhancing teaching practices, drafting course materials, and helping assess student learning. Additionally, don't forget to check out the recommended resources where you’ll find an array of AI programs, articles, and more to kickstart your AI journey in higher education.
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| Mindful Living: Developing Our Mindfulness Muscles | 29 Nov 2023 | 00:19:08 | |
As we wind down in the month of December, I’m always in awe at how fast it goes by. I thought it would be a good reminder to slow down this month, to really practice our mindfulness muscles. It’s the season of giving, so let’s give ourselves a break and remind ourselves of what we can do to really live in the moment. Today, we will have Seena and Stuart Haines dive into mindfulness and offer strategies on how we can build our mindfulness muscles. Picture this: you're zipping through life on autopilot, not noticing the tension building in your body until you flop onto the couch at night. Sound familiar? Well, you're not alone! This episode dives headfirst into what mindfulness really means. It's a superpower that helps us pay attention to the here and now—our thoughts, feelings, and the world around us—without putting a "good" or "bad" label on it. Our brains can do amazing things, but sometimes they need a little nudge to calm down. Mindfulness isn't about shutting off our thoughts (because hello, ideas and creativity!), but it's about taming the internal chaos that can overcome us.
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| Live with Michael Strawser: Embracing Rejection, Rediscovering Your Teaching Purpose, and Empowering Students | 15 Nov 2023 | 00:32:12 | |
Join Michael Strawser as he explains how he maintains motivation in his teaching amidst the challenges of complacency and burnout. Strawser explores the power of professional development communities and the impact of public teaching on invigorating classroom dynamics. He uncovers the value of reaching out to former students, seeking recognition, remembering your why, and embracing rejection as part of the growth journey. Additionally, he explains how building relationships and advocating for students' needs are integral to sustaining motivation, and explores ways to support students in their journey toward discovering their passions and professional development. | |||
| Teaching in the Digital Age: Building Connection through Technology | 01 Nov 2023 | 00:16:56 | |
As educators, you understand the need to captivate your students’ attention. So today we’re going to explore specific technology tools that can help reinvigorate your teaching methods – if you’re having fun with the content and technology, so are your students.
This episode is sponsored by The Teaching Professor, a resource for more than 10,000 educators at universities and colleges worldwide. Choose from a monthly or yearly subscription. | |||
| Words Matter: The Art of Effective Classroom Communication | 18 Oct 2023 | 00:22:34 | |
Communication in the classroom matters. Whether it’s verbal communication or non-verbal, how and what you say - or don’t say - in the classroom directly impacts your teaching and your students’ learning. For instance, something as simple as the placement of a pause can completely alter your intended message. If you say, “Let’s eat Grandpa,” or “Let’s eat, Grandpa," those have two totally different meanings. Now, this is a more humorous example, but communication mishaps aren’t always funny. | |||
| Transforming Reading Assignments into Engaging Tasks and Elevating Student Success | 04 Oct 2023 | 00:19:03 | |
According to research, less than half of students complete assigned readings. So, how do you get your students to complete the reading so they are better prepared to complete assignments, to participate in discussions, and are just more engaged with the content? Today, we’ll talk about how changing the term “reading assignment” to a “task” can give students more agency and break down the wall of resisting reading. We’ll talk about different strategies to encourage active reading and to help strengthen student reading techniques. And lastly, we’ll cover reading assignments that help students discover how much more they learn when they actually do the reading.
