In this short episode of All Things FYEP, I share some reminders and updates about upcoming faculty development opportunities and some words of encouragement as we continue to work to support our first year students.

In this episode, I welcome Pastor Jen Rude into the studio to discuss her path to PLU and the ministry, how she approaches the craft of writing opening blessings and prayers, and the beliefs that anchor how she thinks about teaching in all its forms. We also talk about ways people can find center amidst the chaos of the present moment.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Nicola Justice and Dr. Kate Luther, the two 2024 Faculty Excellence in Teaching award recipients, to discuss how they think about teaching, why they think their teaching seems to work for students, and where their teaching is headed next. If you're looking for a conversation to inspire you to do something or be someone different in the classroom, this episode is for you!

In this episode, I sit down with Austin Beiermann and Dr. John Wright to discuss neurodiverse students, who they are, and how we can best support them in our classrooms.

In this episode I talk with Dr. Jen Smith, Dean of Inclusive Excellence, about inclusive pedagogy and how it can be used to better serve our first year students. Dr. Smith provides a description for inclusive pedagogy along with specific practices and strategies FYEP instructors can use to establish classrooms of belonging, community, and rigor. Don't miss the end of the episode where we finish with three questions made famous by the late James Lipton's "Inside the Actor Studio." Explicit language shenanigans ensue.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Wendy Gardiner, The Jolita Hylland Benson Endowed Chair, to discuss this year's Benson Lecture and the speaker, Kyle Lukoff.

In this episode, I discuss the value of FYEP with Dr. Marnie Ritchie, Dr. Ron Gerhardstein, and Dr. Jes Takla to discuss their FYEP courses, why they choose to teach in FYEP, and the difference they see it making with their first year students. Timed strategically to coincide with the upcoming Bjug Days, you are welcome to share this episode with any donor you think might want to help the program provide more support to FYEP teaching faculty and staff and first year students.

Knack is a peer-tutoring tool, available to all students, that helps them access the support they need to persist through challenging coursework. Supports like Knack are especially important at this time in the term when students start to feel overwhelmed. In this episode, Dr. Bridget Yaden and Dr. Angie Hambrick discuss the value of Knack for student retention and persistence to graduation and how instructors can promote student success by promoting its use.

As part of students' larger first year experience (FYEP) coursework, PLUS 100 is a one-credit course designed for new first year students to support their transition to PLU. In this first episode of the "All Things FYEP" podcast, I speak with Jes Takla, the PLUS 100 coordinator, to find out more about the program and why it's become such a crucial part of helping students find their place at PLU.

For more information on PLUS 100, click on the link.

Intro and Outro music by Mykola Odnoroh from Pixabay.