Get ready to be inspired as you listen to the undergraduate research experience of UNI student Tristen Prouse who recently traveled to present at a conference in New York City with Dr. Lisa Jepsen of the College of Business.

Together Lisa & Tristen share about their collaboration and adventures in the latest episode of Teaching in 10 titled, “Teaching Outside of the Classroom: The Impact of Undergraduate Research.” 

Lisa is the Robert James Waller Professor of Economics in the College of Business at the University of Northern Iowa. She is also an Administrative Fellow in the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning at UNI. Lisa teaches Principles of Microeconomics, Introduction to Economics, and Law & Economics.

Tristen is an Economics major with a Legal Studies minor. She is Captain of the Debate Team, Co-President of the Pre-Law Club, and is Vice President of Community Service for the Multicultural Business Leaders Association. 

In this episode Tristen & Lisa discuss how Tristen’s research on vaccine access and inequalities in the pandemic response and health care access around the world started with an idea related to Lisa’s Law & Economics course. The project has now become Tristen’s Honors Thesis and resulted in her earning a College of Business Undergraduate Research Award to support her conference presentation.

Together Tristen & Lisa share lively stories and practical examples of how their collaboration and conference travel has fueled them both professionally and personally!

Thank you Tristen & Lisa for inspiring us!

Photo: Lisa & Tristen at Hadestown, a Tony Award-Winning Musical on Broadway in NYC

Gratitude:

A big thanks to the UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (UNI JPEC) and especially Patrick Luensmann, Associate Director of JPEC for letting us use their brand new podcasting studio for Teaching in 10! Thank you!

It is a true joy to welcome Dr. Hannah Occeña to the podcast!
 
Hannah is Assistant Professor of Flute in the School of Music at the University of Northern Iowa and was recently awarded the UNI Outstanding Teaching Award. She teaches applied flute, team teaches woodwind techniques, and directs a flute ensemble of majors, non-majors, and community members. She also is the Principal Flutist of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra in Topeka, Kansas.

In this episode Hannah shares with us the many ways that she helps students discover “their voice as a musician and as a human being.” She provides examples of how she supports students figuring out what they need, learning how to ask for help, and managing their time so that they can reach their goals in music and in life. 

Thank you Hannah for sharing your wisdom with us!

Gratitude:

A big thanks to the UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (UNI JPEC) and especially Patrick Luensmann, Associate Director of JPEC for letting us use their brand new podcasting studio for Teaching in 10! Thank you!

It is a joy to welcome Dr. Jessica Moon Asa to the podcast! Jessica is Director of the Honors & Scholars Programs at the University of Northern Iowa. In this role she provides leadership to the University Honors Program and several scholarship cohorts including Bright Scholars, Legacy Scholars, and Presidential Scholars. 

She teaches a Capstone course called “The Life of the University,” a Presidential Scholars community engagement course - which is a year-long community engagement experience for sophomore presidential scholars, and she has also taught Masters courses in the Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs Masters program at the University of Northern Iowa.

In this episode Jessica shares a holistic approach to student development, including ways that she supports the well-being and intellectual risk taking of high-achieving students. She provides rich examples from her community-engagement focused teaching, as well as how they are providing first-year Honors students with erasers that remind them that “it is okay to make mistakes.” Drawing upon the scholarship of Dr. Laurie Schreiner on Thriving - Jessica offers a clear framework for how we can support students’ academic, psychological, and interpersonal well-being.

Resources on Dr. Laurie Schreiner's Scholarship on Thriving: 

The Thriving Project
https://www.thrivingincollege.org/

The "Thriving Quotient": A New Vision for Student Success
https://www.wellesley.edu/sites/default/files/assets/departments/studentlife/files/thriving_overview.pdf

Gratitude:

A big thanks to the UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (UNI JPEC) and especially Patrick Luensmann, Associate Director of JPEC for letting us use their brand new podcasting studio for Teaching in 10! Thank you!

I am delighted to welcome Dr. Théophile Muhayimana to the podcast! Dr. Théophile Muhayimana is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership in the Department of Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies in the College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa. He teaches courses in the UNI Principal Preparation program and the Teacher Leadership for International Educators Program (MA). Théo is a leader in diversity, equity, & inclusion, and recently earned the Multicultural Education Award for the UNI College of Education.