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| From Doubt to Drive: Navigating Disengagement, Self-worth, and Faculty Workload | 20 Sep 2023 | 00:16:31 | |
Today we’re going to dive into some of the challenges that faculty are currently facing and explore strategies to re-engage faculty in their roles. We’re tackling the issue of faculty disengagement. We’ll be discussing strategies to overcome disengagement stemming from workload, stress, technology, and self-worth. In this series of programs, Russell Carpenter and Kevin Dvorak will offer practical insights that can empower both educators and administrators to foster a more supportive academic environment. From celebrating faculty success to addressing self-worth, we’re here to equip you with the knowledge and tools to help overcome faculty disengagement. | |||
| Exploring the Possibilities: Creating, Enhancing, and Editing with Artificial Intelligence | 06 Sep 2023 | 00:16:21 | |
Get a notepad or your laptop ready for this episode, because you’ll want to write down some of these AI tools we’re about to dive into. From using AI to design course materials, to supporting students with AI writing and editing, to creating multimedia teaching materials, this episode has something for you! You’ll discover how AI can help with translation, image creation, slideshows, and audio or video support. Get ready to unlock the potential of AI in education and take your teaching and learning to the next level with Jeremy Caplan’s three AI-featured programs.
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| The Curious Mind: Fostering Critical and Creative Thinking in Students | 22 Aug 2023 | 00:17:38 | |
Today, we’re going to dive into the world of critical thinking – a skill that’s often misunderstood and rarely mastered. We’ll explore how this skill can transform students into astute thinkers who question the world with curiosity and creativity. By the end of this episode, you’ll have the tools to craft lessons that invigorate curiosity, evaluate learning, and inspire the minds of your students.
Other resources: | |||
| Exploring Extended Reality for Engaged Learning and Innovative Instruction | 09 Aug 2023 | 00:15:40 | |
Do you know the difference between virtual reality, mixed realities, augmented reality, and extended reality? In this episode, Juanita J. (JJ) Wallace will start by explaining the differences between these realities, and then dive into specific tools that instructors can use in their own courses. Wallace will also go through design aspects when creating assignments and assessments that utilize virtual reality. This will help instructors impact student learning outcomes more effectively and use best practices while creating assignments.
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| Engaging Faculty and Creating a Healthier Academic Environment | 26 Jul 2023 | 00:13:46 | |
Today we’re going to look at ways we can increase human motivation and give faculty a sense of autonomy. We’ll talk about the Motivation Hygiene Theory, where although someone can be highly motivated they can also be highly dissatisfied. We’ll also discuss the Job Characteristics Theory, where skill variety, task identity, test significance, autonomy and feedback all help in the meaningfulness of work – we’ll specifically relate this to faculty development. Lastly, we’ll go over recognizing intervention points to promote health and wellness. We dig deeper into looking at the structures of work, how to shape people’s daily working lives, and how to make choices that improve people’s health. Katherine Sanders will be guiding us in creating a healthier academic environment.
This episode is sponsored by the Teaching Professor Online Conference. Learn teaching practices you need to help your students succeed in the comfort of your own space! | |||
| Wandering Minds: Improving Retention through Retrieval Practices, Interleaving, and Microactivities | 17 Apr 2024 | 00:17:08 | |
Have you ever looked at your students and saw their eyes glaze over, knowing they most likely are not retaining anything you’re saying? So, what tools can you implement to help your students retain more of what you teach in class? Today, we’re going to go through study skills you can provide to your students to enhance their recall, and we’ll cover interleaving and microlectures. Research says you have 15 minutes of attention span before minds start to drift and wander. What can you do to increase long-term memory skills within your students? | |||
| The First Day of Class: Fostering a Zest for Learning with a Sense of Empathy | 12 Jul 2023 | 00:16:36 | |
The first day of class is filled with emotions. Whether or not you feel confident, calm, and collected, doesn’t mean your students are feeling the same way. So how do you use the first day to foster a zest for learning? How do you make sure they know you care? How can you decrease their stress they may be feeling? In today’s episode, we’ll cover some teacher-tested activities for the first day of class and how you can make slight tweaks to make meaningful strides in relieving student mental health concerns and stress on the first day. By setting the stage on day one, your students will be invested, interested, and ready for your class!
