Professors Talk Pedagogy

Today, our guest is Dr. Joseph Vukov, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Hank Center for Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University in Chicago. His research and teaching explore questions at the intersection of ethics, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind, and at the intersection of science and religion. Joe is the author of three books, most recently, Staying...

Today our guest is Kevin Dougherty, professor of sociology and associate vice provost for faculty honorifics at Baylor University. Kevin is an award-winning teacher and prolific researcher. His scholarship focuses on religious affiliation, religious participation, racial diversity in congregations, congregational growth and decline, and the impact of religion on other realms of social life such as...

Today our guest is Dr. Sarah Rose Cavanagh, psychologist, educator, and author specializing in the science of emotion, motivation, and learning. As Senior Associate Director for Teaching and Learning at Simmons University in Boston, she blends empirical research with practical strategies to help teachers, leaders, and teams navigate the emotional dynamics of classrooms and workplaces. Her writing...

Today our guest is Dr. David Jortner, professor of Theatre Arts and graduate program director in the department of Theatre Arts at Baylor University. Dr. Jortner teaches theatre history, theory, dramatic literature, and directing. His research focuses on twentieth century Japanese theatre and the intersection of Japanese and American culture. Through his work with graduate students, teaching the m...

Today our guest is Dr. Dan Watkins, associate professor of history and co-director of the digital humanities initiative at Baylor University.  Dan’s work sits at the crossroads of religion, culture, and politics in early modern Europe. His first book examines how the Jesuits engaged with and responded to the intellectual debates of the French Enlightenment. Dan is currently pursuing two exciting n...

Welcome to Professors Talk Pedagogy, a podcast from the Academy for Teaching and Learning at Baylor University. I'm your host, Christopher Richmann. Professors Talk Pedagogy presents discussions with great professors about pedagogy, curriculum and learning in order to propel the virtuous cycle of teaching. As we frankly and critically investigate our teaching, we open new lines of inquiry. We enga...

Today, our guest is Dr. Caitlin Kirby, Associate Director of Research and interim co-Director at the Evidence-Driven Learning Innovation (EDLI) team at Michigan State University. Caitlin’s work focuses on developing and researching equitable and engaging learning experiences, especially those that leverage digital and online components.   Prior to her current role, Caitlin was a postdoctoral resea...

Today, our guest is Dr. Sam Perry, associate professor of communication in the honors college and Director of the Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Rhetorical Studies at Baylor University. Dr. Perry studies race and racism in the United States with a particular focus on the ways in which anti-black racism manifests in the public sphere through political, religious, and popular discourse, and emphasi...

Today, our guest is Dr. Maura Jortner, senior lecturer in English at Baylor University. Maura Jortner's research interests include 19th-Century American and English drama. She has published multiple articles in Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film and The Journal of American Drama and Theatre. She is also a creative writer. Her middle grade book, 102 DAYS OF LYING ABOUT LAUREN, was published by Hol...

Today, our guest is Dr. Sarah Varga, lecturer in the Department of Communication at Baylor University. Sarah holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Texas A&M University, an M.A. in Interpersonal Communication from Baylor University, and a Ph. D. in Interpersonal Communication from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a speaker and communication coach who often works with individuals and groups...

Today, our guest is Dr. Scott Freeman, lecturer emeritus in biology at the University of Washington. Since the mid-1990s, Dr. Freeman’s focus has been on textbook writing and teaching. He co-authored Evolutionary Analysis and was sole author of Biological Science, each through four editions. He is a recipient of a UW Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Freeman’s research interests center on the impa...

Today our guest is Dr. Tracey Jones, clinical assistant professor at Baylor, specializing in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and bilingual education. Dr. Jones’ teaching career spans 25 years and various contexts, including high school ESOL, Spanish, and English, Modern languages at the college level, and English for International Students in Baylor’s Global Gateway Program...

Today our guest is Dr. Catherine Denial, Mary Elizabeth Hand Bright and Edwin Winslow Bright Distinguished Professor of American History; and Director of the Bright Institute at Knox College. Dr. Denial’s historical research has focused on nineteenth-century marriage, divorce, pregnancy, childbirth, and infancy among Native and non-Native communities in the land we currently call Minnesota. In add...

