Intentional Teaching, a show about teaching in higher education

Derek Bruff
  • 5.0 (4)
  • EDUCATION
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Intentional Teaching is a podcast aimed at educators to help them develop foundational teaching skills and explore new ideas in teaching. Hosted by educator and author Derek Bruff, the podcast features interviews with educators throughout higher ed. (Intentional Teaching is sponsored by UPCEA, the online and professional education association.)

  1. In-Class Writing with James Seitz

    23H AGO

    In-Class Writing with James Seitz

    Last November, University of Virginia English professor James Seitz offered a workshop through the UVA Center for Teaching Excellence titled “Teaching in the Age of AI: How Students Can Do All Their Writing in the Classroom.” When I saw the workshop announcement, I have to admit that my initial reaction wasn’t a positive one. Was this another call to return to the days of blue books, with high stakes essay exams depending on students being able to practice the lost art of handwriting?  No! I’m excited to have Jim Seitz on the podcast today to share how he has moved the writing his students do into the classroom. This move is a response to generative AI’s disruption of writing instruction, yes, but it’s also the latest in a series of teaching choices Jim has made to teach his students writing as a way of thinking and to change their relationship with writing. Jim takes a very thoughtful and intentional approach to his in-class writing days, as you’ll hear in our conversation.  Episode Resources James Seitz’s website, https://jamesseitz.com/  “What Happens After A.I. Destroys College Writing?” by Hua Hsu in The New Yorker “Bringing the Term Paper into the Classroom,” an interview with Lily Abadal on the Designed for Learning podcast “Getting Started with Specifications Grading,” a Teaching Hub collection by Dorothe Bach “Strategies for Avoiding AI” and “More Strategies for Avoiding AI” on the UVA Teaching Center website Support the show Podcast Links: Intentional Teaching is sponsored by UPCEA, the online and professional education association. Subscribe to the Intentional Teaching newsletter: https://derekbruff.ck.page/subscribe Subscribe to Intentional Teaching bonus episodes: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2069949/supporters/new Support Intentional Teaching on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intentionalteaching Find me on LinkedIn and Bluesky. See my website for my "Agile Learning" blog and information about having me speak at your campus or conference.

    45 min
  2. Reimagining Grading with Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley

    FEB 24

    Reimagining Grading with Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley

    This past December, I had the honor of being a guest on the Grading Podcast ("reimagining grading as a tool for student success") hosted by Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley. We had such a great conversation that I thought I would return the favor and invite Sharona and Boz on my podcast. Sharona Krinsky is the executive director of the Center for Grading Reform, a non-profit that hosts an annual conference on grading, among other things. She’s also a math instructor at California State Los Angeles. Robert Bosley, better known as Boz, is director of programming for K12 at the Center for Grading Reform and an instructional coach in the Los Angeles Unified School District.  In our conversation, Sharona and Boz share why they named their podcast the Grading Podcast and not the Alternative Grading Podcast. They also share the state of the grading reform movement here in 2026 and talk about the barriers that teachers face when trying to adopt alternative grading practices. And they have advice for centers for teaching and learning on supporting grading reform on their campuses. Episode Resources The Grading Podcast The Center for Grading Reform The Grading Conference Derek’s appearance on the Grading Podcast Support the show Podcast Links: Intentional Teaching is sponsored by UPCEA, the online and professional education association. Subscribe to the Intentional Teaching newsletter: https://derekbruff.ck.page/subscribe Subscribe to Intentional Teaching bonus episodes: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2069949/supporters/new Support Intentional Teaching on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intentionalteaching Find me on LinkedIn and Bluesky. See my website for my "Agile Learning" blog and information about having me speak at your campus or conference.

