Tea for Teaching

The transition from high school to college can be challenging for students, especially for first-generation students and students with weaker preparation for this transition. In this episode, Timothy McKay joins us to explore a proposed pilot program at the University of Michigan that attempts to cushion this adjustment to college by covering first-semester grades. Tim is a Professor of Physics, Astronomy, Education and the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education at the University of Michigan.

Show notes and the transcript for this episode may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Discussion boards in learning management systems, particularly in the age of AI, rarely capture the authentic voice of students. In this episode, Greg Campbell joins us to discuss how the use of a chat application can motivate conversation and build community.

Greg is the chair of the English department at the Community College of Baltimore County and the deputy director of the Community College Humanities Association. He's been teaching online courses since 2011.

Show notes and the transcript for this episode may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Many past guests have emphasized the role curiosity can play in stimulating student learning. In this episode, Yaniv Abir discuss his recent study examining the impact of satisfying initial curiosity on subsequent curiosity about related content.

Yaniv is a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research at University College London. He is one of the co-authors of a study entitled “Learning Reinforces Curiosity,” which was published earlier this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Show notes and the transcript for this episode may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Given the widespread availability of generative AI tools, traditional assessments of learning conducted in an unproctored environment have become unreliable indicators of student learning. In this episode, Jason Gulya joins us to discuss the potential benefits of shifting our focus to the process of learning.

Jason is Professor of English and Media Communications at Berkeley College, where he also chairs the AI and Academic Integrity Committee. He is a co-author of Artificial Intelligence, Real Literacy: a practical guide to using AI for evidence-based literacy practices in education, and is currently writing a book on process-focused teaching in the age of AI, for Oklahoma University Press.

Show notes and the transcript for this episode may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Keeping up with the rapidly expanding capabilities of generative AI platforms is challenging, especially at campuses with heavy teaching loads and limited resources. In this episode, Racheal Fest joins us to discuss a multicampus AI professional development project that addresses some of these challenges.

Racheal is a pedagogy specialist at the Faculty Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship at the State University of New York at Oneonta. She also teaches writing courses in the English Department there. Racheal was a principal investigator on two SUNY multi-campus grants focused on faculty development related to AI.

Show notes and the transcript for this episode may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Providing students with multimodal content can increase student learning, but creating such material can be costly and time consuming. In this episode, Oliver Steinbock joins us to discuss how he has used AI tools to generate songs and lyrics to support student learning. Oliver is the Cottrell Family Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida State University, who specializes in research in physical chemistry and materials science.

Show notes and the transcript for this episode may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Generative AI has disrupted familiar approaches to teaching and assessment, but also created new opportunities to reconsider what, and how, we want students to learn. In this episode, Travis Thurston and Beth Buyserie join us to discuss ways of using AI productively in our classrooms by shifting the focus of learning assessment from product to process.

Travis is the founding Director of the Center for Empowering Teaching Excellence at Utah State University. Beth is an Associate Professor of English and the Director of Composition at Utah State University. They are co-editors of Teaching and Generative AI: Pedagogical Possibilities and Productive Tensions.

Show notes and the transcript for this episode may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Neurodivergent students bring varied strengths, needs, and ways of thinking to our classrooms. In this episode, Sarah Silverman joins us to discuss teaching strategies that reduce access friction, increase tolerance for error, and create more inclusive learning experiences for everyone.

Sarah is an educator and faculty developer focusing on neurodiversity, disability studies, and inclusive instructional design. She currently teaches disability studies at multiple institutions. Sarah is the author of Classroom Mindscapes: An Introduction to Neurodiversity for Educators, which will be released later this month as part of the Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed series at the University of Oklahoma Press.

Show notes and the transcript for this episode may be found at http://teaforteaching.com

On past episodes of this podcast, we’ve discussed several stages of the career path for academics including the transition from grad school to faculty and decisions to move to administrative positions. In this episode, Alark Joshi and Victoria Hallinan join us to discuss the role that a postdoc may play in an academic’s career trajectory.

Alark is a professor of Computer Science at the University of San Francisco. His work focuses on data visualization literacy and strategies for inclusive computer science education. Victoria is the Program Director for Professional Development in the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at Yale University. Alark and Victoria are the co-authors of Postdoc: How to Navigate Your Career After Grad School, which has recently been released by Johns Hopkins Press.

Show notes and the transcript for this episode may be found at http://teaforteaching.com

Traditional grading systems encourage students to focus on final grades, sometimes at the expense of learning. In this episode, Jessamyn Neuhaus, Ashley Cambareri, and Cole Bailey discuss challenges associated with traditional and alternative grading systems.

Jessamyn is the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence and Professor in the School of Education at Syracuse University. She is an historian and editor of Teaching History: A Journal of Methods. Jessamyn has published extensively in scholarly publications in the areas of history, pedagogy, and cultural studies. She is a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Teaching. Jessamyn is the author of several books, including Geeky Pedagogy: A Guide for Intellectuals, Introverts, and Nerds Who Want to be Effective Teachers, Snafu Edu: Teaching and Learning When Things Go Wrong in the College Classroom and she is the editor of Picture a Professor: Interrupting Biases about Faculty and Increasing Student Learning. Ashley graduated in May as an honors student with a degree in Inclusive Elementary and Special Education from the School of Education at Syracuse University, and will begin her new job as a 5th-grade teacher this September. Cole is a student in the Renée Crown Honors Program at Syracuse University, studying International relations. Ashley and Cole were students in Jessamyn’s Honors class on “Problems with Grades.”

Show notes and the transcript for this episode may be found at http://teaforteaching.com

A growing proportion of college students report mental health challenges, but most student affairs practitioners, campus leaders, and faculty members have received little training in addressing mental health concerns. In this episode, Alexis Redding joins us to discuss a new resource designed to allow us to provide better support for students with these concerns.

