KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts

KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond

search

    

        

            

                hide podcast list
                show podcast list

February 3, 2019

Higher Ed: Couldn’t We All Use A Little Help? The Impact Of Effective Mentoring

Higher Ed

By: Jennifer Stayton

What comes to mind when you hear the word “mentor?” Perhaps a bespectacled older teacher or other professional offering sage advice to a younger student? In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton  discuss what makes a good mentor (and it doesn’t necessarily have to do with age or specific experience).

Ed wants to make a few things clear about mentors and mentoring up front.

First of all, mentors and role models are not the same thing.

“When I think of a role model, that person can be far away, could be someone who I don’t even know but I aspire to be, or I see and see elements of that I want to replicate, ” says Ed. “A mentor is much closer. There is a person who not only do I know, but the person has taken the time to know me and then to offer wisdom, counsel, advice, guidance and so forth.”

Secondly, mentors of any age – not just more seasoned teachers and other professionals – have something to offer.

“I don’t think that a mentor necessarily has to be someone who is older than you,” Ed believes. “It’s the perspective they bring and the questions they ask and the inspiration they offer.”

Ed believes a strong mentor-mentee relationship entails much more than the exchange of information and advice.

“It’s a safe relationship where no one’s going to be judgmental,” says Ed. “But in fact, listen – ideally open mindedly – and then ask questions. Then start to say ‘Okay, let me probe you. If you really want to do that, what about this? Why are you thinking that way?’ Then all of a sudden, it provokes thought, which is of course what all things should do.”

Listen to the full episode to hear about some of Ed’s experiences being a mentor and having a mentor. He firmly believes people can benefit from a mentor’s guidance at any age or stage of school and work. It is also time to gear up for the solution to the most recent puzzler.

This episode was recorded on Dec. 4, 2018.

January 20, 2019

Higher Ed: Curiosity Did Not Kill The Cat

Higher Ed

By: Jennifer Stayton

What does “curiosity” mean, exactly? Most definitions center around the desire to know something. So is curiosity just the act of asking lots of questions, or is it something deeper? In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton discuss curiosity, wonderment, and if any question is ever a silly one.

What do we know already (or think we know) about curiosity? It “killed the cat,” right – implying that too much inquisitiveness about something is dangerous. Curious George stories are a more playful take on learning and exploration.

Ed defines curiosity as the “mindful act of thinking beyond whatever it is that is in front of a person…. What comes next? What led to this? Where do I go from here? It really comes down to the art of creating questions.”

But Ed puts a slight twist on that definition. He does not actually believe those questions ever have to be asked out loud.

“Curiosity is an internal thing,” Ed believes. “I talk about the art of creating questions. You don’t have to ask them to be curious. But just to be thinking about ‘why is the person doing it that way? Why does that look the way it looks? Why did the person say that and not something else? What did the person not say?’ Just having those thoughts and those questions in your own head generate the internal curiosity.”

Ed’s definition may make it sound as if we are either born with that internal instinct to create questions or we are not. Are we stuck with the level of curiosity we have at day one or can curiosity be taught?

Ed says curiosity can absolutely be taught and amplified by encouraging that internal development of questions. Listen to the full episode to hear how Ed believes curiosity can be taught and nurtured (he has specific examples from his classroom). It is also time to get into gear for a new puzzler!

This episode was recorded on Dec. 4, 2018.

January 13, 2019

Higher Ed: The Biases We Bring To Information And Learning (They’re Complicated)

Higher Ed

By: Jennifer Stayton

Many external factors can impact the quality and effectiveness of a learning experience: the teacher; the other students in a class; the school’s resources; even the student’s surroundings and home. But what about the internal factors? In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton discuss the biases learners themselves bring to the information and process.

This episode was inspired by an experience Ed had in the classroom not too long ago. He had given the students a quote with some pretty declarative and forceful language and asked the students to discuss it and try to figure out who said it. As the students puzzled through who the speaker might be, Ed noticed something interesting.

He had given them a quote from Helen Keller, and Ed describes it as a “very strong quote, it was a very forceful quote; it was a quote that was about positivity, but it was strong…..While the conversation was going on, they [the students] themselves gave a gender to the individual,” says Ed. “My students kept saying ‘well, he meant this and he meant that.'”

Ed says gender was not the only metric students used to process and evaluate the quote.

