Why Dead Ideas? A Conversation with Host Catherine Ross and Ian Althouse

Welcome to Season 3 of Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning! We begin this season by turning the conversation around: our guest today is Catherine Ross, Executive Director of the Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning, and host of Dead Ideas. Catherine, interviewed by Ian Althouse, Senior Assistant Director at the Columbia CTL, shares why she decided to start this podcast—including her own “aha” moment—and what motivates and inspires her to continue the work of unpacking implicit assumptions in teaching and learning in higher education. Catherine also gives listeners a sneak peek of this season’s upcoming guests. 

In Season 3, we will focus on teaching and learning systems in the academy, and how they need to be changed. Topics include beliefs about rigor, the value of undergraduate education in research universities, how to generate systemic change in institutions, issues of equity, and how faculty are evaluated.