InCITEful Teaching

Even the most thoughtfully designed course comes to life one lesson at a time. In this episode of InCITEful Teaching—part of our First Days of School series—host Dr. Shannon Harmon sits down with Dr. Nicole Miller to explore what happens inside a single class session: how we plan lessons that move students toward our goals, and how we keep them actively engaged along the way.

Dr. Miller is an Associate Professor of Elementary Education in the Department of Teacher Education and Leadership. She earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at Mississippi State, and her background spans both classroom teaching and instructional technology. She also serves as a CITE Faculty Associate, teaching active learning in Maroon Academy, where she helps her peers to think deeply about how to plan purposeful lessons and design learning experiences that invite students in.

Whether you're refreshing a familiar course or getting ready for a brand-new semester, this conversation will help you make each class session count. Listen now and share it with a colleague who's mapping out their next class!

Teaching online is more than moving lectures to Canvas — it requires intentional design, meaningful interaction, and a genuine sense of connection. In this episode of InCITEful Teaching, host Dr. Shannon Harmon sits down with Dr. Athena Nagel, Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Geosciences and a CITE Faculty Associate, to talk about what it really takes to teach well online.

Whether you're teaching online for the first time or looking to sharpen a course you've taught for years, this episode offers practical, research-informed strategies for creating connection, clarity, and community — wherever your students are learning.

Great teaching begins long before the first assignment is submitted or the first exam is administered. In this episode of InCITEful Teaching—part of our First Days of School series—host Dr. Shannon Harmon sits down with Dr. Stephanie King, Interim Executive Director for CITE and Interim Associate Dean in the College of Professional and Continuing Studies, for a wide-ranging conversation about the faculty development happening inside the Center for Innovation in Teaching Excellence.

Shannon and Stephanie talk about what her role looks like day to day, the initiatives CITE is leading across campus, and her own path into teaching and faculty development. That work sets up the heart of the conversation: Stephanie's course, Intentional Course Design and Assessment, part of CITE's Maroon Academy for Teaching Excellence. Together they dig into how faculty can build a clear roadmap for learning shifting from "What do I need to cover?" to "What do I want students to learn and be able to do?" They talk through the challenge of balancing depth and breadth, what makes assessment meaningful rather than just measurable, and how conversations around assessment are evolving right now.

Whether you're curious about the work happening in CITE or getting ready for a new semester, this conversation has something for you. 

We're kicking off our Back-to-School Series on InCITEful Teaching with a conversation that reminds us of one simple truth: before students engage with your syllabus, assignments, or course content, they're asking one important question:

Do I belong here?

In the first episode of this special series, Dr. Shannon Harmon welcomes Dr. Melody Fisher to discuss how the first days of class shape students' sense of belonging, motivation, and success. Together, they share research-based, practical strategies for creating welcoming learning environments that foster connection, communicate care, and set students up for success from day one.

Whether you're teaching 20 students or 300, you'll leave with simple, actionable ideas you can implement before classes begin.

Higher education is changing rapidly—and faculty are at the center of it all.

From the rise of artificial intelligence and evolving approaches to assessment, to student engagement, faculty well-being, and preparing graduates for an increasingly complex workforce, today's educators are navigating opportunities and challenges unlike any before.

In this special episode of InCITEful Teaching, host Dr. Shannon Harmon is joined by a panel of Mississippi State University faculty for a conversation about the issues shaping higher education today. Together, they offer thoughtful perspectives, practical advice, and honest reflections on what these trends mean for teaching, learning, and the future of our classrooms.

Whether you're looking for fresh ideas, reassurance that you're not alone, or simply enjoy hearing how fellow educators are thinking through today's challenges, this episode is packed with timely insights and engaging conversation.

Some of the most powerful learning happens when students step outside the classroom and into real-world settings. In this episode, host Dr. Shannon Harmon talks with Amy Fountain—faculty member in the Department of Communication, Media, and Theatre, internship coordinator, and member of the College of Arts and Sciences' TEAMS initiative—about how internships and experiential learning shape student success.

Together they explore what students gain from internships that a traditional classroom can't always offer, how faculty can prepare students for these experiences, and why reflection is the key to turning experience into lasting learning. Amy also shares how her work coordinating internships has reshaped her own teaching, and how it connects to the broader conversation about teaching excellence at Mississippi State.

Whether you're a faculty member rethinking how your courses connect to students' futures—or simply curious about learning that extends beyond the classroom—this conversation offers practical insight and a fresh perspective on preparing students for what's next.

Teaching is deeply meaningful work, but it can also be demanding work. In this episode of InCITEful Teaching, host Dr. Shannon Harmon sits down with Dr. Emily Stafford, Director of Mississippi State University's Psychology Clinic, to explore faculty well-being, burnout, work-life balance, and the importance of seeking support.

Together, they discuss how burnout manifests in higher education, the unique pressures faculty face, practical strategies for setting boundaries, and ways institutions and colleagues can foster healthier academic cultures. Dr. Stafford also shares information about the Psychology Clinic's services and offers guidance for faculty and students.

Whether you're navigating a challenging semester, supporting colleagues, or simply looking for ways to sustain yourself in this important work, this conversation offers thoughtful insights and practical takeaways.

Dr. Andrew Mercer is a meteorologist and climatologist at Mississippi State University, home to one in three of today's on-air broadcast meteorologists. As Graduate Coordinator for the Department of Geosciences and meteorology team lead, his research applies machine learning and AI to large scale atmospheric problems, from severe weather forecasting to hurricane prediction.

In this conversation with host Dr. Shannon Harmon, Andrew reflects on what it means to teach in a nationally recognized program built around both the science and the communication of weather. He shares how MSU prepares students for careers across the country, how uncertainty is woven into meteorology as a discipline, and how he is thinking about the role AI might play in the future of the field and the classroom.

For faculty wondering how to approach AI in their own classrooms, Andrew's advice is simple: treat it as a tool, meet your students where they are, and keep the focus on critical thinking.

Dr. Neil Deochand is completing his first year as an assistant professor at Mississippi State University. He came with a doctorate in behavior analysis, years of online teaching experience, and a lot of ideas about how people learn. This year, he has been putting all of it into practice at Mississippi State.

In this conversation with host Dr. Shannon Harmon, Neil reflects on what it looks like to experiment with your teaching while navigating the realities of a first year at a new institution. He shares how he brings the experimental mindset of a researcher into the classroom, what hands-on learning looks like in a behavior analysis course, and what he has learned about his students and himself along the way.

The willingness to experiment, reflect, and adjust turns out to be not just good science. It's good teaching.

Dr. Greg Francom came to teaching through four degrees, four universities, a lifelong faith community, and a conviction that media and technology are most valuable when they help people learn. Today, as a Clinical Professor in the Department of Technology, Leadership, and Design at Mississippi State University, he is the author of the first ever multi-platform interactive textbook for educational technology.

In this conversation with host Dr. Shannon Harmon, Greg reflects on project-based teaching and what it looks like to keep innovating with technology in the middle of a long career. He shares how project-based learning creates space for students to personalize their own learning, what a mid-career light bulb moment taught him about his relationship with students, and why changing one thing at a time might be the most sustainable innovation strategy there is.

If you are somewhere in the middle of your teaching career and wondering how to keep growing, this conversation is for you.