Kut » Higher Ed

How can educators, parents, and other adults encourage young people to be curious and get creative? In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger respond to a listener’s question about promoting intellectual curiosity and confidence in kids. There’s a lot of interest these days in...

What do you think of when someone is described as “smart?” They know a lot of things. Maybe they got high grades in school. Or maybe they always use correct grammar. But what does it actually mean to be “smart?” In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President...

This 2016 election season has a lot of people talking about leadership: what qualities do we want in a leader, and what kind of experiences can prepare someone to lead? In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger talk about whether leadership can be taught...

Technology means students can take classes in many different modes and venues. They can be together in a traditional classroom, of course, with a teacher. Or, they can listen, discuss, and learn remotely any time and anywhere via online courses and videos.  In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern...

Every student and teacher has likely at some point during the school year looked longingly at the calendar, hoping the days and weeks until vacation would pass more quickly. And who hasn’t stared at the clock during a long class, watching the seconds tick by? The traditional school calendar and school day schedule have been...

Doubt. It can make us question some of our deeply-held beliefs. But is that necessarily a bad thing? In this “Best Of…” episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger talk about the value that doubt can have for our learning and education. Doubt can be a...

What happens when you mix liberal arts and democracy and throw in a little media coverage? You get a fascinating discussion about the intersection of those three institutions. In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger discuss how learning habits developed while studying the liberal arts...

Note: This “Best of Higher Ed” episode was originally released on September 13, 2015. Have you ever heard of a “value study” in art? It’s a way to make a quick sketch of whatever you see and then fill it in with shades of gray. It leaves out detail in favor of broader strokes that...

There are times when we feel like we just “know” something. We can’t necessarily explain why, but we just have a “gut” feeling about it. When is it useful to go with that gut feeling, and when should we slow down and think things through? In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer...

Infinity. What does it really mean? Can we count it? If so, how? And can we ever really define or describe it? It seems like there are an infinite number of questions about infinity. In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger help us try...

No one remembers everything they learned in school, right? We cannot possibly retain all of those facts, figures, and formulas. So, 20 years after we’re done with our formal education, what have we taken away from that experience? In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed...

Summer. For students and teachers, that means a break from books, papers, tests, deadlines, and the stress of school. In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton talk about the benefits of that break, as well as the advantages of keeping the brain at least a...

Arithmetic is just a fancy word for Math, right? Actually, they mean two different things. In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton explain what “arithmetic” means; what “math” means; and why it matters to our learning and lives. You’ve heard us say a lot on...

Eureka – I’ve got it! You know that moment when you feel like you’ve come up with something completely original? Well, consider this: is it actually possible to come up with totally new thinking, given all the information that influences our thought? In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger...

Anxiety seems to come with the territory – at least some of the time – in school. Students worry about tests and grades or about trying to learn material that’s unfamiliar or tough. But does anxiety really have to be part of the learning process? In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President...

A…..B……C…. at the end of the school year, many students are eager to see their final grades. But what is the real value of those grades? What happens when higher and higher grades are awarded for work that may not actually be that much better? In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University...

If you only had one class left to take in school, what would it be? Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton explore what that last class could – or should? – be, and making the transition from formal education to lifelong learning. Ed and Jennifer reflect on the last classes they...

Caps and gowns … diplomas… speeches… parties… and anxieties about what’s next. It’s commencement season, and thousands of higher education graduates across the country are packing up their dorm rooms and embarking on the next stage of life. In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger...

“If I only knew then what I know now….” Sure, hindsight is 20/20. But if you could talk to your younger self, what advice would you give? What decisions would you make differently? During this graduation season,  Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton give their younger selves some words of wisdom...

A podcast listener and fan recently wrote in with a question: How does one teach (or force) current and future Math teachers to make Mathematics fascinating? (By the way, that podcast listener is studying Mathematics education.) Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger is a mathematician, so who better to tackle that! He and KUT’s Jennifer...