Teaching in Higher Ed

The Failure Episode

with Dave Stachowiak

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Eight faculty share their failure stories on this special #100th episode of Teaching in Higher Ed.

failure

CV of Failures

Quotes

At the time, I felt like I had to know everything in order to be a good teacher, so instead of admitting that I didn't know the answer to the student's question, I dismissed it.
—Cameron Hunt-McNabb

I think I understand way better now what kinds of issues my students think are important.
—Doug McKee

I strongly identified with that strain of perfectionism that insists that unless every student in every class feels like every moment was a rich and profound learning experience, then I have failed.
—Jeff Hittenberger

Guest Stories

1) Katie Linder

2) Jeff Hittenberger

  • Felt like he had failed at the end of each semester.

3.) Angela Jenks

  • Didn’t know how much the class textbooks cost.

4.) Josh Eyler

5.) Michelle Miller

  • Didn’t take care of a problem before it escalated.

6.) James Lang

  • Was not clear enough in assignment criteria.

7.) Cameron Hunt-McNabb

  • Thought she had to know everything to be good teacher.

7.) Maha Bali

  • Laughed at student’s suffering … almost.

8.) Doug McKee

Recommendations

Books:

Janine Utell: Dear Committee Members* by Julie Schumacher

José Bowen: Teaching Naked* by José Bowen

Sean Micael Morris: Savvy* by Ingrid Law

Cameron Hunt McNabb: Tina Fey’s advice to “Say yes” in her memoir, Bossy Pants*

Amy Collier: Quotes Anne Lamott: “These are the words I want on my gravestone: that I was a helper, and that I danced,” from her book Grace (Eventually)*

Tools:

Doug McKee: Piazza*

Aaron Daniel Annas: Amazon Echo*

Teaching inspiration:

Rebecca Campbell: Be kind to students. Don’t make assumptions.

Linda Nielsen: Cultivate your courage by trying out things you’re afraid of.

Lee Skallerup Bessette: Be hopeful. Be optimistic. And give your students the benefit of the doubt right from the start.

Doug McKee: Try poster sessions with students.

Peter Newbury: Get yourself into a learning community. Get on Twitter.

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Encouraging Accountability

with Angela Jenks

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Dr. Angela Jenks shares about her experiences encouraging accountability in her students on today’s episode of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.

encouraging accountability

Guest: Angela Jenks

Angela is a medical anthropologist and Lecturer, PSOE (Tenure-Track Teaching Faculty) in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, where she also directs the M.A. in Medicine, Science, and Technology Studies program.

Quotes

It’s not necessarily a kindness to not fulfill the requirements of the class.
—Angela Jenks

One of the challenges is holding standards while not turning the classroom into an adversarial situation.
—Angela Jenks

One of the things I focus on increasingly is very clear policies.
—Angela Jenks

I didn’t want the syllabus to turn into something that reads like a Terms of Service.
—Angela Jenks

Mentioned in Episode

Podcast episodes on kindness:

Podcast episode on Attitude:

Recommendations

Bonni recommends:

Allowing students to “show up.” Consider this quote from Anne Lamott (who was mentioned on Episode 070 with Amy Collier):

I had a session over the phone with my therapist today. I have these secret pangs of shame about being single, like I wasn't good enough to get a husband. Rita reminded me of something I'd told her once, about the five rules of the world as arrived at by this Catholic priest named Tom Weston.

The first rule, he says, is that you must not have anything wrong with you or anything different.

The second one is that if you do have something wrong with you, you must get over it as soon as possible.

The third rule is that if you can't get over it, you must pretend that you have.

The fourth rule is that if you can't even pretend that you have, you shouldn't show up. You should stay home, because it’s hard for everyone else to have you around.

And the fifth rule is that if you are going to insist on showing up, you should at least have the decency to feel ashamed.

So Rita and I decided that the most subversive, revolutionary thing I could do was to show up for my life and not be ashamed.

—Anne Lamott

The Skillful Teacher

with Stephen Brookfield

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skillful teacher

Stephen Brookfield shares about his book, The Skillful Teacher, on today's episode of Teaching in Higher Ed.

Quotes

I think I internalized early in my career that my job was to talk, to profess. And that if I wasn’t talking, then I really wasn’t earning my money. I still feel that, and I fight against it constantly.
—Stephen Brookfield

Skillful teaching is whatever helps students learn.
—Stephen Brookfield

College students of any age should be treated as adults.
—Stephen Brookfield

Teachers need a constant awareness of how students are experiencing their learning and perceiving teachers’ actions.
—Stephen Brookfield

Resources

The Skillful Teacher*

Episode 15 with Stephen Brookfield: How to get students to participate in discussion.

 

Integrating Personal Management Techniques into Curriculum

with Dustin Bakkie

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Dustin Bakkie shares how to integrate effective study methods, learning tools, and personal management techniques as a part of your curriculum.

personal management techniques

Guest: Dustin Bakkie
Lecturer at California State University, Chico

email: dbakkie @ csuchico dot edu
website: EpicHigherEd.com (coming soon)
twitter: @dustinbakkie

Quotes

The best time to learn something is right as you’re about to forget it.
—Dustin Bakkie

A lot of the time, students are just looking for someone who is on their side.
—Dustin Bakkie

Dustin’s effectiveness equations

 

9E70A178-67DC-4826-944B-22EB6D43D42F

CBFA75CB-B4D6-4B51-A116-A53D040CC412

Resources

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The Clinical Coach

with Jeffrey Wiese

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On today’s episode, I have the honor of talking with Dr. Jeff Wiese about how he uses coaching skills in his teaching of residents.

teach students

Guest: Dr. Jeff Wiese

Jeffrey G. Wiese, MD, is a Professor of Medicine with Tenure, and the Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at the Tulane University Health Sciences Center. He is also Associate-Chairman of Medicine, the Chief of the Charity Medical Service and the Director of the Tulane Internal Medicine Residency Program. He has also served as the course director for the Clinical Diagnosis, Biostatistics, Advanced Internal Medicine, and Medical Education courses.

Quotes

What somebody knows is not as important to me as what they can do.
—Dr. Jeff Wiese

Years ago, we were so focused on on knowledge. Now, getting the knowledge is pretty easy. The shift of becoming a great coach is moving towards … teaching people not what to think, but how to think.
—Dr. Jeff Wiese

The way you go from good to great is finding your weakest area and improving it.
—Dr. Jeff Wiese

Training is to prevent surprise. Education is to prepare for surprise.
—James Carse

Links:

Are You Enjoying the Show?

  1. Rate/review the show. Please consider rating or leaving a review for the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast on whatever service you use to listen to it on (iTunes, Stitcher, etc.). It is the best way to help others discover the show.
  2. Give feedback. As always, I welcome suggestions for future topics or guests.
  3. Subscribe. If you have yet to subscribe to the weekly update, you can receive a single email each week with the show notes (including all the links we talk about on the episode), as well as an article on either teaching or productivity.