    48 min
  3. Student-Designed AI Chatbots with Windy Frank and Sarah Gibson

    FEB 10

    Student-Designed AI Chatbots with Windy Frank and Sarah Gibson

    When I heard my friend Windy Frank, an adjunct faculty at Lipscomb University here in Nashville, talk about an assignment of hers in which students designed custom AI chatbots, I was very interested. Windy teaches in the College of Bible at Lipscomb, and she asked her students to create AI chatbots based on figures in the Old Testament. Students then engaged their chatbots in conversation, asking the prophet Jonah about his biggest failure or Daniel to make up some names for the lions he famously encountered. Today on the podcast, I talk with Windy Frank and with Sarah Gibson, faculty fellow for AI and professor of communication at Lipscomb about Windy’s assignment in particular and about Lipscomb’s approach to generative AI more generally. They share what led to the Lipscomb faculty pushing its administration to provide AI tools for the entire campus, and the kinds of objections that students have had to AI-integrated assignments—including religious objections from students at this faith-based university.  Episode Resources Sarah Gibson’s faculty page, https://lipscomb.edu/directory/gibson-sarah Sarah Gibson’s website, https://professorgibson.com/ Windy Frank on the Lipscomb University College of Bible and Ministry podcast BoodleBox Support the show Podcast Links: Intentional Teaching is sponsored by UPCEA, the online and professional education association. Subscribe to the Intentional Teaching newsletter: https://derekbruff.ck.page/subscribe Subscribe to Intentional Teaching bonus episodes: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2069949/supporters/new Support Intentional Teaching on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intentionalteaching Find me on LinkedIn and Bluesky. See my website for my "Agile Learning" blog and information about having me speak at your campus or conference.

    44 min
  4. Intentional Tech Six Years Out with Derek Bruff

    FEB 3 · BONUS

    Intentional Tech Six Years Out with Derek Bruff

    Last fall, I was interviewed on a podcast called Transform Your Teaching from the Cedarville University Center for Teaching and Learning. Hosts Rob McDole and Jared Pyles had me on to talk about my book Intentional Tech six year out from its publication date. I shared the Intentional Tech principles I find most relevant today, especially as higher ed continues to respond to generative AI, and I talked about what I would put in a second edition of the book were I to write one. Rob and Jared asked me very good questions, and we had a lot of fun with the interview.  Episode Resources Transform Your Teaching podcast Cedarville University Center for Teaching and Learning Support the show Podcast Links: Intentional Teaching is sponsored by UPCEA, the online and professional education association. Subscribe to the Intentional Teaching newsletter: https://derekbruff.ck.page/subscribe Subscribe to Intentional Teaching bonus episodes: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2069949/supporters/new Support Intentional Teaching on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intentionalteaching Find me on LinkedIn and Bluesky. See my website for my "Agile Learning" blog and information about having me speak at your campus or conference.

    31 min
  5. Students and AI Literacy with Annette Vee

    JAN 13

    Students and AI Literacy with Annette Vee

    Annette Vee is an associate professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh and co-author (with Marc Watkins and your podcast host) of the forthcoming book The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching. Annette and I met through this writing project, and I invited her on the podcast to get to know her better.  Annette and I cover a lot of ground in our conversation: how computational literacy is changing in light of AI, whether there is such a thing as “AI literacy,” what she has learned from talking to hundreds of students about AI, and why AI needs to be on the college curriculum.  Episode Resources Annette Vee’s faculty website Annette Vee on LinkedIn Annette Vee’s Computation & Writing newsletter AI & How We Teach, a Norton newsletter for AI-aware teachers The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching, forthcoming by Annette Vee, Marc Watkins, and Derek Bruff “How Are Students Using AI? A Research Toolkit for Faculty” webinar recording “What Past Education Technology Failures Can Teach Us about the Future of AI in Schools” by Justin Reich Support the show Podcast Links: Intentional Teaching is sponsored by UPCEA, the online and professional education association. Subscribe to the Intentional Teaching newsletter: https://derekbruff.ck.page/subscribe Subscribe to Intentional Teaching bonus episodes: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2069949/supporters/new Support Intentional Teaching on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intentionalteaching Find me on LinkedIn and Bluesky. See my website for my "Agile Learning" blog and information about having me speak at your campus or conference.

