• Educational Theories,  Educational Tools,  Podcast,  Teaching & Learning

    Transform Your Teaching: The What, the Why, and the How of Technology Integration – Mental Models

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles continue to talk about technology integration, this time focusing on helpful mental models for educational technology best practices. Check out the episode to hear about the planning cycle model and how Backward Design illustrates those principles. Podcast links Show Notes Building mental models can help educators approach using technology in their courses. One such mental model is “the planning cycle” which begins with identifying needs and determining whether they are real needs or felt needs. Once the real needs are identified, SMART goals can be created based on those real needs. After goals are established, it’s important…

  • Educational Theories,  Educational Tools,  Teaching & Learning

    Transform Your Teaching: The What, the Why, and the How of Technology Integration – A Conversation with Dr. Miller

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles welcome Dr. Chris Miller, Senior Professor of Biblical Studies at Cedarville University, onto the podcast. Dr. Miller has been integrating technology into his teaching for decades. Check out the episode to hear about the results he sees from his students because of integrating technology as well as the shifting landscape of student needs and learning habits.  Podcast links Show Notes From his years of teaching, Dr. Miller recognizes that his students’ needs change from year to year and from class to class and adapts his teaching based on his observations of his students. He recognizes that students…

  • Educational Theories,  Educational Tools,  Teaching & Learning

    Transform Your Teaching: The What, the Why, and the How of Technology Integration – The How & Accessibility

    Reading Time: 2 minutesIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles continue to talk about the “how” of tech integration, but they discuss it from the perspective of accessibility with Lauren Eissler–User Experience Designer and Editor for the Center for Teaching and Learning at Cedarville University. In their conversation, they define accessibility and discuss best practices for making more content accessible to students. Check out the episode to hear more about how structuring written content with headings, captioning videos, and using alt text can help your students in their learning.  Podcast links Show Notes Before digging into how to effectively make content accessible, it’s important to ask: “what is…

  • Educational Theories,  Educational Tools,  Podcast,  Teaching & Learning

    Transform Your Teaching: The What, the Why, and the How of Technology Integration – The How & SAMR

    Reading Time: 2 minutesIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles discuss the “how” of technology integration and the practical framework SAMR. Check out this episode to hear about how instructors can utilize this framework to integrate technology with their courses.   Podcast links Show notes SAMR, an acronym for the four levels of technology integration, was created by Ruben Puentedura and is a practical framework for technology integration.  According to Puentedura, substitution is the lowest level of integration; redefinition is the highest. Substitution and augmentation are seen as methods of improving learning tasks. Modification and redefinition can lead to transformed learning tasks.  Research has shown that educators integrate…

  • Educational Tools,  Podcast,  Teaching & Learning

    Transform Your Teaching: The What, the Why, and the How of Technology Integration – The Why 

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles discuss the “why” of technology integration and how it directly relates to servant teaching. Check out the episode to hear how effective technology integration can improve student engagement and help them understand content better.  Podcast links Show notes  Technology integration directly relates to servant teaching—it’s a great way for us to prepare our students for their future. We can demonstrate proper technology usage and practice through our instruction. Our goal should be to impart wisdom and to help students work through the proper use of technology and develop 21st Century skills. Using technology effectively serves students because…

  • Educational Tools,  Podcast

    Transform Your Teaching: The What, the Why, and the How of Technology Integration – The What

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles discuss the “what” of technology integration. They delve into the definition of technology integration and best practices, using ChatGPT as their co-pilot. Check out the episode to hear about enhancing teaching and learning through appropriate technology integration.  We would love to get your feedback!  Please fill out our survey to help improve our podcast and serve you better.  Podcast links Show notes  Webster’s definition of technology is expansive. For the sake of our series, we will be limiting our discussion to the use of electronic hardware or software in educational settings that enhance the learning experience. It…

  • Educational Tools,  Podcast,  Teaching & Learning

    Transform Your Teaching: The What, the Why, and the How of Technology Integration – Introduction

    Reading Time: 2 minutesIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles introduce their next series on technology integration. Check out the episode to hear about using technology as a teaching method to enhance a student’s understanding of the content rather than just integrating it for its own sake.  Additionally, we would love to get your feedback! Please fill out our survey to help improve our podcast and serve you better.  Podcast links Show notes  Early on as a teacher, Jared started exploring how technology integration could be used in his classes. He discovered that embracing technology integration allows both students to engage the content in a new way and…

  • Podcast,  Teaching & Learning

    Transform Your Teaching: A Conversation with Dr. Heather Kuruvilla

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles have a conversation with Dr. Heather Kuruvilla, senior professor of biology at Cedarville University. “Dr. K,” as she is known by her students, earned her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from State University of New York at Buffalo. She has a passion for developing curiosity and motivation in her students. Check out this episode to hear how she takes strides to make her content more accessible and interactive for students.   Podcast links Show notes  Dr. K came to Cedarville to build the undergraduate research program because she sees teaching students as an opportunity for discipleship. Teaching research means…

  • Educational Theories,  Podcast,  Teaching & Learning

    Transform Your Teaching: A Debrief of Servant Teaching 

    Reading Time: 2 minutesIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles wrap up the servant teaching series, highlighting crucial points from their various guests. Check out the episode to hear their own takeaways on applying servant teaching.   Servant teaching defines who we are as believers in Christ, but any instructor—regardless of belief—can use servant teaching principles in their instruction. To implement servant teaching, consider these takeaways from our series.   Resources  Amerstorfer, C. M., & Freiin von Munster-Kistner, C. (2021). Student Perceptions of Academic Engagement and Student-Teacher Relationships in Problem-Based Learning. Front Psychol, 12, 713057. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.713057  Sybing, R. (2019). Making Connections: Student-Teacher Rapport in Higher Education Classrooms. Journal of…

  • Educational Theories,  Podcast,  Teaching & Learning

    Transform Your Teaching: Servant Teaching with Dr. Thomas Mach 

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteDr. Robert McDole and Jared Pyles have a conversation with Dr. Thomas Mach, the Vice President for Academics and a professor of history at Cedarville University. Dr. Mach—who received his PhD from the University of Akron—talks about motivating students to understand the importance of the content of a course. Check out this episode to hear how he removes ambiguity while caring for his students.   Podcast links Show notes  Dr. Mach runs study sessions with his students which have a direct correlation to his philosophy of education. He wants to remove ambiguity and help students understand what is important as well as pique their interest in the…