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A lively look at the trends and people shaping the future of higher education, featuring thought leaders from across the industry. Brought to you by Top Hat.
19 Episodes
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College has never cost more, or the payoff more uncertain. As students question the value of a degree, many are disconnecting, skipping class, ghosting assignments, and drifting through their education. Faculty, meanwhile, are working harder than ever to re-engage them. Enter Mark Perna, bestselling author of Answering Why and a leading voice on generational motivation. He believes today’s students are ready to invest when they see clear, compelling relevance. As he argues, the path forward d...
Textbooks are the flip phones of higher ed: clunky, outdated, and yet somehow the model persists. The reality is, students aren’t buying them. And increasingly, faculty are asking: why am I still assigning something that isn’t delivering value? In this episode, Donna Battista and Bradley Cohen join us to explore a provocative new vision for course content, one that’s not just digital, but dynamic. Drawing on dozens of faculty and student interviews, they share insights into what’s broken, wha...
AI isn’t knocking politely—it’s already moved into the classroom, and higher ed is still figuring out who gets the guest room. Marc Watkins, Director of the AI Institute for Teachers and Assistant Director of Academic Innovation at the University of Mississippi, has become one of higher ed’s leading voices on the ethical and practical implications of generative AI. In this episode, he unpacks the divide between those eager to embrace AI and those determined to resist it, and we can learn from...
Every student brings invisible baggage to college—stories about what they’re good at, what they’re not, and who they’re expected to be. But what if those stories are wrong—or just incomplete? In this episode, we talk with college educator Jeffrey Klausman, author of Composing a College Career, about how internal narratives shape student success—and what faculty can do to help students shift from self-doubt to self-authorship. From family expectations to cultural assumptions, we explore the hi...
Let’s be real: teaching can feel like performance art. But what if your most powerful teaching tool is you—fully present, emotionally honest, and yes, a little messy? In this episode, we talk with Liz Norell, author of The Present Professor, about what it really means to bring your whole self to the classroom—without oversharing, or overperforming. Authenticity, she reminds us, isn’t about disclosure—it’s about alignment. When your values shape how you relate to students, the classroom ...
We’ve all seen the movies: the perfectly polished professor who captivates every student without missing a beat. But in real classrooms, things go sideways—more often than we might like. In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Jessamyn Neuhaus, author of SNAFU EDU, to explore what really happens when teaching goes off-script—whether it’s a name you keep mispronouncing or the emotional gut-punch of a student failing your course. With humor, humility, and hard-earned wisdom, Jessamyn offers ...
What if student motivation didn’t have to be a tug-of-war? In this episode, cognitive psychologist and author Dr. Michelle Miller joins us to explore what happens when faculty stop policing students and start partnering with them. We dig into the research behind motivation, the power of learning student names, and small shifts that can make a big difference—for students and instructors. Because motivated students aren’t born—they’re made. Whether you're burned out on late work ema...
When students go quiet after your best discussion question, it’s tempting to assume the worst. But what if that quiet moment means something else entirely? In this episode, we’re joined by educator, speaker, and author of Teaching at Its Best, Dr. Todd Zakrajsek, to rethink the role of classroom discussions—not as performance, but as practice. We explore why our go-to methods often favor fast-thinking extroverts, and how small shifts in tone, timing, and structure can make space for more voic...
Higher education is feeling the pressure—from shifting student expectations to mounting demands for proof of impact. But real change rarely comes with a crash of cymbals. Sometimes, it sneaks in quietly—with the right tools, small shifts in teaching practice, and a mission everyone can rally around. In this episode, we explore how one university quietly orchestrated a 11.5% reduction in course withdrawals. Guests Derek Bruff, Gina Londino-Smolar, and Sue-Mun Huang show us why the right ...
Higher ed may be going through stormy weather, but in this soul-nourishing episode, we’re choosing joy. Psychologist, author, and happiness researcher Sarah Rose Cavanagh joins us to explore the science (and the magic) of cultivating happiness—even when times are tough. From the chorus of spring peepers in New England wetlands to building resilience, Sarah shows us why collective effervescence isn’t just a beautiful phrase—it’s a survival strategy. We talk about why emotion is the secret sauc...
What if the biggest barrier to innovation in our teaching isn’t time or training—but fear? And what if the antidote isn’t a full course redesign, but a single courageous step? In this episode, we sit down with teaching fellow, serial risk-taker and unshakable optimist, Damien Hommel to unpack what it means to be brave in the classroom. From small nudges to bold experiments, Damien argues that finding the courage to change is both more necessary—and more doable—than we think. Besides, what’s t...
Have you ever talked with students about study skills? Did they lean in with unbridled enthusiasm? Or did your intuition suggest this might not be the right approach? Dr. Saundra McGuire, a leading expert on student learning, has some helpful advice. Together we tackle the metacognitive equity gap—that unseen divide between students who have been taught how to think about their learning and those who haven’t—and why talking about metacognition—not just study tips—could be the shift we n...
Cheating feels like an unavoidable reality—but what if the antidote isn’t stricter policies or plagiarism checkers, but emotion? Neuroscience tells us that students are more likely to invest in what they find meaningful. The question is, how do we help them care? We catch up with renowned speaker, author, and educator Flower Darby to explore the link between emotion and learning—and how fostering connection, and even embracing our own likeability can nudge students to do the work that learnin...
Many students arriving at college seem to be less able and less willing to read. It’s left faculty frustrated and anxious, with some wondering, are we witnessing the end of reading? According to Donna Battista, a 20 year veteran of higher education publishing, where there's a crisis, there’s also opportunity—to rethink and reimagine what we ask students to consume. With new tools, a pragmatic approach, and an eye to affordability, we might just be able to reclaim a love of reading after all.&...
At a time when AI offers students the easy button, how do we motivate them to do hard things? And how do we help students reclaim the sense of purpose, agency, and self-confidence vital to a meaningful, productive life. Who better to ask than Dr. Kevin Yee, Director of the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Central Florida and a lead organizer of the university’s wildly successful Teaching with AI conference. Dr. Yee gives us his take on our promethean moment in a c...
Is grading doing us or our students any favors? Or do grades short circuit the rich, messy human interactions that are so important to meaningful learning? For Jesse Stommel, author of Undoing the Grade: Why We Grade and How to Stop, breaking our addiction to grades may be easier than you think. Jesse shares why he’s never put a grade on student work and why ‘ungrading’ might be the just the thing we need to move beyond the transactional to get students invested in learning. 00:00: Re...
Belonging is like WI-FI: you don’t notice it until you don’t have it, and then nothing seems to work right. That’s especially true for student persistence in higher education. But it’s become such a buzzword, it begs the question, what does belonging really mean? How do you measure it? And, most importantly, how do you ensure students feel it? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Terrell Strayhorn, a leading authority on belonging, to understand what we can do to foster the human connection so ...
This episode's guest's latest book is selling light hot cakes—for good reason. It’s been called a “veritable lifeline” for any educator looking to wrap their heads around the potential of AI to enhance their teaching practice. Buckle up as we sit down with the tireless José Antonio Bowen, distinguished academic and the author of Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to A New Era of Human Learning, for some sage advice on what AI can and cannot do for you and your students. 00:00: Teaching Wit...
Post COVID trauma. Learning loss. A growing student mental health crisis. The past few years have left many faculty feeling burned out. Then some bright light in Silicon Valley thought, hey, now seems like the perfect time to add a little AI to the mix. It’s been a lot. So how can we recapture our joie de vivre? Dr. Brad Cohen discusses the power of play in taking on new challenges, upping our teaching game, and opening our minds to AI and … you heard this right … forest bathing. 0:00...
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