Tea for Teaching

Since the pandemic, universities have focused attention on student mental health. In this episode, Rebecca Pope-Ruark and Lee Skallerup Bassette join us to discuss faculty and staff mental health and wellbeing. Rebecca is the Director of Faculty Professional Development at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  She has 17 years of experience teaching undergraduates and is a Certified Scrum Master and design thinking workshop facilitator, an ICF-certified coach, and the host of The Agile Academic podcast. Rebecca is the author of Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal and the coeditor of Redesigning Liberal Education: Innovative Design for a Twenty-First-Century Undergraduate Education. Lee is the Assistant Director of Digital Learning at Georgetown University and is a regular contributor to Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and ProfHacker. She is also the editor of Affective Labor and Alt-AC Careers and co-hosts the All Things ADHD podcast. Rebecca and Lee are editors of: Of Many Minds: Neurodiversity and Mental Health Among University Faculty and Staff, which is scheduled for release later this summer. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Updates to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act regulations require public colleges to increase their efforts to ensure that digital content meets accessibility standards. In this episode, Sean Moriarty joins us to discuss strategies to foster a culture of access across an institution. Sean is the Chief Technology Officer at SUNY Oswego. Sean and Rebecca have worked collaboratively on digital accessibility initiatives at SUNY Oswego since 2017 A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Technological change affects all aspects of our lives and our instructional practices must evolve to prepare students for their futures. In this episode, Loy Gross joins us to discuss strategies that she uses to prepare students for an industry that is evolving with digital tools. Loy is an online learning specialist and an adjunct technology instructor at SUNY Genesee Community College. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Most books and resources devoted to professional development focus on strategies that faculty can use to create a positive learning environment for our students, but generally assume that everything will work as expected. In this episode, Jessamyn Neuhaus joins us to discuss her new book, Snafu Edu, which acknowledges the reality that everything does not always work as we hope that it will, and suggests strategies for addressing common situations in which things go wrong. Jessamyn is the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence and Professor in the School of Education at Syracuse University. She is a historian and the editor of Teaching History: A Journal of Methods. Jessamyn has published extensively in scholarly publications in the areas of history, pedagogy, and cultural studies. She is a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Teaching. Jessamyn is the author of  Geeky Pedagogy: A Guide for Intellectuals, Introverts, and Nerds Who Want to be Effective Teachers, and the editor of Picture a Professor: Interrupting Biases about Faculty and Increasing Student Learning. Her newest book, Snafu Edu: Teaching and Learning When Things Go Wrong in the College Classroom will be released shortly by the Oklahoma University Press series on Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Education, edited by James Lang and Michelle Miller. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Generative AI can increase efficiency and support student learning, however students can also use it as a substitute for learning. In this episode, Nathan Pritts joins us to discuss ways in which generative AI tools can improve course design and strategies to encourage students to use AI tools ethically and responsibly.  Nathan Pritts is a Professor and Program chair for First-Year Writing at the University of Arizona Global Campus. Nathan’s recent work has been focused on the relationship between AI and human teaching. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Faculty are faced with the need to adjust instructional strategies in response to AI. In this episode,  Racheal Fest and Stephanie Pritchard join us to discuss a professional development initiative for faculty involving six campuses. Racheal is a Pedagogy Specialist at the Faculty Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship at the State University of New York at Oneonta. She also teaches writing courses in the English Department. Stephanie is the Coordinator of the Writing Center, the Coordinator of Writing and Ethical Practice, and an instructor for classes in poetry and English composition here at SUNY Oswego. Racheal is the Principal Investigator and Stephanie is one of the campus coordinators on a SUNY multi-campus grant focused on faculty development related to AI. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

In higher ed, like in most fields, learning continues after employment. In this episode, Tolu Noah joins us to discuss strategies to design and facilitate effective workshops and professional development. Tolu is an educational developer with 16 years of teaching experience in higher ed and K-12. She received the 2019 Teaching Excellence Faculty Award at Azusa Pacific University and was named by EdTech Magazine as one of the 30 Higher Ed IT Influencers to Follow in 2023. Tolu’s work has been published in EDUCAUSE Review, Edutopia, and Faculty Focus. She is the author of Designing and Facilitating Workshops with Intentionality: A Guide to Crafting Engaging Professional Learning Experiences in Higher Education, published by Routledge, Taylor and Francis A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

While the Americans with Disabilities Act has long required digital content to be accessible, specific technical requirements were recently defined in updates to Title II of the ADA. In this episode, Mark Greenfield joins us to discuss the new regulations and what that means for public colleges and universities as the April 2026 deadline approaches. Mark retired as the University at Buffalo's Web Accessibility Officer after 35 years of service at the institution. He continues to consult on digital accessibility and serves as a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (or ACM) U.S. Technology Committee, which educates and informs Congress, the Administration and courts about digital technology developments and how they may impact public policy in the US. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Tom Tobin, a founding member of the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring, and author on UDL, joins Lillian Nave, an educational development specialist at Appalachian State University, and Jennifer Pusateri, a senior universal design consultant at the University of Kentucky. They discuss the evolution of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines and the importance of learner agency. The trio explores the intricate layers of student identity, strategies for fostering engaging classrooms, and the role of technology in enhancing inclusivity for neurodivergent students.

Generative AI tools are challenging traditional models of college instruction. In this episode, Camille Huggins, Yolanda Carlos, and Orlando Saiz join us to discuss how Pacific Oaks College is working to use these tools to more effectively support student learning. Camille, Yolanda, and Orlando were participants in an AI Institute offered at Pacific Oaks College this year.  A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.