We return to face-to-face classroom instruction at Illinois State for the fall of 2021, but with a twist. Students and instructors will have to wear face coverings. How do we make masks work? Jim is joined by CTLT's director, Dr. Jennifer Friberg, who is also a speech pathologist by training. They discuss how a little piece of cloth can cause some big challenges when it comes to communicating clearly in class. Jen provides some tips for adjusting our environments and our approaches to speaking to maximize understanding. They also explore ways to take students "emotional temperature" now that their faces are being obscured.

Let's Talk Teaching

Ep. 069: Mask Up!

Students don't have to feel like they're "teaching themselves" when taking an online, asynchronous course. Dr. Hulda Black, an associate professor in the College of Business, joins us to highlight ways to make communication work through course design, establishing habits, and timely feedback. She and Jim Gee discuss in importance of creating a "rhythm" through scheduled communications, including announcements through ReggieNet and weekly videos to explain learning goals and give general feedback on student work to the class. They also discuss how to approach office hours using meeting tools like Zoom.

Ep. 068: Communicating in Asynchronous Courses

We talk a lot about civic engagement as a core value at Illinois State University. But what does it look like when practiced in our courses? We explore that question in this episode, a preview of the 2021 University-Wide Teaching & Learning Symposium, Civic Engagement in Extraordinary Times. Dr. Katy Strzepek and Harriet Steinbach from the Center for Civic Engagement join Dr. Dana Karraker and Jim Gee from CTLT for an in-depth look at the ties between public higher education and engendering a life-long sense of civic learning in students. The group highlights ways, both big and small, to incorporate civic engagement in classes. They also examine the lessons learned from a semester of teaching and activism during a tumultuous election season, the national spotlight on social justice, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, they preview the three "rock stars of civic engagement" who will keynote the January 6, 2021 Symposium.

Ep. 067: Civic Engagement in Extraordinary Times

As an extraordinary semester wraps up, we check in with three undergraduate students from Illinois State about their experiences learning in the age of COVID-19. They highlight what's worked in their classes this semester, what instructors have done to help them to succeed, and how the new tools we've all had to embrace - things like Zoom, recorded lectures, and other apps - have actually offered some expanded opportunities. They also explore some surprising ways they connect with other students. Plus, they weigh in on synchronous versus asynchronous learning and how those insights have impacted their choices of classes for the spring semester.

Ep. 066: Fall 2020 Student Check-in

Tackling tough social issues is often a minefield in which few instructors wish to tread… and for good reason. From political polarization to the isolation of the global pandemic, a multitude of forces are shaping, and sometimes stifling, our ability to have deep, important conversations in our classes. But it can be done and done successfully. We talk with Dr. Joseph Zompetti from the School of Communication, who shares ideas about how to structure classroom conversations, face-to-face or virtually, to navigate through divisive discourses. Joe and Jim examine some basic ground rules which can help students engage with controversial ideas and provide a sense of camaraderie with the mutual goal of sharing different perspectives. They explore the idea of classrooms as simulation spaces, where it’s okay to examine the real world without succumbing to the weight of real-world ideology. Joe also shares how he transformed his course on political rhetoric through two divisive presidential elections and what teaching practices he’s embraced during the shift to fully online instruction.

Ep. 065: Divisive Discourse

We speak with Dan Taube, Illinois State University's Chief Information Security Officer, about how to keep ourselves and our students safe as we teach and learn online. As college instructors, we don't usually think about our teaching in terms of the exchange or storage of data. But it's an important consideration not just in terms of our personal online habits, but also in terms of ensuring students' privacy. Dan highlight's the best ways to prevent bad actors from getting a hold of the information they so desperately want. We discuss how to to be mindful when interacting with email and websites, and we also explore the process the University when faculty or departments seek to incorporate new online tools into the curriculum. You'll also hear about the good cybersecurity habits instructors can model for their students.

Ep. 064: Cybersecurity

To say the Fall 2020 semester has been a challenge is to undersell it. But still, students say they're having positive learning experiences despite the global pandemic and all it means for higher education. In this episode, we talk with three returning Illinois State undergraduates, who bring a unique perspective about how things have changed since last fall. They share what their professors are doing to help them. They highlight the communication practices, flexibility, and organization that helps them to succeed. Plus, they emphasize the importance of empathy and genuine concern in the student-teacher relationship.

Ep. 063: COVID-19 - Students Speak

Communication is key to coping with the extraordinary challenges to learning brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. That's the number one conclusion we came to in this special edition of our podcast. We sat down with three faculty members to discuss their approaches to teaching this fall, with a special emphasis on supporting students' attendance and helping them to keep learning, even when the novel coronavirus has other plans. We discuss how to set expectations with students, how to encourage them to ask for help, and how to make ourselves available, whether we're teaching synchronously, asynchronously, or somewhere in between. Special thanks to our panel: Dr. Gina Hunter, Dr. Abby Stone, and Tina McGuire shared their unique perspectives from a variety of teaching situations.

Ep. 062: Working Through Student Absences

A podcast exploring topics about teaching and professional development for faculty and instructors. Find out more at CTLT.IllinoisState.edu.

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Let's Talk Teaching

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