This episode is sponsored by the Teaching Professor Online Conference. Learn teaching practices you need to help your students succeed in the comfort of your own space! | |||
| Supporting First-Year Students in their Educational Journey | 21 Jun 2023 | 00:17:42 | |
Do you remember your first year as a college student? Were you nervous, scared, excited, lonely, happy, sad? Maybe you felt all of these emotions, which is a lot for anyone to take on. Add to that figuring out your class schedule, where things are on your campus, the dialogue of instructors using words you’ve never heard before. | |||
| What If You Had a Higher Ed Magic Wand? | 06 Jun 2023 | 00:18:57 | |
Today we’re going to talk about student mental health, infusing applicable humor into the classroom, emotion science, and collective effervescence. By implementing temperature checks and reflections, you can assess how your students are feeling. Include a mental health check question like, What did you do to take care of yourself this week? And then at the end of the reflection, ask your students, Is there anything else you’d like to share? Additionally, we’ll cover emotion science. That is, when we feel bad, we can't learn as effectively. And when we feel good, it benefits our learning. Lastly, we’ll go over collective effervescence, which represents the synchrony we feel when we are together and in communication with one another. Flower Darby explains, "We want to extend this sense of belonging to our students, no matter who they are, no matter their personality, their preferences, their identities. We want all of our students to feel like they belong so that they can thrive in our classes." | |||
| Navigating the Emotional Costs of Teaching with a Resilient Mindset, Grit, and Stress Management | 24 May 2023 | 00:17:15 | |
In today's episode, we will explore the topics of resiliency, stress management, wellbeing, and grit. Stress definitely has a significant impact on our wellbeing and overall mindset, so we'll discuss work-related stressor strategies including the benefits of a 10-year journal and the concept of "eating the frog" in the morning. We will offer valuable insights on fostering resilience and utilizing tools like appreciative inquiry, growth mindset, and grit in overcoming teaching challenges. By implementing these concepts into our teaching practices and daily lives, we can cultivate more happiness and better navigate the emotional costs of daily stressors.
Don’t forget! Expand your love of teaching at the Teaching Professor Annual Conference in New Orleans, June 9-11, 2023. Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of your school year: a conference to network, learn, and refocus on why you got into teaching in the first place! | |||
| Playful Pedagogy: Connecting Students to the Content with Creativity | 10 May 2023 | 00:18:32 | |
Here’s to having a little fun in class. Here’s to using creativity to connect with students and connect students to the content. Here’s to playing games in the classroom. Your lecture doesn’t have to snooze students to sleep😴. Today, we’re going to talk about how to foster creativity and connection in the classroom; we’ll talk about how to use tools such as AutoDraw, Pixlr, and ThingLink to strengthen student engagement; and lastly, we’ll talk about specific games you can use to engage students with the content and with you.
Don’t forget! Expand your love of teaching at the Teaching Professor Annual Conference in New Orleans, June 9-11, 2023. Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of your school year: a conference to network, learn, and refocus on why you got into teaching in the first place! | |||
| Finding Purpose in Your Profession: Teaching Tips for More Career Satisfaction | 26 Apr 2023 | 00:17:30 | |
Every now and then it’s important to take a step back to self-reflect and listen to advice from other educators. With an exhausting past few years, here’s your reminder that your purpose as an educator is so impactful and so important. Today, we’ll talk about mindful teaching and how you can use the acronym HEARTS to be mindful of your presence as an instructor. And then, Ken Alford will talk about his 40-year teaching career, the best advice he’s received, and how you can experience more career satisfaction and effectiveness. We hope you can take these tips and techniques as a reminder that you are not alone – we are rooting for you.
Don’t forget! Expand your love of teaching at the Teaching Professor Annual Conference in New Orleans, June 9-11, 2023. Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of your school year: a conference to network, learn, and refocus on why you got into teaching in the first place! | |||
| Friend or Foe? Using Artificial Intelligence to Empower Your Teaching | 12 Apr 2023 | 00:19:30 | |
There’s been a lot of chat about ChatGPT and artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of higher education. From concerns about academic integrity to prohibiting this all-knowing AI, but today, I want us to see AI from a different perspective. | |||
| Excuse Me, Will This be on the Exam? How to Get Students to Learn the Content, Not Just Memorize | 29 Mar 2023 | 00:15:17 | |
Have you ever been asked this question by a student: Will this be on the exam? Do I need to know this?
