Designed for Learning

Notre Dame Learning

Hosted by acclaimed teaching scholar Jim Lang, Designed for Learning is a podcast from Notre Dame Learning, a collaborative unit at the University of Notre Dame that works with faculty and other instructors as they seek to enhance learning for their students. In that spirit, the show features interviews with teachers, experts in teaching and learning in higher education, authors of new books and resources, and anyone else we can learn from. New episodes are released monthly.

  1. 6 ago

    Annette Vee on AI-Aware Teaching

    The words and metaphors we choose to describe our interactions with artificial intelligence are telling. Do we view it as a stochastic parrot? A thought partner? A form of co-intelligence? A sycophantic assistant? Each of these phrases reflects a different set of beliefs and attitudes and likely shapes our engagement with AI. How instructors talk about the technology’s relationship to their teaching goals can be just as revealing. To say we want students to develop AI fluency, for example, means we expect sustained engagement with it. Labelling a course or an assignment as AI-resistant suggests a different orientation. But what do we lose when the conversation becomes a strict either/or proposition? Annette Vee is one of the authors of The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching, a new book that presents another way to frame our relationship with AI as educators. She talks with us about all things AI and college teaching and why she believes the concept of AI awareness can make space for a wide spectrum of views and practices. Key Topics Discussed: The origins of The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching and its focus on leading with pedagogy rather than starting from a position that is either AI-engaged or AI-resistantHow widespread concerns about AI have actually benefited the conversation around teaching by making it more prominent and mainstreamThe importance of considering all manner of perspectives about AI, from faculty and students alike, and why that led Annette and her coauthors to choose the term “AI-aware”Areas where she sees students potentially benefitting from using AI—and why it’s NOT at the brainstorming stageTwo of Annette’s favorite AI-aware teaching practices from the book, including an assignment that asks students to “do something impossible with AI”Why tending to student motivation for learning may be more important than everGuest Bio: Annette Vee is an associate professor of English and faculty liaison for AI enablement at the University of Pittsburgh, where in addition to facilitating research and faculty development on AI, she teaches courses in writing, pedagogy, digital composition, AI, and literacy. Outside of Pitt, she gives keynotes and workshops related to AI. She is the coauthor of The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching with Marc Watkins and Derek Bruff. Resources Mentioned: Book: The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching (W. W. Norton & Company)Annette’s Substacks: Computation & Writing and AI & How We TeachDesigned for Learning episode with Derek Bruff: Teaching Students When (Not) to Use AIArticle: What Happened When I Tried to Replace Myself with ChatGPT in My English Classroom (Piers Gelly, University of Virginia)Assignment: Do Something Impossible with AI (Kiera Allison, University of Virginia)Episode TranscriptDesigned for Learning is hosted by Jim Lang, a professor of the practice in Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence and the author of several influential books on teaching. The podcast is produced by Notre Dame Learning’s Office of Digital Learning. For more, visit learning.nd.edu/podcast. You can also follow Notre Dame Learning on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.

  2. 2 jul ·  Contenido extra

    AI, Cheating, and Trusting Students to be Human (Re-Release)

    For better or worse, much of the talk about AI’s impact on the purposes and processes of an education continues to focus on cheating: Are students outsourcing their work, and their learning, to tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini? Some high-profile stories have gone so far as to suggest cheating is so rampant that the whole college system is basically collapsing around us. This month, we’re revisiting our most popular episode to date, a conversation with Tricia Bertram Gallant, coauthor of the 2025 book The Opposite of Cheating: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI. Tricia helps us put the cheating claims into context, providing insights into the deeper questions that we should be asking about academic dishonesty and integrity and sharing pedagogical strategies for adapting to AI’s widespread availability.  Key Topics Discussed: Why students cheat (spoiler: the reasons aren’t new)The role of “neutralizing,” or moral justifications, in allowing people to view cheating as bad in the abstract but not in their current situationNot putting the burden to intuit the purpose of an assignment on studentsHow AI has changed cheating, but not why students do itExperimenting with AI tools so you can create guardrails for students—and why doing so doesn’t mean you think less of them as peopleStrategies for communicating effectively with students about generative AIRethinking when, why, and how writing is assigned, including the benefits of having students complete some of that work in the classroomThe potential of pairing written exams with oral assessments—which it turns out students often appreciateHow Tricia suggests instructors react when suspecting a student has cheatedGuest Bio: Tricia Bertram Gallant is the director of the Academic Integrity Office and Triton Testing Center at the University of California San Diego. President emeritus of the International Center for Academic Integrity, she has more than 20 years of experience as an academic integrity researcher, author, teacher, and practitioner. Her fifth book, The Opposite of Cheating: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI, which she co-authored with David Rettinger, was published in 2025. It is part of the Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed Series at the University of Oklahoma Press edited by Designed for Learning host Jim Lang and Michelle Miller. Resources Mentioned: Book: The Opposite of Cheating: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI (University of Oklahoma Press)Tricia’s Podcast and Contact Info: theoppositeofcheating.comNotre Dame Learning’s Lab for AI in Teaching and Learning (LAITL)Related Designed for Learning Episode: Navigating AI’s Evolving Role in Teaching and LearningNotre Dame’s Undergraduate Academic Code of HonorEpisode Transcript*Note: This episode was originally released in July 2025. Designed for Learning is hosted by Jim Lang, a professor of the practice in Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence and the author of several influential books on teaching. The podcast is produced by Notre Dame Learning’s Office of Digital Learning. For more, visit learning.nd.edu/podcast. You can also follow Notre Dame Learning on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.

