Teaching in Higher Ed

On this week’s episode, Dr. Thia Wolf shares about public sphere pedagogy. Guest: Thia Wolf Thia is a Professor of English and Director of the First-Year Experience Program at California State University, Chico, where she has worked since 1989. Prior to her appointment in the FYE program, she coordinated a variety of writing programs, including the first-year composition program and the writing across the disciplines program.  Since 2006, she has been collaborating with faculty in several disciplines to embed public dimensions in first-year classes. Her publications have focused on collaborative learning and on public sphere pedagogy. More Quotes Students need to have an experience when they come to college that … gives them a sense that education is for the rest of their lives, it’s to help them do things in the world. —Thia Wolf I noticed that the curriculum of first year students looks a lot like the curriculum in high school … I would say that it sends the “Not ready for prime time” message. —Thia Wolf When [students] go public with their work, they have to stand by it, and really remarkable things happen. —Thia Wolf We don’t give students opportunities to experience and reflect on how the curriculum is part of them and how they are affecting it. —Thia Wolf Resources First-Year Experience Program at Chico State Book in Common Program Courses that take students’ transitioning processes into account Public sphere events where students and their course work are “center stage” Chico Great Debate Meet the faculty Are You Enjoying the Show? Rate/review the show. Please consider rating or leaving a review for the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast on whatever service you use to listen to it on (iTunes, Stitcher, etc.). It is the best way to help others discover the show. Give feedback. As always, I welcome suggestions for future topics or guests. Subscribe. If you have yet to subscribe to the weekly update, you can receive a single email each week with the show notes (including all the links we talk about on the episode), as well as an article on either teaching or productivity.

Eight faculty share their failure stories on this special #100th episode of Teaching in Higher Ed. CV of Failures Johannes Haushofer’s CV of Failures HBR article about Johannes Haushofer Quotes At the time, I felt like I had to know everything in order to be a good teacher, so instead of admitting that I didn’t know the answer to the student’s question, I dismissed it. —Cameron Hunt-McNabb I think I understand way better now what kinds of issues my students think are important. —Doug McKee I strongly identified with that strain of perfectionism that insists that unless every student in every class feels like every moment was a rich and profound learning experience, then I have failed. —Jeff Hittenberger Guest Stories 1) Katie Linder Didn’t allow discomfort in the classroom and rushed too quickly through it. Check out the Research in Action Podcast 2) Jeff Hittenberger Felt like he had failed at the end of each semester. 3.) Angela Jenks Didn’t know how much the class textbooks cost. 4.) Josh Eyler Gave quizzes just to test that students read. Read the conversation in Storify for Twitter 5.) Michelle Miller Didn’t take care of a problem before it escalated. 6.) James Lang Was not clear enough in assignment criteria. 7.) Cameron Hunt-McNabb Thought she had to know everything to be good teacher. 7.) Maha Bali Laughed at student’s suffering … almost. 8.) Doug McKee Didn’t understand what issues his students thought were important. TIHE episode 045: Calibrating our teaching (Aaron Daniel Annas) Recommendations Books: Janine Utell: Dear Committee Members* by Julie Schumacher José Bowen: Teaching Naked* by José Bowen Sean Micael Morris: Savvy* by Ingrid Law Cameron Hunt McNabb: Tina Fey’s advice to “Say yes” in her memoir, Bossy Pants* Amy Collier: Quotes Anne Lamott: “These are the words I want on my gravestone: that I was a helper, and that I danced,” from her book Grace (Eventually)* Tools: Doug McKee: Piazza* Aaron Daniel Annas: Amazon Echo* Teaching inspiration: Rebecca Campbell: Be kind to students. Don’t make assumptions. Linda Nielsen: Cultivate your courage by trying out things you’re afraid of. Lee Skallerup Bessette: Be hopeful. Be optimistic. And give your students the benefit of the doubt right from the start. Doug McKee: Try poster sessions with students. Peter Newbury: Get yourself into a learning community. Get on Twitter. Are You Enjoying the Show? Rate/review the show. Please consider rating or leaving a review for the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast on whatever service you use to listen to it on (iTunes, Stitcher, etc.). It is the best way to help others discover the show. Give feedback. As always, I welcome suggestions for future topics or guests. Subscribe. If you have yet to subscribe to the weekly update, you can receive a single email each week with the show notes (including all the links we talk about on the episode), as well as an article on either teaching or productivity.

