Teaching Time-Out

A prevailing purpose of this podcast project has been to share effective teaching practices – but I started to wonder how we might define “teaching effectiveness” and what we can do to document our own teaching effectiveness. It turns out to be a rather complicated question! In this time-out I’ll share some more about the ambiguity here, as well as try to provide a reasonable, albeit broad, set of suggestions we can take to demonstrate how we approach teaching effectiveness when we communicate in our evaluation matierals.  Taylor and Charlebois: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1284726Taylor and Thion: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1253622KU Teaching Effectiveness Rubric: https://cte.ku.edu/sites/cte/files/documents/programs-initiatives/KU%20Benchmarks%20Framework%202020update.pdf

Does talking out loud help with learning? Processing new information, and drawing connections across readings or concepts can be a challenging cognitive task, and yet our courses and assignments sometimes require this ability. In this time-out, I invited two colleagues to help me learn more about how a “think aloud” session or training might enhance students confidence, their ability to trust source information, and allow instructors to catch, in real time, how a student’s line of thought may be guiding them in the wrong direction. Tarchi 2020: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/acp.3782Barnett 1998: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED422288Banning 2008: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17383056/Tanner 2012: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22665584/ 

Can drawing out connections enhance learning?Some students struggle with how to take notes in class, often because they don’t think in the linear logical way that traditional notes are organized. A creative alternative, that focuses on connections across a lecture or topics, seems to be really helpful for learning. In this time-out, along with a few guests, we’ll look at the evidence that supports mind-maps as an effective learning and note-taking approach to classroom success.Kaup et al (2024): https://www.njppp.com/index.php?mno=215336Jabade & Nadaf (2024): 10.4103/jehp.jehp_321_24Edwards & Cooper (2010): 10.1111/j.1743-498X.2010.00395.x 

How can we address students’ key questions and motivation from the first day of a course?In this time-out, we will revisit a popular topic from this podcast project and continue to think about tactics that can enhance the first day of class, with some new evidence and activities that can help students settle in for a good start and positive experience. Meaders et al (1): https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.639338Meaders et al (2): https://stemeducationjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40594-021-00306-y Hale & Wetmiller (2022): https://publications.aaahq.org/iae/article-abstract/37/4/25/211/Syllabus-Day-Reinvented-Reimagining-the-First-Day?redirectedFrom=fulltext McGinley & Jones (2014): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0098628314530350  

Teaching to a course with 75, 100, or even 200 students can be difficult for the instructor and the student’s learning. In this time-out, we’ll explore some tested strategies that led to improved learning and experiences in these large classes, that also seemed to have been efficient and economical uses of time for the instructor.  Allen et al 2022: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2021.1891404 Lillard & Taggart 2022: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2022.2140097 Jeram 2024: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2023.2208818  

In this time-out we are focusing on every undergraduate students worst nightmare…the class presentation (dun, dun, duuuuun!). These types of assignments don’t have to be scary or painful, and with some intention and modification, can be really valuable learning and professional development experiences.  van Ginkel et al 2015: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X15000056 Raja 2017: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1161521.pdf Calcich & Weilbaker 2015: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10528008.1992.11488349 Sleigh 2013:https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2304/plat.2013.12.3.246 Heideman & Laury 2022:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2021.1913395 

What happens when instructors focus on the environment they create for students in their classroom?In this time-out, I’ll focus the discussion on a classroom’s motivational climate, which is largely facilitated by how the instructor cultivates the environment to the degree that students feel some control, cared for, and the course experience is designed in such a way to address and enhance students sense of interest, success, and utility.  Jones et al (2022): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23328584211073167 Jones et al (2024): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191491X24000324?via%3Dihub Jones & Carter (2019): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-019-09500-x The MUSIC Model website: https://www.themusicmodel.com/ 

How do you deal with students and their phones in class?Students are obviously using their devices in class, and sometimes even to assist and engage with learning and the instructors. I’m curious how we should approach discussing and streamlining device use in our classrooms, and creating an environment that accepts the reality of the ubiquity of these devices but also acknowledges optimal and fair use strategies. This time-out will center on student perceptions and a few practical suggestions for how to approach off-task device use in your classrooms. Ruppel et al 2023: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2023.2233106 Stowell et al 2018: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2018.1437533 Deng et al  (2022): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2021.1973947 Petranek and Gallegos (2024): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2023.2183377 Andrade (2025): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2023.2245526 Karlins (2022): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2021.1985423