  3. 4 jun ·  Contenido extra

    Why Learning Student Names Matters (Re-Release)

    It’s something that sounds so basic it’s easy to overlook how daunting it can be: Learning and remembering student names. This month, we’re going back to our very first episode (and one of our most popular ones), a conversation with cognitive psychologist and author Michelle D. Miller about why mastering names isn’t simply a memory exercise—it’s a step toward creating a welcoming, inclusive classroom environment. Key Topics Discussed: The science behind why names are uniquely difficult to rememberThe importance of knowing students’ names for fostering connection and inclusivityMichelle’s four-step strategy to improve name recall: Attend, Say, Associate, RetrieveThe role of attention and retrieval in reinforcing memoryPractical tips for large and small classes, including the use of name tents and group activitiesHow learning names enhances engagement and classroom participationGuest Bio: Michelle D. Miller is a professor of psychological sciences and President’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Northern Arizona University. Originally trained in cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics, and neuroscience, she now focuses mainly on using the findings of these fields to help faculty choose and use educational technology and design engaging, effective college courses. Her latest book, A Teacher’s Guide to Learning Student Names: Why You Should, Why It’s Hard, How You Can, offers practical, research-backed strategies for educators looking to build a sense of connection with their students. Resources Mentioned: Book: A Teacher’s Guide to Learning Student Names: Why You Should, Why It’s Hard, How You Can (University of Oklahoma Press)Michelle’s R3 Substack NewsletterMichelle’s LinkedInEpisode Transcript*Note: This episode was originally released in January 2025. Designed for Learning is hosted by Jim Lang, a professor of the practice in Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence and the author of several influential books on teaching. The podcast is produced by Notre Dame Learning’s Office of Digital Learning. For more, visit learning.nd.edu/podcast. You can also follow Notre Dame Learning on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.

  4. 7 may

    The ‘Troubled History’ of Labelling Learning Styles

    For better or worse, the educational theory that seems to have permeated American education more than any other has been the notion of learning styles. Although the definition can vary, the most popular version of the idea argues that people can be categorized as visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners. From its earliest origins, though, critics have underscored the very thin and tangled research line that supported the learning styles framework, and in recent years cognitive psychologists have tried to toll the death knell of this approach—without much success. Something about the broader idea of learning styles seems so appealing or persuasive that it continues to shape the thinking of many classroom teachers and parents as well as our own self-descriptions. Thomas Fallace of William Paterson University has written a book titled You Are Not a Kinesthetic Learner: The Troubled History of the Learning Style Idea, tracing the theory from its early origins through a half-century of teaching and thinking about education. He talks with us about whether learning styles actually exist, whether the concept has helped or harmed students, and—if learning styles don’t exist—whether we should just abandon the idea once and for all. Key Topics Discussed: Cold War psychologist Herman Witkin’s experiments to test whether people could tell they were seated upright in a tilted room and the unlikely link between those studies and the idea of learning stylesThe problematic application of the learning styles idea over time, often emerging out of the efforts of well-intentioned people trying to improve educational outcomes—and in fact succeeding in some casesThe vagaries of the “kinesthetic learner” label and how it’s been applied disproportionately to Black and Hispanic students, those with special needs, and English-language learnersWhy the idea of learning styles has been so popular and persistentWhy the danger comes from labelling students as one kind of learner or another, not from varying the modalities in which they engage with course contentDrawing on the history of research on learning styles as we think about the role of AI-assisted learningGuest Bio: Thomas Fallace is a professor of education and director of the master’s in secondary education program at William Paterson University. His research focuses largely on curriculum history and the history of ideas in schools, and he is the author of five books, most recently You Are Not a Kinesthetic Learner: The Troubled History of the Learning Style Idea. Resources Mentioned: Thomas’s Book: You Are Not a Kinesthetic Learner: The Troubled History of the Learning Style Idea (The University of Chicago Press)Episode TranscriptDesigned for Learning is hosted by Jim Lang, a professor of the practice in Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence and the author of several influential books on teaching. The podcast is produced by Notre Dame Learning’s Office of Digital Learning. For more, visit learning.nd.edu/podcast. You can also follow Notre Dame Learning on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.