Dr. Théophile Muhayimana has extensive teaching and leadership experience in PreK-12 schools and in higher education in his home country of Rwanda. Namely, Théo served in senior leadership positions such as the Interim Vice-President for Academic Affairs and the Dean of the College of Education, as well as the Director of the Office of the University President at Kibungo University in Rwanda. 

In this episode Théo shares numerous practical examples of how he creates connections with students, sustains interactions with students, and provides students with meaningful feedback, including a standards-based grading approach. He also shares a unique new teaching idea he developed called the “Panther Way” - where students intentionally build a community of practice.

Drawing upon his decades of teaching and leadership experience in higher education in his home country of Rwanda, Théo inspires us all to create inclusive classroom communities where students support one another and can learn from each other.

Resources on Standards-Based Grading:

All Things Standards-Based Grading with Dr. Matt Townsley, UNI

http://mctownsley.net/standards-based-grading/

Top 5 Standards-Based Grading Articles - Dr. Matt Townsley, UNI

http://mctownsley.net/top-5-standards-based-grading-articles-2021/

Making Grades Matter: Standards-Based Grading in a Secondary PLC (A Practical Guide for PLCs and Standards-Based Grading at the Secondary Education Level)

Townsley & Wear (2020)

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Grades-Matter-Standards-Based-standards-based/dp/1949539652

Gratitude:

A big thanks to the UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (UNI JPEC) and especially Patrick Luensmann, Associate Director of JPEC for letting us use their brand new podcasting studio for Teaching in 10! A continued shout out of gratitude to Anton Reiter, Learning Spaces Specialist for his ongoing support with the podcast! Thank you!

Do you want your students to look up from their phones and engage with one another in your classes? If so, check out this episode with Dr. Sarah Montgomery, Administrative Fellow in the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning and Professor of Education at the University of Northern Iowa. 

Last spring semester Sarah overheard students sharing in her Honors Capstone class that they don’t talk to one another in their other classes. They said they showed up to class, got on their phones, did what they needed to do for class and left - never once interacting with a peer. Sound familiar? 

In this episode Sarah shares how she investigated this trend, how it connects to current research, and how we can support students building peer-to-peer connections in our classes to fuel their academic engagement. 

This podcast provides specific ideas for how to help students connect with one another in class at a time when national data is showing that incoming first-year students are seeking support with building peer-to-peer connections and that social connection impacts student success and retention.

A big thanks to the UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (UNI JPEC) and especially Patrick Luensmann, Associate Director of JPEC for letting us use their brand new podcasting studio for Teaching in 10! A continued shout out of gratitude to Anton Reiter, Learning Spaces Specialist for his ongoing support with the podcast! Thank you!

Resources mentioned in the Podcast:

Sentipensante (Sensing/Thinking) Pedagogy: Educating for Wholeness, Social Justice, and Liberation by Laura Rendón 

Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World  by Vivek Murthy

Example Connection Questions

-What brings you joy?

-What is one good thing (in your life, day, etc)?

-What is something you are looking forward to?

-What are you grateful for? 

-Who is on your team? Who supports and encourages you?

-Share a photo that brings you joy with a peer.

For more ideas about creating peer-to-peer connections in your classes check out the Teaching in 10 episode “Social and Emotional Learning in the College Classroom” with Dr. Leigh Zeitz

It is a true honor to welcome Dr. Fernando Calderón to the podcast. Fernando is Associate Professor of History and Graduate Coordinator in the Department of History in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Northern Iowa. He teaches courses on the Cold War, Latin America, Comparative Revolutions, Facism and Anti-Facism. He specializes in student politics in the 1970s working class culture and political violence in Mexico. 

An interesting fact is that Fernando had family participate in the Mexican revolution and he likes to make it clear to students that the Mexican revolution was the first social revolution of the 20th century.

In this episode, Fernando articulates the power of teaching writing and critical thinking via the Humanities. He shares how he sees his students as up-and-coming public intellectuals who can “weaponize history and push back against a lot of the hurtful revisionism that takes place all the time.” Fernando also reminds us of the unique demands our students face and how “being more human” and taking time to support student growth can have inspiring outcomes.

