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Pedagogy Primer Podcast

Pedagogy Primer Podcast

Provides basic and practical directions, tips, and other insights for teaching in Higher Education. The series is produced primarily for Canisius University faculty, but also may help professors or instructors elsewhere. 

We try to have at least one new episode each semester.  You can also find and subscribe to us on YouTube.



Music Credit: Gunnar Olsen (via YouTube)

Episode 1: Communicating with Students

https://youtu.be/g0TlY4ZBTGY?si=mZteKmiXh-B-fcJp

Basic considerations and tips for communicating instructions, and updates to your students. Develop consistent procedures that simplify the learning process and focus energy on course substance.

Episode 2: The Syllabus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7PXMZGnt9c


A good syllabus is the cornerstone of a great course.  

Episode 3: Practical Course Design

https://youtu.be/oMi6S1_O2G0

Consider some basic course design principles.

Episode 4: Asynchronous Discussions Part 1

https://youtu.be/vKfiOLDfsCk

Part 1 of a two-part look at Asynchronous Discussions, a useful style of communication most commonly associated with online or hybrid courses, but also useful in face-to-face classes.

Episode 5: Asynchronous Discussions Part 2

https://youtu.be/EauQiBPmHHw

Part 2 of a two-part look at Asynchronous Discussions.

Episode 6: Dr. Graham Stowe: Student Writers and Writing

https://youtu.be/5HiFuPSqrp0

We are joined by Dr. Graham Stowe, Director of the Writing Center and Assistant Professor English at Canisius College.  Professor Stowe helps us determine how and why we assign writing as part of our courses, and offers tips on managing writing assignments.  

Episode 7: Dr. Richard Reitsma: Borders, Migration, and Jesuit Pedagogy

https://youtu.be/G-X-cptnIZQ

This episode features a conversation with Dr. Richard Reitsma, director and founder of the Borders and Migrations Initiative at Canisius College as well as the Chair of Modern Languages, Literature, Culture. In this conversation, we talk about how borders, migration, and Jesuit pedagogy can impact learning experiences in and out of the classroom.

Episode 8: Dr. Malini Suchack: Online and In the Classroom

https://youtu.be/E_2p6Ikf5qs

We are joined by Dr. Malini Suchak, Associate Professor in the Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, and Anthrozoology Programs at Canisius College.  

Professor Suchak, a long-time advisor to COLI's pedagogy development program, reflects on her experiences teaching online, face-to-face, and during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Her insights and perspective inspires us to draw upon and blend these experiences into better teaching and learning in the future.

Episode 9: Mrs. Sarah Galasso: Transitioning from the Private Sector to Higher Education

https://youtu.be/zmucPdOU_to

This episode features a conversation with Mrs. Sarah Galasso, Associate Professor of Digital Media Arts at Canisius College. 

In this conversation, Mrs. Galasso reflects on her life experiences related to transitioning from the private sector to freelancing to Villa Maria College and finally to Canisius College.

Episode 10: Yvonne Widenor: Art, Students, and Community

https://youtu.be/S_etZEJXEks

Professor Yvonne Widenor joins the podcast to discuss students’ diverse ways of discovering and appreciating art, both in and outside the classroom, and connecting art to their day-to-day lived experience.  Along the way she provides some great tips on fostering student creativity and employing popular culture in course activities.  She also discusses the benefits of campus-centered art promotion programs, both for the University and for its communities. 

Episode 11: Feedback: A Learning Situation

https://youtu.be/k8k3KVFaT2o

In this episode, we discusses ways to improve professor feedback on student work.  Make your feedback commentary another great opportunity for students to learn, and help students get the most from it.

Episode 12: Mr. Matthew Kochan: Information Literacy, Library Technology, and Student Learning

 

https://youtu.be/y4o9Clz-Sbs

A brief discussion about what Information Literacy is, how it applies to student work, and how to do it effectively. We will also discuss Open Education Resources, OER’s, what they are, how they can be used in the classroom, and some of the advantages and disadvantages of OER’s over traditional text.

Episode 13: Note-taking: Help Students take Better Notes

https://youtu.be/F3JyOPZzegk

In this episode, I will give a brief monologue on some tips and activities that instructors can use to help students to take better notes during class. I will also cover a few ways instructors can encourage students to become more involved in the lecture.

Episode 14: Jennifer Patrick: Preparing Students for Business School (and Professional Life)

https://youtu.be/d6YX8MyJ6gc

Jennifer Patrick, Director of Executive Education and Leadership in the Richard J. Wehle School of Business at Canisius College, discusses the Leadership and Professional Development Certificate.  A foundational feature of a Wehle School education, the LPD program helps students find their professional personality, and hone learning, communication, organization, and self-expression skills essential for success as team members, leaders, and entrepreneurs.  

Episode 15: Matthew Gracie and Dr. Justin Del Vecchio: Cybersecurity Prospects and Practices

https://youtu.be/9KPpYEnBvQY

We are joined by Dr. Justin Del Vecchio and Matthew Gracie, both faculty in the Department of Quantitative Sciences and the Cybersecurity graduate program.  They discuss the possibilities for cybersecurity students and graduates, and some of the day-to-day aspects of work for cybersecurity professionals.  They also offer advice on keeping current in cybersecurity issues, and great practices for the rest of us in keeping our digital data, work, and life secure from intrusion or loss.  

Episode 16: First Year Experience

https://youtu.be/LjnWj9IB6mo

We discuss Canisius University's First Year Experience (FYE) program, with directors Tracy Callaghan and Dr. Jennifer Desiderio, and Lead FYE Peer Mentor Mason Bowes.  The FYE is a foundational course for most of the university's new students, and a crucial set of resources to help Golden Griffins start strong in their academic career.

Episode 17: Game Based Pedagogy

https://youtu.be/7eMs6ImGgE4

Dr. Jonathan Lawrence, Associate Professor in Religious Studies, is joined by recent Canisius graduates Mylan Hawkins and Abby Bradley to discuss the use of historical simulation games in their recent classes.  Dr. Lawrence uses Reacting to the Past series games to teach concepts in the study of world religions, as well as critical analysis skills common across the liberal arts.  He has written a game focused on Jesuit history, appropriate at Canisius College but also any course where perspectives on religion intersect with social class and political institutions. 

Hawkins and Bradley provide valuable student perspectives: it is fun to learn this way, but it was also challenging.  Game-based learning makes rigorous demands on students' research, analysis, and presentations skills, as well as creativity, emotional intelligence and collegiality.  At the same time, it compels students to consider the relationship between their cultures and experiences in the present, and people's problems and choices in the past.  Along the way, they encountered plenty of surprises, too!  

Episode 18: Dr. Mary Becker: Collaboration in Business Education

https://youtu.be/mAcYJaEks5I

Dr. Mary Becker is Assistant Professor in Finance, in the Richard J. Wehle School of Business at Canisius University.  In Dr. Becker's courses, students learn the practices of institutional finance through collaborative exercises.  These problem-solving activities closely simulate processes within real-world financial institutions.  In this episode, Professor Becker discusses the challenges of group work assignments, and also the methods she has honed over several years that support effective, engaging student collaboration. 

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