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| What Does Community Mean in the Classroom? Sharing Stories, Swift Trust, and a Sense of Togetherness | 15 Mar 2023 | 00:18:26 | |
We’re going to talk about community, swift trust, and storytelling. Whether you teach an online or in-person class, you want your students to feel as if they are entering a community where they are welcome, safe, and can share ideas among each other. You want to establish common interests and a sense of togetherness because they are going to be solving problems together, they’ll be investigating and exploring topics, they’ll share knowledge and maybe even challenge each other respectfully. So, today we’ll talk about ideas to foster a sense of community, how swift trust can be applied in an educational setting, and finally, how a storytelling activity with a sticky note or penny can inspire students to share their own stories.
Don't forget! Expand your love❤️ of teaching at the Teaching Professor Annual Conference in New Orleans, June 9-11, 2023. Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of your school year: a conference to network, learn, and refocus on why you got into teaching in the first place! | |||
| Let's Talk About Racial Justice, Food Studies, and Moving DEI Work Forward | 01 Mar 2023 | 00:17:32 | |
Today, we're going to talk about racial justice, the relationship between food and culture, and a type of plan-do-check-act cycle for diversity, equity, and inclusion work.
Don't forget! Expand your love❤️ of teaching at the Teaching Professor Annual Conference in New Orleans, June 9-11, 2023. Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of your school year: a conference to network, learn, and refocus on why you got into teaching in the first place! | |||
| Unlocking Teaching Excellence: Strategies for Growth | 03 Apr 2024 | 00:16:26 | |
What can you do to propel your teaching career, and what advice do some of our great higher ed instructors have for you? In this episode, you’ll be reminded of the importance of remaining open to learning, how to seek mentorship, and how to foster meaningful connections within your academic circle. Additionally, we’ll cover prioritizing work-life quality over monetary incentives, along with truly understanding your teaching methods and recognizing both your strengths and weaknesses. Through insightful anecdotes and practical advice, this episode offers a roadmap for those of you seeking to elevate your teaching practices and advance your careers.
This episode is sponsored by the Teaching Professor Conference. Join us in New Orleans from June 7-9 and share ideas, discuss strategies, and get the charge of inspiration from knowing you are not alone in tackling today's teaching! | |||
| Your Class is So Tough: Addressing Academic Rigor and a Growth Mindset | 15 Feb 2023 | 00:15:11 | |
Have you ever had a student say, "Wow, this class is so hard!" or "These homework assignments are impossible!" Many students might even do their own research before taking your class, trying to determine what the workload might be or what the level of difficulty is. For this reason, it’s important to understand how you can communicate your definition of academic rigor and ensure your goals are aligned with the expectations of your students. In this episode, we’ll go through the research on growth mindset. We’ll cover how you can foster growth mindset in your own course to improve learning and how you can make connections with your students to emphasize the task at hand, and then, we’ll cover specific strategies to inspire students to keep on trying even when it gets tough.
Join us this year in New Orleans for the Teaching Professor Annual Conference from June 9 - 11. Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of your school year: a conference to network, learn, and refocus on why you got into teaching in the first place! | |||
| A Thread Gone Viral: Last Night, A Professor Walked Into A Night Class... | 01 Feb 2023 | 00:28:10 | |
In this episode, we're going to talk about a Twitter thread that went viral. Dr. Liz Norell's thread on her night class now has more than 800,000 views. On it, Norell talks about ice breakers, her liquid syllabus, ungrading, a "punchy" Word document syllabus she created the night before, and communicating the message of care and belonging.