How do the words you select for your syllabus influence initial impressions? In this time-out, we will pause and reflect on the tone of our syllabi, and how the words we use to communicate our thoughts about the course can shift how learners may be feeling on those first days. Harnish & Bridges: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-011-9152-4 Waggoner Denton & Veloso: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-011-9152-4 Gurung & Galardi: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0098628321994632  

Can college teachers enhance a student’s sense of belonging on campus? In this time-out, we’ll explore how college teachers classroom practices, and even very brief interventions, can change a students’ sense of belonging, and why this matters. Kirby & Thomas: https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2021.1950659Keely et al: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328023top3302_1Hammarlund et al: https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab146Walton et al: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade4420Cheng et al: https://doi.org/10.1080/10401334.2021.1984921Strayhorn: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-021-09559-5    

How much does an instructor’s mindset influence the student experience? This episode will explore how much an instructor’s frame of mind and how they approach students, their potential, and their classes can influence student’s learning and outcomes.      Muenks et al 2024: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-024-09948-6   Muenks et al 2020: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-30956-001?doi=1   Rutten et al 2024: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361476X2400064X    

Why don’t students read and what can we do about it? In this continuation from the last episode on reading, I’ll share some reasons why college students are not reading, and then provide a few additional tools and strategies that instructors can use to help enhance the importance of reading in their classes and supports for students to actually do that reading.      Kerr and Frese 2017: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2016.1222577   Gurung and Martin 2011: https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628310390913     Dubus and Toledo 2015: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2014.972319   Davis and Ritchey 2023: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2023.2271619   Sylan 2018: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2018.1518892

What can you do to help students be more compliant with assigned readings? In this episode I’ll cover some strategies you might consider adopting to help students feel more confident in their approach to reading, to help them comply more often with the readings you assign.   Sappington et al 2002 https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328023TOP2904_02 Cserni & Rademacher 2021: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2020.1863318 Ritchey & List 2022: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2021.1924607 Hatteberg and Steffy 2013: https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X13490752 Thornill 2024: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2024.2363779  

Have you ever given students one last task before they leave class? Exit tickets can be a quick and effective way to formatively assess students' learning and can even lead to improved performance on larger course assignments that summatively assess their knowledge. In this short episode, I’ll discuss a very short intervention to help maximize learning at the end of a course meeting.   Rodriguez et al 2024: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2024.2355210

What would you lose if students received a deadline extension on their assignments? It turns out that instructors really don’t lose much, but students gain a whole lot under flexible deadline arrangements with their work. In this episode we’ll explore some data and perceptions related to students who received deadline extensions for their assignments as we reflect on what might actually happen if instructors didn’t penalize late work.    Hills & Peacock, 2022: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/TLI/article/view/73960 Stallman & Muncy, 2018: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02615479.2018.1517151 Wang, 2011: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/6640/ Taylor-Partridge et al, 2024: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2024.2377554  

How long do your students spend seated in your classrooms? It has become clear that prolonged sitting can have some rather detrimental effects on our health. And it seems that even a regular regiment of exercise may not be enough to combat prolonged sitting - our classrooms are a prime space to break that up, and research shows that students and faculty alike are benefitting from this creative way to offer active breaks in class.    Cowgill et al 2021: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07448481.2019.1661419 Paulus et al 2021: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/8/4204 Keating et al 2022: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07448481.2020.1847119 Brownhill 2023: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2023.2269457  

Why do students attend, or avoid, office hours?   Like many professors, I feel like students don’t really come to office hours, but I don’t totally understand why. In this episode I explore some data about who does and does not come to office hours, and why, along with some fun suggestions for modifying the traditional office hours experience.    Griffen et al, 2014: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2014.896777 Hsu, et al, 2022: https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.22-03-0048 Guerrero & Rod, 2013: https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2013.835554 Brodsky, 2018 (online appointment): https://doi.org/10.1080/15228959.2018.1472051 Glynn-Adey, 2021 (public office hours): https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2020.1845599 Taylor, 1994 (office hours by walking around): https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2020.1845599  

