Listen and Learn: Podcasts About Teaching in Higher Ed

Many of these podcasts help you connect with a broad community of professors and faculty developers. They provide an opportunity to explore evidence-based practices that can make you a more effective and more efficient teacher.

Here are five podcasts that we both enjoy and learn from:

Tea for Teaching

The Tea for Teaching podcast is hosted by John Kane (an economist) and Rebecca Mushtare (a graphic designer). John and Rebecca run the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the State University of New York at Oswego.  This podcast is a series of informal discussions of innovative and effective practices in teaching and learning.  They have produced 400 episodes since 2017, most featuring interviews/discussions with a variety of guests.  Some episodes focus on practical teaching advice, while others focus on bigger ideas in higher education.  Many recent episodes have focused on the impact of AI in higher ed, but they also explore issues like culturally responsive teaching, legal issues in higher ed and other topics of interest.

Teaching in Higher Ed

The Teaching in Higher Ed podcast is produced and hosted by Bonni Stachowiak.  The podcast focuses on topics such as excellence in teaching, instructional design, open education, diversity and inclusion, productivity, creativity in teaching, educational technology, and blended learning.  She describes her podcast as a “space where we explore the art and science of being more effective at facilitating learning. We also share ways to increase our personal productivity, so we can have more peace in our lives and be even more present for our students.”  With nearly 600 episodes, this is one of the most extensive and comprehensive podcasts out there.  A nice feature is that the episodes are organized by topic and are searchable by guest and topic. Recent episodes include: Overcoming imposter syndrome through joyful curiosity (571), A practical framework for ethical AI integration in assessment (569), Rebuilding trust in the value of education (575) and Defy: the power of saying no in a world that demands yes (563).

Intentional Teaching

Intentional Teaching is a podcast aimed at educators to help them develop foundational teaching skills and explore new ideas in teaching. Hosted by educator and author Derek Bruff, the podcast features interviews with educators throughout higher ed.  Many of the episodes feature topics related to educational technology, but there many other topics addressed too.  Some recent episodes include: Teaching students with ADHD, Embodies learning, Teaching with (and against) AI, and High-structure course design.

Future Trends Forum

The Future Trends Forum is not quite a podcast.  It is a series of video recordings posted to YouTube by host Bryan Alexander.  Bryan is an academic futurist based at Georgetown University.  Each week he hosts the Future Trends Forum where he interviews a guest from the world of higher ed and then facilitates a discussion with that guest and attendees.  The topics are usually timely, relevant, and cover a lot of systemic issues in the higher ed landscape.  Some recent discussion topics include: Faculty attitudes towards academic freedom, Growth mindset in higher ed, How can colleges respond to climate change, The demographic cliff, and several related to the challenges of AI.

The Academic Imperfectionist

While not explicitly about teaching and learning, the Academic Imperfectionist features philosopher and academic coach Rebecca Roache who focuses on helping academics flourish amid a wide range of insecurities.  She writes, “It’s my mission to help you bin those and tap into your Inner Mentor. (Yes, you have an Inner Mentor! It’s just that they can’t always get a word in because the Inner Critic won’t STFU.)”.  She is wise and irreverent and offer coaching and advice with a distinctly British perspective.  Recent episodes include Productivity, golden eggs, and inner critics; How to sabbatical like a pro, and Levelling up your writing process.