Tea for Teaching

Impostor Phenomenon

Impostor phenomena can deter college students, especially students from historically underrepresented groups, from pursuing majors in STEM disciplines. In this episode, Sara Kien joins us to discuss strategies that can reduce imposter phenomena and reduce equity gaps in student success.

Sara is an Associate Teaching Professor at Northern Arizona University. She has a PhD in cognitive psychology and recently completed a masters degree in information and data science. Sara is an award winning educator with over 20 years of experience and the author of Data Science and AI in Psychology, an interactive eTextbook on data science, big data, and machine learning in psychology.

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

The Joyful Online Teacher

Online classes provide opportunities for students not served by traditional in-person classes, but asynchronous experiences can seem isolating for both students and instructors. In this episode, Flower Darby joins us to discuss ways to make online instruction more joyful for both students and faculty.

Flower is an Associate Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Missouri. Prior to this position, she served as an Assistant Dean of Online and Innovative Pedagogies and Director of Teaching for Student Success. Flower has over 30 years of teaching experience, including both in-person and online modalities, and is frequently invited as a keynote speaker at academic conferences. She is a co-author of Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Sciences in Online Classes, and The Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching. Her new book, The Joyful Online Teacher: Finding Our Fizz in Asynchronous Classes, has just been released by the University of Oklahoma Press.

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

Insights From The Field

This podcast is a recording of a panel session featuring three online learning leaders, that was presented at the SUNY Online Learning Summit on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. The panelists are Yakut Gazi, Marina Amini, and Van Davis. Yakut is the Vice Provost for Learning Innovation and Digital Education at Duke University. Marina is the Executive Director of the California Virtual Campus, and Van is the Executive Director of WCET and the Vice President of Digital Learning at WICHE.

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

TUnE Bio

Students planning to major in STEM fields, especially students from groups historically underrepresented in these fields, are often deterred by their experiences in introductory courses. In this episode, Sarah Rose Cavanagh joins us to discuss an NSF-funded initiative designed to enhance student success in introductory Biology classes.

Sarah is a psychologist and the author of four books related to teaching and learning. She is the senior associate director for teaching and learning and associate professor of practice at Simmons University and also is a regular contributor to The Chronicle and many other publications. Sarah often serves as a keynote speaker and we were very fortunate to have her join us for a keynote address at a recent Academic Affairs Retreat on our  campus.

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

An Educator's Guide to ADHD

Each student brings individual strengths and challenges to our classroom communities. In this episode, Karen Costa joins us to discuss ways to help students with ADHD thrive.

Karen is a faculty development facilitator specializing in online pedagogy, trauma-aware teaching, and supporting ADHD learners. Karen holds graduate degrees and certificates in education and education leadership; trauma and resilience; trauma-informed organizations; and neuroscience, learning, and online instruction. She is the author of 99 Tips for Creating Simple and Sustainable Educational Videos, and has served as a facilitator for the Online Learning Consortium, the Online Learning Toolkit, and Lumen Learning. Her most recent book, An Educator’s Guide to ADHD, has just been released by Johns Hopkins Press. Through her business, 100 Faculty, Karen offers supportive, fun, and engaging faculty support and development to faculty from all over the world.

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

The Science of Learning Meets AI

The widespread adoption of and the rapid evolution of generative AI platforms have created substantial challenges for faculty in how we assess student learning. In this episode, Lew Ludwig and Todd Zakrajsek join us to discuss a new resource they have created that is designed to help faculty use AI to efficiently support teaching practices based on the science of learning.

Lew is a Professor of Mathematics at Denison University, where he served as Director of the Center for Learning and Teaching from 2020 to 2025. Much of his recent work has focused on innovative methods for utilizing generative AI. Todd is an Adjunct Associate Research Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from which he just retired a few months ago after 17 years. He is also the Director of the International Teaching Learning Cooperative and 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.

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

Open Exchanges in College Classrooms

Ideally, college classrooms provide students with a comfortable but challenging environment in which diverse ideas and viewpoints are openly exchanged; the reality they experience, though, is often quite different. In this episode, David Laibson joins us to discuss how Harvard University is attempting to identify and address barriers to this ideal.

David is the Robert I. Goldman Professor of Economics and a Faculty Dean of Lowell House. He has published dozens of heavily cited articles on a wide range of topics, including behavioral economics, self-regulation, behavior change, household finance, and aging. David is a Research Associate in the Aging, Asset Pricing, and Economic Fluctuations Working Group at the National Bureau of Economic Research, member of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and serves on numerous advisory boards. He has received Harvard’s Phi Beta Kappa award and a Harvard College Professorship in recognition of his high quality teaching. David is also a co-author of popular textbooks on introductory economics and  a co-editor of the Handbook of Behavioral Economics.

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

Teaching with AI

The rapid evolution of AI tools provides a challenge for educators exploring educational applications. In this episode, José Antonio Bowen joins us to discuss ways in which faculty and institutions can better prepare students for their future lives and careers in a world in which AI tools are ubiquitous. 

José has a joint PhD in musicology and humanities, served for several years as President of Goucher College, and is the author and co-author of several books, including: Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning; Teaching Naked Techniques: A Practical Guide to Designing Better Classes; Teaching Change: How to Develop Independent Thinkers Using Relationships, Resilience, and Reflection, and a co-author, with C. Edward Watson, of the first and second editions of Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning.

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

Using AI for Project-Based Learning

Students are motivated to learn when they have autonomy and see the purpose in what they are learning. In this episode, Tara Chklovski joins us to discuss a curriculum in which students use AI tools to solve challenging problems in their communities. Tara is the founder and CEO of Technovation, a nonprofit developer of a curriculum used in over 160 countries and reaching over 400,000 students, to prepare young women for careers in technology.

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

Why the Magic Matters

Disney is a common shared cultural experience. In this episode, Jill Peterfeso joins us to discuss how Disney’s pixie dust can hook students and provide opportunities for critical examination in a variety of disciplines. Jill is the Eli Franklin Craven and Minnie Phipps Craven Professor of Religious Studies at Guilford College. She is the author of Womanpriest: Tradition and Transgression in the Contemporary Roman Catholic Church and a co-editor of Why the Magic Matters: Discovering Disney as a Laboratory for Learning.

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