Continuing to take advantage of phenomenal people they already know, Ben and Amanda invite Dr. Melis Kural onto the pod to talk about her background in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and more specifically about the application of restorative practices in education. Ben and Amanda learn about tiers of restorative practice and the application of proactive community building circles. The trio also discuss the Social Discipline window and what they’ve done to transition their practice from doing things ‘for’ students to doing things ‘with’ students.
What are restorative practices and how can you incorporate them into the classroom? Listen here!
Cheating on tests. Re-using work from a previous semester. Students getting around your restrictions for their note sheets. What do these things have in common? They are all stories that Ben found them on reddit. Yes, you heard that right. Following a popular(?) YouTube trend where folks read out stories about petty revenge or confess how they 'fricked' up, Ben delves into the professor side of reddit to find stories that make Amanda go “Wow” and “Oh my god.” There is a whole reddit thread, r/professors, housing over 60,000 faculty who write in for advice or just to vent. Ben curated just a few stories, so let’s see what there is to explore. This was such a fun time, that we will probably do this again!
Remember, if you have your own teaching stories, you can share them with us to read on the podcast by emailing coffeebreakclassroom@gmail.com.
It’s time to relax with a good friend. Ben and Amanda bring the fabulous Terry Shamblin to talk about her journey with mindfulness and meditation and how it has impacted on her as both a faculty member and instructor. From throwing up in the Pacific (yes, that again) to starting her own business, we learn about Terry’s work with college readiness and pick up tips and tricks to improve everyone’s classroom experience.
You can learn more about Terry and Renee's business at https://mindfullifeconnections.com/, on Fb, IG, or LinkedIn!
Fair Warning: Amanda talks about being sick in the ocean. Feel free to jump to 7:15 if that is something you might be sensitive to!
Otherwise, we’re here to talk about test anxiety. Every instructor has some story of students being stressed out over their assessment. Test anxiety is so prevalent that there is a plethora of tips on the internet. Ben has strong feelings about the advice “Be prepared,” but is able to let it go so he and Amanda discuss different methods that they use to reduce test anxiety. With tips on how to support students’ executive functioning or how deal with anxiety on the day of the test there is sure to be something you can take into your own classrooms.
Let’s get into it!
Amanda and Ben are back with another office hours, and this time they unpack Amanda’s ongoing efforts to support a struggling student over the course of two semesters. Disclaimer: this episode is a little bit of a bummer, but it’s an honest look at what it means to keep showing up for students who just aren’t getting it—even when the question is something as basic as “what is one fewer than seven hundred.” When the same student returns the following semester for a second class, entirely new struggles come to the surface, giving Amanda a whole new set of challenges to navigate. The conversation dives into strategies, frustrations, and small victories along the way. Come listen to what Amanda tried, and maybe plan something fun afterward to lift your spirits.
Maybe actual spirits.
Starting class with a homemade board game or thinking about a healthy game of ring toss to liven things up? Doing something fun in the classroom can do a lot for students’ engagement with course content, whether or not the actual activity is related to the class. It is about reducing stress and building interpersonal connections so that students can come back to the class energized and refreshed.This week is a reprisal of Amanda’s presentation from our summer teaching and learning conference. She is doing her favorite thing in this one – not being a serious person. Amanda talks about how it felt to ask 30+ adults to play a trivia board game that she made up and the duo unpack what it is that games can bring to your next class. Also, find Amanda's geology students on Instagram @ monroe_cc_geology!Let’s get into it!
In a reprisal of Ben’s presentation from a summer teaching and learning conference, Ben and Amanda discuss making space in the classroom. Often as instructors, doing an involved, engaging, and meaningful activity means that you are taking up a significant amount of time for students to arrive at ideas on their own. Isn’t it easier for content coverage to just lecture for 50 minutes? – Yes. Is it better? – A strong probably. Big picture: If you feel stressed and rushed, your students are probably feeling it too.Ben and Amanda briefly discuss the principles of Backward Design that contributed to Ben’s planning process for re-design of his introductory physics course. He found more time for implementing retakes and digging into the often glazed over end-of-semester content. Not only is leaving space useful for the whole semester, but for each day of class. Ben and Amanda unpack what they do with their 50 minutes, including methods for students to take over a little of the responsibility for their learning.Here are the citations for the articles Amanda mentioned:Brown, B. A., & Ryoo, K. (2008). Teaching science as a language: A “content-first” approach to science teaching. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45(5), 529–553. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20255Roth, W. M. (2017). The thinking body in/of multimodal engineering literacy. Theory into Practice, 56(4), 255–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2017.1389218Let’s get into it!
