In this captivating episode, host Dr. Lisa Wiśniewski sitsdown with Dr. Sarah Silverman, educator, independent faculty developer, and passionate advocate for neurodiversity in higher education. Dr. Silverman shares her deeply personal and professional journey from her early academic experiences as a neurodivergent student to her transformative work supportingfaculty and graduate students in inclusive teaching practices.
Listeners will gain insight into how Dr. Silverman’s background in entomology evolved into a career centered on faculty development, disability studies, and the social dimensions of teaching. She discusses the importance of peer mentorship, the challenges of navigating academia with non-apparent disabilities, and the critical role of empathy and accessibilityin the classroom. Through anecdotes and reflections, Dr. Silverman highlights the concept of "access friction" and the theory of "double empathy" by offering a nuanced perspective on how educators can better support diverse learners.
The episode also examines the impact of social media,particularly LinkedIn, as a platform for engaging public scholarship and community building. Dr. Silverman’s thoughtful approach to sharing knowledge and fostering dialogue has made her a widely respected voice in the field. Whether you're an educator, student, or advocate, this episode provides a richand thought-provoking exploration of how personal experience and academic insight can intersect to create meaningful change in education and beyond.
References from Dr. Silverman:
Peer Teaching Consultants: Design Principles for Instructional Development and Program Alignment
On the ontological status of autism: the ‘double empathy problem’
To connect with Dr. Silverman:
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.