Coffee Break Classroom: Brewed for Higher Ed

With Mother’s Day so close, Ben and Amanda invite two very special guests – their mothers! Both Kari and Denise share their wisdom as fellow teachers. It turns out all the fun that Ben and Amanda bring to the classroom didn’t fall that far from the tree.  The team discuss the relationship between teaching and motherhood. That also means there are a couple of stories about raising young Ben and you...

Let's get physical! In this week's episode, Ben and Amanda talk about giving learning that special touch. They swap stories about making learning tangible through springs, rocks, dinosaur footprints, globes, and even pool noodles. Learning doesn't just need to be something students hear; it should be something they can experience. Join this episode to talk about the benefits of immersi...

Do you know your Top 3 favorite dinosaurs? Amanda and Dr. Jim Lehane do. Luckily for you and Ben, the names are spelled closely to how they sound which makes them searchable. On this episode, Dr. Jim Lehane joins the pod to talk about science communication and using pop culture to spur learning. There are strong feelings about Jurassic Park right of the bat, but they eventually get to the real que...

Elks, sound your bugles. In this episode, Ben and Amanda are talking integrated and/or integrative STEM. Debating the difference aside, the duo talks about incorporating cross-disciplinary lessons into their learning environments. From the impact of changes in river systems on wolf populations to the role of air pressure on breathing, learning is never just one thing. So, why do we so often teach...

What impact does a sense of belonging have in the classroom? How do we foster it and what does it look like when we have it? In this episode, Ben and Amanda sit down with their powerhouse of a colleague, Dr. LaToya Manon to discuss her journey into higher education, from teaching K-12 to teaching future teachers. We unpack the role of a teacher, the power of relatedness in student motivation, and...

Have you ever looked at something that students did in the classroom and went ‘why?’ and followed up on it? Have you ever iterated processes based on feedback and compared the results? You might just be an action researcher! In this episode, Ben and Amanda talk about action research. Amanda shares her own work action research into success rates for her late start classes in a reprisal of her recen...

Don’t skip the intro on this one, folks. Amanda’s story is a wild one and the perfect lead into an episode on informal learning environments. From their own experiences to working with students, they unpack why they think informal learning is so valuable and what makes a good informal learning experience. Join them in brainstorming ways to create space for learning to happen beyond what is just re...

How can A.I. help  us  as faculty with designing a course for significant learning? Will Amanda get any help hanging her new TV? Grab your favorite beverage and settle in. After catching up from the holiday, Amanda and Ben get back to work talking about backward design – course design that starts with what we want students to know at the end. As they discuss how this approach has influenced their...

AI is just the theme of the month it seems. In this episode, Ben and Amanda look at how other instructors think about AI. Ben brings five different posts from the darkness of r/Professors that span dealing with cheaters, fighting AI use in the classroom, and using AI as an instructor to turn the tables on the lazier AI users. Tune in to see what others are saying and get the latest of Amanda’s rea...

New year, new you... as long as you aren't a product of Nano Banana Pro... Ben and Amanda cannot put it off any longer. It’s time to talk about AI in education, so they sit down with David Ghidiu, a community college educator working on the ethical integration of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. This episode unpacks the landscape of AI and discusses how to incorporate it into th...

She knows when you are working. She knows when you are not. She knows if enrollment is bad or good so keep it good for goodness sake. This is not Santa that Ben and Amanda are talking about - it's their dean. In this episode Ben and Amanda talk with the magnanimous Christine Woods about her pathway into and through academia, from industry to teaching to serving as president on the state's...

Parents love to say that they don’t have favorites, but we all know the truth. It is at least slightly less problematic when a teacher says it -  slightly.  Ben and Amanda share some of their most enjoyable interactions with students and why bus trips should count as a high-impact practice. This is some time to reflect on why the student that skipped the exam to go rock climbing is actually one of...

Amanda and Ben get together to record on a Sunday afternoon to talk about exactly the work-life balance. They could possibly cut this episode to 5-minutes because Amanda tells us right off the bat that balance isn’t possible. Still, they spend the episode talking about how they keep to-do lists, set intentions for each day, and carve out a little bit of time to fill their own cups. In this episode...