“People thought this must be coming from an individual who is not a force of good in their mind’s eye,” says Ed, referring to the strong language of the quote, “and so therefore said ‘I don’t like the quote that much.’ The moment that some of them discovered that Helen Keller said this, then all of a sudden they looked at it again and said ‘ Oh, well, now I actually get it and I like it.'”

Bias based on perceptions of gender or authorship are just some of what learners bring to the table in and outside of the classroom.  Listen to the full episode to hear more about bias and context and Ed’s provocative question “Is it possible that we can find interesting or good elements in people that maybe we don’t completely agree with, and how does that complicate the discussion or the conversation?”

It is also time for the solution to last week’s puzzler about slicing and dicing. Don’t worry –  it’s a piece of cake!

This episode was recorded on Dec. 4, 2018.

January 6, 2019

Higher Ed: Want A Great, Excellent, Challenging Way To Think And Learn More Deeply? Add An Adjective

Higher Ed

By: Jennifer Stayton

Wait – you mean adding a couple of descriptive words to a particular situation, puzzle, or problem can help lead to clarity and a solution? In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton discuss this thought-provoking practice.

Well, ok, it is not quite as simple as sticking in an extra word or two when you are puzzling through a tough situation or question. Ed says it’s what you do after the word is added.

“It’s not enough to just add the adjective and move on, ” says Ed. “The goal is to add a descriptor, and then hold onto it and keep looking at it until you have an ‘ooooh’ insight. And then once you have that, then you can move onto another descriptor or eventually, actually resolve the issue because you will have so much information.”

How exactly does this work in practice?

Ed illustrates with an example from history. He points out that what was known as the “Great War” or the “War to End All Wars” was only later named “World War One.” Ed wonders what if it had been called the First World War from the very beginning? He says it would likely for most people raised the possibility of subsequent conflicts.

“That’s the point of adding the adjective,” says Ed. ” That it provokes some thought. And it turns out that often, for us to see things that are in front of us, we have to identify them and spell them out and give them a name. And so by adding the adjective of what we see around us, it allows us to see the things that are there that we otherwise would have missed.”

Sounds easy, right?  Ed warns developing this practice actually requires an investment of time but is well worth it.

“It is hard to stop and think and stop and describe and stop and engage,” says Ed. “But by practicing that, it becomes part of who we are and then we become better.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more about “adding the adjective” and to sample the first new puzzler of 2019. It is delicious!

This episode was recorded on Dec. 4, 2018.

December 16, 2018

Higher Ed: Developing “Intellectual Bravado” A.k.a. The Courage To Ask Any Question

Higher Ed

By: Jennifer Stayton

Ever feel like you want to ask a question, but you hold back because you think the question is stupid or you will look silly asking it? In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton discuss getting past those barriers that keep us from asking what’s on our mind.

We have all been there: a question pops into out head, but then so does the self-doubt. We fear that others will find the question stupid or elementary, and we will look foolish if we ask it. So we clam up and fervently hope that someone else will pipe up with the same query.

How can we get past that feeling that our questions are dumb?

Ed says all of us could stand to develop a little “intellectual bravado” when it comes to learning and asking questions.

What’s “intellectual bravado?”

“Intellectual bravado means that you’re brave enough to explore the outer limits of your own thinking or other people’s thinking,” says Ed, ” and you are not afraid to go beyond and to maybe be in a place that’s a little bit uncomfortable or a little bit awkward or that’s new.”

Ed says one way to get braver asking questions is to understand that questions do not need to be exceedingly sophisticated or complicated. Sometimes, he says, simple questions are the most profound.

“If we were brave enough to actually ask what seems like a foundational or fundamental question,” Ed asserts, “we actually will go deeper even though it might sound silly at first.”

Ed says a tremendous payoff results from investing more in a presentation, activity or conversation by asking questions.

“We get more out of life’s experience when we actually know we’re going to a – create a question; and b – actually going to ask it,” says Ed.

What event in Ed’s life freed him to feel like he could ask questions without fear? Listen to the full episode to find out, and to hear this week’s unusual take on a puzzler. It may prompt some questions in you!

This episode was recorded on Dec. 4, 2018.

December 9, 2018

Higher Ed: Does It Really Matter Where You Go To College?

Higher Ed

By: Jennifer Stayton

In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton discuss a provocative question: does it really matter where you go to college?

The short answer to that question is “no.” Ed says he believes students can get a good education – even a great or superior education – at many accredited institutions of higher learning.

