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Hi! I'm Bonni Stachowiak. Host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.

Each week I send an update to subscribers with the most recent episode's show notes and some other resources that don't show up on the podcast. Subscribe to the Teaching in Higher Ed weekly update.

Posts
“People assume that grief gets smaller, and actually we grow around it.” Rissa Sorensen Unruh
Featured Post

Teaching in Higher Ed Update // Teaching, Learning, and the Lessons of Grief with Christy Albright + Clarissa Sorensen Unruh

Reader, here's your weekly Teaching in Higher Ed update. On Episode 596 of Teaching in Higher Ed, I welcome Christy Albright, educator and PhD in Organization, Information, and Learning Sciences, and her sister Clarissa Sorensen Unruh, a chemistry faculty member and previous podcast guest, to discuss teaching, learning, and the lessons of grief. Together, we explore the nuanced, often counterintuitive nature of grief and the ways it intersects with both our personal and professional lives...

1 day ago • 5 min read
“You can’t solve institutional problems with individual sacrifices.” - Leslie Kern

Reader, here's your weekly Teaching in Higher Ed update. On Episode 595 of Teaching in Higher Ed, I welcome Roberta Hawkins, Professor of Geography at the University of Guelph, and Leslie Kern, author and academic career coach, to explore their book, Higher Expectations: How to Survive Academia, Make It Better for Others, and Transform the University. These two authors help us examine the realities of surviving and thriving in higher education, discussing practical strategies for balancing...

9 days ago • 3 min read
“Ken Bain was such good company to me and to countless people from around the world.” -Bonni Stachowiak

Reader, here's your weekly Teaching in Higher Ed update. On Episode 594 of Teaching in Higher Ed, Bonni and Dave Stachowiak reflect on the remarkable life and impact of Ken Bain, celebrated author of What the Best College Teachers Do. This episode honors Ken Bain’s enduring legacy in the scholarship of teaching and learning, sharing personal stories and social media tributes from educators touched by his work. Bonni and Dave recall how Bain’s research helped connect faculty to their values...

16 days ago • 2 min read
“I hope we don't abandon the decades of research that has shown the benefits of peer learning, of caring, belonging, and relationships in the classroom.” - Carter Moulton

Reader, here's your weekly Teaching in Higher Ed update. On Episode 593, I welcome Carter Moulton, educational developer, facilitator, and media researcher from the Colorado School of Mines, to Teaching in Higher Ed. We explore the intersection of human-centered teaching, values-driven design, and intentional integration of generative AI in the classroom. Carter shares the story behind his creation, Analog Inspiration—a thoughtfully designed card deck intended as both a professional...

23 days ago • 3 min read
“Really intelligent people find it very hard to be flexible, to change their mind.” - Barbara Oakley

Reader, here's your weekly Teaching in Higher Ed update. On Episode 592, I welcome Barbara Oakley. She is globally renowned for her hit course “Learning How to Learn” and is a celebrated voice on the science of learning—to Teaching in Higher Ed. We explore her extraordinary journey, spanning a US army career, Antarctic research, and time spent on Soviet trawlers, which informs her thoughtful perspective on the role of free speech in education. Our conversation centers on Barbara’s latest...

26 days ago • 3 min read
"Critical thinking problems with students turn out to be critical doing problems." - Mike Caulfield

Reader, here's your weekly Teaching in Higher Ed update. On Episode 590, I welcome back to the show, Mike Caulfield. He’s the creator of the SIFT fact-checking framework, digital literacy expert, and co-author of Verified: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online. We discuss Mike’s latest experiments using artificial intelligence as a co-reasoning partner for critical thinking, exploration, and fact-checking. Mike reflects on his early...

about 1 month ago • 3 min read
“One of the most important functions of grades or marks given on individual assignments is to communicate to students about how they're progressing in a certain subject. Traditional grades don't serve this communicative function very well.” - Emily Pitts

Reader, here's your weekly Teaching in Higher Ed update. On Episode 588 of Teaching in Higher Ed, I welcome Emily Pitts Donahoe, Associate Director of Instructional Support at the University of Mississippi’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, as well as Lecturer in Writing and Rhetoric. Using an experimental podcast format for the show, Emily joins me to set up and reflect on a candid conversation I previously recorded with my daughter, Hannah, about her experiences with grades...

about 2 months ago • 2 min read
"I think these students struggle so much with attention that bringing them back with a really simple question just helps." M.C. Flux

Reader, here's your weekly Teaching in Higher Ed update. On Episode 587, I welcome Dr. Flux from the University of Colorado Boulder with a joint PhD in neuroscience and clinical psychology, to Teaching in Higher Ed. We explore the art of intentional and authentic video creation for layered learning in higher education. Dr. Flux shares his approach to designing educational videos that blend science, storytelling, and social media aesthetics, focusing on making content students truly want to...

2 months ago • 2 min read
"My goal is to challenge my students intellectually. My goal is not to stress them out." Seth Offenbach on Teaching in Higher Ed

Reader, here's your weekly Teaching in Higher Ed update. On Episode 586, I welcome Seth Offenbach, Associate Professor in the History Department at Bronx Community College (CUNY), to Teaching in Higher Ed. We explore ways to foster kindness and a sense of community in online asynchronous classrooms, drawing from Seth’s recent article in Currents in Teaching and Learning. Seth reflects on his own evolution as an educator and how he’s been inspired by figures such as Kevin Gannon and Katherine...

2 months ago • 3 min read
"You don't have to be able to save the world, but you're obligated to try, right? And so the whole key behind that is in trying, you almost by definition achieve more." Bryan Dewsbury on Teaching in Higher Ed podcast

Reader, here's your weekly Teaching in Higher Ed update. On Episode 585 of Teaching in Higher Ed, I welcome Bryan Dewsbury, Associate Professor of Biology at Florida International University, back to the podcast. Bryan joins me to explore what it means to teach in ways that are socially just across academic disciplines. Drawing on his extensive experience as both a classroom teacher and a faculty developer, Bryan shares how trust-building, transparency, and deep mentorship are foundational to...

3 months ago • 4 min read