Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning

Emily Glover and Kyle Gordon, undergraduate Columbia University students and teaching and learning consultants, discuss the research on teaching and learning. They explore student engagement, assessment, debunking dead ideas in higher education, the benefits of being 'uncomfortable' while learning, and the importance of discussion-based classes at Columbia University.

How can instructors use research on teaching and learning to create change and tackle challenges in their courses? What can learning analytics tell us about student engagement and motivation in our courses? In this episode, we ask Samantha Garbers, Associate Professor in the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, with guest host Adam Brown, Program Director of Columbia’s Science of Learning Research Initiative (SOLER). Professor Garber received a Provost's SOLER Seed Grant to work with Dr. Brown to explore how students are engaging (or not!) with course materials and resources.

Tara Harvey, Founder of True North Intercultural, defines Intercultural Competence as “the capacity to communicate and act appropriately, effectively, and authentically across cultural differences, both locally and globally.” In this episode, Dr. Harvey discusses how the research behind intercultural learning is unknown by many. She explains why intercultural development is so important in higher education, especially nowadays, for both faculty and students, and how it can be taught. ResourcesTrue North Intercultural ResourcesThe Intercultural Development ContinuumEducation in a VUCA-driven World: Salient Features of an Entrepreneurial Pedagogy (2022) by Varghese Panthalookaran

How should we educate students on the science of learning? Does this require systemic change? And do faculty have a moral obligation to teach students the processes necessary to succeed in college, in addition to the content in our fields? In this episode, we discuss these questions with Todd Zakrajsek, Associate Professor at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Director of the International Teaching Learning Cooperative, and author of The New Science of Learning, 3rd Edition (2022), a book for students on the science of learning. ResourcesThe New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony With Your Brain, 3rd Edition (2022) by Todd D. ZakrajsekTeaching At Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors, 5th Edition (2023) by Todd D. Zakrajsek and Linda B. Nilson

What does engagement require of your students behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively? Why is it essential to get to know your students, and how can you do this in large classes? Hear advice from Alfredo Spagna, a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Columbia whose research focuses on the psychological and neural mechanisms of attention, perception, and mental imagery. Dr. Spagna shares how he engages students in his courses, and what he has learned from them over the years.  Dr. Spagna is a Lecturer in the Discipline of Psychology and teaches both introductory and advanced seminars in Neuroscience. He also serves as the Director of the Neuroscience and Behavior Major.Resource“The Power of Relationships in Undergraduate Education” (January 2, 2023) by Steven Mintz, “Higher Ed Gamma” column in Inside Higher Ed  

Kelly Hogan and Viji Sathy, award winning instructors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and authors of the book, Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom (2022), have found a way to communicate the large volume of research behind equitable and inclusive teaching to a national audience. In this episode, we ask Drs. Hogan and Sathy how they approach the use of learning research and translate it to their audiences. They discuss the structural impediments in higher education that often prevent bringing this research to practice, and how these practices might be changed. Kelly Hogan is Associate Dean of Instructional Innovation and a STEM Teaching Professor in Biology, and Viji Sathy is Associate Dean for Evaluation and Assessment and a Professor of the Practice in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill.ResourcesInclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom (2022) by Kelly Hogan and Viji SathyThe L Word (Inside Higher Ed, December 16, 2022) by Jody Greene Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) Network The work of Kimberly Tanner 

Despite the large body of research on effective teaching and learning practices, such research is often ignored or unknown by instructors and students. Instead, many “dead ideas” in teaching and learning continue to be enacted worldwide. Why is this the case? In our first episode of the season, we discuss many possible reasons with John Mahoney, senior lecturer at Australian Catholic University and the University’s Academic Lead for HELTA, the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Academy. Dr. Mahoney, a psychologist by training, is also one of the founders of INSPIRE, an evidence center designed to curate and summarize best-available empirical evidence in higher education. Resources:“Why the Science of Teaching Is Often Ignored” by Beth BcMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education. January 3, 2022.The work of psychologist Susan MichieINSPIRE

How can assessment motivate students to focus on learning as opposed to grades? Can it still be rigorous if it’s not high stakes exams? Today we speak with Maryam Pate and Olivia Schmitt, two Columbia University undergraduate students who serve as Teaching and Learning Consultants as part of the CTL’s Students as Pedagogical Partners Initiative. Maryam and Olivia reflect on their experiences with different types of assessment and the impacts on their learning. 

Larry Jackson, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of the Center for the Core Curriculum at Columbia College, discusses academic rigor in humanities courses, balancing student well-being and educational standards, addressing student disengagement, and the importance of intentional teaching for skill improvement and societal transformation.

What does rigor look like in a healthcare setting? How can instructors achieve both excellence and equity in teaching in such a high-stakes area as healthcare education? In this episode, we speak with two faculty members at Columbia University Irving Medical Center: Jean-Marie Alves-Bradford, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Associate Dean for Medical School Professionalism in the Learning Environment, and Associate Director for Clinical Services and Director of the Washington Heights Community Service at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and Hetty Cunningham, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Director for Equity and Justice in Curricular Affairs, and co-director of the Anti-Racism Coalition at Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Drs. Alves-Bradford and Cunningham answer these questions and discuss how they and their colleagues have been transforming their instruction and medical care by embracing values such as humility and collaboration, while also maintaining standards and evidenced-based, scientific practices.