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| Ungrading: The Misconceptions, the Research, and the Strategies | 18 Jan 2023 | 00:13:48 | |
Ungrading might seem a little daunting, right? How can you just take away grades? How can you assess students without actually grading their essays, projects, or homework? How do you prepare students who depend on grades to adapt to a new type of grading? In this episode, we’ll cover what ungrading actually is, some of the research behind it, and how it can be brought to any classroom by having an honest conversation with your students. And then we’ll take a few minutes to dispel some misconceptions about ungrading, because ungrading doesn’t mean you have to completely eliminate grades in all forms from your classroom. Lastly, we’ll cover a few ungrading assessment strategies that you can implement into your own course.
Don't forget to expand your love for teaching at the Teaching Professor Annual Conference in New Orleans, June 9 - 11. Give yourself something to look forward to: a conference to network, learn, and refocus on why you got into teaching in the first place! | |||
| A New Year of Practicing Gratitude, Extending Kindness, and Setting Goals | 03 Jan 2023 | 00:19:06 | |
In this episode, we’ll cover snippets from the Wellbeing Elixir course, presented by Seena Haines and Stuart Haines, on how gratitude is associated with numerous mental and physical benefits; how extending generosity to others has been shown to lower blood pressure, increase self-esteem and self-worth, and enhance optimism; and lastly, we’ll cover goal setting and how both success and failure are part of the journey – it’s important to set goals but to also know that having goals does not guarantee success, and that’s okay. A special coupon just for YOU! Use coupon code WELLNESS and take $60 off your purchase of the Wellbeing Elixir Course. | |||
| A Hyflex Course: Bridging the Gap Between Online and In-person Students | 14 Dec 2022 | 00:14:13 | |
Teaching students in the classroom while simultaneously teaching students online is hard. How do you bring students together when some are in the classroom and some are online? What tools can you use to cater to this type of Hyflex or hybrid teaching?
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| The Research Behind Memory: Memory-boosting Strategies to Incorporate into Your Teaching | 30 Nov 2022 | 00:19:03 | |
Today is all about the memory, from short-term to long-term. Do you still remember your childhood phone number? What about your high school fight song? Or the street you lived on when you were eight years old? We might remember some of these things, but sometimes we forget what we read this morning or what we ate for breakfast two days ago. Don’t worry, there are numerous proven ways to manipulate and develop our ability to remember! So, what small changes can you integrate to help students remember your content? In this episode, we’ll start with the academic research on memory and how you can create a more successful environment so that you can apply cognitive theory in your courses. Next, we’ll go over strategies that you can incorporate to improve student learning and memory, such as semantic encoding, cueing, peer teaching, and more. And lastly, we’ll cover how microactivities are a great way to check in with students and move information closer to long-term memory. | |||
| Creating a Safe, Welcoming, and Positive Environment for Your Online Students | 09 Nov 2022 | 00:17:36 | |
How do you make your online classroom feel welcoming and safe for your students? Unlike the face-to-face classroom, you don’t always have the opportunity to greet students with a warm smile and ask them how they’re doing. So, how do you bring these in-class approaches to your online environment? In this episode, we’ll cover techniques on how to be culturally responsive in your online courses, we’ll provide tips on how you can format your online class to be warm and welcoming, and we’ll cover assimilation strategies for nontraditional and marginalized students in the online environment. From student testimonials to a name story exercise and community rubric, your online classroom will be a safe space for all of your students.
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| How to Make Your Lecture More Engaging and Interactive for Your Students | 26 Oct 2022 | 00:17:53 | |
Lectures can be boring, without a doubt, but they don’t have to be. There are a variety of creative approaches for making your lecture more interactive and interesting for your students so that they stay tuned in and remember the content you want them to remember.