Amanda and Ben break the cardinal rule of podcasting and talk to someone even cooler than they are. Wait, what? Who is that new person talking about their fabulous earrings? It’s Dr. Christina Lee! She is an educator, community advocate, and passionate connector of people, cultures, and ideas. Almost as important, she is one of Amanda and Ben’s favorite colleagues. Christina joins the pod to talk about her background, work in global education, and research on belonging – the topic of her recent Doctorate in Education.
As educators, we are a part of the web of support for students. What does an inclusive and belonging-focused institution look like? How do we work together to foster it for our students? In this episode we explore the answers to these questions and more. Our dynamic trio discuss what has contributed to their own belonging. They unpack the literature and talk about how culturally inclusive practices support everyone’s sense of belonging.
If you have something you do in your classroom to foster a sense of belonging among students, let us know at coffeebreakclassroom@gmail.com. You might get a shout out in a future episode, because there is always more to talk about!
This week, we take you to the zoo and witness many exotic grading practices from majestic Retakee-takees to the elephant in the room - Minimum Grading. Chloe can handle the flooding basement; Amanda has an episode to record!
Amanda and Ben come back to the drawing board of grading practices. In the previous episode we dissected several traditional grading practices and talked about the ways in which they help and harm students. This week, the dynamic duo bring some alternatives to the table, specifically focusing on four practices they have implemented in our classrooms: Retakes, Ungraded Homework, Flexible Deadlines, and Minimum Grading. Amanda and Ben share how they have implemented these practices in their classrooms, how things went, and how the improved on things from there.
If you want to hear more about any of these practices, we will probably come back to them in the future with a deeper dive into both the literature and impact. Let us know which one you want us to look at first or share your own questions or thoughts about these practices at coffeebreakclassroom@gmail.com.
Shortly after final exams and running a two-day institute on grading practices, Ben and Amanda scoop their brains back into their head buckets and talk traditional grading practices – who do they help and who do they harm? Practices include (1) grading participation, effort, and attendance, (2) late penalties, (3) extra credit, (4) graded homework, and (5) the zero for missing assignments. Grading practices are a mess and rife with judgements about student behavior. As faculty, we need to let down our walls and start talking to each other to reflect on what we do, start being intentional, and start being transparent with students.Did Amanda mention Grading Practice Speed Dating? Spoilers! Was that more or less surprising than when Ben talked about removing late penalties and ending up with 500+ late assignments at the end of the semester? This work is not new and there is a plethora of literature out there, both in terms of research and books on practice. This episode is brought to you by all of that. If you are looking for a place to start, consider one of the following:
1. Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman, 2019 (also the source of the catching 8 of 10 fish example)2. Grading for Growth by David Clark and Robert Talbert, 20233. Ungrading: Why rating students undermines learning (and what to do instead) by Susan Blum, 2020And come back next week for ways to clean up the grade book with stories of what worked and what didn’t. Let’s turn “grading practice” into “grading figured it out.”
“I don’t care if I am bad at it,” Ben shouts from the rooftops. At this point in their lives Ben and Amanda have got used to being failures. They accept that being a failure is part of the process! They also know that the moment you make it through is just too good of an opportunity to pass up.In this episode we unpack the power of a growth mindset. What is it? How does it help instructors reframe their interactions with students? How does it help students succeed and persevere in the face of challenge? From the language you use to opportunities for reflection to the structure of your course, Ben and Amanda look at what things that you can do in your classroom to help foster a growth mindset for students.
Ben and Amanda kick off Episode 5 with some fun news – They are top 119 in “how to” podcasts through Apple. This is a wild fact considering that when this was recorded, they have been only live for less than a week! As long as no welders or basket weavers start podcasts, they might even start climbing the ranking.
Getting into the core of the episode, Ben and Amanda are doing something new! Every once and a while, they want to take some time to reflect on their experiences, share stories, and get perspectives.
