(Re)Teach
82 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsThis podcast will focus on becoming a more culturally-responsive and economically-responsible professor at the community college level. I will discuss specific teaching techniques, give practical classroom management advice and engage in meaningful dialogues about teaching and learning so that we may positively affect student-equity groups.
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Episodes
Will I Miss Anything Important, with Susy and Melissa
February 27, 2020 12:00 - 28 minutes - 20 MBI talk about an email that a professor posted in a sociology group chat that I belong to. The student asked, "Will I miss anything important?" I reflect on why this question seems so offensive to professors, what my own response would be, and analyze how other professors responded. I then demonstrate how the content and tone of our correspondence to students can negatively affect underrepresented minorities.
Black Excellence (pt.2)
February 20, 2020 12:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBThis poem is a continuation of the episode, The Need for Black Excellence. Excellence is not big enough to explain and quantify black excellence. This discussion touches on how history needs to expand in order to include black history and how black graduations need to exist because it celebrates something noteworthy in a black person's experience within the education system.
Black Excellence, pt.2
February 20, 2020 12:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBThis poem is a continuation of the episode, The Need for Black Excellence. Excellence is not big enough to explain and quantify black excellence. This discussion touches on how history needs to expand in order to include black history and how black graduations need to exist because it celebrates something noteworthy in a black person's experience within the education system.
The Need for Black Excellence
February 13, 2020 12:00 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBI commentate on a poem that I wrote about black excellence to give a deeper understanding of this concept and why it is so important. Excellence is not big enough to explain and quantify black excellence. This discussion touches on how history needs to expand in order to include black history and how black graduations need to exist because it celebrates something noteworthy in a black person's experience within the education system.
Grading and my hybrid Camry
February 06, 2020 12:00 - 30 minutes - 20.7 MBAs I find myself frustrated about how my hybrid Camry is grading me, I use this experience to reflect on how we can apply an equity lens to the way we grade our students. The three things that my Camry inspired me to think about are 1) being transparent about how we are grading, 2) being as objective as possible when we are grading, and 3) becoming aware of the hidden curriculum in how we are grading.
Second Day of Class
January 30, 2020 01:00 - 26 minutes - 18.5 MBCommunity building and connecting students to the services on campus it the focus of this episode. I talk about a quick and effective ice breaker that I use and then I walk the students around campus. I have found that taking them around campus increases the chance that they will actually visit the space in the future.
First Day of Class
January 23, 2020 05:00 - 23 minutes - 16.5 MBIn this episode, I go over four key elements that you want to make sure you accomplish on your first day of school. You need to let students know the "flow" of your class. Tell the students things about you that help them understand that you are human. Let the students know that you are passionate about what you do. And lastly, make sure you let them know that you care about their success.
Cumulative Finals
December 20, 2019 01:00 - 24 minutes - 16.9 MBAlthough there may be a reason to give students a cumulative final, I argue, that these types of exams are an abomination to student learning. In this episode, I explain how cumulative finals punish students that depend on their jobs (i.e. poor students) for no good reason at all. This episode concludes my Fall19 season. I will be back Thursday, January 23. Enjoy your break!
Group Work Projects
December 20, 2019 00:00 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBLooking at group work projects through an equity lens helps us understand that students who are dependent on their jobs are at a huge disadvantage if we do not fully integrate this assignment into our teaching design. What this means is that we must introduce group projects early in the semester, be purposeful while introducing group members to each other, create time for groups to work together during class and allow students to critique themselves and their group mates.
Research Papers
December 12, 2019 12:00 - 29 minutes - 20.1 MBDo we assume that students know how to write a research paper? Do we assume that students will be able to figure out how to write a research paper if we assign one? This assumption negatively affects student equity groups, but there is something we can do about this. If we are going to give an assignment, we MUST invest in teaching our students the skill set that is involved. In this episode, I break down how to "scaffold" a research paper in a way that positively affects student success.
Classroom Participation
December 05, 2019 12:00 - 28 minutes - 19.8 MBIn this episode, I looked at how I used to grade classroom participation through an equity lens. I noticed that I overvalued students that talked in class, which made it unnecessarily difficult for low socioeconomic students, students with different ways of processing information, and students that do not speak English as a first language to participate during class. This process made me think about why I value classroom discussion/participation, helped me create a more equitable system of...
