PsychSessions: Conversations about Teaching N' Stuff

Latest Episodes:

S1E2: Retirement Doesn't Mean Not Working (Barney Beins and Sue Frantz) Mar 07, 2025

Show notes

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 variety of current professional activities. They also offer some thoughts about career choices that will be helpful for earlier-career faculty.

S1E1: PsychSessions Late Career Preview with Dave, Garth, and Eric Mar 07, 2025

Show notes

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 about what their later career may look like.

E219: Kim Case: Accessibility, connection, success, crafting a meaningful academic life Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

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. The conversation also delves into the economic and moral complexities of offering expertise for free, especially in DEI work. Kim concludes by discussing academic myths and the importance of questioning long-standing norms in higher education to reduce stress and improve efficiency.

Resources:

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2022-28577-001.html

https://drkimcase.com/free/

https://drkimcase.com/resources/

[Note. Portions of the show notes were generated by Descript AI.]

E218: Loreto Prieto: Tradition, innovation, energy, passion, and patience Feb 11, 2025

Show notes

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 mentors, and his passion for undergraduate education. They also delve into the distinctions between counseling and clinical psychology and reflect on the importance of hard work, mentorship, and commitment in achieving success in academia.

[Note. Portions of the show notes were generated by Descript AI.]

E217: Coco Ballantyne: Narrating science--A unique approach to psychology education Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

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 and her coauthors to make psychological concepts engaging and relevant to students through storytelling. The episode also touches on her thoughts on the importance of clear communication, especially in today's polarized world, and her views on the current state of journalism.

[Note. Portions of the show notes were generated by Descript AI.]

E216: Jenn Grewe: Workplace joy, fun, satisfaction, and a fulfilling career Jan 14, 2025

Show notes

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 generated by Descript AI.]

S1E8: Tyler Whitmer: Helping athletes get reps in becoming better men Jan 10, 2025

Show notes

Tyler Whitmer is an Assistant Athletic Director of Olympic Sports Performance at Boise State University. Tyler was a high school athlete who became intensely interested in sports performance when he had a unique opportunity to train at the Denver Broncos training center. As he transitioned to college, he discovered that he could have a career in this area and eventually accepted a graduate assistantship at the University of Kansas. Tyler discussed how his experiences at KU and at several small universities helped him grow as a person and coach. We discussed how athletics provides a range of experiences that can be both beneficial and potentially harmful for men, depending on the culture and what is modeled for men by coaches and mentors. Tyler mentioned a personal and professional shift that occurred for him during COVID that led him to develop a program called Get Reps. Get Reps is a group focused on helping male athletes consider what it means to be a good man and targeting some skills deficits that he has noticed in the athletes he works with. Finally, we discuss how helping men helps the entire community and some resources for those interested in the intersection between masculinities and athletics.

S1E7: Ronald Levant: An intimate conversation with one of the giants in the field of men's mental health Jan 10, 2025

Show notes

Dr. Ronald Levant is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Akron and a former president of the American Psychological Association and the APA's Division 51. Ron discussed his challenges as an adolescent and that his pathway was not one that would have necessarily led him to college and graduate training at some of the world's most prestigious universities. He discussed challenges as an adolescent in school and in his family, including being expelled from one high school. A small circumstance resulted in Ron taking a college admission test and then attending UC Berkeley and later Harvard. Ron discussed some of his contributions, such as his work on normative male alexithymia and his research on fathers. He provided some context for how he developed the idea for the normative male alexithymia hypothesis. Finally, Ron discussed some ideas about how we can move the field forward by addressing several areas, such as men's self-compassion and sense of shame.

S1E6: Jeff Matshushita: A journey of engaging men to end gender-based violence Jan 10, 2025

Show notes

Jeff Matsushita is the director of the Engaging Men Project at Boise State University. We initially discussed the origins of Jeff's interest in working with men, which occurred after watching the film Tough Guise as an undergraduate student. He became increasingly interested in men and masculinity and formal work with groups of men. He eventually took a position with the Idaho Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which was quite formative for him. He also has worked with the national group A Call to Men, which similarly works to decrease rates of gender-based violence by engaging men directly. Jeff reflects on mentors who have helped him grow in his work and personally and how his professional work on engaging men has impacted him personally. At the end of the conversation, Jeff provides some helpful guidance on resources for those further interested in the work he discussed of engaging boys in men to decrease gender-based violence.

E215: Mona Xu: Role model, mentor, scholar, and advocate Dec 31, 2024

Show notes

In this episode Eric interviews Mona Xu from Idaho State University in Pocatello, ID. Our discussion covers various topics, from mentoring graduate students and the meaningful relationships formed to navigating higher education's political and social climate. Mona shares her journey of coming out as queer and non-binary and the importance of self-care and community care within academia. The conversation also delves into the challenges and future of higher education amid political tensions and demographic shifts.

[Note. Portions of the show notes were generated by Descript AI.]

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

PsychSessions: Conversations about Teaching N’ Stuff

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected