CoLab Podcast

Josh Luckens of the Wentworth Institute of Technology, Joan Zaretti of Bryant University and Karen Hopkins of Auburn University discuss their experiences creating playful and play-based programs and activities aimed at engaging learners and building community. They share strategies for cultivating a sense of belonging, purpose, and trust among students and faculty through the joy of play.This episode originally aired on November 17, 2023 on the Centering Centers podcast, which explores the work of Centers for Teaching and Learning like Wentworth’s Teaching and Learning Collaborative, and the vision and insights of educational developers in higher education. It's a production of the POD Network, North America’s largest educational development community, which is dedicated to improving teaching and learning in higher education.This episode is a production of POD’s Digital Resources & Innovation committee and was originally recorded as part of the PODFest series on December 1, 2022. Special thanks to Lindsay Doukopoulos, host of the Centering Centers podcast, for allowing us to share this episode with you all.Additional resources:The Centering Centers PodcastThe POD NetworkPOD’s Digital Resources and Innovation Committee  CoLab Podcast Episode 13: Playful Pedagogy with Dr. Lisa Forbes and Dr. David ThomasProfessors at Play: Transforming Higher Education Though PlayCoLab Remix Editor: Sarah Walkowiak (January, 2023)

Josh Luckens interviews Dr. Igor Minevich, Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Wentworth Institute of Technology. Minevich explains why the Teaching and Learning Collaborative’s New Faculty Orientation and Instructional Coaching program “changed the way I feel about teaching,” inspiring him to “lead the classroom like a partnership” and “teach from the heart.” He discusses why he shifted away from lecture-based instruction to a “multi-way dialogue” in which his whole class is “co-creating learning.” He offers strategies for getting students “excited about the mystery of how something works…actually discovering things they're learning for themselves, with me guiding.” Minevich shares his belief that “mathematics is really about the discovery of truth, of how the universe works, why things are the way they are. What we're learning in math is actually truth, something deep and profound and beautiful that can be used in all sorts of ways." Minevich shares the joy it brings him to see his whole class actively “engaged in learning together,” taking ownership of their growth as mathematicians. He says that teaching has become “a whole different experience” for him as he steps back and empowers his students to actively make meaning in the classroom. Editors: Sarah Walkowiak and Melanie Mikkelson (November, 2023)

Josh Luckens interviews Dr. Kevin Gannon, who shares how he finds spaces of possibility to question the status quo in higher education, working alongside his students to build a more just and sustainable future. He discusses ways to stop inequities from reproducing themselves in the classroom, how he has moved from focusing on the product to the process of learning, and why he leads with compassion as an educator, helping students discover their own unique pathways to meaningful and authentic learning.Dr. Gannon posits that the better we can answer the following questions, the better the teaching and learning experiences that we design will be:How do I give students permission to take risks and fall short, knowing that a “failure” isn’t the end of the process, but a necessary step towards learning and mastery?How will I get students connected with one another and myself in relationships built on mutual trust and shared purpose?How can I not take things personally, but instead lead with curiosity and meet my students where they actually are?How is everyone in this teaching and learning space acknowledging and meeting everyone else as fully and authentically human?How do I remain committed to a better future and act every day from that place?Dr. Kevin Gannon is the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence and Professor of History at Queens University. He is a regular contributor to The Chronicle of Higher Education and is the author of the book Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto.Additional resources:Kevin Gannon's Book: Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto Kevin Gannon's Blog: The Tattooed Professor: History, Teaching, and Technology With A Custom Paint JobEditor: Sarah Walkowiak (August, 2023)

The Teaching & Learning Collaborative’s Josh Luckens and Megan Hamilton Giebert are joined by Wentworth’s Dean of Students Jenn Kosses to discuss the “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education,” a classic study by Arthur Chickering and Zelda Gamson. Our conversation explores how we bring these best practices to life at Wentworth and illuminates the many ways in which Chickering and Gamson's guiding principles can help us find our footing in a changing higher education landscape. The seven principles are: 1) Encourage contact between students and faculty 2) Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students 3) Encourage active learning 4) Give prompt feedback 5) Emphasize time on task 6) Communicate high expectations 7) Respect diverse talents and ways of learning Additional resources: Read more about these principles by checking out this guide from the University of Florida or this resource from the University of Tennessee. Episode Editor: Sarah Walkowiak Sound Engineer: Gabe Sytangco ‘23 (June, 2023)