Today, we have a special episode with several guests that was recorded as a live panel discussion here at Baylor. Noah Harvey is the program manager for supplemental instruction at Baylor University. And joining him on a live panel are three fantastic Baylor student supplemental instructors: Melissa Ratcliffe, Emma Franzen, and Shivana Mishra. We’re delighted to have them all on the show to discus...

Today our guest is Dr. Ben Schwartz, Neuroscience Advisor and Lecturer in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience at Baylor University. Dr. Schwartz earned his Ph. D. from the University of Arizona in 2021, following his B.S. from UCLA in 2016. His academic journey has been driven by a profound interest in neural plasticity and its critical roles in learning, memory, development, and recov...

Today, our guest is Dr. Stephen Sloan. Dr. Sloan completed his PhD at Arizona State University, specializing in Post-1945, Public History, and the American West. He began his academic career as the co-director of the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage at the University of Southern Mississippi. In 2007, he joined Baylor University as a professor in the Department of History and the Direc...

Today, our guest is Dr. Lindsay Masland. Dr. Masland currently serves as the Interim Executive Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for Student Success at Appalachian State University. In this role, Dr. Masland leads initiatives such as the Student Instructional Feedback Technique (SIFT) program, Course ReDesign, Agile Academy, and the Teaching and Student Success Lab (TA...

Today, our guest is Dr. David Pace. David has dedicated his career to enhancing student engagement in the learning process, beginning his journey as an instructor in the History Department at Indiana University Bloomington in 1971. His teaching has earned him prestigious accolades, including the American Historical Association’s Eugene Asher Distinguished Teaching Award and Indiana University’s Fr...

Today, our guest is Dr. Sarah-Jane Murray, professor of Great Texts and Creative Writing at Baylor University. Dr. Murray is scholar of Medieval and Renaissance texts. In addition to her doctorate in Romance Languages and Literatures from Princeton, Sarah-Jane completed a professional program in screenwriting at UCLA. Heavily involved in digital humanities and storytelling projects, she is an EMMY...

Today, our guest is Dr. Michele Stover, lecturer in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Baylor University. Dr. Stover was selected to be a Baylor Fellow for the 2023-24 academic year, part of a cohort of faculty recognized for teaching excellence and charged to further experiment with their teaching and share their experiences with the broader Baylor community. Bringing her passion and experience as a h...

Today our guest is Dr. Rebecca Flavin, senior lecturer in Political Science and director of Engaged Learning Curriculum at Baylor University. Dr. Flavin has research and teaching experience in constitutional law, the history of political philosophy, and American politics, particularly in the area of religion and politics. She is also co-author of a widely used textbook on Constitutional Law. Rebec...

Today, our guest is Dr. Keith Sanford, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Baylor University. Dr. Sanford’s work research falls into three categories. Psychometric (techniques to develop and validate ways of assessing people); the influence of interpersonal relationships on health-related attitudes and behaviors, and discrimination and racial disparities in health. He teaches courses on d...

Today, our guest is Dr. Dave Bridge, Associate Professor of Political Science at Baylor University. Dr. Bridge researches American politics, American political and constitutional development, American public policy, judicial politics, and the Supreme Court. He teaches courses on American constitutional development, public policy and campaigns and elections. In 2022, 23 academic year, Dave was name...

Today, our guests are a roster of Senior Fellows from recent years of our Baylor Fellows program. This fellowship recognizes professors across the disciplinary spectrum who exemplify excellence in teaching. Baylor Fellows are committed to a year-long process of pedagogical innovation, inspirational teaching, and the cultivation of these among Baylor faculty. We are delighted to have these great fa...

Today, our guest is Dr. Scott Cunningham, the Ben H. Williams professor of economics at Baylor University. Dr. Cunningham studies a number of topics including mental healthcare, sex work, abortion and drug policy. He is the co-editor of The Handbook for the Economics of Prostitution with Oxford University Press and the author of widely-read book Causal Inference: the Mixtape (which after several y...