Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning

In the introduction of Liz Norell’s new book, The Present Professor: Authenticity and Transformational Teaching (2024), she opens with two statements: “When you cannot be present, you cannot teach effectively” and “What’s good for students is good for us, too.” In this episode, Dr. Norell elaborates on these statements, and examines the importance of presence and authenticity in teaching and learning for both instructors and students. Dr. Norell, who serves as Associate Director of Instructional Support in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Mississippi, also shares tools for cultivating self-knowledge, and discusses how they can positively impact teaching. This will be the last episode of Season 9 of Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning. We will be back in spring 2025 with Season 10. Thank you for listening!

In 2020, Denise Cruz, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia, worked with the CTL through a Provost’s Innovative Course Design Grant to transform her large lecture course in Asian American Literature into a blended format. Today, we speak with Denise about the profound impact the new course format has had on student engagement, motivation, and collaboration in her class, and the dead ideas in teaching that she confronted as she designed and taught it. Spoiler alert: the redesign was so successful that Dr. Cruz was awarded both the Presidential Teaching Award and Mark Van Doren Teaching Award. Transcript available at ctl.columbia.edu/podcastResourcesDenise Cruz presents her course redesign project at Columbia’s 2021 Celebration of Teaching and Learning Symposium: https://youtu.be/_QA9FdiYNfE

Today we speak with Joshua Kim, Director of Online Programs and Strategy at Dartmouth College, and Edward Maloney, Executive Director of The Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship at Georgetown University. In their recent book Learning Innovation and the Future of Higher Education (2020), Drs. Kim and Maloney write “We have no shortage of knowledge about how learning works and how this knowledge can be applied to advance teaching. What we lack is an understanding of the conditions in which learning science propagates through institutions to change organizational structures and teaching practices.” In this episode, Josh and Eddie discuss the disconnect between many institutions’ mission and the work of innovating teaching and learning, as well as the need for an institutional-wide strategy to implement such innovations. They suggest steps for how those in higher education leadership can think about systemic changes that would help higher education teaching and learning evolve over time for changing workforces, demographics, and environments. Transcript available at ctl.columbia.edu/podcastResources:Learning Innovation and the Future of Higher Education (2020) by Joshua Kim and Edward MaloneyThe Low-Density University: 15 Scenarios for Higher Education (2021) by Edward Maloney and Joshua KimListeners can save 30% on both books with the code HTWN at press.jhu.edu.

While much public discourse argues over the value and the future of higher education—whether it really “pays off” or how we can leverage technological tools and big data—what’s often missing from the conversation is the importance of good teaching. Aaron Pallas and Anna Neumann, professors of education at Teachers College, Columbia University, believe that good college teaching matters—so much so that they wrote a book about it! In today’s podcast episode, Drs. Pallas and Neumann discuss their book Convergent Teaching (2019) and share three pedagogical moves to convergent teaching, as well as dead ideas that it debunks. Transcript available at ctl.columbia.edu/podcastResource: Convergent Teaching (2019) by Aaron Pallas and Anna Neumann

In today’s episode, Kevin Gannon, a Professor of History and Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Grand View University, discusses how the pandemic has highlighted “bedrock” flaws in higher education systems, including in faculty evaluation processes. These flaws, based on dead ideas such as emphasizing equality rather than equity, disproportionately affect marginalized groups. Dr. Gannon elaborates on the destructive potential of returning “back to normal” in these systems after the pandemic, and offers steps that faculty can take to best move forward. Gannon, author of the book Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto (2020), also shares what keeps him inspired and why he believes we should remain hopeful about the future of higher education. Transcript available at ctl.columbia.edu/podcastResourcesFaculty Evaluation After the Pandemic (June 9, 2021) by Kevin Gannon, The Chronicle of Higher Education Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto (2020) by Kevin Gannon

