Keystone Concepts in Teaching: A Higher Education Podcast from the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning

Drs. Breana Bayraktar and Lila Fleming visit us to discuss Canvas, including key ideas, tips, and considerations whether you’re an experienced Canvas user or new to teaching.  Resource: Information about the Canvas transition https://lms.gmu.edu/  Check out our website!

Dr. Joisanne Rodgers and Shyama Kuyver from the Contemporary Student Services office join us to talk about who are our contemporary students and how we can support them in their educational journey.  Resources: Contemporary Student Services Office:  https://contemporary.gmu.edu   Check out our website!

Prof. Kelly Knight and Dr. Christine Rosenfeld chat with us about how we might increase access to courses, even those in STEM like labs and field experiences.  Resources: https://phet.colorado.edu Disability Services:  https://ds.gmu.edu Office of Access, Compliance, and Community:  https://oacc.gmu.edu   Check out our website!

Dr. Laura Poms, Director of the Mason Core, joins us again to provide updates on the Mason Core and expand on undergraduate student learning experiences from the Mason Core and beyond.  Resources: Mason Core Website:  https://masoncore.gmu.edu/ Mason Core Categories:  https://masoncore.gmu.edu/mason-core-course-categories/   Check out our website!

Drs. Glynita Bell and Amy Preston Page visit Keystone Concepts in Teaching to discuss an important part of the university community: military-affiliated learners.  We explore strategies that support all students in education, and consider the unique needs of the military and military-adjacent community.  Resources: George Mason University Office of Military Services:  https://military.gmu.edu/ Geo...

Join us for a conversation with Maoria J. Kirker, MS, to explore the many resources of the university library and consider opportunities to collaborate with librarians.  Resources: George Mason University Library:  https://library.gmu.edu Data & Digital Scholarship Services:  https://dsc.gmu.edu George Mason University Libraries Special Collections Research Center:  https://scrc.gmu.edu Librar...

Dr. Aimee Weinstein joins Keystone Concepts host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, to discuss how to get started as a new faculty member... or perhaps, how you – as an experienced faculty member – might support your new colleagues. Resources: Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning https://stearnscenter.gmu.edu/ George Mason University motto, mission, vision, core values, and more:  https://catalog.gmu.edu/about...

Dr. Cameron Harris joins Keystone Concepts host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, to discuss the logistics and considerations for teaching when you are assigned to teach a new-to-you course. Resources: Please be sure to also check out Episode 9, “Syllabi Supporting Learners and Instructors” https://stearnscenter.gmu.edu/season-1-fall-2024-keystone-concepts-in-teaching/ Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning Cur...

Join our guest host, Kelly Chandler, as she talks with Dr. Rachel Yoho about how we can make our syllabi more inclusive of all learners and us as the instructor in the first of our “Hear From Your Host” series. Resources: Eberly, M. B., Newton, S. E., & Wiggins, R. A. (2001). The syllabus as a tool for student-centered learning. The Journal of General Education , 50(1), 56–74., Bers, T., Davis...

Drs. Richard Craig, LaNitra Berger, and Courtney Massie join your host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, to discuss how we productively have conversations, facilitate student writing, and grade when centered around potentially challenging topics. Resources: Office of Faculty Affairs and Development:  https://provost.gmu.edu/about/administrative-units/faculty-affairs-and-development (Contact this office for facult...

Shelby Broberg and Dr. Idée Edalatishams join your host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, for a conversation on how we can support multilingual learners, including assignment design, assessment, and more! We explore actionable strategies for education that support all students, both multilingual and not, across disciplines. Resources: George Mason University Writing Center: https://writingcenter.gmu.edu , A few e...

Dr. Laina Lockett, the STEM Education Specialist in the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, joins us to talk about the “big thing” right now in education: artificial intelligence-based text generators. We explore actionable strategies for continuing impactful and engaging teaching in this new educational context.  Resources: Your host, Dr. Rachel Yoho’s, publication on inclusive teaching now...

Dr. Laura Poms, Director of the Mason Core at George Mason University, joins us to explore what Core courses can teach us about teaching.  We discuss content relevant to instructors who are – and are not – teaching in the undergraduate core curriculum program. Resources: Mason Core Website:  https://masoncore.gmu.edu/ , Mason Core Categories:  https://masoncore.gmu.edu/mason-core-course-categories...

Dr. Crystal Anderson returns to discuss the practical aspects of course design, transparency, and productively using feedback in our course.  This relates to our overall intentionality about how we approach teaching to support all students’ learning.  We also talk about how to approach teaching if you are handed a pre-made syllabus.  For more information about student evaluations:  El-Alayli, A.,...

We welcome Dr. Crystal Anderson for a conversation about what teaching looks like today, particularly coming off several years of pandemic teaching.  We also explore how we engage students across different modalities, whether face-to-face, hybrid, online, or others. Stearns Center Teaching Online:  https://stearnscenter.gmu.edu/knowledge-center/online-teaching/ Check out our website!

Dr. Shelley Reid returns for a follow-up conversation about how we create a classroom that supports all students – and the instructors – to create an environment of educational success through policies, procedures, assessment, and more. Reality, equity, equality, and justice figure:  https://www.bu.edu/diversity/resource-toolkit/inequity-equality-equity-and-justice/   Stearns Center resource – Des...

Join us as Dr. Shelley Reid discusses how good teaching is focused on learning, rather than just delivering content, in a way that supports and includes all students.  Resources: Think-Pair-Share and other active learning strategies, Concentric circles of diversity   Check out our website!

Listen to our podcast introduction to learn more about Keystone Concepts in Teaching! Check out our website!