Recombinant Teaching: STEM Education Office Hours with Dr. Justin Shaffer

Justin Shaffer | STEM Education Expert and Professor
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This is not your typical higher education interview podcast. Recombinant Teaching: STEM Education Office Hours is a call-in advice show dedicated to YOU, the instructors, professors, TAs, and administrators in the trenches of STEM higher education. Whether you are teaching a large gateway STEM course or a small senior seminar, this show is for you. With over 13 years of experience and having taught more than 10,000 students, your host, Dr. Justin Shaffer, has seen it all. Each week, he (and sometimes with guest co-hosts) unpacks your listener-submitted questions to provide practical and actionable strategies on STEM pedagogy, student success, academic careers, and everything in between. Let’s work together to keep on improving STEM education. Have a question? Click the "Submit a Question" link to be featured on the show.

  1. 2d ago ·  Bonus

    STEM Course Design Series: Syllabus and Course Schedule

    On today's episode in the STEM Course Design Series, Justin tackles the importance of the syllabus and the course schedule by looking at how to put them together, what to add to them, and how to handle them when things go awry (snow day!). Here is a link to the student-centered syllabus rubric tool developed by Michael Palmer and a link to the study on STEM syllabi from Brian Sato. Check out the syllabus template and course schedule excel sheet here. Justin's AI syllabus poilicy: You are permitted to use AI whenever you want to help you with your learning and I will model how to use AI effectively in this manner in class. However, mindset and karma are important to consider here. Please try to have a positive and productive mindset when using AI and do not fall into the trap of having it do some (or even all) of your work for you (including writing) as this takes away from your humanity and the pride that you should have in your own learning. Karma is also real – if you do fall into this trap, you will find yourself in trouble when it comes time to take the quizzes and exams as you will not have AI available to help you then. Treat AI as another tool in your toolbox and use it carefully, responsibly, and wisely! Want to be a part of the show? Submit a question! Check out Justin's book on High Structure Course Design to learn more about backward design and LOs. Check out Justin's card decks to help with course design and student learning. Learn how you, your department, or your institution can work with Justin to improve STEM education together. www.recombinanteducation.com

    21 min

  2. Jul 1

    STEM Course Design Series: Choosing Course Materials

    How do you pick course materials that are worth it for you and your students? In this episode of the STEM Course Design Series, Justin gives his advice and thoughts on this question through discussing the pros and cons of paid vs OER materials, how to use rubrics to choose a textbook and courseware, and what to think about with adopting AI tools for your courses. Check out the textbook and courseware adoption rubrics here. Want to be a part of the show? Submit a question! Check out Justin's book on High Structure Course Design to learn more about backward design and LOs. Check out Justin's card decks to help with course design and student learning. Learn how you, your department, or your institution can work with Justin to improve STEM education together. www.recombinanteducation.com

    19 min

  3. Jun 24

    STEM Course Design Series: Summative Assessment

    In this episode of the STEM Course Design Series, Justin goes over the big picture of summative assessment design and how to make sure they are aligned to your learning objectives. Justin also discusses a few types of assessments including traditional quizzes and exams, group quizzes, and how to make your assessments authentic and gives examples of how he uses them in his STEM courses. Here is a resource for more info on assessment from the UVA Teaching Hub. Here is a resource on authentic assessment from the University of Indiana. Want to be a part of the show? Submit a question! Check out Justin's book on High Structure Course Design to learn more about backward design and LOs. Check out Justin's card decks to help with course design and student learning. Learn how you, your department, or your institution can work with Justin to improve STEM education together. www.recombinanteducation.com

    21 min

  4. Jun 17

    STEM Course Design Series: Backward Design and Learning Objectives

    As we continue on in the STEM Course Design Series, in this episode Justin gives an overview of the critical importance of starting your course design experience with learning objectives and backward design. Justin also discusses how to write SMART learning objectives, how to scale them up and down Bloom's taxonomy, the importance of both content- and skills-based LOs, and how to unpack LOs. Here is a resource on writing SMART LOs. Here is resource for different verbs to use for writing LOs based on Bloom's Taxonomy. Want to be a part of the show? Submit a question! Check out Justin's book on High Structure Course Design to learn more about backward design and LOs. Check out Justin's card decks to help with course design and student learning. Learn how you, your department, or your institution can work with Justin to improve STEM education together. www.recombinanteducation.com