4 Quick Topics through an Equity Lens
November 21, 2019 12:00 - 18 minutes - 12.5 MBIn this episode, I talk about 4 topics that I wanted to give some quick (relatively speaking) equity-inspired advice about. Those topics are classroom participation, final papers/presentations, group-work projects, and cumulative finals.
pt2, How STEM Professors Can Close Equity Gaps
November 14, 2019 12:00 - 26 minutes - 18 MBThis episode focuses on how having a STEM professor with a fixed mindset could affect how they teach and what they communicate to their students. Believing and perpetuating a culture of genius may facilitate focusing on math to weed students out, rather than developing ways to excite students about STEM so that they will be motivated to work through the tough parts of the discipline. Also, fixed mindset professors may be more likely to encourage students to drop a class rather than encoura...
(pt.2) How STEM Professors Can Close Equity Gaps
November 14, 2019 12:00 - 26 minutes - 18 MBThis episode focuses on how having a STEM professor with a fixed mindset could affect how they teach and what they communicate to their students. Believing and perpetuating a culture of genius may facilitate focusing on math to weed students out, rather than developing ways to excite students about STEM so that they will be motivated to work through the tough parts of the discipline. Also, fixed mindset professors may be more likely to encourage students to drop a class rather than encoura...
How STEM Professors Can Close Equity Gaps
November 07, 2019 12:00 - 29 minutes - 20.6 MBNew research has found that ALL students do worse in STEM classes where the professor has a fixed mindset, which means that professors believe that a student's intelligence is fixed and that there is little that can be done to improve academic success. The bright side is that equity gaps were approximately 50% less in STEM classes where the professor had a growth mindset, which means that professors believe that the hard work and determination of the student can positively affect academic s...
pt1, How STEM Professors Can Close Equity Gaps
November 07, 2019 12:00 - 29 minutes - 20.6 MBNew research has found that ALL students do worse in STEM classes where the professor has a fixed mindset, which means that professors believe that a student's intelligence is fixed and that there is little that can be done to improve academic success. The bright side is that equity gaps were approximately 50% less in STEM classes where the professor had a growth mindset, which means that professors believe that the hard work and determination of the student can positively affect academic s...
Pt3 How White Teachers Changed My Life
October 31, 2019 11:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBI talk about white teachers that I had at MiraCosta College and UC, San Diego and the things that they said or did to change my life. Some things were very big, but most things that were done were relatively small. I hope this is encouraging to white teachers that struggle with their place in the effort to close equity gaps.
(pt.3) How White Teachers Changed My Life
October 31, 2019 11:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBI talk about white teachers that I had at MiraCosta College and UC, San Diego and the things that they said or did to change my life. Some things were very big, but most things that were done were relatively small. I hope this is encouraging to white teachers that struggle with their place in the effort to close equity gaps.
Bad Writer
October 24, 2019 14:00 - 29 minutes - 20.2 MBIn this episode, I speak about two specific events in high school that socialized me to believe that I was a bad writer. Later at UCSD, a white teacher helped to undo much of that trauma by grading me on content rather than grammar and/or regurgitation. Teaching takeaways: 1) Introduce historically-marginalized authors early and often 2) Create low-stakes writing opportunities to encourage students to write freely 3) Show appreciation when students express themselves in culturally and/or em...
(pt.2) How White Teachers Have Changed My Life
October 17, 2019 11:00 - 24 minutes - 16.8 MBAgain, I talk about how white teachers have changed my life. This episode is a constant reminder to all of us that we all need to contribute to closing student equity gaps. This episode emphasizes how some of the littlest things may have a huge impact on helping historically marginalized groups do better in college and in life.
Pt2 How White Teachers Have Changed My LIfe
October 17, 2019 11:00 - 24 minutes - 16.8 MBAgain, I talk about how white teachers have changed my life. This episode is a constant reminder to all of us that we all need to contribute to closing student equity gaps. This episode emphasizes how some of the littlest things may have a huge impact on helping historically marginalized groups do better in college and in life.
Are We Kind To Our Students?
