Tea for Teaching

Teaching = Coaching

Coaches and teachers work to develop skills by providing structured learning environments, motivational strategies, and individual feedback. In this episode, Christian Fauria and Constanza Bartholomae join us to discuss the similarities among coaching, teaching, and the work of educational developers. 

Christian is a former NFL tight end who played 13 seasons and won two Super Bowl Championships with the New England Patriots, and a national champion at the University of Colorado. Following his retirement from football, Christian transitioned into sports media, working as a college football analyst for ESPN and CBS, while co-hosting a radio show on WEEI in Boston. He is now a Professional in Residence at Bryant University in the Communication and Language Studies Department, teaching courses in sports broadcasting and organizational leadership in sports. Constanza is the Interim Director of the Center of Teaching Excellence at Bryant University.

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

Program-Level AI Responses

When generative AI platforms first appeared on the scene, faculty had to address these challenges alone. In this episode, Kathleen Landy joins us to discuss how program-level collaboration can help educators adapt more rapidly and effectively.

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 the Co-Chair of the SUNY Council on Assessment.

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.

A Curated AI Framework

Students can use AI tools to support or short-circuit their learning. In this episode, Tim Curry joins us to discuss how he uses AI tools to support students with diverse prior knowledge in a carefully curated framework. 

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.

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.

Supporting Teamwork

Teamwork skills are highly valued by employers but most faculty have not been trained to create effective team projects. In this episode, Tim Franz and Lauren Vicker join us to discuss a resource they developed to help faculty create more effective team assignments and projects.

Tim is a Professor in the Psychology Department at St. John Fisher University and Lauren is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Media and Communication, also at St. John Fisher University. They are the authors of Making Team Projects Work: A College Instructor’s Guide to Successful Student Groupwork which has been recently released by Routledge.

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