In this episode, Ben and Amanda talk about the ways they leverage the knowledge their students already have, whether it is from a previous day of class, a whole other course, or just everyday life. Amanda talks about how cookies and rocks are basically the same. Ben makes some Excel jokes and does his best to briefly talk about quantum mechanics without talking about quantum mechanics. So, you kno...

Continuing to take advantage of phenomenal people they already know, Ben and Amanda invite Dr. Melis Kural onto the pod to talk about her background in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and more specifically about the application of restorative practices in education. Ben and Amanda learn about tiers of restorative practice and the application of proactive community building circles. The trio also...

Cheating on tests. Re-using work from a previous semester. Students getting around your restrictions for their note sheets. What do these things have in common? They are all stories that Ben found them on reddit. Yes, you heard that right. Following a popular(?) YouTube trend where folks read out stories about petty revenge or confess how they 'fricked' up, Ben delves into the professor si...

It’s time to relax with a good friend. Ben and Amanda bring the fabulous Terry Shamblin to talk about her journey with mindfulness and meditation and how it has impacted on her as both a faculty member and instructor. From throwing up in the Pacific (yes, that again) to starting her own business, we learn about Terry’s work with college readiness and pick up tips and tricks to improve everyone’s c...

Fair Warning: Amanda talks about being sick in the ocean. Feel free to jump to 7:15 if that is something you might be sensitive to! Otherwise, we’re here to talk about test anxiety. Every instructor has some story of students being stressed out over their assessment. Test anxiety is so prevalent that there is a plethora of tips on the internet. Ben has strong feelings about the advice “Be prepared...

Amanda and Ben are back with another office hours, and this time they unpack Amanda’s ongoing efforts to support a struggling student over the course of two semesters. Disclaimer: this episode is a little bit of a bummer, but it’s an honest look at what it means to keep showing up for students who just aren’t getting it—even when the question is something as basic as “what is one fewer than seven...

Starting class with a homemade board game or thinking about a healthy game of ring toss to liven things up? Doing something fun in the classroom can do a lot for students’ engagement with course content, whether or not the actual activity is related to the class. It is about reducing stress and building interpersonal connections so that students can come back to the class energized and refreshed....

In a reprisal of Ben’s presentation from a summer teaching and learning conference, Ben and Amanda discuss making space in the classroom. Often as instructors, doing an involved, engaging, and meaningful activity means that you are taking up a significant amount of time for students to arrive at ideas on their own. Isn’t it easier for content coverage to just lecture for 50 minutes? – Yes. Is it b...

Amanda and Ben break the cardinal rule of podcasting and talk to someone even cooler than they are. Wait, what? Who is that new person talking about their fabulous earrings? It’s Dr. Christina Lee! She is an educator, community advocate, and passionate connector of people, cultures, and ideas. Almost as important, she is one of Amanda and Ben’s favorite colleagues. Christina joins the pod to talk...

This week, we take you to the zoo and witness many exotic grading practices from majestic Retakee-takees to the elephant in the room - Minimum Grading. Chloe can handle the flooding basement; Amanda has an episode to record! Amanda and Ben come back to the drawing board of grading practices. In the previous episode we dissected several traditional grading practices and talked about the ways in whi...

Shortly after final exams and running a two-day institute on grading practices, Ben and Amanda scoop their brains back into their head buckets and talk traditional grading practices – who do they help and who do they harm? Practices include (1) grading participation, effort, and attendance, (2) late penalties, (3) extra credit, (4) graded homework, and (5) the zero for missing assignments. Grading...

“I don’t care if I am bad at it,” Ben shouts from the rooftops. At this point in their lives Ben and Amanda have got used to being failures. They accept that being a failure is part of the process! They also know that the moment you make it through is just too good of an opportunity to pass up. In this episode we unpack the power of a growth mindset. What is it? How does it help instructors refram...