Today we speak with renowned teaching and learning theorist and thought leader Laura I. Rendón, a Professor Emerita at the University of Texas-San Antonio and author of the book Sentipensante (Sensing/Thinking) Pedagogy: Educating for Wholeness, Social Justice and Liberation (2009). As the pandemic nears its end, Dr. Rendón believes we are now in “nepantla”, or a liminal space of inquiry and possibility, regarding the future of higher education. As we return to campuses and classrooms, we need to deeply question what “normal” should be and make sure our pedagogical choices offer a “better” normal for all students, and especially for underserved populations. We need to ask ourselves what kind of an education students now need to help society and to solve our complex problems. We should be mindful of centering equity and inclusion in all of the learning experiences that students encounter.  Dr. Rendón discusses some of the entrenched beliefs that dictate the current culture of teaching and learning, and how they could be shifted to embrace a new vision of higher education. Transcript available at ctl.columbia.edu/podcastResourcesSentipensante (Sensing/Thinking) Pedagogy: Educating for Wholeness, Social Justice and Liberation (2009) by Laura I. RendónThe Four Agreements (1997) by don Miguel Ruiz Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College (2020) by Peter Felten and Leo M. Lambert “Dead Ideas: Reflections for Post-Pandemic Learning” (June 2021, Inside Higher Education) by Catherine Ross, Amanda Irvin, and Soulaymane Kachani 

Welcome to Season 3 of Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning! We begin this season by turning the conversation around: our guest today is Catherine Ross, Executive Director of the Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning, and host of Dead Ideas. Catherine, interviewed by Ian Althouse, Senior Assistant Director at the Columbia CTL, shares why she decided to start this podcast—including her own “aha” moment—and what motivates and inspires her to continue the work of unpacking implicit assumptions in teaching and learning in higher education. Catherine also gives listeners a sneak peek of this season’s upcoming guests. In Season 3, we will focus on teaching and learning systems in the academy, and how they need to be changed. Topics include beliefs about rigor, the value of undergraduate education in research universities, how to generate systemic change in institutions, issues of equity, and how faculty are evaluated.  

In May 2020, two months after Columbia transitioned to fully remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we interviewed four Columbia undergrads about their experiences. Now almost a full year out, we wanted to check in again on the student experience and identify what dead ideas have surfaced in this extended period of disruption. In this episode, we speak with Sajan Bar, a junior in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Michelle Yao, a junior in Columbia College, who both serve as undergraduate teaching and learning consultants as part of the CTL’s Students as Pedagogical Partners initiative. They discuss community building, study practices, grading and assessment, and share what they hope will remain and what will be left behind as we move towards more face-to-face settings. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast

In his 1993 article, “Teaching as Community Property: Putting an End to Pedagogical Solitude”, renowned educational psychologist Lee Shulman argued that if teaching were viewed as community property, rather than something that happens behind closed classroom doors, there would be more value placed on teaching and more rigor in the evaluation of teaching. In today’s episode, we unpack this argument and its underlying dead ideas with Columbia doctoral students Thomas Preston, Diana Newby, and Ami Yoon—all who have worked in multiple teaching capacities at Columbia University. They discuss how their experiences have led them to believe that collaboration has a range of benefits in teaching and learning. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast

What are small steps instructors can take to teach inclusively? Where, when, and how should they be implemented? In today’s episode, we chat with the authors of the new book What Inclusive Instructors Do: Principles and Practices for Excellence in College Teaching (2021). These experts share approaches to conducting inclusive courses that are student-centered, community-based, and transparent, and discuss why these approaches are important—as well as the dead ideas that they debunk. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast. Authors: Tracie Marcella Addy, Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning at Lafayette College (PA) Derek Dube, Associate Professor of Biology and Director of the Center for Student Research and Creative Activity at the University of St. Joseph (CT) Khadijah A. Mitchell, Peter C.S. D’Aubermont, M.D., '73 Scholar of Health and Life Sciences and Assistant Professor of Biology at Lafayette College Mallory SoRelle, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University

