Tea for Teaching

Lew Ludwig, a Professor of Mathematics and former Director of the Center for Learning and Teaching, and Todd Zakrajsek, an Adjunct Associate Research Professor with a focus on evidence-based teaching, explore the intersection of generative AI and teaching. They discuss their new resource to help faculty adapt to AI in their practices and the importance of addressing concerns about AI's impact on education. Key concepts include the ACE model for integrating AI and the potential of AI to provide personalized feedback and support diverse learners.

Ideally, college classrooms provide students with a comfortable but challenging environment in which diverse ideas and viewpoints are openly exchanged; the reality they experience, though, is often quite different. In this episode, David Laibson joins us to discuss how Harvard University is attempting to identify and address barriers to this ideal. David is the Robert I. Goldman Professor of Economics and a Faculty Dean of Lowell House. He has published dozens of heavily cited articles on a wide range of topics, including behavioral economics, self-regulation, behavior change, household finance, and aging. David is a Research Associate in the Aging, Asset Pricing, and Economic Fluctuations Working Group at the National Bureau of Economic Research, member of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and serves on numerous advisory boards. He has received Harvard’s Phi Beta Kappa award and a Harvard College Professorship in recognition of his high quality teaching. David is also a co-author of popular textbooks on introductory economics and  a co-editor of the Handbook of Behavioral Economics. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Teamwork skills are highly valued by employers but most faculty have not been trained to create effective team projects. In this episode, Tim Franz and Lauren Vicker join us to discuss a resource they developed to help faculty create more effective team assignments and projects. Tim is a Professor in the Psychology Department at St. John Fisher University and Lauren is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Media and Communication, also at St. John Fisher University. They are the authors of Making Team Projects Work: A College Instructor’s Guide to Successful Student Groupwork which has been recently released by Routledge. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Student use of AI tools presents challenges for faculty teaching writing. In this episode, Anna Mills joins us to discuss when and how AI tools can be used to help students develop their writing skills. Anna has been a leader in exploring effective strategies for integrating AI into higher education in a manner that fosters the development of student critical literacy. Anna serves on the MLA Task Force on Writing and AI and as a lead advisor on the instructional design for MyEssayFeedback.ai. She also has served as the only educational specialist recruited by Open AI to test GPT-4 pre-release. Anna is also an OER advocate who has released numerous OER resources including two OER textbooks, one on How Arguments Work: A Guide to Writing and Analyzing Texts in College, and the other on AI in College Writing: An Orientation. She is also one of the developers of the PAIRR process in which students develop writing skills through feedback from peers, AI, and individual reflection.  A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.  

The rapid evolution of AI tools provides a challenge for educators exploring educational applications. In this episode, José Antonio Bowen joins us to discuss ways in which faculty and institutions can better prepare students for their future lives and careers in a world in which AI tools are ubiquitous.  José has a joint PhD in musicology and humanities, served for several years as President of Goucher College, and is the author and co-author of several books, including: Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning; Teaching Naked Techniques: A Practical Guide to Designing Better Classes; Teaching Change: How to Develop Independent Thinkers Using Relationships, Resilience, and Reflection, and a co-author, with C. Edward Watson, of the first and second editions of Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning. A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Tara Chklovski, Founder and CEO of Technovation, shares her journey to empower young women in tech through an AI curriculum accessible in over 160 countries. She discusses how students use AI to tackle real community issues, emphasizing autonomy and purpose in learning. Tara highlights the importance of ethical AI, engaging educators with free resources, and the competitive structure designed to inspire innovation. With a focus on project-based learning, she advocates for students to become fearless co-learners, equipped to address societal challenges like healthcare and education.

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.