Tea for Teaching

Bill Goff, a Teaching Professor in Economics at Penn State, discusses his innovative study on the impact of negative examples in education. He argues that solely using positive examples can confuse students about concepts. Goff reveals that incorporating negative examples improved student performance by 21 percentage points. He shares insights on effective teaching strategies, like utilizing quick clicker questions and schemas, while also touching on the challenges of engaging large classes. Goff advocates for the easy integration of negative examples to enhance learning outcomes.

Jill Peterfeso, Eli Franklin Craven and Minnie Phipps Craven Professor of Religious Studies at Guilford College, discusses the transformative power of Disney in education. She explains how Disney serves as a unique laboratory for learning across disciplines like data science and sociology. Jill highlights the need for critical examination of Disney's narrative and themes, such as settler colonialism. She also shares insights from her edited volume, touching on the diverse academic perspectives that reveal the magic behind the scenes and its impact on students.

Michelle Miller, a Professor of Psychological Sciences and author, explores the concept of 'teaching from the same side,' emphasizing collaboration between faculty and students. She discusses the roots of adversarial teaching and highlights how this approach can improve student motivation through self-determination theory. Michelle shares psychological techniques to enhance student commitment and outlines the importance of personalized interactions, like using students’ names, to build trust. She also touches on her upcoming workshops and work on AI in curriculum.

Women faculty of color in higher ed generally receive little training to prepare them for the challenges, unrelated to their teaching quality, that they experience in their careers. In this episode, Chavella Pittman joins us to discuss her new book, Empowered: A Woman Faculty of Color’s Guide to Teaching and Thriving, a resource she created to address these challenges and to help female faculty of color thrive. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

It’s easy to become discouraged and disconnected in today’s higher ed climate. In this episode, Kelvin Thompson joins us to discuss his new project designed to provide us with a lift in challenging times. Kelvin is the Vice Provost for Online Strategy and Teaching Innovation at the University of Louisville. Kelvin developed the BlendKit Course open courseware as part of the Blended Learning Toolkit which he developed while at the University of Central Florida. He regularly serves as an invited speaker on issues related to online and blended learning. Kelvin is a co-editor of the Sage Handbook of Online Higher Education and has long served as a co-host of TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Students engage when they see a connection between what they are learning and their future objectives. In this episode, Angela Bauer joins us to discuss the benefits of integrating life skills into a liberal arts curriculum. Angela is a biologist and the Provost and Executive Vice President at Texas Women’s University. Prior to this, she served in several  leadership positions at High Point University. Angela is also the author of Teaching Life Skills in the Liberal Arts and Sciences: Preparing Students for Success Beyond the Classroom which has recently been released by Taylor and Francis. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

The rapid evolution of generative AI tools has introduced an expanding set of educational applications. In this episode, Dan Levy and Angela Perez Albertos join us to discuss how these changes are affecting faculty and classrooms. Dan is an economist and a senior lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University where he teaches courses in quantitative methods, policy analysis, and program evaluation. Angela is a graduate of the MPA program in International Development at the Harvard Kennedy School, and is the U.S. Head of Strategy at Innovamat. Dan and Angela are the authors of the first, and now the second, editions of Teaching Effectively with ChatGPT. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Students have varied levels of preparation for traditional types of classes and assessments used in colleges. In this episode, David Gooblar joins us to discuss a variety of instructional strategies that we can adopt to help all students succeed. David is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Iowa, a regular contributor to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the creator of Pedagogy Unbound, and the author of The Missing Course: Everything They Never Taught You About College Teaching. His most recent book, One Classroom at a Time: How Better Teaching Can Make College More Equitable, was released in August 2025 by Harvard University Press. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

The U.S. higher education system has been a primary source of research that fuels innovation in science and industry, provides students from low-income communities opportunity to escape from poverty, and enriches the lives of graduates. In this episode, Rebecca Winthrop joins us to discuss how changes in federal policy are affecting the U.S. educational system and, ultimately, our society.  Rebecca is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, where her research focuses on education globally. Rebecca leads the Brookings Global Task Force on AI in Education and co-leads the Family Engagement in Education Network. In addition to her work with many other global education initiatives, Rebecca has served as the U.N. Secretary General’s Global Education First Initiative’s Technical Advisory Group and served as co-lead for the Learning Metrics Task Force with the UNESCO Institute of Statistics. Rebecca is also a lecturer at Georgetown University and, with Jenny Anderson, the co-author of The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Faculty adoption and use of AI in higher education varies widely. In this episode, three colleagues from the University of Mississippi: Josh Eyler, Emily Pitts Donahoe, and Marc Watkins, provide their perspectives on AI use in higher education. Josh is the Senior Director of Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, Emily is the Associate Director of Instructional Support in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and Lecturer of Writing and Rhetoric, and Marc is a Lecturer in Composition and Rhetoric and Assistant Director of Academic Innovation. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.