    38 min
  6. Educational Technology Advice for Academic Leaders with Derek Bruff

    12/30/2025 · BONUS

    Educational Technology Advice for Academic Leaders with Derek Bruff

    About a year ago, I appeared on the Ed Up Provost podcast hosted by Gregor Thuswaldner to share some educational technology advice for academic leaders. Topics included strategic planning around edtech adoption to managing innovation and organizational change to investing in faculty and staff, and I think my advice holds up well. Today, I'm sharing that interview here on the Intentional Teaching podcast feed. Whether your job title includes the word provost or not, I hope you find the conversation useful. Episode Resources The Ed Up Provost podcast Gregor Thuswaldner on LinkedIn Support the show Podcast Links: Intentional Teaching is sponsored by UPCEA, the online and professional education association. Subscribe to the Intentional Teaching newsletter: https://derekbruff.ck.page/subscribe Subscribe to Intentional Teaching bonus episodes: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2069949/supporters/new Support Intentional Teaching on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intentionalteaching Find me on LinkedIn and Bluesky. See my website for my "Agile Learning" blog and information about having me speak at your campus or conference.

    46 min
  7. Teaching for Deep Learning with Ken Bain

    12/16/2025

    Teaching for Deep Learning with Ken Bain

    Ken Bain was the author of What the Best College Teachers Do, a book that has helped many college educators apply the science of learning to their teaching practice. He was also the founding director of the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, which is why I interviewed him in 2023 for an oral history I was producing about the CFT. Ken Bain passed away in October 2025, and I wanted to honor his legacy by sharing my full interview with him from 2023. In this episode, Ken talks about his work starting the teaching center at Vanderbilt and how that work helped faculty at Vanderbilt and elsewhere develop teaching strategies for deep learning. I was honored to talk with him that day in 2023, and I've always been honored to follow in his footsteps in faculty development. Episode Resources Ken Bain’s obituary Jim Lang’s post about Ken’s passing What the Best College Teachers Do An Oral History of the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching Photos from the CFT’s 35th Anniversary   Support the show Podcast Links: Intentional Teaching is sponsored by UPCEA, the online and professional education association. Subscribe to the Intentional Teaching newsletter: https://derekbruff.ck.page/subscribe Subscribe to Intentional Teaching bonus episodes: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2069949/supporters/new Support Intentional Teaching on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intentionalteaching Find me on LinkedIn and Bluesky. See my website for my "Agile Learning" blog and information about having me speak at your campus or conference.

    52 min
  8. Every Student an Entrepreneur with Jeff Meade

    12/02/2025

    Every Student an Entrepreneur with Jeff Meade

    What if your college or university decided that every undergraduate student there would be an entrepreneur, not just studying entrepreneurship but doing it? That’s exactly the decision made a few years ago by the leadership at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas. Paul Quinn is an HBCU with a small student body, just 700 students. This year, the college has launched a new program called Every Quinnite Is an Entrepreneur. The goal? Every student, regardless of major, launches and operates a real venture before graduation. On the podcast today, I talk with Jeff Meade, founding director of Every Quinnite Is an Entrepreneur. Jeff came to Paul Quinn last year with 20 years experience growing companies and advising businesses. We talk about his institution’s bold approach to preparing students for life after college and what venture-based learning looks like as this new program gets moving. Episode Resources Jeff Meade on LinkedIn Paul Quinn College Every Quinnite Is an Entrepreneur Support the show Podcast Links: Intentional Teaching is sponsored by UPCEA, the online and professional education association. Subscribe to the Intentional Teaching newsletter: https://derekbruff.ck.page/subscribe Subscribe to Intentional Teaching bonus episodes: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2069949/supporters/new Support Intentional Teaching on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intentionalteaching Find me on LinkedIn and Bluesky. See my website for my "Agile Learning" blog and information about having me speak at your campus or conference.

    38 min
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Intentional Teaching is a podcast aimed at educators to help them develop foundational teaching skills and explore new ideas in teaching. Hosted by educator and author Derek Bruff, the podcast features interviews with educators throughout higher ed. (Intentional Teaching is sponsored by UPCEA, the online and professional education association.)

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