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| Easy-to-Use Technologies You Can Implement Into Your Course Today | 12 Oct 2022 | 00:16:10 | |
Today’s episode is all about technology. Now, you may be tired of hearing about all the tools and gadgets you can integrate into your courses, but we’ll go through easy-to-use technologies, including the appropriate application and benefits of each. We also don’t expect you to start integrating every single one of these tools. Start with just one, or maybe two, and see how it goes. We’ll demonstrate the value of H5P tools and how to use them with your existing platforms from crossword puzzles to flash cards. We’ll touch on FlipGrid, EdPuzzle, and more. And then we’ll discuss how you can use backward design to help you identify and implement the best technology tool solution for your course, so that there’s intention and meaning behind the technology you use.
This week's episode is sponsored by the Teaching Professor Online Conference. Network and learn from the comfort of your own home! | |||
| Your Stress and Burnout are Real: Extending Mindful Self-compassion to Yourself | 28 Sep 2022 | 00:17:12 | |
As an educator, you’ve been through some of the toughest years of teaching. Many have faced academic stressors, burnout, anxiety, and so much more. So this is your timely reminder to take care of yourself. In today’s episode, we’ll talk about resiliency, appreciative inquiry, growth mindset, and mindful self-compassion. The following tools, resources, and techniques can help you construct a more joyful mindset and will offer you a process for helping with stress and wellbeing. This episode is a reminder to direct an attitude of loving kindness towards yourself, using mindful self-compassion. No matter what the feeling is—anger, guilt, shame, or grief—whatever it is, treat yourself with a gentle kindness, as you would recognize common humanity with the rest of us.
This episode is sponsored by the Teaching Professor Online Conference. | |||
| Class Adjourned: The Importance of Ending Well | 20 Mar 2024 | 00:17:29 | |
We always talk about the beginning of the course and setting the tone, but what about the end of the course? How can you make your course memorable? How can you make your end-of-course project meaningful? Today, we’ll look at it from multiple perspectives. First, we’ll look inward and outward and ask ourselves pertinent closing questions. Next, we’ll look at how an end-of-semester service learning project can make students feel empowered and feel as if the class work they are doing is meaningful. Last, I’ll read an article from Maryellen Weimer about a learning moment, and how it impacted her students from the first day until the last day. You may think that the first day is the most important day, but how students feel walking out of your classroom on the last day is just as important.
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| All About the Online Discussion Board | 14 Sep 2022 | 00:14:57 | |
Despite their universal use in online teaching, online discussions often fall flat. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In this episode, we’ll discuss how multiple due dates for a discussion can foster thoughtful responses; we’ll talk about the importance of using Universal Design for Learning to guide your discussion; we’ll discuss the importance of putting yourself in the student perspective when writing your discussion prompts; and finally, we’ll go over techniques for fostering a community within your discussion board and class.
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| Reimagining STEM Education through Beauty, Critical Thinking, and Disruptive Innovation | 31 Aug 2022 | 00:15:46 | |
As a STEM educator, how can you reimagine STEM education through a humanities lens? How can you use disruptive innovation to help students think more critically? And how can you teach critical reflection skills in an engineering or math course? In this episode, you’ll consider how to make sure your perception of what students want out of their education aligns with what the student actually wants. You’ll go through speaking, writing, activities, and media modes of critical thinking. And finally, you’ll go through a disruptive innovation assignment to encourage students to think more critically and be more impactful in their design. This episode is filled with STEM-inspired information! | |||
| Setting the Tone on the First Day of Class with Generative Games, a Kite, and Toast | 16 Aug 2022 | 00:12:40 | |
The first day of class is approaching and this day is filled with emotions. Students might be filled with excitement or dread. They may be filled with eagerness or anxiety, but no matter the emotions it’s an important day for you to set the tone for the rest of the semester. In this episode, we’ll go through specific generative games you can implement on the first day to prime students’ minds for open mindedness; we’ll explain how you an use a kite drawing activity to have students introduce themselves; and we’ll talk about how you can use toast to help explain the diversity of opinions and the merit of working together.
