Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles have a live conversation with ChatGPT. They ask it for its philosophy of education and discuss its responses. Check out their conversation and hear how Jared is going to implement ChatGPT into his summer course. Podcast links Show notes Rob and Jared discovered that ChatGPT (version 3.5) presents a rather constructivist philosophy of education, focusing on being student-centered, developing critical thinking, and creating opportunities for collaboration and cooperation. When pressed for the origins of this philosophy, ChatGPT referenced several prominent theorists, including Piaget and Vygotsky. Overall, Jared and Rob were relatively impressed with the answers but felt…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Transform Your Teaching: Servant Teaching with Professor Jim Leightenheimer
Reading Time: 2 minutesDr. Robert McDole and Jared Pyles have a conversation with Jim Leightenheimer—“Mr. L”—who challenges faculty to build relationships with students outside of the classroom. Check out the episode to hear about the importance of mentoring relationships with students and preparing them for life after academics. Podcast links Show notes “If we work marble, it will perish; if we work upon brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds and instill into them just principles, we are then engraving upon tablets which no time will efface, but will brighten and brighten to all eternity.” –…
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Transform Your Teaching: Servant Teaching with Dr. Tom Hutchison
Reading Time: 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared chat with Dr. Tom Hutchison. Dr. Hutchison – who received his PhD in Education from Marquette University and currently teaches in the School of Biblical and Theological Studies at Cedarville University – talks about servant teaching and preparing students for their careers and lives. Check out this episode to hear their conversation keeping instruction student-centered. Podcast links Show notes Dr. Hutchison identified four variables in teaching: teacher, student, content, and context. Our understanding and reflection of each of those can help strengthen our teaching and make us better servant teachers. According to Dr. Hutchison, servant teaching is not necessarily a…
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Transform Your Teaching: Servant Teaching with Dr. Quentin Schultze, Part 3
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles conclude their interview with Dr. Quentin Schultze. Dr. Schultze—who has written several books, including one on servant teaching—talks about recording yourself teaching. Check out this episode to hear their conversation about how those recordings will benefit both you and your students. Podcast links Show notes There is always room for improvement in our teaching. Being reflective about how we teach is an excellent way of finding areas for improving our instruction. Recording—video, audio, or both—our teaching can be an opportunity to reflect on our teaching and make adjustments. You’ll usually see the major flaws right away, but…