But Ed says when it comes to students finding their way and growing, he believes the right fit with the right institution is more important.

“If you’re in an environment where you do not feel that it resonates with you,” says  Ed,” then I don’t think you’re going to have that experience of growth….I think there is a difference between thriving and learning.”

Ed says a high profile school might have a name that is easily recognizable. But he says that brand awareness is not a guarantee of a good experience for every student.

“How meaningful is that name? It’s about what does that institution do for you.” says Ed. “You meet a lot of people that constantly are name-dropping their school…. they’re living in the past. I want individuals that are looking ever forward and trying to make things better.”

So who then bears the responsibility of making the higher education experience as effective as it can be – the institution, or the student?

“I think that both parties have to bring something to the table, and I think that maybe there are people that will find that is a little bit controversial,” Ed says. “And that there are students that appear on a campus and just now feel entitled to feel great and feel good and to have a nice ride.  And that’s not what it’s about.”

Listen to the episode to hear more of Ed’s thoughts on having as expansive a college experience as possible beyond just classroom learning. It is also time to reveal the answers to the last round of riddles and pave the way for the return of the puzzler.

This episode was recorded on Oct. 30, 2018.

December 2, 2018

Higher Ed: Agree To Disagree (Respectfully) In The Classroom

Higher Ed

By: Jennifer Stayton

There has been a lot of talk in recent months about creating and maintaining healthy and respectful environments – especially in the workplace. But what about in the classroom? In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton discuss the keys to keeping the classroom an open and respectful place.

Ed believes everyone in the classroom should have a role in keeping the discussion civil and the tone respectful even if there are passionate disagreements about what is being taught or discussed. But he believes the conduct of the teacher goes a long way in laying the foundation for a respectful culture. For example, Ed says he used to be more vocal and open with his instant comments and assessments about students’ answers. But he started to understand that could unintentionally stifle students’ input if they fear differing opinions might be met with lower grades.

“Allowing everyone to share their reflection or their thinking or their feelings or their interpretation, their analysis, and then let the other members of the class pick it up, to me is a more powerful way that opens the conversation. I’m trying to get people to put themselves out there in my class.”

What about when things get disrespectful, heated, or downright ugly in the classroom?

Ed says getting students to agree at the beginning of the semester to some “rules of the road” for handling classroom discussions can help ensure a healthy, respectful environment.

“At the very beginning of the course, to basically have the entire class, with ownership of the students themselves, create in some sense rules of engagement and ways that we’re going to proceed…. And some instructors actually write these things down.  They become ‘here are our guiding principles'” about how people in the classroom will treat each other  – and specifically when they disagree.

What is the one practice Ed believes everyone should embrace to help keep the classroom civil? Listen to the episode to hear more (that is a big hint right there!) and to get a new round of riddles. The more serious puzzler is still taking a break for the holidays but will be back in January.

This episode was recorded on Oct. 30, 2018.

November 18, 2018

Higher Ed: Good Reading In And Out Of School

Higher Ed

By: Jennifer Stayton

In school, our reading choices are mostly dictated by what is assigned for classes or from reading lists. But once we are out of school, the decisions are up to us.  In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton discuss the joys and impacts of lifelong reading.

Ed believes that there are a couple of  keys to staying well read beyond our school years.

One: expand the canon of what is considered “must reads” in school and beyond.

“Those canons traditionally are Western, usually written by white dead men,” says Ed.  “What about the voices of individuals who are out there, in history and beyond, who were creative beings, or even not, but just having their story told….And so now, the question is, how do we find a balance where we can get a diversity of voices and perspectives?”

Two: read books that will push us in reading and in other arenas.

“Reading can transport you to a world where you might not be comfortable but you can actually find your way,” Ed believes. “That’s really the exciting world of ideas which can be reflected through reading.” Ed says exploring new ideas in our reading can lead us to exploring new ideas in other aspects of our lives.

What are on Ed’s and Jennifer’s bookshelves? Ed says he prefers non-fiction and likes reading about the art of comedy. But he also was completely mesmerized by the “Harry Potter”series. Jennifer also favors non-fiction but cites “The Thorn Birds” and “The World According to Garp” as favorite reads from the past.

What is the one classic series that Jennifer has never touched? And what is the one book that Ed suggests everyone read?

Listen to the full episode to find out, and to get the answers to the riddles about veggies and witches!

This episode was recorded on Oct. 30, 2018.

×