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| Student Retention, Interleaving, and Fundamental Concepts: Design Your Course with This in Mind! | 03 Aug 2022 | 00:16:29 | |
When you’re designing a course, what should you consider? How can you create your course so students are remembering and recalling the information you’re teaching throughout the entire semester? In this episode, we’ll explain how fundamental and powerful concepts can help you design your course with the big picture in mind. We’ll explain how starting from the end when designing your course is beneficial and will help you create an elevator pitch and purpose for your course. And lastly, we’ll go over how you can incorporate interleaving into your course design to improve student retention. | |||
| Mentoring and Coaching: The Tools for a Great Faculty Coach and a Great Faculty Mentor | 19 Jul 2022 | 00:17:24 | |
Maybe it's your coach from high school, an instructor from college, a colleague who helped mentor you - no matter who it is, having someone to mentor you, coach you, motivate you, and help you be the best version of yourself is priceless. In this episode, we'll provide a stepwise progression for mentoring:
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| Connections, Reflection, and Direction: Implementing a Peer 2 Peer Mentoring Program | 05 Jul 2022 | 00:18:28 | |
In this episode, we talk to Loreen Smith who explains the purpose of a Peer 2 Peer Mentoring Program (P2P), the steps to implement it, and how it can significantly impact students. Whether it’s a first-year student being mentored or a peer mentor learning how to lead, both roles form connections and are given direction on their journey. Peer mentors gain leadership skills, hands-on experience, and because it is a paid position, they have a job title they can use on their resume. Additionally, the students being mentored often become more confident in their understanding of their learning and learn how they can address any obstacles or barriers to help them achieve their goals. With just four simple steps, Smith says any university can start their own Peer 2 Peer Mentoring Program:
Smith says that the joy this program exudes is infectious, and it’s really about making a difference in the students’ lives and seeing how many doors are going to open for them in their own way. “We’ve given these students the most important tools that they need to succeed, and that supports connections, direction, and really a reflection for a stronger and more meaningful education,” Smith says.
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| Engaging Your Students with Mini-lectures, Prediscussion Posts, and Interactive Starter Activities | 22 Jun 2022 | 00:15:37 | |
How do you get your students to engage with the content so they better retain it? How do you get your students to engage in discussion so that everyone is talking and everyone feels empowered to use their voice?
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| Reading, Oh My! Getting Your Students to Engage with the Reading | 08 Jun 2022 | 00:15:42 | |
How do you get your students to complete the readings you assign? More importantly, how do you get them to engage with and retain the readings you assign? In this episode, we’ll talk about strategies to help students master deep reading, a reading discussion or literature circle you can implement to foster student engagement through reading roles, and a technique to encourage students to do the reading prior to class. From roles such as a discussion leader, passage master, devil’s advocate, illustrator, creative connector, and reporter, you’ll have students not only talking about the reading but engaging with one another as well. Additionally, Maryellen Weimer offers a technique to encourage students to do the reading prior to class and how to reiterate reading as an essential part of the course. Recommended Resources:
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| Teaching More and Talking Less: Using Examples During Class | 23 May 2022 | 00:13:30 | |
In this episode, we talk with Jeremy Rentz about the positive aspects that come from students doing work in class. By allowing students to figure things out for themselves, and giving them time to discover and interact with one another, students can have powerful learning experiences. By including examples that students can work on during class and encouraging in-class exam reviews, Rentz says students can support each other and he can essentially help “coach” them through the examples. “While they are in the class, they have their neighbors to help them, their neighbors can support them, they can ask them questions, they can make them feel good about themselves...and then the other positive that it brings is I can help coach essentially every student in class,” Rentz says. Lastly, Rentz encourages that instructors and teachers work together and learn from their colleagues as often as they possibly can. “One of the things that I want to make sure that I highlight in my session is that I have a few good answers, but collectively, as a group, we have many, many good answers,” Rentz says. | |||
| Sparking Joy through Co-construction Circles, Empathy Mapping, and the Teaching Perspectives Inventory | 11 May 2022 | 00:14:40 | |
We’re chatting about co-construction circles, empathy mapping, and the Teaching Perspectives Inventory with Cynthia Alby, Karynne Kleine, and Caralyn Zehnder who will be presenting at our Teaching Professor Conference. They discuss how co-construction circles help give each student something different to focus on in a reading. Someone may be coming up with discussion questions, while someone else is focusing on reading connections, and when students come together in class, they all have something different to bring to the table. Additionally, they dive into empathy mapping and how instructors need to ask the question of, Who are we designing for? Empathy mapping fosters an incredible joy for them in designing for diverse groups of students. “We do that through building narratives that describe diverse student experiences and perspectives…” They also use a tool called the Teaching Perspectives Inventory to get a notion of who they are as teachers and how to better appreciate their colleagues. Rather than having a perspective of “good” and “bad” teachers, they ask the question of, What can we appreciate from that person’s perspective?
