Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning

This week, we have two guests on the podcast. We’re joined by Gene Flenady, Lecturer in Philosophy at Monash University, whose research concerns the structure and social conditions of human rational agency, including the implications of new technologies for meaningful work and tertiary pedagogy. Our second guest is Robert Sparrow, Professor of Philosophy at Monash University. His research interests include political philosophy and the ethics of science and technology with an eye towards real-world applications. Flenady and Sparrow argue that GenAI systems are "constitutively irresponsible" because their algorithms are designed to predict what "sounds good" - not necessarily what is true or contextually appropriate. Our guests suggest that it's unfair to expect learners themselves to determine when AI is wrong or misleading. Doing so puts students in an impossible position and gets in the way of building meaningful relationships with their human teachers and the pursuit of lifelong learning. Learn more about Drs. Flenady and Sparrow’s work in their article: “Cut the bullshit: why GenAI systems are neither collaborators nor tutors”Other materials referenced in this episode include:Frankfurt, H. G. (2005). On bullshit. Princeton University Press.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Phill Dawson about how and why college students “cheat.” Phillip (Phill) Dawson is the Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE) at Deakin University. His research focuses on cheating, AI teaching assessments, and academic feedback tools. What counts as cheating? How does cheating shortchange students in their learning journeys and professional development? And perhaps most pressingly, how is AI changing our definition of “cheating” in higher education? Tune in to hear our thoughts on these and other questions in our conversation with Dr. Dawson. 

In this enlightening discussion, Justin Shaffer, Associate Dean and Teaching Professor at the Colorado School of Mines, tackles the challenge of active learning in large lecture halls. He emphasizes the power of structured course design to engage hundreds of students. Topics include effective assessment techniques and practical classroom activities that inspire deeper learning. Justin also introduces tools like the Decibel Analysis Research Tool to measure engagement and shares strategies such as think-pair-share and polling, highlighting how small changes can create a significant impact.

Welcome to Season 10! In our opening episode, we sit down with Dr. Michelle Miller—Professor of Psychological Sciences and President’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Northern Arizona University—to explore the simple yet powerful practice of learning students’ names. Drawing upon her research in memory, attention, and the impact of technology on learning, Dr. Miller shares how addressing students by name fosters belonging and community in the classroom. We also discuss the practical challenges faculty face in remembering so many new names and faces. Together, we review practical strategies to strengthen memory and build instructor confidence in this vital classroom practice.Learn more about Dr. Miller’s work in her publication - Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology.

In the introduction of Liz Norell’s new book, The Present Professor: Authenticity and Transformational Teaching (2024), she opens with two statements: “When you cannot be present, you cannot teach effectively” and “What’s good for students is good for us, too.” In this episode, Dr. Norell elaborates on these statements, and examines the importance of presence and authenticity in teaching and learning for both instructors and students. Dr. Norell, who serves as Associate Director of Instructional Support in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Mississippi, also shares tools for cultivating self-knowledge, and discusses how they can positively impact teaching. This will be the last episode of Season 9 of Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning. We will be back in spring 2025 with Season 10. Thank you for listening!

Kristi Rudenga, author of The Chronicle of Higher Education article, “How to Rebuild a Broken Connection With Students” (2024), writes that while intergenerational misunderstanding isn’t anything new, “the tumult of the past five years seems to have supercharged the disconnect between students and faculty members.” In this episode, Dr. Rudenga, Director of the Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence at Notre Dame, discusses her article and shares why human connection is essential, both for an instructor’s own job satisfaction and as an important precursor to student learning. Kristi shares practical, simple strategies that instructors can use to help build connections with students.

How can instructors build trust, community, and a sense of belonging with their students to ultimately improve student learning? In today’s episode, we tackle this question with Peter Felten, Rachel Forsyth, and Kath Sutherland, authors of the two recent articles, “Building Trust in the Classroom: A Conceptual Model for Teachers, Scholars, and Academic Developers in Higher Education” and “Expressions of Trust: How University STEM Teachers Describe the Role of Trust in their Teaching.” Drs. Felton, Forsyth, and Sutherland share ways that teachers can consciously build trust with their students—a previously under-explored topic—through what they call “trust moves.”

Welcome to Season 9 of Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning! In this season, with our new host Columbia CTL Executive Director Amanda Irvin, we are exploring the dead idea that the world “outside” of the classroom doesn’t or shouldn’t influence the world “inside” the classroom—that students are exclusively intellectual beings when they step across the threshold (physical or virtual) of the classroom space. In our first episode we speak with guest Cate Denial, the Bright Distinguished Professor of American History and Director of the Bright Institute at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and author of the book A Pedagogy of Kindness (2024). Cate’s new book argues for the strength and capacity instructors and students gain when they meet each other as whole human beings. Dr. Denial discusses her book and shares suggestions for instructors everywhere on how to implement a pedagogy of kindness in their own classrooms. Resource: A Pedagogy of Kindness (2024) by Cate Denial  

In today’s episode, we say a bittersweet goodbye to our wonderful podcast host, Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Executive Director Catherine Ross, as she will be retiring from Columbia in June. Catherine sits down with Amanda Irvin, Senior Director of Faculty Programs and Services here at the Columbia CTL, who will be taking the helm as our next podcast host, starting in the fall 2024 season. Catherine and Amanda reflect on their “favorite” dead ideas and episodes, as well as dead ideas that have yet to be discussed, and how this podcast has impacted our Center’s work internally. We’d like to thank Catherine for her passion and leadership as our podcast host over the past four years, and for her unfailing dedication to changing higher education teaching!This will be the last episode of Season 8 of Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning. We will be back in fall 2024 with Season 9. Thank you for listening! 

In today’s episode we examine the systemic issues and dead ideas that underlie the hiring and supporting of contingent faculty. We speak with Kerry O’Grady, Director for Teaching Excellence at the Samberg Institute for Teaching Excellence at Columbia Business School. Dr. O’Grady discusses some of the “normalized” practices that often leave adjunct instructors with a lack of resources and support for their teaching. She then provides research-based recommendations that can help adjunct faculty feel more valued and empowered, as noted in her letter to the editor in The Chronicle of Higher Education, in response to an article titled, “Adjunct Professors Face a ‘Constant Struggle to Not Give Up,’ Report Says,” (October 26, 2023). Resources“Adjunct Professors Face a ‘Constant Struggle to Not Give Up,’ Report Says” (October 26, 2023, The Chronicle of Higher Education) by Amita Chatterjee“How to Help Adjuncts Not Want to Give Up” (November 29, 2023, The Chronicle of Higher Education) by Kerry O’Grady