A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Institutions are increasing their focus on creating inclusive environments. In this episode, Megan Kohler joins us to discuss a course design framework she developed to support neurodiverse learners. Megan is an Assistant Teaching Professor and Learning Designer in the John A. Dutton e-Education Institute at Penn State. She is the recipient of the Marion G. Mitchell Award for Innovative Teaching and is conducting research, funded by the Schreyer Institute Scholarship, on supporting neurodivergent learners in higher education. Megan is one of the co-editors of The Multi-Disciplinary Instructional Designer: Integrating Specialized Skills into Design Toolkits.

A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Faculty create large quantities of content, but aren’t always aware of their intellectual property rights, or lack thereof. In this episode, Kent Kauffman joins us to discuss legal issues associated with copyright law. Kent is a Professor of Business Law and MBA Programs Faculty Liaison in the Doermer School of Business at Purdue University Fort Wayne. He is also the author of Navigating Choppy Waters: Key Legal Issues College Faculty Need to Know.

A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Students with strong critical thinking skills can make better decisions that have real consequences on their quality of life. In this episode, Michael Bishop joins us to discuss an approach to developing these skills that appears to have a persistent effect on students’ ability to avoid common cognitive biases.

Michael is a professor of philosophy at Florida State University. His research interests focus on two areas: rationality (how should we think about important things) and happiness (what is lasting happiness, and how can we get it). He is also a co-author of a recent study investigating the impact of critical thinking classes on common cognitive biases.

A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Higher ed has become an increasingly complex and challenging environment to work in. In this episode, Susan Hrach and Kitty Maynard join us to discuss the role trained coaches can play in supporting agency, resilience, and career growth for college employees.

Susan is the author of Minding Bodies: How Physical Space, Sensation, and Movement Affect Learning. She’s served as a Fulbright Canada Distinguished Research Chair, and recently appeared on the TEDx stage in Columbus, Georgia. Kitty is the Director of the Teaching and Scholarship Hub at the University of Richmond. Her higher ed career began as a Professor of French Studies, and she has taken on leadership roles in faculty development at Washington College and Virginia Commonwealth University before moving to the University of Richmond. She is the author of Reveries of Community: Epic in the Age of Henri IV and co-editor of Polemic and Literature Surrounding the French Wars of Religion. Susan and Kitty have both received training from, and are members of, the International Coaching Federation. They are also two of the editors of Transformative Coaching for Faculty and Staff in Higher Education.

Kristin Croyle, a psychologist and the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Engineering, fills in for Rebecca in this episode.

A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Student motivation is enhanced when the framework of self-determination theory is used to design courses that support student autonomy. In this episode, Daniel Guberman and Chantal Levesque-Bristol join us to discuss a new resource designed to assist in the development of such courses.

Daniel and Chantal have leadership roles at the Center for Instructional Excellence at Purdue University. Chantal is the Executive Director and Daniel is the Assistant Director for Student-Centered Pedagogy. They are the authors, with Emily Bonem, of Designing Impactful College Courses: Applying Self-Determination Theory to Unleash the Potential of Autonomy Supportive Learning Environments, which was recently released by Routledge.

A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

A growing body of research indicates that asking questions about concepts students have not yet studied increases learning. In this episode, Steven Pan and Judith Schweppe join us to discuss how generative AI can facilitate this technique by generating prequestions.

Steven is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Learning Sciences Lab at the National University of Singapore whose research focuses on evidence-based teaching approaches. Judith is a Professor of Educational Science with a focus on teaching with digital media at the University of Erfurt. Her research focuses on working memory, long-term memory, and learning.

A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Shortly before the start of the spring semester, Tim Curry joined us for an episode discussing his ambitious plan to create structured learning experiences for students using chatbots. In this episode, we check back to see how this experiment developed. Tim is a lecturer in the Department of Health Sciences at Northern Arizona University. He is developing AI applications for autism research and tribal health service while building Northern Arizona University’s Applied Health Analytics program. He’s also working on the completion of his PhD degree in health equity technology.

A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Imagine having a virtual clone of yourself to assist your students whenever they need help and would track where students are struggling. In this episode, Joshua Gans joins us to discuss an attempt at creating an AI platform that accomplishes this.

Joshua is a Professor of Strategic Management and Jeffrey S. Skill Chair of Technical Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management with a joint appointment in the Department of Economics. His work focuses on the economics of innovation, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence. He has authored numerous scholarly articles on the economic impact of generative AI and, with Ajay Agrawal and Avi Goldfarb, of Prediction Machines and Power and Prediction, two books that have helped shape public understanding of the economic implications of AI. Joshua has been thinking deeply about what generative AI means for higher education: how it can support teaching and learning, how colleges should prepare students for AI-augmented careers, and how AI may reshape labor market opportunities for today’s students. At the University of Toronto, he and Kevin Bryan developed an AI teaching assistant, All Day TA, which has been used to provide students with support outside traditional class hours.

A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

With the rise of AI, institutions are scrambling to provide guidance and policies for students and faculty. In this episode, Kathleen Landy and Joshua Foster join us to discuss a collaborative approach involving student government, administration, and faculty.

Kathleen is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Genesee Community College. Prior to this, Kathleen has served in leadership roles at teaching centers at Cornell University, Queensborough Community College, and Mercy College. She has taught in multiple modalities and also has extensive K-12 teaching experience. Kathleen also served on the Pod Network Core Committee from 2022 through 2025 and currently serves as a co-chair of the SUNY Council on Assessment. Joshua is the Vice President for Academic Affairs for the Student Government Association at Genesee Community College.

A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.