What are the benefits of online education? What misconceptions or “dead ideas” do both instructors and students harbor about teaching and learning online? And how can online activities (both synchronous and asynchronous) benefit student engagement, community-building, and inclusion in the classroom? In today’s episode, we speak with Roxanne Russell, Director of Online Education at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, about all things online, including what she has learned from her students and the “aha” moment that inspired her to start her career in online education. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast

Transcript What does the syllabus do? Who is it for? Why is it chronically unread? And how can it be written to foster an environment of trust and collaboration in the classroom? William Germano, Professor of English at Cooper Union, and Kit Nicholls, Director of the Center for Writing at Cooper Union, are authors of the book Syllabus: The Remarkable, Unremarkable Document That Changes Everything (2020). In this episode, they tackle these fundamental questions about the syllabus, and discuss how it serves as a starting point for addressing larger dead ideas about teaching, learning, and student engagement. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast.

Jesse Stommel, co-founder of Hybrid Pedagogy: the journal of critical digital pedagogy and co-author of An Urgency of Teachers: the Work of Critical Digital Pedagogy, has not graded student work—in the traditional sense—in 20 years. Instead, he practices “ungrading”, a word which “...suggests that we need to do intentional, critical work to dismantle traditional and standardized approaches to assessment.” In this episode, Jesse unpacks why he supports ungrading (as well as the dead ideas that it challenges), and explains how it promotes student learning. He also shares steps that listeners can take towards ungrading in their own classrooms. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast. Transcript

Beginning In 2007, Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons (VP&S) began to radically rethink their curriculum and assessment strategies for first and second year medical students. In today’s episode, we speak with Jonathan (Yoni) Amiel, Interim Co-Vice Dean for Education and Senior Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs at VP&S, and Aubrie Swan Sein, Director of the Center for Education Research and Evaluation and Associate Professor of Educational Assessment at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Jonathan and Aubrie discuss the changes they have implemented and the dead ideas they have encountered— especially around assessment—and how things have turned out thus far. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast.

Welcome back to Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning. When we began this podcast, our mission was to encourage instructors, students, and leaders in higher education to reflect on what they believe about teaching and learning. Now, almost a year into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it remains a difficult, uncertain moment for higher education. But in that uncertainty, we have a profound opportunity to confront the many dead ideas that have been exposed by the move out of our traditional classrooms and to challenge what teaching means and how it happens. This podcast is a space for reflection, transformation, and learning. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast

In this bonus episode, we continue our conversation with Jenny Davidson, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia, to tackle the question of how much reading is enough in a literature course. Professor Davidson shares examples of how she balances assignment load with student learning objectives in her literature courses, and how she has had to adjust that balance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast.

On March 20, 2020, days after Columbia University transitioned to fully remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jenny Davidson, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia, published an article in The Washington Post titled “Forget distance learning. Just give every student an automatic A.” In this episode, Professor Davidson further discusses why she chose to give all of her students an A in Spring 2020, and why, even outside of a pandemic setting, she has long been resistant to the conventional practices of grading. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast.

Carl Wieman, Nobel laureate and Professor of Physics and Education at Stanford University, has dedicated much of his career to addressing the problems and challenges of how universities teach science. In this episode, Wieman imparts the “aha!” moment that motivated his transition from physics research to science education research. He shares dead ideas that he encounters routinely in science teaching, including those that are magnified by the shift to remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast.

Do we really only use 10% of our brains? Will using technology in my course improve my students’ learning and motivation? Are students nowadays “digital natives”? In this episode, we tackle these questions and others with Michelle Miller, Professor of Psychology at Northern Arizona University and author of Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology. Miller talks about her research and experiences with misconceptions about the mind, brain, and learning, with a focus on neuromyths related to teaching with technology. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast.

In our first episode, Diane Pike, Professor of Sociology at Augsburg University, discusses her motivation to write the article “The Tyranny of Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning”, which serves as the foundation of this podcast. Pike shares “light bulb” teaching moments from her career as well as how her thinking around “dead ideas” has evolved in the past 10 years since the article’s publication. Learn more at ctl.columbia.edu/podcast