Dr. Angela Jenks shares about her experiences encouraging accountability in her students on today’s episode of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast. Guest: Angela Jenks Angela is a medical anthropologist and Lecturer, PSOE (Tenure-Track Teaching Faculty) in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, where she also directs the M.A. in Medicine, Science, and Technology Studies program. Quotes It’s not necessarily a kindness to not fulfill the requirements of the class. —Angela Jenks One of the challenges is holding standards while not turning the classroom into an adversarial situation. —Angela Jenks One of the things I focus on increasingly is very clear policies. —Angela Jenks I didn’t want the syllabus to turn into something that reads like a Terms of Service. —Angela Jenks Mentioned in Episode Race Gender Science syllabus (inspired by Tona Hagen’s “Extreme Makeover” of her History syllabus) In Praise of Slowness* by Carl Honore Podcast episodes on kindness: Episode 057: Teaching with Twitter (Jesse Stommel) Episode 052: Respect in the Classroom (Kevin Gannon) Episode 019: Small Teaching (James Lang)  Podcast episode on Attitude: Episode 062: Mindset (Rebecca Campbell) Recommendations Bonni recommends: Allowing students to “show up.” Consider this quote from Anne Lamott (who was mentioned on Episode 070 with Amy Collier): I had a session over the phone with my therapist today. I have these secret pangs of shame about being single, like I wasn’t good enough to get a husband. Rita reminded me of something I’d told her once, about the five rules of the world as arrived at by this Catholic priest named Tom Weston. The first rule, he says, is that you must not have anything wrong with you or anything different. The second one is that if you do have something wrong with you, you must get over it as soon as possible. The third rule is that if you can’t get over it, you must pretend that you have. The fourth rule is that if you can’t even pretend that you have, you shouldn’t show up. You should stay home, because it’s hard for everyone else to have you around. And the fifth rule is that if you are going to insist on showing up, you should at least have the decency to feel ashamed. So Rita and I decided that the most subversive, revolutionary thing I could do was to show up for my life and not be ashamed. —Anne Lamott

Stephen Brookfield shares about his book, The Skillful Teacher, on today’s episode of Teaching in Higher Ed. Quotes I think I internalized early in my career that my job was to talk, to profess. And that if I wasn’t talking, then I really wasn’t earning my money. I still feel that, and I fight against it constantly. —Stephen Brookfield Skillful teaching is whatever helps students learn. —Stephen Brookfield College students of any age should be treated as adults. —Stephen Brookfield Teachers need a constant awareness of how students are experiencing their learning and perceiving teachers’ actions. —Stephen Brookfield Resources The Skillful Teacher* Episode 15 with Stephen Brookfield: How to get students to participate in discussion.  

Dustin Bakkie shares how to integrate effective study methods, learning tools, and personal management techniques as a part of your curriculum. Guest: Dustin Bakkie Lecturer at California State University, Chico email: dbakkie @ csuchico dot edu website: EpicHigherEd.com (coming soon) twitter: @dustinbakkie Quotes The best time to learn something is right as you’re about to forget it. —Dustin Bakkie A lot of the time, students are just looking for someone who is on their side. —Dustin Bakkie Dustin’s effectiveness equations   Resources Book: Deep Work* by Cal Newport Coaching for Leaders podcast episode 233: Engage in Deep Work, with Cal Newport Thomas Frank’s Collegeinfogeek.com Leitner Review System App: Anki flashcards App: Attendance2* Are You Enjoying the Show? Rate/review the show. Please consider rating or leaving a review for the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast on whatever service you use to listen to it on (iTunes, Stitcher, etc.). It is the best way to help others discover the show. Give feedback. As always, I welcome suggestions for future topics or guests. Subscribe. If you have yet to subscribe to the weekly update, you can receive a single email each week with the show notes (including all the links we talk about on the episode), as well as an article on either teaching or productivity.

On today’s episode, I have the honor of talking with Dr. Jeff Wiese about how he uses coaching skills in his teaching of residents. Guest: Dr. Jeff Wiese Jeffrey G. Wiese, MD, is a Professor of Medicine with Tenure, and the Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at the Tulane University Health Sciences Center. He is also Associate-Chairman of Medicine, the Chief of the Charity Medical Service and the Director of the Tulane Internal Medicine Residency Program. He has also served as the course director for the Clinical Diagnosis, Biostatistics, Advanced Internal Medicine, and Medical Education courses. Quotes What somebody knows is not as important to me as what they can do. —Dr. Jeff Wiese Years ago, we were so focused on on knowledge. Now, getting the knowledge is pretty easy. The shift of becoming a great coach is moving towards … teaching people not what to think, but how to think. —Dr. Jeff Wiese The way you go from good to great is finding your weakest area and improving it. —Dr. Jeff Wiese Training is to prevent surprise. Education is to prepare for surprise. —James Carse Links: Teach Better podcast episode 27: Teaching Clinical Reasoning With Geoff Connors Dr. Wiese’s Four Developmental Phases of a Teacher Are You Enjoying the Show? Rate/review the show. Please consider rating or leaving a review for the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast on whatever service you use to listen to it on (iTunes, Stitcher, etc.). It is the best way to help others discover the show. Give feedback. As always, I welcome suggestions for future topics or guests. Subscribe. If you have yet to subscribe to the weekly update, you can receive a single email each week with the show notes (including all the links we talk about on the episode), as well as an article on either teaching or productivity.

