Episode 29. The Syllabus Lives! Helping Students Feel Known, Needed & Cared For with Matthew Cheney
A huge amount of information must be provided to students at the outset of every course. Enter the SYLLABUS! A universal one-way communication tool that can set the tone for your course and for your relationship with your students. It defines the rules of engagement - the struggle for power between student and faculty. In this episode we talk about the syllabus; how it is used, how it can be used and how it can be abused with Dr. Matthew Cheney who has written extensively about the cruelty-free syllabus.
Episode 20: The Benefits of Diverse Role Models: The Scientist Spotlights Initiative with Jeff Schinske
In this episode, I have a conversation with Jeff Schinske, Professor of Biology of Foothill College, part of the California Community College system about the impacts of the NIH-funded Scientist Spotlights Initiative. The Scientist Spotlights Initiative (SSI) empowers middle/high school, college, and university science educators to implement inclusive curricula that help ALL students see themselves in science. The SSI provides access to easy-to-implement assignments/activities that link course content to the stories of counter-stereotypical scientists.
Episode 9: Deep Teaching with Bryan Dewsbury
Enjoy a conversation with Dr. Bryan Dewsbury about an approach to inclusive instruction that goes beneath the mechanics of your courses. We don’t talk about what your syllabus looks like, how you engage students in your learning environments, or how you assess students. Instead we discuss an approach to inclusive instruction that first and foremost focusses on the criticality of developing an enriched and enhanced understanding of your students. The ideas we discuss in this episode have the power to change your relationship with your students allowing you to develop an inclusive classroom that enriches the personal development of all your students. In this episode, we do not discuss what your students need to learn, we do not discuss what your students need to be able to do. We talk about issues that address the question “Who do you want your students to be”.
Episode 5: Connected Teaching: The Importance of Relationships with Harriet Schwartz
Dr. Harriet Schwartz of Antioch University discusses her recent book, “Connected Teaching: Relationship, Power, and Mattering in Higher Education”. Most faculty spend a significant part of their lives interacting with students. Dr. Schwartz’s book reminds us that so much of teaching is about moments with students. These moments can be brief or extended, but these moments, whatever the duration, can be transformative for students. Dr. Schwartz discusses the importance of these relationships and how to attend to these relationships so that students can be heard, seen, and most importantly, successful. Listen for an inspiring and helpful discussion that really is at the heart of why many of us teach.