  5. 2 abr

    Centering the People in Online Courses

    Faculty who teach online know that it comes with distinct benefits, with the ability to reach learners who might not otherwise have access to your course prominent among them. But as meaningful as that is, the logistical challenges online teaching can present means we don’t necessarily think of it as a “joyful” exercise, particularly in those courses with limited live interaction between instructor and students. An author and longtime advocate for online teaching, Flower Darby has written a new book titled The Joyful Online Teacher: Finding Our Fizz in Asynchronous Classes. It has much to offer anyone teaching in the online modality, whether your course is entirely on-demand or features regular live sessions. Key Topics Discussed: The turning point with a student that reshaped Flower’s approach to online teachingDrawing on positive psychology’s PERMA theory of well-being to create a better online learning environmentWhy being a “joyful” teacher entails something different than surface-level happinessThe importance of introducing energy to and generating energy in online classroomsThe impact instructors can have on students by doing simple things like knowing their names and genuinely responding to what they’ve saidWhy Flower believes instructors bringing their full selves into their asynchronous classes is the most effective way to counter unethical uses of AIFinding creative ways to connect with students and lean into what gives you joy as a teacher to improve their experience and your ownGuest Bio: Flower Darby is an associate director of the Teaching for Learning Center at the University of Missouri, an author, and a keynote speaker. She’s taught in higher ed for more than 30 years in subjects ranging from psychology to jazz dance. Her latest book is The Joyful Online Teacher: Finding Our Fizz in Asynchronous Classes, which is part of the Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed Series at the University of Oklahoma Press edited by Designed for Learning host Jim Lang and Michelle Miller. Resources Mentioned: Flower’s New Book: The Joyful Online Teacher: Finding Our Fizz in Asynchronous Classes (University of Oklahoma Press)PERMA Theory of Well-BeingSarah Rose Cavanagh’s Book: The Spark of Learning (West Virginia University Press)Flower’s WebsiteFlower’s LinkedInEpisode TranscriptDesigned for Learning is hosted by Jim Lang, a professor of the practice in Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence and the author of several influential books on teaching. The podcast is produced by Notre Dame Learning’s Office of Digital Learning. For more, visit learning.nd.edu/podcast. You can also follow Notre Dame Learning on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.

  6. 5 mar

    ‘The Main Event’: Promoting Engagement in a Gen Ed Course

    American higher education has always stood out for its strong commitment to general education courses, or gen ed, the premise being that undergraduates should not necessarily jump directly into a major but instead have the room to learn and explore a variety of fields before choosing a particular path. With that principled purpose comes a practical teaching challenge: Most students enroll in a gen ed course to fulfill a curricular requirement, not because they actively chose to take that class. So how do teachers make the best possible case for a required course? And how do they make it a good experience for the students who may never return to the subject when the semester ends? A professor at Boston College and regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Carlo Rotella has written a book that follows 33 students through his own general education course and explores answers to questions like these. Key Topics Discussed: A description of the required literature course Carlo teaches at Boston College and why he chose to write about itHow he uses the first day of class to attempt to overcome students’ skepticismLeading with the utility of the course, even when you as the instructor believe in the subject’s inherent beautyThe distinct value to students of coming together to participate in a classroom with peers and an instructor and why that value only continues to grow as technology advancesStrategies for getting students to participate, including working with those who aren’t as comfortable speaking during classCarlo’s approach to managing the flow of discussions, why he doesn’t fear silence, and thinking of what goes on in the classroom as “the main event”Guest Bio: Carlo Rotella is a professor of English, journalism, and American studies at Boston College. He writes regularly for The New York Times Magazine, and his work has appeared in a number of other outlets, including The New Yorker, Harper’s, and The Best American Essays. He has written books about cities, boxing, blues, and literature and film, among other subjects; his latest, What Can I Get Out of This? Teaching and Learning in a Classroom Full of Skeptics, was named a Forbes Best Higher Education Book of 2025. Resources Mentioned: Carlo’s New Book: What Can I Get Out of This? Teaching and Learning in a Classroom Full of Skeptics (University of California Press)Episode TranscriptDesigned for Learning is hosted by Jim Lang, a professor of the practice in Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence and the author of several influential books on teaching. The podcast is produced by Notre Dame Learning’s Office of Digital Learning. For more, visit learning.nd.edu/podcast. You can also follow Notre Dame Learning on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.

