Episodes

Wednesday Apr 30, 2025
Don't Let Email Control You
Wednesday Apr 30, 2025
Wednesday Apr 30, 2025
One of the challenges facing faculty, staff, and administrators is keeping up with the continuous flow of email. In this episode, Robert Talbert joins us to discuss strategies to efficiently handle email so we can allocate time to other essential tasks.
Robert is a Professor of Mathematics at Grand Valley State University and the author of Flipped Learning: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty and a co-author of Grading for Growth: A Guide to Alternative Grading Practices that Promote Authentic Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education.
A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Wednesday Nov 27, 2024
The Present Professor
Wednesday Nov 27, 2024
Wednesday Nov 27, 2024
Faculty often have a teaching persona that they bring to the classroom. In this episode, Liz Norell joins us to discuss the benefits of sharing your authentic self with your students. Liz is a political scientist and the Associate Director of Instructional Support at the University of Mississippi Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. She is also the author of The Present Professor: Authenticity and Transformational Teaching.
A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Learning Students' Names
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Learning students’ names can be a challenging, but important, component of inclusive teaching. In this episode, Michelle Miller joins us to discuss evidence-based strategies for learning students’ names.
Michelle is a Professor of Psychological Sciences and President’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Northern Arizona University. She is the author of Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology and Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology: Teaching, Learning, and the Science of Memory in a Wired World. Her newest book, A Teacher’s Guide to Learning Students’ Names: Why You Should, Why It’s Hard, How You Can will be released in November from the University of Oklahoma Press. Michelle is also a frequent contributor of articles on teaching and learning in higher education to publications such as The Chronicle of Higher Education.
A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Wednesday Sep 11, 2024
Essentials of the New Science of Learning
Wednesday Sep 11, 2024
Wednesday Sep 11, 2024
Most freshman students enter college with little knowledge of evidence-based strategies for successfully navigating the college experience. In this episode, Todd Zakrajsek joins us to discuss a variety of approaches that students can use to more efficiently achieve their learning goals. Todd is an Associate Research Professor and Associate Director of a Faculty Development Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the Director of four Lilly conferences on evidence-based teaching and learning. Todd is the author of many superb books, and has published six books (so far) in the past five years. His most recent book is Essentials of the New Science of Learning.
A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Wednesday May 22, 2024
Infographic Assignments
Wednesday May 22, 2024
Wednesday May 22, 2024
When papers and projects are due at the end of the term, students often procrastinate even when the projects are carefully scaffolded. In this episode, Michelle Kukoleca Hammes joins us to discuss how a series of infographic assignments, combined with peer and instructor feedback, provide an engaging and productive learning experience. Michelle is an associate professor of political science and a CETL Fellow for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at St. Cloud State University.
A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
Supporting Neurodiverse Students and Faculty
Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
Many discussions of inclusive teaching practices ignore the role of neurodiversity in higher ed. In this episode, Liz Norell joins us to discuss strategies that faculty and institutions can use to create a welcoming environment for neurodivergent students and faculty. Liz is a political scientist and the Associate Director of Instructional Support at the University of Mississippi's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Wednesday Aug 23, 2023
Higher Ed Then and Now
Wednesday Aug 23, 2023
Wednesday Aug 23, 2023
Teaching practices have gradually evolved as we’ve learned more about how humans learn. From one year to the next, these changes may appear small, but the cumulative effect is profound. In this episode, Todd Zakrajsek joins us to reflect back on the changes that have occurred in higher ed during our careers.
Todd is an Associate Research Professor and Associate Director of a Faculty Development Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the director of four Lilly conferences on evidence-based teaching and learning. Todd is the author of many superb books, and has published four books in the past four years. His most recent book is a fifth edition of Teaching at it's Best, a book he co-authored with Linda Nilson.
A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Wednesday Aug 09, 2023
A Return to Rigor?
Wednesday Aug 09, 2023
Wednesday Aug 09, 2023
Some faculty have advocated a return to “rigor” to address perceptions of growing student disengagement in our classes. In this episode, Kevin Gannon joins us to discuss an alternative approach that provides students with cognitive challenges in a supportive environment. Kevin is a history professor and the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence at Queen’s University of Charlotte. He is also the author of Radical Hope: a Teaching Manifesto, which is available from West Virginia University Press.
A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Wednesday May 17, 2023
The Cognition-Motivation Connection
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Emotions can have both positive and negative impacts on learning. In this episode, Michelle Miller joins us to explore the relationships that exist between emotions and learning.
Michelle is a Professor of Psychological Sciences and President’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Northern Arizona University. She is the author of Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology and Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology: Teaching, Learning, and the Science of Memory in a Wired World. Michelle is also a co-editor, with James Lang, of the superb West Virginia University Press series on teaching and learning.
A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.

Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Teaching at its Best
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
New faculty often start their faculty roles without training in teaching. In this episode Linda Nilson and Todd Zakrajsek join us to talk about the evolving roles and expectations of faculty and explore the new edition of a classic teaching guide.
Now Director Emeritus, Linda was the Founding Director of the Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation at Clemson University. Todd is an Associate Research Professor and Associate Director of the Faculty Development Fellowship in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Linda and Todd are each individually the authors of many superb books on teaching and learning and now have jointly authored a new edition of a classic guide for faculty.
A transcript of this episode and show notes may be found at http://teaforteaching.com.