Josh Luckens interviews Dr. Lisa Forbes and Dr. David Thomas, the co-founders of Professors at Play, an organization that invites professors to explore the transformative power of play in the higher education classroom. They are the co-editors of the Professors at Play PlayBook, an anthology of playful teaching techniques applicable across the disciplines, sourced from their network of nearly 1,000 professors from across the globe, and available as a free download. They discuss the complex ways that play creates relational safety in the classroom, how play can enliven content and spark more lasting learning, and why playful teaching brings them so much joy as professors. Dr. Lisa Forbes is a Professor of Counseling at the University of Colorado, Denver. Dr. David Thomas is an Architecture Professor at the University of Colorado, Denver, and the Executive Director of Online Programs at the University of Denver. Paraphrasing them:In the serious play of the course, students have to creatively figure out how to write new laws by applying real concepts in imaginary contexts, helping them to learn how to think like lawyers, rather than simply be imparted with information that lawyers should know...and genuinely enjoying the process of learning collaboratively.When we find joy in teaching, our passion is contagious. When we are genuinely curious and playful, when we model authenticity and vulnerability, when we allow ourselves to learn alongside our students in the play of teaching and learning, we not only transform our classrooms, we walk a path of redemption that touches the soul of our institutions.Editors: Sarah Walkowiak, Josh Luckens, Megan Hamilton Giebert, and LaToya Hinton(May, 2023)Additional resources:Professors at Play: Transforming Higher Education Though Play (website)Join the Professors at Play community's global listserv (website with link to join Google group)Professors at Play PlayBook: Real-world techniques from a more playful higher education classroom (book with free download)The Process of Play in Learning in Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study (article by Dr. Lisa Forbes)Playful Teaching Pyramid (infographic)

Josh Luckens interviews Dr. Thomas J. Tobin, who discusses the power of “the big five: voice, choice, agency, safety, and belonging” in teaching and learning. Dr. Tobin is a specialist in Teaching, Learning, and Academic Technology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a celebrated scholar and speaker on technology-mediated education and is the co-author of Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education.Dr. Tobin shares his belief that all learners are capable of transforming themselves with the right tools, time, and the space to imagine new possibilities in their lives. He offers strategies for meeting both students and faculty where they are and implementing evidence-based practices to support success in the classroom. Paraphrasing Dr. Tobin:The real joy of teaching is seeing your learners engage with problems, ideas, and concepts in ways that you might never have thought to do.People, groups, institutions, systems—they don't change unless they themselves perceive a need to do so. I’ve had far more success when I ask questions to allow people to identify their own challenges than just coming in with suggestions.It all goes back to motivation; unless you have a reason why you want to learn something, you don't learn it. And if you have a genuine reason to stick with a learning process, you'll stick with it way beyond what other people tell you to do. That's the kind of inspiration and engagement that we aspire to as learning designers.Additional resources:Dr. Tobin’s website, thomasjtobin.com, featuring links to all of his publications and photographs of his fabulous handlebar mustacheChickering & Gamson’s Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education: Resource guide from the University of FloridaCoLab Podcast Episode 7- Universal Design for LearningEditors: Megan Hamilton Giebert, Lorrie Weldon, and LaToya Hinton (March, 2023)

Josh Luckens interviews a team of Wentworth colleagues who he collaborates with to design hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for students at Accelerate, Wentworth's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center.The team shares how they create fertile learning spaces where failure is seen as necessary for growth, offering strategies for empowering students with the tools to be innovative and bring an entrepreneurial mindset to all areas of their lives.Joe Schnackertz, a 2021 Wentworth graduate and Accelerate’s Program Coordinator, discusses the power of creating “spaces of yes” on college campuses—places for students to collaborate across disciplines, explore new ideas, and access resources to support students wherever they are on their learning journeys.Michael Mozill, Wentworth Professor of Business Management, shares how realizing that “a growth mindset is much more fun than a fixed mindset” led to a renaissance in his life that both enabled him to live from a place of intrinsic motivation and led him to be a better teacher.Ashley Lucas, Accelerate’s Executive Director, shares how curiosity continuously helps her overcome the fear of failure and empowers her to “be more entrepreneurial and innovative,” and how her curiosity expands her vision of the possible as Accelerate transforms from a makerspace to the vanguard of creative culture at Wentworth.Additional resources:Accelerate’s websiteAccelerate’s LinkedIn showcase page(February, 2023)

Josh Luckens interviews Dr. Tracie Addy, who shares strategies for implementing inclusive teaching practices in the college classroom.They discuss the relationship between active learning and equity, why student-centered teaching promotes feelings of belonging, and the pedagogical power of authentic human connection.Dr. Tracie Addy is the Director of the Center for the Integration of Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship at Lafayette College. She is a scholar of both teaching and learning and educational development, primarily focusing on learner-centered practices including active learning and inclusive teaching.Dr. Addy is the co-author of the book What Inclusive Instructors Do: Principles and Practices for Excellence in College Teaching.Paraphrasing Dr. Addy:In a learner-centered classroom, most of the students are engaged in participating; there's more equity in terms of participation.You'll see the instructor serving as a guide or coach in a process of learning and growth. You’ll see the instructor trying to understand where their students are coming from, viewing their diversity as an asset, and really seeing their full humanity.Learning is a back-and-forth collaborative process. We know that people learn through stories and by working together to creatively solve problems, constructing new knowledge in meaningful and authentic ways.Additional resources:Who is in class formInclusive teaching visualization siteInclusive Instruction Q&A Video with Dr. Addy from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE)Editors: Megan Hamilton Giebert and Lorrie Weldon(January, 2023)

