Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning

Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning
  • 5.0 (20)
  • HOW TO
Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning

Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning is a podcast from the Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning. Our mission is to encourage instructors, students, and leaders in higher education to reflect on what they believe about teaching and learning.

  1. OCT 17

    A Pedagogy of Kindness with Cate Denial

    Welcome to Season 9 of Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning! In this season, with our new host Columbia CTL Executive Director Amanda Irvin (https://ctl.columbia.edu/about/team/amanda-irvin/), we are exploring the dead idea that the world “outside” of the classroom doesn’t or shouldn’t influence the world “inside” the classroom—that students are exclusively intellectual beings when they step across the threshold (physical or virtual) of the classroom space. In our first episode we speak with guest Cate Denial (https://catherinedenial.org/), the Bright Distinguished Professor of American History and Director of the Bright Institute at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and author of the book A Pedagogy of Kindness (2024). Cate’s new book argues for the strength and capacity instructors and students gain when they meet each other as whole human beings. Dr. Denial discusses her book and shares suggestions for instructors everywhere on how to implement a pedagogy of kindness in their own classrooms. Resource: A Pedagogy of Kindness (2024) by Cate Denial

    23 min

  2. MAY 2

    Passing the Baton: A New Chapter for Dead Ideas

    In today’s episode, we say a bittersweet goodbye to our wonderful podcast host, Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Executive Director Catherine Ross (https://ctl.columbia.edu/about/team/catherine-ross/), as she will be retiring from Columbia in June. Catherine sits down with Amanda Irvin (https://ctl.columbia.edu/about/team/amanda-irvin/), Senior Director of Faculty Programs and Services here at the Columbia CTL, who will be taking the helm as our next podcast host, starting in the fall 2024 season. Catherine and Amanda reflect on their “favorite” dead ideas and episodes, as well as dead ideas that have yet to be discussed, and how this podcast has impacted our Center’s work internally. We’d like to thank Catherine for her passion and leadership as our podcast host over the past four years, and for her unfailing dedication to changing higher education teaching!This will be the last episode of Season 8 of Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning. We will be back in fall 2024 with Season 9. Thank you for listening!

    41 min

  3. APR 4

    How to Help Adjuncts Not Want to Give Up with Kerry O’Grady

    In today’s episode we examine the systemic issues and dead ideas that underlie the hiring and supporting of contingent faculty. We speak with Kerry O’Grady (https://business.columbia.edu/staff/people/kerry-ogrady), Director for Teaching Excellence at the Samberg Institute for Teaching Excellence at Columbia Business School. Dr. O’Grady discusses some of the “normalized” practices that often leave adjunct instructors with a lack of resources and support for their teaching. She then provides research-based recommendations that can help adjunct faculty feel more valued and empowered, as noted in her letter to the editor (https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/letters/how-to-help-adjuncts-not-want-to-give-up) in The Chronicle of Higher Education, in response to an article titled, “Adjunct Professors Face a ‘Constant Struggle to Not Give Up,’ Report Says (https://www.chronicle.com/article/adjunct-professors-face-a-constant-struggle-to-not-give-up-report-says),” (October 26, 2023). Resources* “Adjunct Professors Face a ‘Constant Struggle to Not Give Up,’ Report Says (https://www.chronicle.com/article/adjunct-professors-face-a-constant-struggle-to-not-give-up-report-says)” (October 26, 2023, The Chronicle of Higher Education) by Amita Chatterjee* “How to Help Adjuncts Not Want to Give Up (https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/letters/how-to-help-adjuncts-not-want-to-give-up)” (November 29, 2023, The Chronicle of Higher Education) by Kerry O’Grady

    29 min

  4. MAR 7

    Notes from the Field: Dead Ideas from Columbia CTL Educational Developers

    In this episode of 4 mini-interviews, we ask Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) staff John Foo, Jamie Kim, Rebecca Petitti, and Corey Ptak what’s been on their minds as they go about their work as educational developers. What dead ideas in teaching and learning are they encountering in their day-to-day work with instructors, in their reading and research? What are the underlying systemic issues perpetuating these dead ideas? And how are these developers addressing these challenges? Listen in to hear their responses. Resources* Columbia Science of Learning Research Initiative (SOLER) (https://soler.columbia.edu/)* Columbia Office of the Provost’s Teaching and Learning Grants (https://vptli.columbia.edu/request-for-proposals/)* "The Tyranny of Content: ‘Content Coverage’ as a Barrier to Evidence-Based Teaching Approaches and Ways to Overcome It (https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.19-04-0079)" (Petersen et al., 2020) in CBE—Life Sciences Education* “Facilitating Change in Undergraduate STEM Instructional Practices: An Analytic Review of the Literature (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tea.20439)” Henderson, Beach, & Finkelstein, 2011) in Journal of Research in Science Teaching * “Four Categories of Change Strategies for Undergraduate STEM (https://ascnhighered.org/ASCN/change_theories/collection/four_quadrants.html)” (Henderson, Beach, & Finkelstein, 2011) in Accelerating Systemic Change in STEM Higher Education * “Chemistry and Racism: A Special Topics Course for Students Taking General Chemistry at Barnard College in Fall 2020” (Babb & Austin, 2022) in Journal of Chemical Education * CTL Teaching Transformations Reflection from Rachel Narehood Austin