Teaching Time Out kicks off season two taking a look at the course syllabus. Is there a right way to organize a course syllabus? In this episode, we will discuss some ways that simple syllabus language modification and appearance can result in better retention of information, better course impressions, and how a syllabus quiz may indicate final course performance.    Yarosh, 2021: https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X21996784 Kerrigan & Bifulco, 2023: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2023.2208817 Fleck & Richmond, 2024: https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283211072742 Zinger, Lee, & Su, 2023: https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X231198513 Izienicki, 2024: https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X231196173 Hiding a cash prize in a syllabus: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/18/us/tennessee-professor-syllabus-money-trnd/index.html

Inspired by the premise of Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, I wanted to talk to students about their best college teachers. The goal is to reflect on their experiences in a variety of college classrooms to find key actions that a college teacher displayed toward them or for them, so that we can learn how students believe they are best supported for learning.  In this format, I sit down with a college student to ask a few simple questions about what they think makes for an effective college instructor. I’m curious if we can learn just one thing from each student, that might help us try something new, or double down on an activity or approach that students like and that they know helps them to learn. In this student episode of Teaching Time-out, I want to introduce you to Josh, a doctoral student who’s got years of experience as a learner and a student, but also as a teacher. We touch on both sides of the classroom in this episode. The thing that really stood out to me in my conversation with Josh was this idea about engaging through the student versus engaging at the student. This is something I’m going to reflect on for some time to come. He really talked about instructors efforts and passion for the field and for the content using the student’s own work to share and demonstrate that versus the traditional talking at and lecturing. As well as about the instructors efforts that really display both helpful ways for the students to learn and helpful ways for the students to feel like they matter.

Inspired by the premise of Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, I wanted to talk to students about their best college teachers. The goal is to reflect on their experiences in a variety of college classrooms to find key actions that a college teacher displayed toward them or for them, so that we can learn how students believe they are best supported for learning.  In this format, I sit down with a college student to ask a few simple questions about what they think makes for an effective college instructor. I’m curious if we can learn just one thing from each student, that might help us try something new, or double down on an activity or approach that students like and that they know helps them to learn.  I want to introduce you to Mathew, a junior undergraduate student as we think about some of the strong instruction or strong teachers that he’s worked with. The thing that stood out to me with Mathew was this idea of application. I hear this from my students all the time, “how does this apply? How am i going to use this?”. What Mathew was able to share about was not only applying the content to career and future goals and the sort of job he might end up in, but also applying it to memories and being able to walk out of the classroom and see the world slightly differently, and this idea of real-life examples really broadened for me in talking to Mathew. 

Inspired by the premise of Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, I wanted to talk to students about their best college teachers. The goal is to reflect on their experiences in a variety of college classrooms to find key actions that a college teacher displayed toward them or for them, so that we can learn how students believe they are best supported for learning.  In this format, I sit down with a college student to ask a few simple questions about what they think makes for an effective college instructor. I’m curious if we can learn just one thing from each student, that might help us try something new, or double down on an activity or approach that students like and that they know helps them to learn.  I’m excited to introduce you to Haitham. Haitham is college senior, and today he reflected on the good experiences he’s had with strong college teachers. Haitham shared that he wants his teachers to know that he comes prepared with questions, and really appreciates when he sees teachers authentically working hard to help students understand the material, and that his questions come from a place of genuine curiosity. 

Inspired by the premise of Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, I wanted to talk to students about their best college teachers. The goal is to reflect on their experiences in a variety of college classrooms to find key actions that a college teacher displayed toward them or for them, so that we can learn how students believe they are best supported for learning.  In this format, I sit down with a college student to ask a few simple questions about what they think makes for an effective college instructor. I’m curious if we can learn just one thing from each student, that might help us try something new, or double down on an activity or approach that students like and that they know helps them to learn.  I learned from Jess about college teaching today. Jess is a doctoral student and so was able to speak about their views of the classroom as both a student and as an instructor. Jess shared about navigating teacher’s assumptions about their gender and abilities in the classroom, as well as the importance of teachers expressing trust in their students to do projects and activities. 

