Teaching in Higher Ed

On today’s episode, Dr. Carl Moore and I have a dialog about proactive inclusivity.

Dr. Moore is currently an Associate Professor and Director of the Research Academy for Integrated Learning (RAIL) at University of DC. Prior to his current role he served as an adjunct assistant professor in the College of Education as well as the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at Temple University. More

There are stages in which a person can honestly, truly feel [colorblind], but I do think that there is something to be said about honoring and respecting differences.

I have a strong sense of ethnic identity, but also a strong sense of identity of the mainstream majority, [as] an American.

On this week’s episode, Dr. Thia Wolf shares about public sphere pedagogy.

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

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.

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.

When [students] go public with their work, they have to stand by it, and really remarkable things happen.

We don’t give students opportunities to experience and reflect on how the curriculum is part of them and how they are affecting it.

Eight faculty share their failure stories on this special #100th episode of Teaching in Higher Ed.

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.

I think I understand way better now what kinds of issues my students think are important.

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.

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)*

Doug McKee: Piazza*

Aaron Daniel Annas: Amazon Echo*

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.

Dr. Angela Jenks shares about her experiences encouraging accountability in her students on today’s episode of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.

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.

It’s not necessarily a kindness to not fulfill the requirements of the class.

One of the challenges is holding standards while not turning the classroom into an adversarial situation.

One of the things I focus on increasingly is very clear policies.

I didn’t want the syllabus to turn into something that reads like a Terms of Service.

Podcast episodes on kindness:

Podcast episode on Attitude:

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.

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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.

Skillful teaching is whatever helps students learn.

College students of any age should be treated as adults.

Teachers need a constant awareness of how students are experiencing their learning and perceiving teachers’ actions.

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The Skillful Teacher*

Episode 15 with Stephen Brookfield: How to get students to participate in discussion.

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Dustin Bakkie shares how to integrate effective study methods, learning tools, and personal management techniques as a part of your curriculum.

email: dbakkie @ csuchico dot edu

The best time to learn something is right as you’re about to forget it.

A lot of the time, students are just looking for someone who is on their side.

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.

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.

What somebody knows is not as important to me as what they can do.

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.

The way you go from good to great is finding your weakest area and improving it.

Training is to prevent surprise. Education is to prepare for surprise.

In this week’s episode, Mike Truong and I discuss teaching in the digital age.

In our instant and very distracted culture … it’s critical to learn how to pay attention.

As faculty, we need to find ways that force us to slow down.

I try to prioritize in-person interactions over virtual ones whenever possible.

It is a real discipline to turn off our devices … the default is to be connected all the time.

Bonni

Mike

On today’s episode, I get the pleasure of talking with Dr. Pooja Agarwal about retrieval practice.

www.retrievalpractice

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.

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.

Natalie Houston talks about strength through habits.

Habits save us tremendous time and energy, but they can also lead us to doing a lot of things mindlessly.

Sometimes we have goals or intentions that are outdated, they’re from who we used to be.

Habits often work really well when they’re connected to each other.

If you successfully create one habit, it’ll be easier to create others.

All of us have habits that we’re less than happy with and they’re there because they’re meeting some need.

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

Bonni recommends:

Natalie recommends: