Shows
CoLab PodcastCreative Play as Community BuildingJosh Luckens of the Wentworth Institute of Technology, Joan Zaretti of Bryant University and Karen Hopkins of Auburn University discuss their experiences creating playful and play-based programs and activities aimed at engaging learners and building community. They share strategies for cultivating a sense of belonging, purpose, and trust among students and faculty through the joy of play.This episode originally aired on November 17, 2023 on the Centering Centers podcast, which explores the work of Centers for Teaching and Learning like Wentworth’s Teaching and Learning Collaborative, and the vision and insights of educational developers in higher education. It's a...2024-01-3033 minCoLab PodcastCo-Creating Learning with Professor Igor MinevichJosh Luckens interviews Dr. Igor Minevich, Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Wentworth Institute of Technology. Minevich explains why the Teaching and Learning Collaborative’s New Faculty Orientation and Instructional Coaching program “changed the way I feel about teaching,” inspiring him to “lead the classroom like a partnership” and “teach from the heart.” He discusses why he shifted away from lecture-based instruction to a “multi-way dialogue” in which his whole class is “co-creating learning.” He offers strategies for getting students “excited about the mystery of how something works…actually discovering things they're learning for themselves, with me guiding.” M...2023-11-3041 min
Centering CentersCreative Play as Community BuildingIn this episode, Joan Zaretti from Bryant University, Karen Hopkins from Auburn University, and Josh Luckens from Wentworth Institute of Technology discuss their experiences creating playful and play-based programs and activities aimed at engaging their campus and building community. They share strategies for cultivating a sense of belonging, purpose, and trust among students and faculty through the joy of play.
*This episode is another installment of our PODFest series which was recorded December 1, 2022.
Transcript2023-11-1732 minCoLab PodcastPedagogies of Hope and Solidarity with Dr. Kevin GannonJosh Luckens interviews Dr. Kevin Gannon, who shares how he finds spaces of possibility to question the status quo in higher education, working alongside his students to build a more just and sustainable future. He discusses ways to stop inequities from reproducing themselves in the classroom, how he has moved from focusing on the product to the process of learning, and why he leads with compassion as an educator, helping students discover their own unique pathways to meaningful and authentic learning.Dr. Gannon posits that the better we can answer the following questions, the better...2023-08-3049 minCoLab Podcast7 Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate EducationThe Teaching & Learning Collaborative’s Josh Luckens and Megan Hamilton Giebert are joined by Wentworth’s Dean of Students Jenn Kosses to discuss the “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education,” a classic study by Arthur Chickering and Zelda Gamson. Our conversation explores how we bring these best practices to life at Wentworth and illuminates the many ways in which Chickering and Gamson's guiding principles can help us find our footing in a changing higher education landscape. The seven principles are: 1) Encourage contact between students and faculty 2) Develop reciprocity and cooperat...2023-06-3038 minCoLab PodcastPlayful Pedagogy with Dr. Lisa Forbes and Dr. David ThomasJosh Luckens interviews Dr. Lisa Forbes and Dr. David Thomas, the co-founders of Professors at Play, an organization that invites professors to explore the transformative power of play in the higher education classroom. They are the co-editors of the Professors at Play PlayBook, an anthology of playful teaching techniques applicable across the disciplines, sourced from their network of nearly 1,000 professors from across the globe, and available as a free download. They discuss the complex ways that play creates relational safety in the classroom, how play can enliven content and spark more lasting learning, and why playful teaching...2023-05-3145 minCoLab PodcastReaching All Learners with Dr. Tom TobinJosh Luckens interviews Dr. Thomas J. Tobin, who discusses the power of “the big five: voice, choice, agency, safety, and belonging” in teaching and learning. Dr. Tobin is a specialist in Teaching, Learning, and Academic Technology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a celebrated scholar and speaker on technology-mediated education and is the co-author of Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education.Dr. Tobin shares his belief that all learners are capable of transforming themselves with the right tools, time, and the space to imagine new possibilities in their lives. He offe...2023-03-3046 minCoLab PodcastCreating a Culture of Innovation and Entrepreneurship on CampusJosh Luckens interviews a team of Wentworth colleagues who he collaborates with to design hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for students at Accelerate, Wentworth's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center.The team shares how they create fertile learning spaces where failure is seen as necessary for growth, offering strategies for empowering students with the tools to be innovative and bring an entrepreneurial mindset to all areas of their lives.Joe Schnackertz, a 2021 Wentworth graduate and Accelerate’s Program Coordinator, discusses the power of creating “spaces of yes” on college campuses—places for students to collaborate across disciplines, explore new idea...2023-02-2837 minCoLab PodcastInclusive Instruction with Dr. Tracie AddyJosh Luckens interviews Dr. Tracie Addy, who shares strategies for implementing inclusive teaching practices in the college classroom.They discuss the relationship between active learning and equity, why student-centered teaching promotes feelings of belonging, and the pedagogical power of authentic human connection.Dr. Tracie Addy is the Director of the Center for the Integration of Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship at Lafayette College. She is a scholar of both teaching and learning and educational development, primarily focusing on learner-centered practices including active