Inspired by the premise of Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, I wanted to talk to students about their best college teachers. The goal is to reflect on their experiences in a variety of college classrooms to find key actions that a college teacher displayed toward them or for them, so that we can learn how students believe they are best supported for learning.  In this format, I sit down with a college student to ask a few simple questions about what they think makes for an effective college instructor. I’m curious if we can learn just one thing from each student, that might help us try something new, or double down on an activity or approach that students like and that they know helps them to learn. Today, we meet Allie, and learn about the teachers that have helped her learn and made her feel like she matters. Allie shares about the importance of monitoring student’s performances and taking note of when something in their behavioral patterns shift, as well as how much she enjoys working, and working hard, for teachers that both notice her personally, and talk about meeting high expectations. 

Inspired by the premise of Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, I wanted to talk to students about their best college teachers. The goal is to reflect on their experiences in a variety of college classrooms to find key actions that a college teacher displayed toward them or for them, so that we can learn how students believe they are best supported for learning.  In this format, I sit down with a college student to ask a few simple questions about what they think makes for an effective college instructor. I’m curious if we can learn just one thing from each student, that might help us try something new, or double down on an activity or approach that students like and that they know helps them to learn.  In this conversation, I talk with Zaria about being a college student and what she thinks makes for an effective college teacher. She talks about being a woman of color, and often times the only person of color in her classes, and how she thinks teachers may form initial opinions, as well as the ways in which she likes it when teachers take the time to learn more about their students as young adults. 

Inspired by the premise of Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, I wanted to talk to students about their best college teachers. The goal is to reflect on their experiences in a variety of college classrooms to find key actions that a college teacher displayed toward them or for them, so that we can learn how students believe they are best supported for learning.  In this format, I sit down with a college student to ask a few simple questions about what they think makes for an effective college instructor. I’m curious if we can learn just one thing from each student, that might help us try something new, or double down on an activity or approach that students like or know helps them to learn.  In this episode, we meet Sam who shares how impromptu presentations, facilitated comfortably, were really helpful in getting him to read and study the materials as well as feel like he was learning by sharing and teaching. Also, he describes how much a simple check-in from his teachers made him feel like he mattered.  

We end this academic year with an episode focused on the end of a class - what are some ways to meaningfully wrap a semester long course? I did not find a lot of great research on this topic, but certainly some valuable proposals and ideas in the literature - nothing that was measured or lead to changes empirically. Many of these ideas for the last class center on the shared humanity across teachers and students - what can we think about and discuss and making it to the end of what should have been a challenging but engaging course over three to four months. In that space, a lot of consternation and realizations can happen; pausing to discuss those and think through what went well and what could be better is a great way to close out a course meaningfully.    The Last Class https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/CTCH.53.4.165-166   First Day and Last Day https://www.jstor.org/stable/27561976   Knowing Where You’re Going: Planning for Meaningful Course Closure https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2017.1279586

Have you ever thought about how much time and energy kids pour into their video games, and thought “if only they cared half as much about their learning” they would be so successful? Many scholars and educators have shared that thought too - and they have turned to gamification to close that gap. Gamification in college classrooms involves using key tenets of games for learning. The research is also showing some trends that it helps students feel more in charge of their learning and that they favor it compared to more traditional or status quo course experiences. In this episode, we’ll review some of these trends, and I will share a bit about how I use gamification in my own classrooms to help students feel like they are succeeding and earning their grades.                                                        Gamification enhances student intrinsic motivation, perceptions of autonomy and relatedness, but minimal impact on competency: a meta‐analysis and systematic review  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11423-023-10337-7     https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/epik/vol3/iss1/4/   Exploring College Student Experiences in a Kinesiology Course Using a Gamified Grading SystemScience to practice: Does gamification enhance intrinsic motivation?https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14697874211066882

