Transform Your Teaching

How do Christian educators approach Generative AI with caution? How can educators find the balance between using GAI as a tool and having it take over their teaching? In this episode, Rob and Jared chat with Dr. Dave Mulder about his new book Teach Like a Human . View a transcript of this week's episode .   Resources Teach Like a Human: Playful Practice and Serious Faith in the Age of AI – Dave Mu...

In this episode, Rob and Jared reflect on the OLC Accelerate 2025 conference in Orlando, FL. They are joined by Dr. Bob Lutz, the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Cedarville University.   Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey should take 5-10 minutes, and your responses are anonymous. If you would like to be entered for the Uncommon Sense Teach...

What did Rob and Jared take away from our series, “Have You Tried...”? What innovative strategies made their way into their classes? Join Rob and Jared as they reflect on the series and how they tried to put these ideas into practice. Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey should take 5-10 minutes, and your responses are anonymous. If you would like to be...

We've discussed how mind mapping can impact teaching and learning, but what other applications exist? How can mind mapping help solve problems or organize thinking? Join Rob and Jared as they chat with Dr. Larry Cox II (Senior Instructional Designer at Virginia Tech) about his presentation on using mind mapping techniques in systems thinking while at the 2025 OLC Accelerate Conference.   Please ta...

What is mind mapping? How can it be an effective tool for making connections between concepts? How can it help us process knowledge more effectively? Join Rob and Jared as they discuss how mind mapping can help students and teachers work through ideas. Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey should take 5-10 minutes, and your responses are anonymous. If yo...

What impact can familiar and unfamiliar music have on students in teaching? Do beats per minute correlate to cognition? Join Rob and Jared as they reflect on their interview with Dr. Deforia Lane and discuss the usage of music in education. Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey should take 5-10 minutes, and your responses are anonymous. If you would like...

What happens in the brain when music is played? How can music be used for teaching and learning? Join Rob and Jared as they chat with Dr. Deforia Lane (PhD in Music Education & Music Therapy from Case Western Reserve University) about how educators can use music to influence their students’ success. Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey should take 5...

What are the benefits of personal storytelling in the classroom? How can an anecdote enhance or support direct instruction? Join Rob and Jared as they discuss their own views on storytelling and reflect on their conversation with Dr. Q. Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey should take 5-10 minutes, and your responses are anonymous. If you would like to...

What are Dr. Q’s essentials for good storytelling? How can storytelling be used as an effective tool for teaching and learning? Join Rob and Jared as they chat with Dr. Quentin Schultze (PhD in Communication from the University of Illinois - Urbana) about how he uses storytelling to connect with his students and make content more memorable.   Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the...

What are some studies that have demonstrated the effectiveness of gamification? How can the work that others have done to gamify their classes help you? Join Rob and Jared as they discuss examples from five different gamification studies. Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey should take 5-10 minutes, and your responses are anonymous. If you would like t...

If you gamify your class, how do you ensure that students remember content, not just the game that they played? What would it look like if you wanted to integrate learning into a game? Join Rob and Jared as they chat with Dr. Daniel Singletary (EdD in Educational Technology, Boise State University) about how gamification can be used to motivate students. Please take this opportunity to fill out ou...

What are the differences between gamification and game-based learning? How can one small “gamifying” step increase student engagement and make content stick? Join Rob and Jared as they define gamification, consider the underlying frameworks associated with gamification, and share some easy applications. Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey should take 5...

What do gaming, storytelling, and music have in common? Can they be used in innovative ways in our teaching practices? Join Rob and Jared as they begin a new series where they will explore how these seemingly uncommon applications in education could be used in innovative/common ways.   Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey should take 5-10 minutes, and y...

How can teachers use brain science to design more effective lessons? What do metaphors, working memory, and even a “quadrapus brain” have to do with student learning? In this extended episode, Rob and Jared chat with Dr. Barbara Oakley, author of Uncommon Sense Teaching , about how metaphor and clear direct instruction help both “race cars” and “hikers” learn more deeply. Please take this opportun...

How does someone remain a faithful educator over the course of their teaching career? What does it look like to invest in students beyond the classroom? How can you effectively pass the baton from one generation of teachers to the next? In this episode, Rob, Jared, and Wes Baker chat with our good friend “Mr. L” (Jim Leightenheimer, Former Associate Professor of Communication at Cedarville Univers...

How has flipped learning developed over time? What are the best strategies for pushing students towards higher levels of learning? Is there any place for AI in flipped learning? In this episode, Rob and Jared chat with Dr. Wes Baker (former Professor of Communication Arts at Cedarville University from 1977 to 2017). Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey...

What is prompt engineering? How can you use prompt engineering to improve the output from Generative AI? In this episode, Jared Pyles reflects on his presentation at the Ohio STEM conference in June and shares CRISPE, an easy-to-use prompt engineering framework. Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey should take 5-10 minutes, and your responses are anonym...

How did Dr. Thomas White move Cedarville University forward through the implementation of ChatGPT Edu across its entire campus? How will this campus-wide initiative make an impact on students, faculty and staff?  In this episode, Rob and Jared discuss these questions and more with Dr. Thomas White (President of Cedarville University). Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year su...

What can an instructor do to seem approachable to students? How does an instructor’s enthusiasm or attitude affect how students interact with them or their class? What kinds of assessments seem to be most effective for learning from a student’s view? Join Rob and Jared as they discuss the instructor-student relationship, assessments and more with Lauren and Daniel. Have questions about some of the...

How does the continued rise of technology affect how instructors should approach learning? What is a thoughtful usage of technology? In this episode, Rob and Jared chat with Derek Bruff, author of Intentional Tech , about what principles are most relevant six years after his book was released. Have questions about some of the topics we’ve discussed recently? Drop all your burning questions in our...

In this episode, Rob and Jared review “Intentional Tech: Principles to Guide the Use of Educational Technology in College Teaching” by Dr. Derek Bruff. They discuss the key principles of the book and their major takeaways. Please take this opportunity to fill out our end-of-the-year survey . This survey should take 5-10 minutes. Your responses are anonymous. If you would like to be entered for the...

What are the major takeaways from our “Online Teaching Practices” series? In this episode, Rob and Jared reflect on the lessons they learned throughout this series and provide some next steps for educators who want to improve their online teaching.   Lesson 1: Reflective Practice Fuels Everything Lesson 2: Organization Is an Act of Empathy Lesson 3: Collaboration—You’re Not on an Island Lesson 4:...

How can media enhance an online course? What are the markers of “quality” media in an online course? How can instructors take their media from good to better to best? In this episode, Rob and Jared chat with Jacob Lashuay, the CTL’s instructional media producer, about some practical ways to make high quality media in your courses.   Have questions about some of the topics we’ve discussed recently?...

Can you really create a good sense of community in an online course? What does it look like? In this episode, Rob and Jared discuss what community is, the value of community in an online course, and the best way to encourage community among online students.   Have questions about some of the topics we’ve discussed recently? Drop all your burning questions in our form for an upcoming Q&A episod...

How is being clear about content and grading in an online course different from face-to-face? What needs to be emphasized? What should be avoided? Join Rob and Jared as they discuss clarity in online teaching.    Clarity in an online course can be achieved by avoiding “UNCLEAR” practices:     U – Unexplained jargon or acronyms  N – Nonspecific instructions or vague prompts  C – Complex, run-on sen...