October 10, 2019 16:00 - 16 minutes - 11.3 MBIn this episode, I give alternative interpretations of why students may seem "out of it" in our classrooms. I talk about how a student's lack of engagement may be the result of going through high stress/traumatizing events. Therefore, we need to be kind to our students by acknowledging their realities and letting them know that they are always welcome in our classrooms. This will have a student-equity effect if we acknowledge that we interpret different bodies differently, e.g. male/femal...
Does Your Classroom Have a Ghetto?
October 03, 2019 11:00 - 26 minutes - 18.4 MBHave you ever told students to move up to the front of the class as a learning strategy? Although we give this advice all the time, Sean and I argue that doing this creates a "ghetto" in your classroom, which is a space that you do not interact with either intentionally or unconsciously. We then give practical advice on what you can do to shrink your classroom or expand your teaching presence.
How White Teachers Changed My Life, pt. 1
September 26, 2019 11:00 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MBIn the battle for student-equity battle, I acknowledge how this may be alienating to white people in general and white teachers specifically. So in this episode, I talk about how three white elementary school teachers changed my life. Some by doing tremendous acts, but most by doing really simple things.
How White Teachers Changed My Life
September 26, 2019 11:00 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MBIn the battle for student-equity battle, I acknowledge how this may be alienating to white people in general and white teachers specifically. So in this episode, I talk about how three white elementary school teachers changed my life. Some by doing tremendous acts, but most by doing really simple things.
Learning to Not Try Hard
September 19, 2019 12:00 - 25 minutes - 17.9 MBI revisit the trauma I endured in 3rd grade that socialized me to not try hard at school. I remind listeners that historically-marginalized groups have these experiences socially, economically and institutionally reinforced throughout our lives making them harder to overcome. I end by stating that we need to reteach ourselves how to see the potential in all students, especially the historically-marginalized, in order to close equity gaps.
Do You Really Treat Everyone the Same?
September 12, 2019 07:00 - 33 minutes - 23.1 MBSean Davis (Joyful Teacher in Residence at MiraCosta College) and I challenge the underlying assumptions and meanings of when teachers say that they treat everyone the same. We examine the value of treating student-equity groups differently based on their learning needs. We end with giving straight-forward, practical advise to create a more inclusive classroom.
Covering versus Uncovering Content
September 05, 2019 07:00 - 33 minutes - 23.4 MBSean Davis (Joyful Teacher in Residence at MiraCosta College) and I, talk about the philosophical difference in approaching a class believing that we need to cover the content versus taking an uncovering content style. Uncovering content allows deeper dives into specific concepts, robust classroom discussions and partnering with students to help them learn about what they are interested in within your discipline. In the end, we talk about how this approach may positively affect student-equ...
Why I Hated Grading
September 05, 2019 07:00 - 24 minutes - 17.1 MBA massive disconnect between my teaching style and my desired student outcomes was one of the main reasons why I hated grading. This revelation led me to develop an assessment (media analysis) that reinforced my discussion/reflection classroom-style while encouraging students to explore their social world. This journey made me realize that empowered teachers create empowered students and this is a major part of the equation to close student equity gaps.
Multiple Choice Questions: A Different Approach
August 29, 2019 13:00 - 28 minutes - 19.8 MBSean Davis (Joyful Teacher in Residence at MiraCosta College) and I explore the rationale as to why teachers use multiple-choice questions. What are they good for? What are they bad for? We then give alternative ways to use multiple-choice questions and how this may positively effect student-equity groups.
Can Student-Equity Gaps Be Closed?
August 29, 2019 13:00 - 17 minutes - 12.1 MBThis episode explores the question, can student-equity gaps be closed? This question is foundational to student-equity work, but has anyone been able to do it? I then talk about the student-equity numbers in my class. My successes and my failures, to lay the foundation of how we must approach this journey.
(Re)Teach - Trailer
August 02, 2019 18:00 - 2 minutes - 1.41 MBThis podcast will focus on becoming a more culturally-responsive and economically-responsible professor at the community college-level by discussing specific teaching techniques, giving practical classroom management advise and engaging in meaningful dialogues about teaching and learning and how they can be used to positively affect student equity groups.