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| The Art of Meaningful Assessment: From Choice Boards to AI-Driven Dialogues | 06 Mar 2024 | 00:12:47 | |
Today, we’re going to explore innovative assessment strategies that enhance student learning. We’ll talk about reflection and how to use feedback as a tool for growth and knowledge, and then we’ll talk about asynchronous online teaching assessments such as a weekly choice board or brochure. Finally, we’ll talk about the integration of generative AI in assessment practices. Whether you teach in-person or online, these ideas offer new ways to reveal student understanding and better connect complex ideas for your students. | |||
| Let’s Discuss: Radical Empathy, Empathy Without Burnout, and a Recipe for Engagement | 27 Apr 2022 | 00:16:30 | |
In this episode, we discuss and chat with a few of our Teaching Professor Conference presenters. First up, Mary Norman and Lisa Low talk about radical empathy and burnout, and how you can use empathetic strategies to empower yourself and students for success. “I think that radical empathy is something that's very important to talk about, because it's so needed right now. Our students are really being inundated with stressors that we've never before seen,” Norman says. Additionally, both Norman and Low add empathy tactics to help read their classroom and ask questions like, “How are you feeling about this class today?” and “How are you feeling right now?” This helps students be seen and heard both in class and within their personal lives. Julia Osteen, another Teaching Professor Conference presenter, also uses the analogy of menus, master chef, and ingredients to guide engagement strategies that work in her class. “So, just like great chefs create menus with a variety of ingredients, teachers need to put together a variety of strategies and techniques to reach today's learner,” says Osteen. “What's oftentimes overlooked is an end reflection. And this would be like complimenting the chef. It’s much like when you're in a restaurant and a server comes to your table, and they say, ‘How was it?’ and you say, ‘Oh, it was delicious,’ right? But this encourages in our students the development of metacognition.”
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| For What It’s Earth…Implementing Measures to Help Campuses Go Green | 11 Apr 2022 | 00:14:53 | |
What better way to empower students to make a change in the world than working on their own campus? In this episode, Beth Choate explains how campuses can motivate students and instructors to make positive changes in their future homes, future jobs, and all of the places that they'll go. | |||
| Authentic Assessment Strategies: Assessing Learning that Empowers Your Students | 30 Mar 2022 | 00:20:19 | |
How do you know that student learning is actually happening? Usually through assessment, right? But how can you assess students without just a quiz or paper? How can you empower them and motivate them to learn and want to learn, so that assessment becomes something that is both powerful for you as an instructor and to the student as a learner?
This week's episode is sponsored by the Teaching Professor Conference. Join us in-person in Atlanta from June 3-5 to pursue your passion for teaching. | |||
| Bringing Your Syllabus to Life with Inclusivity and Creativity | 16 Mar 2022 | 00:18:14 | |
The syllabus…it’s where everything lives. From due dates to policies to your office hours to who you are as a teacher, it’s all-encompassing. And with that, the syllabus can get pretty lengthy, it may sometimes get overwhelming for both you and your students, and maybe even boring for students to read. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In today’s episode we’re going to talk about:
Recommended resources:
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