For the first Office Hour, Ben considers the age-old phrase: You can lead a student to water, but you can’t make them drink. He shares a story of a challenging student – one who was egregiously and regularly late, who would ask questions about what to do but not follow through on itemized feedback, and who would constantly struggle but never make progress. This episode looks at how Ben worked with the student to provide structure and support despite the continued and growing challenge. Ultimately, with some probing questions from Amanda, the dynamic duo work to reframe the situation and consider the bigger picture (e.g., what else could be going on for the student? What can we do within the boundaries of our jobs as educators?) Spoilers, the answers are a lot was probably going on and there wasn’t much more Ben could have done.
You, yes you, can join in by sending your stories, successes, and struggles to coffeebreakclassroom@gmail.com! Our hosts want this to be a space for everyone to come together. Tell us about your stories, successes, and struggles. Do you have an assignment that you are struggling with assessing? Do you have students who are doing things you don’t expect? Are you a student that is listening to this for some reason and want to tell us about your experiences. We want to here from you!
New episodes every other week! Check out coffeebreakclassroom.carrd.co for more Amanda and Ben as they continue to update on the professional development they cannot stop churning out. Keep it real!
After discussing the need for a skip intro button and... did Amanda say she wanted to eat a baby? Uh, anyway, the syllabus is often the first thing that students see for a course. It sets the tone for both the class and how they see us as instructors. How do we make a syllabus that brings students in?
Amanda and Ben unpack the syllabus. They first discuss how you communicate why the class matters, why the assignments/assessments matter, and why the policies matter. Communicating expectations goes a long way. Amanda and Ben discuss late policies and attendance policies and how they show up in the syllabus. They discuss ways to make the syllabus welcoming and how avoid a list of “DON’T DO THIS” to account for that one time a student did a thing that you didn’t like.
Lastly, we take on ways to deal with the length of the syllabus. Apparently, Amanda remembers a time where syllabi were a single page and Ben thinks she is dreaming. How do you avoid a wall of text? Amanda and Ben talk sharing the syllabus in ways that students can walk away with the information that you want them to have.
Syllabus tips you can take away today. Even Ben and Amanda each picked up something new from each other! Grab a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy!
In this caffeine-fueled episode, Ben and Amanda jump into the world of formative assessment—what it is, why it matters, and how it can level up your classroom without adding to your grading load. But this isn’t your average edu-chat. Things get competitive as they play a round of Formative Assessment Scattergories, going head-to-head to see who knows more assessment techniques under pressure. Along the way, they share practical ideas you can steal for your next class—and maybe even a few you've never considered. The generational divide also makes a surprise appearance when Ben references Saturday Night Live, while Amanda throws it back with N'Sync and the nightly news. And in an unexpected turn of events, it's Ben who delivers this episode’s awkward hand-related story. Grab your favorite mug—this episode is packed with teaching tips, laughs, and a bit of friendly chaos.
In the second episode of Coffee Break Classroom, hosts Ben & Amanda pull back the curtain and share the personal journeys that brought them into the world of community college teaching. From winding career paths to those “whaaaattt?!” moments in the classroom, they reflect on what drew them to higher education—and what keeps them coming back.They also spill the beans on why they launched the podcast, what listeners can expect in future episodes, and how they hope to create a space that’s equal parts insightful and playful.And it wouldn't be Ben & Amanda if there wasn't some chaos. Listen as Ben forgets the name of the pod and Amanda tops things off with yet another story involving mild maiming (yes, really).Grab your mug—this one’s warm, real, and a little bit wild.For more information, find us at https://coffeebreakclassroom.carrd.co/
Welcome to Coffee Break Classroom, where Ben and Amanda—two community college teachers who genuinely love what they do—chat about all things teaching over a good cup of coffee.In their very first episode, The Hook, they dive into the magic of grabbing students’ attention from the start. Whether it’s an unexpected fact, a wild question, or a real-world connection that makes students go, “Wait, what?”, they’re all about creative ways to make learning stick. And let’s be real—this episode is also their way of hooking you, the listener, into sticking around for more!So, if you’re a fellow educator, a lifelong learner, or just someone who loves a good classroom story, grab your coffee and join the conversation. Teaching is tough, but it’s also a whole lot of fun—especially when you have good company. ☕🎙️For more information, find us at https://coffeebreakclassroom.carrd.co/