In this week’s episode, Mike Truong and I discuss teaching in the digital age. Quotes In our instant and very distracted culture … it’s critical to learn how to pay attention. —Mike Truong As faculty, we need to find ways that force us to slow down. —Mike Truong I try to prioritize in-person interactions over virtual ones whenever possible. —Mike Truong It is a real discipline to turn off our devices … the default is to be connected all the time. —Mike Truong Resources Tim Stringer’s blog: Technically Simple One Button Studio at Penn State Recommendations: Bonni Visit  APU’s Office of Innovative Teaching and Technology and check out the section on blended learning. Article: From Showroom to Classroom: Advancing Technology in Education Mike Book: Hamlet’s Blackberry* by William Powers Book: Now You See It* by Cathy Davidson (Cathy was featured on TIHE episode 28: How to see what we’ve been missing) Book: Alone Together* by Sherry Turkle Book: Reclaiming Conversation* by Sherry Turkle

On today’s episode, I get the pleasure of talking with Dr. Pooja Agarwal about retrieval practice. Guest: Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D. Cognitive Scientist, Memory Expert, and Education Consultant, Founder of RetrievalPractice.org www.retrievalpractice www.poojaagarwal.com Twitter: @poojaagarwal Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D. is committed to bridging the gaps between research, teaching, and policy. Passionate about evidence-based education, Pooja has conducted retrieval practice research in a variety of classroom settings for more than 10 years, in collaboration with distinguished memory scholar Henry L. Roediger, III. In addition to her career as a scientist, Pooja earned elementary teacher certification and has extensive teaching experience at K-12 and university levels. To advance the use of scientifically-based learning strategies, she contributes her expertise through collaborations with students, educators, scientists, and policymakers worldwide. Recommendations Bonni: Change the culture in your classroom by asking students (in reference to retrieval practice): “What is it we’re doing right now?” and “Why are we doing it?” Pooja: Check out www.retrievalpractice.org for helpful resources. Are You Enjoying the Show? Rate/review the show. Please consider rating or leaving a review for the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast on whatever service you use to listen to it on (iTunes, Stitcher, etc.). It is the best way to help others discover the show. Give feedback. As always, I welcome suggestions for future topics or guests. Subscribe. If you have yet to subscribe to the weekly update, you can receive a single email each week with the show notes (including all the links we talk about on the episode), as well as an article on either teaching or productivity.

Natalie Houston talks about strength through habits. Quotes Habits save us tremendous time and energy, but they can also lead us to doing a lot of things mindlessly. —Natalie Houston Sometimes we have goals or intentions that are outdated, they’re from who we used to be. —Natalie Houston Habits often work really well when they’re connected to each other. —Natalie Houston If you successfully create one habit, it’ll be easier to create others. —Natalie Houston All of us have habits that we’re less than happy with and they’re there because they’re meeting some need. —Natalie Houston Resources TIHE episode 34: Practical Productivity in Academia (Natalie Houston) Natalie’s Blog: re:focus now Natalie’s articles at the Chronicle of Higher Education Book: The Power of Habit* by Charles Duhigg Three Steps to Creating a New Habit Identify why you want to create a new habit Get very clear and specific about how you’re going to measure that behavior Track your behavior Recommendations Bonni recommends: Lee Skallerup Bessette’s Bad Female Academic posts Natalie recommends: Music Service: Focus at Will

On this week’s episode, James Lang shares about his book: Small Teaching Quotes What I started to notice was that the coaches who paid attention to these little things, and focused on small fundamentals, tended to do a lot better than the teams that didn’t. —James Lang I’m a big believer in the opening and closing minutes of class … I think those are really ripe opportunities for small teaching. —James Lang I try to do framing activities to help the students realize the value of what we’re doing. —James Lang Resources Small Teaching: Small modifications in course design or communication with your students. These recommendations might not translate directly into 10-minute or one-time activities, but they also do not require a radical rethinking of your courses. They might inspire tweaks or small changes in the way you organize the daily schedule of your course, write your course description or assignment sheets, or respond to the writing of your students. Book: The Power of Habit* by Charles Duhigg Teaching in Higher Ed Episode 71 with Derek Bruff Video: How to be Alone Article: Boring but Important MERLOT Awards