Josh Luckens interviews Nic Voge, who offers strategies for transforming fear and reframing failure in academic settings. He shares ways to design courses that emphasize student engagement and intrinsic motivation as central features in an experience of meaningful inquiry.Nic Voge is a nationally recognized expert in teaching, learning, and student motivation, and the senior associate director of the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning at Princeton University. His Ted talk, Self Worth Theory: The Key to Understanding & Overcoming Procrastination, has been viewed over 2 million times. He is the co-author of the book Life Beyond Grades: Designing College Courses to Promote Intrinsic Motivation.Voge shares how self-worth theory provides a lens into the internal human experience that empowers students and faculty to act on their most noble motivations. He offers an engaged Buddhist pedagogy which gives students autonomy and agency, empowering them to succeed in the classroom and beyond.He discusses why curiosity helps him put aside perfectionism and find both purpose and flow in his life. Voge describes curiosity as “a place of refuge” that is both “a balm and a fuel,” which gives him energy to live out his mission of “reducing suffering in the world,” one student at a time.Additional resources:· Life Beyond Grades website· Learn more about the self-worth theory of motivationEditors: Megan Hamilton Giebert and Lorrie Weldon(November, 2022)

In a spooky Halloween adventure, hosts Josh Luckens and Megan Hamilton Giebert are thrust into an educational encounter with the supernatural world. We feature an oracular radio drama in which a lost professor contends with ghosts, zombies, and a truth-telling student, and teaching tips are conveyed from the great beyond via Arioch Wentworth's gramophone.Beware: this episode features course design and delivery strategies from a Dickensian figure who may or may not be a ghost. Their ancient wisdom is so potent that it might just help you transform your teaching practice and cast a lasting spell of engagement on your students…Additional resources:Maurice’s strategies to keep students in class using intrinsic motivation:Make class time fun and engagingMake learning socialMake real world connectionsEmphasize the positiveDemonstrate that you careMaurice’s strategies to keep students in class using extrinsic motivation:Do meaningful things in class that uniquely happen during class timeRequire attendance, take attendance, and/or grade attendance…while offering some flexibility, since we’re all human (although Maurice might actually be a ghost…)Links:Chronicle of Higher Education article: Why Students Are Skipping Class So Often, and How to Bring Them BackCheck out the Teaching & Learning Collaborative website for additional teaching strategies and tips.Try the virtual theremin for all your spooky sound needs!(October, 2022)

Wentworth instructional designers Josh Luckens, Megan Hamilton Giebert, and Lucy Wolski discuss strategies to implement Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in college classrooms.UDL is a framework that seeks to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn best. Research shows that the ways in which people learn are as unique as their fingerprints. UDL guides the design of learning environments that reduce barriers to learning and empowers students to become expert learners in the rich diversity of ways that people learn.Additional resources:TLC Interactive Module: Universal Design for LearningWebsite: The UDL GuidelinesWebsite: UDL in Higher EdWebsite: CAST: Until Learning Has No Limits, the nonprofit education research and development organization behind UDLBook: Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education by Thomas J. Tobin and Kirsten T. Behling Podcast: Think UDL Podcast (September, 2022)

Josh Luckens interviews Dr. Susan Blum, who shares how she uses “ungrading” principles and practices to reinvigorate her role as a college professor and empower her students to be lifelong learners.Dr. Blum is a professor of anthropology at The University of Notre Dame and the author of nine books, including her 2016 publication "I Love Learning; I Hate School: An Anthropology of College,” and her 2020 instant classic “Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead),” which she both edited and contributed to alongside higher education experts from across the world.Ungrading is a process of pedagogical inquiry that calls conventional assessment practices into question and continually searches for instructional strategies that work better to promote deep engagement and lasting learning.Dr. Blum shares a constellation of teaching practices applicable to a variety of disciplines that de-center grading and re-center genuine feedback and student growth.In her words: “Students in my classes have shifted their focus from getting good grades to meaningful and authentic learning.”Additional resources:TLC blog post: Asking the Big Questions in Learning DesignTeaching What You Don’t Know by Therese HustonCarl Wieman Science Education InitiativeSyllabus example that employs grading while integrating ungrading principles (from Professor Mark Sample of Davidson University)(August, 2022)