A note of gratitude: A huge thanks to Anton Reiter, Learning Spaces Specialist at UNI for helping with the recording and processing of this podcast. Thanks Anton!

It is an honor and joy to welcome Lindi Roelofse to the podcast! Lindi is the T. Wayne Davis Chair of Entrepreneurship at the University of Northern Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.  She has taught all of the classes in the Entrepreneurship minor, which address topics such as finance, general entrepreneurship, and growth strategies. Part of Lindi’s role includes supporting student entrepreneurs - and currently there are 10 UNI students engaging in purposefully growing their own businesses through the RJ McElroy Incubator.

Lindi is also on the core steering team for the Black Business Entrepreneurship Accelerator, which started in September 2020 and to date has graduated 30 students - 100% of the students have increased their sales since graduating, and 25% have been growing double or triple digits. 

In this episode, Lindi provides rich examples of how she pushes students to take risks, become more confident, and ultimately see what is possible. She describes her experiential teaching approach that propels her students to be change agents. By throwing her students “into the deep end of the pool and seeing if they can swim” - with lifeguards and pool noodles in place - Lindi helps her students become more comfortable with the unknown and understand that they have the power to collectively solve wicked problems that exist in the world. Throughout the podcast Lindi offers teaching ideas such as her “Night at the Library Challenge” where students work in teams at Rod Library to create a podcast, engage in the Makerspace, develop a call to action using the green screen, expand their information literacy, and do customer discovery for clients - all without any preparation or even knowing the tasks that will be presented prior to the event.

In closing the podcast, Lindi outlines Otto Scharmer’s theoretical framework for how we are moving from Education 1.0 through to Education 4.0. She invites us to consider how in the context of Education 4.0 we might serve as a midwife, who coaches our students through the birthing process to create something new that hasn’t previously existed and to make a positive difference in the world.

A note of gratitude: Lindi and Sarah wanted to give a huge shout out of gratitude to Anton Reiter, Learning Spaces Specialist at UNI, and Darnell Eveleth who both helped produce this podcast and who have helped Lindi’s students create numerous podcasts! We couldn’t make this happen with you! Thank you!

Resources:

Scharmer, O. (2019, April 15). Vertical literacy: Reimagining the 21st century university. Medium.

Scharmer, O. (2018, January 8). Education is the kindling of a flame: How to reinvent the 21st century university. Huffington Post.

It is a joy to welcome Dr. Leigh Zeitz to the podcast! Leigh, whose students lovingly call him “Dr. Z,” is Associate Professor in the Learning Technologies Division in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction in the College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa. He teaches courses in Educational Technology and Design and Classroom Assessment. He has also taught masters courses in Using Digital and Social Media in Education & Creating Change through Digital Leadership. Leigh has taught at UNI for almost 30 years and he has had the privilege to teach students from 1st grade to 12th grade in public, private, and prison schools. He also taught a year in Malaysia. 

In this episode Leigh discusses how he supports student success in both face-to-face and  online environments by creating a welcoming community where students feel safe and important. Leigh provides examples of how he promotes Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in his teaching through asking quick, upbeat questions of students prior to the start of class, such as “If you could have a superpower, what would it be?” He explores his research on this teaching strategy and the implications of students reporting feeling more connected to the professor, caring more about the class, and choosing to keep their cameras on via Zoom.

Leigh describes the framework of “communities of inquiry” in online education and highlights the power of social connection - noting that in his research students reported “the connection between the teacher and the students, and between the students and the students was right at the top - one of the most important pieces.” 

To learn more about Leigh’s research and teaching, and to get connected to the "Check In" questions he shares in the episode - please read Leigh’s blog titled, “Dr. Z Reflects.”

www.drzreflects.com

Leigh’s blog post on April 13, 2021 offers the “Opening Questions” he uses to build community and connection in his classes and his post from June 25, 2021 discusses his research on “Why Students Turn Off Their Cameras in Online Classes.” Enjoy!

For more information on Communities of Inquiry in online education, please see this two-page resource from Purdue University. https://www.purdue.edu/innovativelearning/supporting-instruction/portal/files/4_Community_of_Inquiry_Framework.pdf