    19 min

  5. Jun 10

    STEM Course Design Series: Overview

    In this episode Justin walks you through the basics of high structure course design, what it is, where it came from, and how to start thinking about designing or re-designing your own courses. This episode will serve as a foundation for future episodes in the series. Check out Justin's book on High Structure Course Design Check out Justin's card decks to help with course design and student learning Here is a link to some free resources on high structure at the UVA Teaching Hub Here is the "original" structure paper by Scott Freeman and Mary Pat Wenderoth And another great one by Scott and Mary Pat Want to be a part of the show? Submit a question! Learn how you, your department, or your institution can work with Justin to improve STEM education together. www.recombinanteducation.com

    17 min

  6. Jun 5 ·  Bonus

    STEM Course Design Series: Intro

    This is an introduction to the forthcoming summer STEM course design podcast series! Listen in over the next two months to learn all about STEM course design and how to give your courses a strong foundation so that your students can have an outstanding experience. Want to be a part of the show? Submit a question! Learn how you, your department, or your institution can work with Justin to improve STEM education together. www.recombinanteducation.com

    6 min

  7. May 20

    How do I get my students to care about the topics in my class?

    Taylor Darwin joins the show to talk with Justin about how to engage your students in the classroom – not necessarily about what to do in a typical 50 minute class, but rather how to engage them in the subject matter writ large (especially if it is a mandatory class that they have little interest in). Want to be a part of the show? Submit a question! Learn more about expectancy value theory here. Check out this paper on how utility value can improve student outcomes in introductory biology. Dr. Taylor Darwin is a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics at Tarleton State University and an experienced mathematics educator whose work spans secondary, two-year, and four-year institutional contexts. Her professional background integrates teaching, research, and large-scale institutional change aimed at improving student access and success in mathematics. Dr. Darwin’s research centers on improving mathematics learning experiences for rural and underserved populations, designing and evaluating corequisite models, and supporting systemic reform in developmental education. She also explores emerging areas in mathematics education, including the use of artificial intelligence to support personalized learning and faculty professional development, as well as collaborative university–school partnerships that elevate teacher leadership and context-responsive instructional design. Her research agenda is informed in part by her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Southern California, where she deepened her expertise in learning sciences and technology-enhanced education.   Across her previous roles and in her teaching experience, Dr. Darwin has focused on designing active learning environments and supporting faculty in shifting from traditional lecture-based instruction toward more student-centered, interactive approaches. Her work has contributed to multiple grant-funded initiatives focused on STEM access, equity, and innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Learn how you, your department, or your institution can work with Justin to improve STEM education together. www.recombinanteducation.com

    16 min

  8. May 13

    What is the best way to form student groups?

    Justin is joined by SPECIAL GUEST HOST Kelsey Metzger Metzbertsel to answer an age-old question about the best way to form student groups! Justin was sure glad to have Kelsey as a group partner to work through this toughie! Want to be a part of the show? Submit a question! Kelsey Metzger – Dr. KJAM to her students – is a professor in the Center for Learning Innovation and the director of faculty development at the University of Minnesota Rochester where she was a founding faculty member. Across her efforts in research, teaching, and service, Kelsey’s core value is using evidence to advance knowledge and practice in support of equitable and inclusive student learning, development, and wellbeing. Learn more about the CATME grouping tool here. Learn how you, your department, or your institution can work with Justin to improve STEM education together. www.recombinanteducation.com

    14 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

This is not your typical higher education interview podcast. Recombinant Teaching: STEM Education Office Hours is a call-in advice show dedicated to YOU, the instructors, professors, TAs, and administrators in the trenches of STEM higher education. Whether you are teaching a large gateway STEM course or a small senior seminar, this show is for you. With over 13 years of experience and having taught more than 10,000 students, your host, Dr. Justin Shaffer, has seen it all. Each week, he (and sometimes with guest co-hosts) unpacks your listener-submitted questions to provide practical and actionable strategies on STEM pedagogy, student success, academic careers, and everything in between. Let’s work together to keep on improving STEM education. Have a question? Click the "Submit a Question" link to be featured on the show.

Information

  • Creator
    Justin Shaffer | STEM Education Expert and Professor
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Justin Shaffer | STEM Education Expert and Professor

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