Professors Talk Pedagogy

Nathan Alleman, Byron Newberry, Sarah Madsen: Faculty Authority

Today we have a special episode featuring a live recording of a recent seminar for excellence in teaching on the campus of Baylor University. The session, titled “Award winning faculty perspectives on teacher authority” was led by Nathan Alleman, associate professor of educational leadership, Byron Newberry, professor of mechanical engineering, and Sarah Madsen, doctoral candidate in educational leadership, all at Baylor University. These presenters shared fascinating original research on the relationships between faculty career stage and perceptions and uses of authority in teaching.

Sarah Mosher: Critical Pedagogy in the Arts

Today our guest is Sarah Mosher, Assistant Professor of costume design and technology in theatre Arts at Baylor University. She has an interest in universal design and design systems. Cultivating design thinking in students, and engaging with questions about design life cycles across disciplines. Recently, Professor Mosher participated in Baylor’s Paulo Freire Centennial, celebrating the founder of critical pedagogy, co-designing the celebration installation in the university library, and serving as a panelist discussing assessment in the fine arts and what she calls the pedagogy of autonomy. We are delighted to welcome Professor Mosher to the show to discuss the slippery work of assessing learning in the arts, Students’ fear and anxiety related to education ,and the journey toward critical pedagogy.

Mark Long: Reflections on a Career

Today our guest is Dr. Mark Long, Director of Middle East Studies and Associate Professor in the Honors College at Baylor University. Dr. Long specializes in contemporary Islamic fundamentalism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and extremism in America. Before coming to Baylor, Dr. Long served eleven years on active duty as a Middle East analyst and as an instructor at the Air Force Academy where he taught Arabic and English literature. We are delighted to have Dr. Long on the show to discuss teaching in multiple contexts, the good and bad of addressing politics in the classroom, and his reflections at the close of his teaching career.

Tammy Adair: Research with Undergraduates

Today, our guest is Dr. Tammy, Adair, Senior Lecturer in biology and Director of course based undergraduate research in biology, and director of Baylor’s undergraduate research and scholarly achievement program known as URSA. Doctor Adair also teaches course based undergraduate research experience labs, such as the phage lab sponsored by HHMI and the Science Education Alliance. Her undergraduate researcher group, the M&M bears focuses on microbial genomics. We are delighted to have Dr. Adair on the show to discuss active and then experiential learning in STEM education and undergraduate research across the academy.

Karenna Malavanti: Teaching While Introverted

Today our guest is Dr. Karenna Malavanti, senior lecturer and neuroscience advisor in the department of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University. Dr. Malavanti’s research focuses on applied cognition and human memory, looking at issues of legal psychology such as eyewitness memory, and education, addressing issues such as study strategies. Recognized as a Baylor Teaching Fellow in 2018, Dr. Malavanti is active in the Society for Teaching Psychology. We are delighted to have Dr. Malavanti on the show to chat about teaching as an introvert, increasing your awareness as a teacher, reflecting on our teaching, and much more.

Paul Martens: Beyond and Between the Disciplines

Today, our guest is Dr. Paul Martens, associate professor of ethics in the department of religion and director of interdisciplinary studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Martens holds a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and has published widely on John Howard Yoder and Soren Kierkegaard. Dr. Martens has been director of the Baylor ethics initiative, where he serves as Global Ethics Research Convener. We are delighted to have Dr. Martens on the show to discuss what is right and wrong about disciplines in the academy and why interdisciplinarity matters for researchers and students.

Brooke Blevins: Civics and Justice

Today our guest is Dr. Brooke Blevins, the Conwell G. Strickland Endowed Chair, Associate Professor, and Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Baylor University’s School of Education. In 2017, Dr. Blevins was selected as a Baylor Fellow—a cohort of Baylor teachers recognized for excellence and stimulated for experimenting in their classrooms. She was also the senior fellow for the program in 2018. Dr. Blevins teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in secondary education, social studies education, and multicultural education. We are delighted to have Dr. Blevins on the show to discuss, infusing virtues into your classes, how civic education relates to politics, the differences between high school and college learners, and much more.

DeAnna Toten Beard: Learning in a Foreign Land

Today, our guest is Dr. DeAnna Toten Beard. Dr. Toten Beard is Professor of Theater History at Baylor University, where she teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate Theatre Studies courses. In 2012, she was named a Baylor Teaching Fellow, a recognition of great teaching with a cohort devoted to experiment in teaching. Dr. Toten Beard has also taught in the Baylor interdisciplinary core and is the past co-director of the Baylor in Oxford study abroad program. We are delighted to have Dr. Toten Beard on the show to discuss how place affects teaching, what students learn about themselves and each other and others when they study abroad. And much more.