Tea for Teaching

Teaching Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling provides students the opportunity to bring their lived experiences into the classroom as creators rather than consumers of knowledge. In this episode, Tom Mackey and Sheila Aird join us to discuss ways digital storytelling can be used to increase student information literacy, critical thinking skills, and to support diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Tom is a Professor of Arts and Media and Program Coordinator for the BA and BS degrees in Digital Media Arts at SUNY Empire State University. He is the recipient of a 2022 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities and the recipient of several other awards for his teaching and mentoring work. Tom is also the co-author of several books and two MOOCs that focus on metaliteracy. Sheila is an Associate Professor and European Director of International Programs at SUNY’s Empire State University in Prague, in the Czech Republic. Her work broadly focuses on cultural history and public scholarship with a particular focus on  public history, pop culture, children of colonial enslavement, and issues of race in the African Diaspora community. Sheila has presented her work in many domestic and international venues and has co-authored two papers with Tom. Sheila and Tom are the co-editors of the new book, Teaching Digital Storytelling: Inspiring Voices through Online Narratives, published in 2024 by Rowman and Littlefield. They also co-authored the framing chapter for this volume based on their collaborative development and teaching of Digital Storytelling as a virtual exchange between SUNY Empire students studying in Prague and the United States.

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

Becoming a SoTL Scholar

A growing number of faculty members participate in the scholarship of teaching and learning, or SoTL. In this episode, Janice Miller-Young and Nancy Chick join us to discuss a new open educational resource designed to assist faculty interested in pursuing SoTL research. 

Janice is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a past Academic Director at the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Alberta. Nancy Chick is the director of the Endeavor Foundation Center for Faculty Development at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Nancy had also served as a Professor of English within the University of Wisconsin System, where she codirected the Teaching Fellows and Scholars Program for all of the system’s 26 campuses. Janice and Nancy have both published extensively on the scholarship of teaching and learning and have each co-authored influential books on SoTL methodologies and signature pedagogies. 

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

Change Leadership

Higher educational institutions tend to adapt slowly in response to changing cultural, economic, and  technological environments. In this episode,  Kim Scalzo and Jennifer Miller join us to discuss strategies that can be used to help lead productive change initiatives.

Kim is the Interim Senior Associate Provost for Digital Innovation and Academic Services, the former Executive Director of Open SUNY and SUNY Online. Jennifer is the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Community College Support at the State University of New York and Executive Director of the New York State Success Center. Kim and Jennifer co-teach a professional development course at the SUNY Center for Professional Development on Leading Change in Higher Education.

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

Privacy Booths

There are few private quiet spaces on most college campuses where students can record podcasts or converse online with counselors or health care providers. In this episode, Michael Revenaugh and Forrest Warner join us to discuss how Hamilton College addressed this by providing students with privacy booths and soundproof recording spaces. 

Michael is an instructional designer who specializes in video and audio production at Hamilton College. Forrest Warner is also an instructional designer with a focus on 3D modeling, graphic design, visualization, spatial analysis, and video and audio production, also at Hamilton College.

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

Essentials of the New Science of Learning

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.

Inclusive Socratic Teaching

Socratic teaching is a primary pedagogical technique in American law school education. In this episode, Jamie Abrams joins us to discuss barriers this method can impose and strategies for a more inclusive approach to Socratic teaching.

Jamie is a Professor of Law and the Director of the Legal Rhetoric Program at the American University Washington College of Law.  She has published numerous books, chapters, and articles, including several on legal education pedagogy. Jamie is the recipient of teaching awards from Blackboard, the University of Louisville, and the American University Washington College of Law. She also co-founded the Brandeis Human Rights Advocacy Program at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law which works to advance the human rights of immigrants, refugees, and noncitizens.

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

Teaching Creativity

When thinking about creativity, many students (and faculty) believe that they are either creative or not. In this episode, Susan Keller-Mathers joins us to discuss how the study of creativity can help us get past this false dichotomy in order to develop our creative thinking skills. Sue is an Associate Professor at the Center for Applied Imagination at Buffalo State University.  She teaches graduate courses in creativity and has published over 30 articles, chapters, and books on creativity, creative behavior, and the use of deliberate methods to facilitate creative learning. Sue has worked with multiple departments on her campus and with colleagues in over a dozen countries to help infuse creative learning into teaching and learning practices.

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

Class Dismissed

Institutional racism in the form of redlining and unequal access to educational and housing opportunities have left generations of students without equitable access to higher education. In this episode, Anthony Abraham Jack joins us to discuss the challenges that first-gen students face and what colleges and faculty can do to reduce these inequities. 

Tony is the Inaugural Faculty Director of the Boston University Newbury Center and Associate Professor of Higher Education Leadership at Boston University. Tony’s research has appeared in numerous scholarly publications and he is the recipient of numerous awards from the American Sociological Association, American Educational Studies Association, Association for the Study of Higher Education, Eastern Sociological Society, and the Society for the Study of Social Problems. He is the author of The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students and Class Dismissed: When Colleges Ignore Inequality and Students Pay the Price.

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

International College Students

International college students face cultural and financial challenges in addition to those all new college students face. In this episode, Peter Ghazarian and Hayley Weiner join us to discuss strategies institutions might use to support international students.  Peter is an Associate Professor of Higher Education Leadership in the School of Education at SUNY Oswego. He has worked in international education in the US, UK, Germany, and Korea. Peter's work focuses on higher education, leadership, public policy, multiculturalism, and human migration. Hayley is a graduate student in the Higher Education Leadership program at SUNY Oswego.

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

Beyond ChatGPT

Faculty concerns over student use of AI tools often focus on issues of academic integrity. In this episode, Marc Watkins joins us to discussion how the use of AI tools may have on student skill development. Marc is the Assistant Director for Academic Innovation at the University of Mississippi, where he helped found and currently directs the AI Institute for Teachers.

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