Category Archives: Uncategorized

Listen here! Just in time for Halloween, we huddled around a campfire (yes, that’s actually crackling of burning logs you hear!) with fellow teachers Ellen Muehlberger and Carol Tell to tell stories of teachers who haunt us—sometimes in good ways, urging us on to be better teachers; sometimes in the worst ways, reminding us ofContinue reading “Teachers Who Haunt Us”

Listen here! Looking for an icebreaker for the first day of class (or for active learning activities for the weeks that follow)? Behind the Scaffolding and Christine Modey have you covered! Listen for some great tips and deep thinking on breaking the ice. Here’s the concentric circles icebreaker we discussed with Christine; the poem that inspired theContinue reading “Icebreakers, with Christine Modey”

Listen here! Plagiarism: it’s a sticky wicket teachers inevitably have to deal with, if only to think through a course policy that makes sense for them. In this episode, Steve Engel provides some guiding light and enlightening perspectives on this age-old problem. Read more about the complexities of plagiarism with the help of an extensive bibliographyContinue reading “Plagiarism, with Steve Engel”

Listen here! Class participation is an important part of most classrooms, but it’s often hard to quantify and define: to translate it into a percentage of a course grade, to explain to students why it matters. Josh Kupetz has thought a lot about participation and can shed new light about how you think about itContinue reading “Participation, with Josh Kupetz”

Listen here! Thinking about the first day of class and how to set the tone for a new semester? Check out our wide-ranging conversation with Tricia Khleif! We discuss teaching personae, building community in our classrooms, and much, much more about how we try to get our relationships with our students off to a productiveContinue reading “Big Firsts, with Tricia Khleif”

Listen here! Learn what this podcast is all about! And for a deeper look at how scaffolding works in writing classrooms, check out Chapter 2: Designing and Writing Assignment Sequences, in Katherine Gottshalk’s and Keith Hjortshoj’s The Elements of Teaching Writing: A Resource For Instructors In All Disciplines. Also, check out the Sweetland Center for Writing’s practical guidelines for scaffoldingContinue reading “Teaser: Introducing Behind the Scaffolding!”