If we want students to understand what and how they are learning, beyond simply recalling content, then it seems imperative that we explicitly include meta-cognitive and self-regulated learning strategies. Asking students to report on their plans and goals, reflect on their time management and progress, and then think back to what they did that helped them or didn’t help them are all important steps to encourage self-regulated learning, which can lead to strong lifelong learning beyond the college classroom. Especially in the present moment where generative AI tools can write the essay for students, we want them to be able to think about their thinking and how and why they learned something, beyond simply turning in the product that represents their knowledge.    Learning how to learn—Implementing self-regulated learning evidence into practice in higher education: Illustrations from diverse disciplines https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rev3.3339                                      Supporting thinking about thinking: examining the metacognition theory‐practice gap in higher education  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-022-00904-x   Fostering self-regulated learning in higher education: Making self-regulation visible https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1469787420982378

A central theme across these impactful teaching tactics we’ve explored in these time-outs is the value of focusing on relationships in our classrooms. For this episode, I wanted to focus exclusively on the value of a strong mentoring relationship between advisors and graduate students; this is teaching also, sometimes in a classroom, sometimes in a lab, and sometimes over coffee or on a walk around campus. The way we mentor and teach our graduate students has a significant impact on their mental health and well-being.    Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education: https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4089   The PhD Experience: A review of the factors influencing doctoral students’ completion, achievement, and well-being https://www.informingscience.org/Publications/4113   The long lonely job of homo academicus https://www.boisestate.edu/bluereview/faculty-time-allocation/#:~:text=The%20first%20phase%20of%20the,unrelated%20to%20teaching%20and%20research. 

We want to know what you've been thinking about on your own "Time Out's", or reflections away from teaching. Do you have questions, ideas, or comments? Send us an email and share your thoughts with us a [email protected].

We can make simple and straightforward adjustments to help students really feel like they matter. Mattering is a psychological concept. When we feel like we matter is a specific context, we feel like people are paying attention us, that we are important, and that others depend on us in that setting. Researchers have explored mattering with faculty and students, and the findings highlight that the best college teachers really think of their students as human beings first, with complex lives that can add to the learning they wish to have occur in their courses. We’ll review two studies on mattering in college classrooms in this time-out, and identify how creating an environment where students feel like they matter can lead to improved student outcomes.                                                                                                         Faculty Perceptions of Mattering in Teaching and Learning: A Qualitative Examination of the Views, Values, and Teaching Practices of Award-Winning Professors: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/07342829211057648 Post-Traditional Students’ Perceptions of Mattering: The Role of Faculty and Student Interaction: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07377363.2022.2108642

We’re taking a time out today to reflect on learning through reflection - how can we learn what and how our students are absorbing the information in our carefully designed courses? Dr. Blanton will highlight two studies in the journal Teaching of Psychology that have implications and suggestions for instructors across the humanities and sciences.  Two articles anchor the discussion for this time-out: Dr. Conrad’s paper on self-reflections in a memory course: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0098628312465863 And Dr. McGrath’s paper on office hours and learning reflections in a statistics course: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0098628313514186

Our time-out today is focused on “rapport” and the minimum tactics needed to see significant outcomes with students. Dr. Blanton will highlight some key findings from the works of Dr. Rebecca Glazier and share some simple adjustments college instructors can make to increase the sense of rapport students perceive with their instructors.  Here is a link to the paper I reviewed, along with Dr. Glazier’s book: Glazier & Harris 2020 Connecting in the Online Classroom: https://a.co/d/bM5Z8st

In this episode of Teaching Time-Out, we are zooming out from the classroom and thinking about our teaching philosophy statements and how we can practically approach putting together this document. Dr. Blanton will review some key resources and questions to reflect on as you think about writing or re-writing your teaching philosophy.    Here are links to the mentioned sources: James Lang on the Chronicle of Higher Education https://www.chronicle.com/article/4-steps-to-a-memorable-teaching-philosophy/?sra=true&cid=gen_sign_in   Kearns and Sullivan: https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/advan.00123.2010   Schönwetter, Sokal, Friesen, & Taylor: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13601440210156501     University of Minnesota Center for Educational Innovation https://cei.umn.edu/teaching-resources/writing-your-teaching-philosophy  

In this first episode of Teaching Time-Out, we are focusing on the first day of class. How can we best use this meeting to engage students, and establish the environment we want for the duration of the course? Dr. Blanton will review the work of Drs. Herman, Foster, and Hardin and the dual-interview activity.  Here is a link to the primary supporting paper from the Teaching of Psychology: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/00986281003609314