Wentworth instructional designers Josh Luckens, Megan Hamilton Giebert, and Lucy Wolski team up again to discuss actionable ways to bring trauma-informed teaching strategies into the classroom.Trauma-informed pedagogy is a holistic approach to teaching and learning that recognizes and responds proactively to the collective and individual traumas that both students and faculty experience.Underpinned by the neuroscience of learning, this approach brings heightened awareness of the crucial role of emotion in cognition.Trauma-informed teaching practices seek to create classroom communities in which students feel safe, empowered, and connected. Such thoughtful promotion of student and faculty well-being fosters deeper engagement and more equitable learning outcomes.Additional resources:Infographic: Top 10 Trauma Informed Teaching StrategiesArticle: Leveraging the Neuroscience of Now: Helping Students Thrive in Times of Trauma (By Mays Imad, Inside Higher Ed)Guide: Trauma-Informed Teaching Checklist (By Karen Costa, 100 Faculty)Videos: Brené Brown on Empathy and Brené Brown's TED talk The Power of VulnerabilityTLC blog post: Maslow’s before Bloom’s: Strategies to Mitigate Student Anxiety(July, 2022)

Josh Luckens interviews Dr. Saundra McGuire, who shares personal philosophies and inspiring stories from her decades as a leader in higher education.Dr. Saundra McGuire is internationally acclaimed learning specialist who has been teaching students a rich tapestry of strategies for improving their study skills and achieving academic success for over 50 years as a Professor of Chemistry and as the Director Emerita of the Center for Academic Success at Louisiana State University. She is the author of multiple books, including “Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incorporate Into Any Course to Improve Student Metacognition, Study Skills, and Motivation.”Dr. McGuire shares how she transformed as an educator as she investigated how students learn best, why she chose to make metacognitive equity her life's work, and how to turn student success into a virtuous cycle.In her words: “My mission is to help others reach their potential. Very often, the only confidence that students have is the confidence that we give them. To be educated means that you know that you can always learn anything as long as you are genuinely interested, put your mind to it, and have the appropriate learning strategies.”Additional resources:Top 10 Metacognitive StrategiesEpisode 3 of our podcast, 21 Strategies to Boost Student Motivation, which is drawn from Dr. McGuire's work(June, 2022)

Twenty-one strategies. Two instructional designers. One timer. Can Josh Luckens and Megan Hamilton Giebert relay every strategy in just one minute each? Part-game, part-inspiration, this episode presents evidence-based strategies to increase intrinsic motivation that can be implemented in any classroom.These strategies are drawn from the book: Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incorporate Into Any Course to Improve Student Metacognition, Study Skills, and Motivation by Dr. Saundra McGuire.Check out episode 4 of our podcast, in which Josh Luckens interviews Dr. Saundra McGuire!View the 21 strategies to boost motivation in the classroom discussed in this episode.Transcript: View as Word Doc or PDF(May, 2022)

Three TLC instructional designers – Josh Luckens, Megan Hamilton Giebert, and Lucy Wolski – discuss the benefits of the TILT framework, which is used to clearly state a course assignment’s purpose, task, and assessment criteria. TILT is an easy and impactful adjustment that instructors can make to help their students succeed.Additional resources:Video: TILT's developer Mary-Ann Winkelmes describes the TILT transparency frameworkWebsite: TILT in higher educationTLC blog post: From Our Toolkit to Yours: TILT!TLC blog post: Enhance Student Success with TransparencyView examples of TILT in higher ed(April 2022)

Josh Luckens interviews Ilyas Bhatti, Professor of Construction Management at Wentworth, who reflects upon his rich career in public service and the connections that have defined it by sharing stories and lessons learned.Ilyas Bhatti is the Interim Dean of the School of Management at the Wentworth Institute of Technology and has been a beloved professor of Construction Management at Wentworth for 21 years.As a child in Lahore, Pakistan, he nearly died of typhoid, which he contracted from contaminated drinking water. After training as a civil engineer in Pakistan, he immigrated to the United States and worked in wastewater and watershed management, rising to become the director of the public water supply for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.He then served as the Metropolitan District Commissioner under both Democrat and Republican governors of Massachusetts, helping to manage the Big Dig, the largest infrastructure project in the history of the United States.Bhatti shares how he inspires his students to be inquisitive and engaged in the classroom, and why sparking curiosity in college students sets them up to be adaptive and resilient professionals.He stresses the importance of sharing positive feedback and real-life examples with students, helping them to see the relevance of their work and reframe failures as learning opportunities.Bhatti highlights the power of supportive relationships in education, stressing that teaching and learning is a two-way street. In his words: “By sharing knowledge, you enhance your own knowledge.”Learn more about Construction Management at Wentworth(March, 2022)