PsychSessions: Conversations about Teaching N' Stuff
The PsychSessions podcast is co-hosted by Garth Neufeld from Cascadia College and Eric Landrum from Boise State University. We leverage our connections with psychology teachers from all levels (high school, community college, college, university) and individuals from other occupations to have meaningful conversations about what it means to be an educator. Of course, we veer away from the teaching conversation from time to time to hear about origin stories and the personal perspectives of our guests, touching on current events and topics of interest. Our ASKPsychSessions feature is hosted by Marianne Lloyd from Seton Hall University. For ASKPsychSessions, listeners can submit questions about teaching and learning, and Marianne interviews experts and posts short features with the question and answer together. These features are often thematically grouped, such as information about using learning science to improve psychology instruction or various aspects of improving equity, diversity, and inclusion in your course.
Episodes
In this episode Eric interviews Noland White (Part 2) from Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, GA. They discuss Noland's approach to teaching and the importance of mental health and work-life balance for both students and educators. Noland shares the evolution of his role as a co-author for an intro psych textbook, detailing his journey from attending a focus group to becoming a co-author with Sandra Ciccarelli. Re...
In this sidebar, Eric describes the upcoming Biennial International Seminar on the Teaching of Psychological Science (BISTOPS), which will be held July 6-10, 2026, in Paris. The organizer is Doug Bernstein (douglas.bernstein@comcast.net) from the University of South Florida. A PDF accompanies this episode, which contains the key details about this opportunity. The deadline to apply for BISTOPS 2026 is January 15, 2026.
In this episode Eric interviews Loretta McGregor (a Part 2 interview) from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AR. Loretta shares insights from her recent tenure as STP President, discussing the challenges and proud moments, including a strategic membership dues increase and launching a high school mentoring program. Loretta also details her new role as Interim Associate Dean at Arkansas State University, explaining her passion...
In this episode Eric interviews Drew Christopher (a Part 2 interview) from Albion College in Albion, MI. Read more
In this episode, Dr. Robert McEntarffer, a former high school teacher and current college educator, discusses the cognitive offloading potential offered by AI and on those types of thinking it would be wise not to let AI replace. Rob offers a critique of the term artificial “intelligence”, suggesting that “large language model” may be a more appropriate term given that AI doesn't truly understand or derive meaning from text. Rob hi...
Join veteran educators Dr. Jordan Wagge, Professor and Chair of Psychology at Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri, and Dr. Alex Swan, Associate Professor of Psychology at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois, as they share insights and lessons learned from incorporating AI tools into their professional lives and classrooms. This episode offers valuable perspectives for educators navigating the evolving landscape of AI in educat...
In this first episode of the PsychSessions: AI and Education, host Joe Slade speaks with Garth Neufeld, co-founder of the Psych Sessions podcast. They discuss Joe's research and experiences with AI in education, including the use of AI avatars, ChatGPT's voice mode, and the potential for AI workflows as teaching and learning tools. Joe shares his optimistic perspective on integrating AI into education while addressing the ethical a...
In this episode Eric interviews Melissa Maffeo from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. Melissa shares insights about her freshman seminars on alcohol history, use, and misuse, emphasizing harm reduction over abstinence. The conversation delves into her biopsychology class and creative teaching methods, such as murder mysteries to teach neurobiology. The episode also covers Melissa's career path, her role as an associate t...
Dave talks with Jane Halonen (University of West Florida) and Dana Dunn (Moravian University) about opportunities to choose to do what brings us joy and also allowing opportunities for our more junior colleagues to gain experiences that will help with their career development. We discuss the frustration of dealing with burdensome and unnecessary processes that can take time away from our teaching. Listen closely for an appearance ...
Ken Carter (Oxford College of Emory University) and Pat Puccio (Depaul University; retired from the College of DuPage) discuss a range of topics having to do with negotiating late career chapters and retirement. We chat about the different ways that "late career" can be interpreted and different pathways in retirement. We also comment on the need for support for late career and retired psychology faculty, particularly in terms of c...
In this episode, Loretta McGregor (Arkansas State University) and Randy Smith (retired) chat with Dave about knowning when it's time to retire or to make a career change, based on what we personally find rewarding. We reflect on technology-related changes in teaching, especially with regard to writing (ever wonder where "cut and paste" came from?). Randy and Loretta also offer some practical suggestions for earlier career faculty a...
Dave talks with Suzie Baker (James Madison University) and Drew Christopher (Albion College) about the "late career" label and the changes, as our careers have progressed, in how we decide how to invest our time. We also discuss what aspects of our teaching have stayed the same or changed over time, and how we have adapted (or not) to changes in available technology. We mention some older forms of technology used in teaching, parti...
Stephen Chew of Samford University and Ken Keith, retired from University of San Diego, talk with Dave about factors that go into the decision to retire, what makes a for a healthy department based on their experience as department chairs, and how our teaching has evolved over the years. A theme that emerges is creating environments to support student learning. Ken and Stephen also offer some advice to early career faculty.
Dave talks with Ellen Carpenter of Virginia Commonwealth University and Alan Strathman of the University of Central Missouri about what "late career" means and how we make decisions about what things to take on and when to say no. It is possible to be late career in a broad sense but also be early in the process of taking on different responsibilities. We also chat about our experiences using teaching technology over the years, and...
In this episode, Dave talks with Barney Beins, retired from Ithaca College, and Sue Frantz, retired from Highline College and current Executive Director of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. We discuss how retirement can take different forms, and how the choices we make about how to spend our time relate to our sense of fulfillment. Barney and Sue discuss how they made the decision to retire and how they got involved in a ...
Dave, Garth, and Eric discuss the genesis of the idea for this podcast series and the need in general for late career faculty to be able to connect with others in similar situations. Dave provides a sneak preview of some of the issues that come up across the episodes. The series is intended not just for faculty who are late in their careers, but also for those in early or mid-career (like Garth!) who might benefit from thinking abo...
In this episode Eric interviews Kim Case from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. Kim discusses the balance of in-person versus online teaching, the pros and cons, and the human connection often lost in an online format. She shares her experience of a profound teaching stint in Italy and the importance of building genuine relationships in academia....
In this episode Eric interviews Loreto Prieto from Iowa State University in Ames, IA. They discuss their experiences in academia, particularly the challenges and rewards of teaching. They cover various educational systems, the importance of community colleges, and the difficulties students face in returning from breaks. Loreto shares stories about his personal and professional journey, including his blue-collar upbringing, his ment...
In this episode Garth interviews Coco Ballantyne from New York, NY. A journalist and science writer, Coco shares her journey from teaching high school to coauthoring a highly regarded psychology textbook. She discusses her initial uncertainty about her career path, the importance of teaching reporting skills in journalism school, and how she became involved with the textbook project. Coco highlights the collaborative efforts of her...
In this episode Eric interviews Jenn Grewe from Utah State University in Logan, UT. Our discussion centers on the significance of finding enjoyment in work to enhance job satisfaction. Jenn emphasizes making conscious efforts to seek out fun and enjoyable activities in everyday life, even as an adult. There is a mention of potentially exploring this topic more deeply in a future podcast.
[Note. Portions of the show notes were gener...
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