Josh Luckens of the Wentworth Institute of Technology, Joan Zaretti of Bryant University and Karen Hopkins of Auburn University discuss their experiences creating playful and play-based programs and activities aimed at engaging learners and building community. They share strategies for cultivating a sense of belonging, purpose, and trust among students and faculty through the joy of play.

This episode originally aired on November 17, 2023 on the Centering Centers podcast, which explores the work of Centers for Teaching and Learning like Wentworth’s Teaching and Learning Collaborative, and the vision and insights of educational developers in higher education. It's a production of the POD Network, North America’s largest educational development community, which is dedicated to improving teaching and learning in higher education.

This episode is a production of POD’s Digital Resources & Innovation committee and was originally recorded as part of the PODFest series on December 1, 2022. Special thanks to Lindsay Doukopoulos, host of the Centering Centers podcast, for allowing us to share this episode with you all.

Additional resources:

• The Centering Centers Podcast
• The POD Network
• POD’s Digital Resources and Innovation Committee  
• CoLab Podcast Episode 13: Playful Pedagogy with Dr. Lisa Forbes and Dr. David Thomas
• Professors at Play: Transforming Higher Education Though Play

CoLab Remix Editor: Sarah Walkowiak (January, 2023)

Josh Luckens interviews Dr. Igor Minevich, Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Minevich explains why the Teaching and Learning Collaborative’s New Faculty Orientation and Instructional Coaching program “changed the way I feel about teaching,” inspiring him to “lead the classroom like a partnership” and “teach from the heart.”

He discusses why he shifted away from lecture-based instruction to a “multi-way dialogue” in which his whole class is “co-creating learning.” He offers strategies for getting students “excited about the mystery of how something works…actually discovering things they're learning for themselves, with me guiding.”

Minevich shares his belief that “mathematics is really about the discovery of truth, of how the universe works, why things are the way they are. What we're learning in math is actually truth, something deep and profound and beautiful that can be used in all sorts of ways."

Minevich shares the joy it brings him to see his whole class actively “engaged in learning together,” taking ownership of their growth as mathematicians. He says that teaching has become “a whole different experience” for him as he steps back and empowers his students to actively make meaning in the classroom.

Editors: Sarah Walkowiak and Melanie Mikkelson

(November, 2023)

Josh Luckens interviews Dr. Kevin Gannon, who shares how he finds spaces of possibility to question the status quo in higher education, working alongside his students to build a more just and sustainable future.

He discusses ways to stop inequities from reproducing themselves in the classroom, how he has moved from focusing on the product to the process of learning, and why he leads with compassion as an educator, helping students discover their own unique pathways to meaningful and authentic learning.

Dr. Gannon posits that the better we can answer the following questions, the better the teaching and learning experiences that we design will be:

• How do I give students permission to take risks and fall short, knowing that a “failure” isn’t the end of the process, but a necessary step towards learning and mastery?
• How will I get students connected with one another and myself in relationships built on mutual trust and shared purpose?
• How can I not take things personally, but instead lead with curiosity and meet my students where they actually are?
• How is everyone in this teaching and learning space acknowledging and meeting everyone else as fully and authentically human?
• How do I remain committed to a better future and act every day from that place?

Dr. Kevin Gannon is the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence and Professor of History at Queens University. He is a regular contributor to The Chronicle of Higher Education and is the author of the book Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto.

Additional resources:

• Kevin Gannon's Book: Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto
• Kevin Gannon's Blog: The Tattooed Professor: History, Teaching, and Technology With A Custom Paint Job

Editor: Sarah Walkowiak (August, 2023)