Professors Talk Pedagogy

Rebecca Flavin: Learning for the Greater Good

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. Rebecca also serves as faculty advisor for Baylor’s Model United Nations. We are delighted to have her on the show to discuss the many permutations of engaged learning, how the teacher’s role changes based on context, and much more.

Resources: AACU High-Impact Practices

Keith Sanford: Flipping a Course

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 data analysis and a course he developed titled "History of Psychology, Racism, and the United States." He is an enthusiastic experimenter in his teaching, using flipped learning and recording his own music videos to help students learn key material. Dr. Sanford is also a current Active Learning Lab fellow, selected in a competitive process to teach and reflect on pedagogy in one of Baylor’s premier active learning spaces. We are delighted to have Dr. Sanford on the show to discuss the journey of flipping a course, how music can help people learn, and wading into interdisciplinary teaching.

 

Resources: ForwardFaith.org

Dave Bridge: When Learning is Fun and Games

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 named an outstanding faculty awardee in teaching. And in 2022, he also received a Core Curriculum Virtues Recognition Award for his efforts to facilitate the development of the virtue of respect in his undergraduate courses. We are delighted to have Dr. Bridge, along with a special student guest, Noah Falk, on the show to discuss using games and simulations in teaching, developing virtues in our students and much more.

Jean Twenge, iGen

 

Baylor Senior Fellows: Experiments in Teaching

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 faculty on the show to discuss how pedagogical experiments take shape, what we can learn from colleagues in other disciplines, and thinking about your long-term trajectory as a teacher.

Scott Cunningham: Who’s Afraid of AI?

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 years, is still in Amazon’s top ten books in Economics and Statistics). On his Substack, Dr. Cunningham has been sharing his adventures with ChatGPT in his work, especially his teaching. We are delighted to have Dr. Cunningham on the show to discuss using artificial intelligence as a pedagogical partner, fostering students’ self-love, and much more.

Nadine Welch: Universal Design for Learning

Today, our guest is Nadine Welch, Associate Chair of Residential Academic Programs, Clinical Associate Professor, and Undergraduate Program Director in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Baylor University. Professor Welch researches augmentative communication and language and literacy disorders and teaches a range of courses in speech-language pathology, audiology and technology in communication and sciences and disorders. In the 2022-23 academic year, she was also a double award winner in her teaching. She simultaneously served as Active Learning Lab fellow and a Baylor teaching fellow. We are delighted to have Professor Welch on the show to discuss these fellowship experiences, supporting first generation students, and how the principles of Universal Design undergird nearly all she does.

Rishi Sriram: Where Talent Comes From

Today our guest is Dr. Rishi Sriram, Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs, Graduate Program Director for the Department of Educational Leadership in the School of Education and Residential College Faculty Steward of Brooks Residential College at Baylor University. Dr. Shriram researches student affairs practice collaboration between academic and student affairs and college student retention, achievement and learning. He is currently at work on a book about the development of talent. We are delighted to have Dr. Shriram on the show to discuss where talent comes from, how students and instructors think about talent, and how higher ed faculty and student affairs can cooperate to improve student outcomes.

Hollylynne Lee: Educational Design

Today our guest is Dr. Hollylynne S. Lee, Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Education at North Carolina State University. In Spring 2023, Dr. Lee is in residence at Baylor University as the recipient of the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. Dr. Lee has secured millions of dollars in external and internal grant funding, and she has committed much time and energy to creating open educational resources, offering free online courses for educators from around the world, and sharing research-based multimedia materials via Creative Commons licensing. Her scholarship and writings include over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceeding papers, four co-authored books, and a co-edited book on Scholarly Practices and Inquiry in the Preparation of Mathematics Teachers. We are delighted to have Dr. Lee on the show to discuss teaching future teachers, creating resources for teacher development, and much more.