    37 min

  5. FEB 22

    Why is There No Training on How to Teach Graduate Students? with Leonard Cassuto

    In this episode, we continue this season’s examination of graduate education, now looking into how institutions often overlook the need for preparing faculty to teach graduate students and graduate courses. We unpack the dead ideas that underlie this neglect with Leonard Cassuto (https://www.fordham.edu/academics/departments/english/faculty/leonard-cassuto/), professor of English at Fordham University, and author of The Chronicle of Higher Education article “Why is There No Training on How to Teach Graduate Students? (https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-is-there-no-training-on-how-to-teach-graduate-students)” (May 8, 2023).

    31 min

  6. FEB 8

    Teaching Development in Doctoral Education: Let’s Ask the Grad Students!

    In this episode, we continue the conversation from our last episode on the topic of teaching development in doctoral education—this time from the student perspective! With co-host Caitlin DeClercq, Senior Assistant Director of Graduate Student Programs and Services at the Columbia CTL, we are joined by Columbia doctoral students Anirbaan Banerjee, Sara Jane Samuel, and Anwesha Sengupta. They share their experiences, thoughts, and advice on all things teaching development in doctoral education.

    31 min

  7. JAN 25

    Teaching Development in Doctoral Education: Where, When, and How?

    Welcome back to Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning! In our first episode of Season 8, we speak with Drs. Benjamin Rifkin, Rebecca Natow, Nicholas Salter, and Shayla Shorter about their article in The Chronicle of Higher Education titled “Why Doctoral Programs Should Require Courses on Pedagogy (https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-doctoral-programs-should-require-courses-on-pedagogy)” (March 16, 2023). Drs. Rifkin, Natow, Salter, and Shorter make the case for paying far more attention to developing teaching skills in doctoral programs. They share research they conducted to examine the “disconnect between what we are trained to do in graduate school and what we are expected to do in the college classroom,” and offer four next steps to better prepare Ph.D.s to teach. Benjamin Rifkin is Professor of Russian and Interim Provost at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Rebecca Natow is Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, and Director of the Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies program at Hofstra University, Nicholas Salter is Associate Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Hofstra University, and Shayla Shorter is a Clinical Collaborative Librarian and Assistant Curator for the Medical Library at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Resource* “Why Doctoral Programs Should Require Courses on Pedagogy (https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-doctoral-programs-should-require-courses-on-pedagogy)” (March 16, 2023, Chronicle of Higher Education) by Benjamin Rifkin, Rebecca Natow, Nicholas Salter, and Shayla Shorter

    37 min

  8. 11/30/2023

    Let’s Stop Relying on Biased Teaching Evaluations with Joanna Wolfe

    While there is extensive research on the use of student surveys in the evaluation of teaching, the recommended practices are often not utilized. How does this negatively impact innovation in teaching? How do these evaluations perpetuate bias against women and faculty of color? What can we do about it? Today we tackle these questions with Joanna Wolfe (https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/about-us/faculty/bios/joanna-wolfe.html), Teaching Professor of English and Affiliated Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, who wrote the January 2022 Inside Higher Ed article, “Let’s Stop Relying on Biased Teaching Evaluations (https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2022/01/21/teaching-evaluations-reflect-colleges-commitment-diversity-opinion).” Dr. Wolfe offers three helpful strategies that universities can implement to mitigate some of the potential harm that student evaluations can cause.  This is our final episode of Season 7 of Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning! We will be back in January 2024 with Season 8, continuing to unpack systems and systemic changes that are needed to improve higher ed teaching and student learning! Happy Holidays to all of our listeners!Resources* “Let’s Stop Relying on Biased Teaching Evaluations (https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2022/01/21/teaching-evaluations-reflect-colleges-commitment-diversity-opinion)” by Joanna Wolfe (January 2022, Inside Higher Ed)

    30 min
See All (55)

Trailers

5
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning is a podcast from the Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning. Our mission is to encourage instructors, students, and leaders in higher education to reflect on what they believe about teaching and learning.

Information

  • Creator
    Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    55
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning
  • Show Website
    Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada