Higher Listenings

When Christian Fauria—a two-time Super Bowl champion turned broadcaster—stepped into the classroom at Bryant University, he quickly discovered that expertise doesn’t automatically translate into effective teaching. In this episode, he teams up with Bryant’s Interim Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, Constanza Bartholomae, to explore the surprising parallels between elite coaching and...

Students aren’t reading the way we expect, and many faculty are feeling the strain. In this episode, James Lang, author of Small Teaching and Distracted, unpacks what’s really behind the decline in reading and what we can do about it.  From the impact of distraction and shifting reading habits to the often-overlooked need to teach students how to read in our disciplines, this conversation blends i...

Children ask hundreds of questions a day—until school teaches them not to. In this episode, educational leader, higher ed consultant, and The Collaboration Chronicle author Tawnya Means explores the growing “curiosity deficit” and what we lose when learning becomes an exercise in compliance rather than discovery. Tawnya challenges us to rethink the purpose of higher education—not as the transfer o...

In an era Zach Mercurio calls an “epidemic of insignificance,” many students feel invisible. And when students feel unseen, motivation fades, trust erodes, and persistence becomes fragile. Drawing on his bestselling book The Power of Mattering , Mercurio shares three simple, research-backed practices—noticing, affirming, and helping students feel needed—that educators can use to cultivate signific...

Burnout. Disengagement. AI anxiety. In higher education right now, flourishing can feel like a distant dream. But what if joy isn’t a distraction from serious teaching but the foundation?  In this episode, we sit down with Flower Darby, author of The Joyful Online Teacher , to explore the science of human flourishing and why it matters more than ever. Drawing on positive psychology and Martin Seli...

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 student...

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....

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...

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...

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 discl...

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...

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 m...

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-thi...

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 wi...

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...

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 find...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 thin...

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,...

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 L...

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 tea...