  7. 5 feb

    Effectively Teaching Learners with ADHD

    Imagine you have a student who starts the semester strong but unexpectedly misses a deadline, and then you don’t see them in class for a few sessions. You reach out and are surprised to learn it isn’t because they lost interest in the course; it’s because they were so ashamed of missing that due date that it prevented them from coming back. Maybe you don’t have to imagine. If you’ve been teaching awhile, chances are you’ve had this exact experience, one that might be related to a student having ADHD. So what do learners with ADHD need from us as teachers? In her new book An Educator’s Guide to ADHD: Designing and Teaching for Student Success, Karen Costa shares strategies aimed at not only supporting these students but also taking advantage of the valuable strengths and perspectives they can bring to the classroom. Key Topics Discussed: Thinking of the ADHD neurotype as a house with all its doors and windows thrown openWhat we need to unlearn about ADHD, starting with the implications of the name attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderTapping into the creativity and outspokenness often exhibited by students with ADHD to improve the overall classroom environmentStrategies for helping students with ADHD that will benefit everyone in the classKaren’s own experiences as someone with ADHD—both as a student and a professional—and why that drives her to talk about them openly, even when it’s uncomfortableNavigating potential sticking points between students who might thrive with more flexibility and faculty who are responsible for structuring a courseHow helping learners with ADHD can start with something as simple as making a checklistGuest Bio: Karen Costa is a faculty development facilitator, adjunct faculty member, and the author of 99 Tips for Creating Simple and Sustainable Educational Videos: A Guide for Online Teachers and Flipped Classes. Her latest book, An Educator’s Guide to ADHD: Designing and Teaching for Student Success, was published in January 2026 by Johns Hopkins University Press. Resources Mentioned: Karen’s New Book: An Educator’s Guide to ADHD: Designing and Teaching for Student Success (Johns Hopkins University Press)Karen’s Website: 100faculty.comEpisode TranscriptDesigned for Learning is hosted by Jim Lang, a professor of the practice in Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence and the author of several influential books on teaching. The podcast is produced by Notre Dame Learning’s Office of Digital Learning. For more, visit learning.nd.edu/podcast. You can also follow Notre Dame Learning on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.

  8. 8 ene

    Using Two-Stage Exams to Promote Active Learning in Large Classes

    For decades now, the call to college teachers has been to rely less on lecture and to draw more on active learning techniques such as discussions, small group brainstorming, and think-pair-shares. Strategies like these fit well within smaller courses. But in an auditorium with a couple of hundred students, how do we encourage participation and community? To meet this challenge, Notre Dame’s Rachel Branco has turned to an assessment approach known as the two-stage exam. It’s worked so well that she has now written a how-to guide to help other instructors incorporate this active learning experience into classes of any size. Key Topics Discussed: How Rachel initially encountered the concept of two-stage exams, in which students answer the same set of questions first as individuals and then in groupsHer experience incorporating two-stage exams into her smaller courses and why that inspired her not only to adapt the setup for her larger classes but also to write a guide for other instructors interested in doing soWell-established advantages of using two-stage exams as well as Rachel’s own observations of the benefits based on surveys of her studentsThe logistics of deploying two-stage exams in a class with hundreds of students, including the importance of seating plans, the creation of the exam documents themselves, and group constructionWhy Rachel has each student turn in their own answer sheet for the group part of the exam and the kinds of questions that work best in light of the group dynamicWhy it’s critical to communicate the rationale behind this style of assessment to studentsGuest Bio: Rachel Branco is a neuroscientist and an associate teaching professor at the University of Notre Dame, where she teaches courses through both the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and the Neuroscience and Behavior Program. She is passionate about researching and implementing practical classroom strategies that improve how students learn about and experience science. Resources Mentioned: Rachel’s Implementation Guide for Two-Stage ExamsMail Merge Tool for Notre Dame Instructors: Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM)Grading Assistance Software for Notre Dame Instructors: GradescopeEpisode TranscriptDesigned for Learning is hosted by Jim Lang, a professor of the practice in Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence and the author of several influential books on teaching. The podcast is produced by Notre Dame Learning’s Office of Digital Learning. For more, visit learning.nd.edu/podcast. You can also follow Notre Dame Learning on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.

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Hosted by acclaimed teaching scholar Jim Lang, Designed for Learning is a podcast from Notre Dame Learning, a collaborative unit at the University of Notre Dame that works with faculty and other instructors as they seek to enhance learning for their students. In that spirit, the show features interviews with teachers, experts in teaching and learning in higher education, authors of new books and resources, and anyone else we can learn from. New episodes are released monthly.

Ficha técnica

  • Creado por
    Notre Dame Learning
  • Años en activo
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodios
    21
  • Clasificación
    Apto
  • Derechos de autor
    © 2026 Designed for Learning
  • Sitio web del podcast
    Designed for Learning

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