learning and inclusive teaching.Dr. Addy is the co-author of the book...2023-01-3143 minCoLab PodcastSelf-Worth Theory and Buddhist Pedagogy with Nic VogeJosh Luckens interviews Nic Voge, who offers strategies for transforming fear and reframing failure in academic settings. He shares ways to design courses that emphasize student engagement and intrinsic motivation as central features in an experience of meaningful inquiry.Nic Voge is a nationally recognized expert in teaching, learning, and student motivation, and the senior associate director of the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning at Princeton University. His Ted talk, Self Worth Theory: The Key to Understanding & Overcoming Procrastination, has been viewed over 2 million times. He is the co-author of the book Life Beyond Grades: Designing...2022-11-3043 minCoLab PodcastHalloween Special: The Mystery of the Absent StudentsIn a spooky Halloween adventure, hosts Josh Luckens and Megan Hamilton Giebert are thrust into an educational encounter with the supernatural world. We feature an oracular radio drama in which a lost professor contends with ghosts, zombies, and a truth-telling student, and teaching tips are conveyed from the great beyond via Arioch Wentworth's gramophone.Beware: this episode features course design and delivery strategies from a Dickensian figure who may or may not be a ghost. Their ancient wisdom is so potent that it might just help you transform your teaching practice and cast a lasting spell of...2022-10-3132 minCoLab PodcastUniversal Design for LearningWentworth instructional designers Josh Luckens, Megan Hamilton Giebert, and Lucy Wolski discuss strategies to implement Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in college classrooms.UDL is a framework that seeks to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn best. Research shows that the ways in which people learn are as unique as their fingerprints. UDL guides the design of learning environments that reduce barriers to learning and empowers students to become expert learners in the rich diversity of ways that humans learn.Additional resources:...2022-09-3034 minCoLab PodcastUngrading with Dr. Susan BlumJosh Luckens interviews Dr. Susan Blum, who shares how she uses “ungrading” principles and practices to reinvigorate her role as a college professor and empower her students to be lifelong learners.Dr. Blum is a professor of anthropology at The University of Notre Dame and the author of nine books, including her 2016 publication "I Love Learning; I Hate School: An Anthropology of College,” and her 2020 instant classic “Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead),” which she both edited and contributed to alongside higher education experts from across the world.Ungrading is a process...2022-08-3045 minCoLab PodcastTrauma-Informed PedagogyWentworth instructional designers Josh Luckens, Megan Hamilton Giebert, and Lucy Wolski team up again to discuss actionable ways to bring trauma-informed teaching strategies into the classroom.Trauma-informed pedagogy is a holistic approach to teaching and learning that recognizes and responds proactively to the collective and individual traumas that both students and faculty experience.Underpinned by the neuroscience of learning, this approach brings heightened awareness of the crucial role of emotion in cognition.Trauma-informed teaching practices seek to create classroom communities in which students feel safe, empowered, and connected. Such thoughtful promotion of student...2022-07-2938 minCoLab PodcastMetacognition and Learning with Dr. Saundra McGuireJosh Luckens interviews Dr. Saundra McGuire, who shares personal philosophies and inspiring stories from her decades as a leader in higher education.Dr. Saundra McGuire is internationally acclaimed learning specialist who has been teaching students a rich tapestry of strategies for improving their study skills and achieving academic success for over 50 years as a Professor of Chemistry and as the Director Emerita of the Center for Academic Success at Louisiana State University. She is the author of multiple books, including “Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incorporate Into Any Course to Improve Student Metacognition, Study Sk...2022-07-0647 minCoLab Podcast21 Strategies to Boost Student MotivationTwenty-one strategies. Two instructional designers. One timer. Can Josh Luckens and Megan Hamilton Giebert relay every strategy in just one minute each? Part-game, part-inspiration, this episode presents evidence-based strategies to increase intrinsic motivation that can be implemented in any classroom.These strategies are drawn from the book: Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incorporate Into Any Course to Improve Student Metacognition, Study Skills, and Motivation by Dr. Saundra McGuire.Check out episode 4 of our podcast, in which Josh Luckens interviews Dr. Saundra McGuire!View the 21 strategies to boost motivation in the...2022-05-2530 minCoLab PodcastTransparency in Learning & Teaching (TILT)Three TLC instructional designers – Josh Luckens, Megan Hamilton Giebert, and Lucy Wolski – discuss the benefits of the TILT framework, which is used to clearly state a course assignment’s purpose, task, and assessment criteria. TILT is an easy and impactful adjustment that instructors can make to help their students succeed.Additional resources:Video: TILT's developer Mary-Ann Winkelmes describes the TILT transparency frameworkWebsite: TILT in higher educationTLC blog post: From Our Toolkit to Yours: TILT!TLC blog post: Enhance Student Success with TransparencyView examples of TILT i...2022-04-1326 minCoLab PodcastCuriosity and Connections with Professor Ilyas BhattiJosh Luckens interviews Ilyas Bhatti, Professor of Construction Management at Wentworth, who reflects upon his rich career in public service and the connections that have defined it by sharing stories and lessons learned.Ilyas Bhatti is the Interim Dean of the School of Management at the Wentworth Institute of Technology and has been a beloved professor of Construction Management at Wentworth for 21 years.As a child in Lahore, Pakistan, he nearly died of typhoid, which he contracted from contaminated drinking water. After training as a civil engineer in Pakistan, he immigrated to the United States...2022-04-1346 min