PsychSessions: Conversations about Teaching N' Stuff

In this episode Garth and Eric celebrate the 10th anniversary of PsychSessions: Conversations About Teaching N' Stuff. We mark 10 years of the PsychSessions flagship podcast (dating back to October 2017) by recalling its origins at Highline College, including an original episode later replaced after only five downloads. They thank hosts, sponsors (especially STP), guests, listeners, and supporters such as Sue Franz and Jane Halonen, and note early funding from an APS teaching grant plus later donors. They discuss conference travel, face-to-face versus Zoom conversations, live events, and the show's niche, evergreen "oral history" role, including rapid-response series during COVID and around George Floyd/DEI. They review "assessment" outcomes, highlight many spinoff series and the psychsessions.org archive and newsletter, and attribute longevity to collaboration and commitment. They describe re-releasing older episodes and give career updates: Eric plans to retire in July 2027 after 35 years at Boise State; Garth discusses a transformative sabbatical, starting onmissionconsulting.com, and handing off leadership roles.
[Note. Portions of the show notes were generated with Descript AI.]

In this (Re-Release) episode Eric interviewed Garth Neufeld from Cascadia College in Bothell, WA. For Garth growing up in Canada, music and church were key; he also discusses parental inspirations including the first band name. Music, education, and international travel are important themes early and often. His entreprenurial spirit thrives from work ethic, bands, graduate school through to TIP-NW & www.sharedspaceforall.org.

In this episode Garth interviews Theodore Burnes from the University of Southern California Rossier in Los Angeles, CA. Theo is a California-licensed clinical psychologist and licensed professional clinical counselor who teaches in a master's program, maintains a small Los Angeles private practice, and has worked with LGBTQ-spectrum youth since 2004. They discuss evolving language around sexual orientation and gender, why fixed categories can feel outdated or non-inclusive for many young people, and the current challenges youth face finding supportive spaces. He emphasizes educators' responsibility to create safe classrooms for introspection and difficult conversations, suggesting instructors start small by integrating sexuality and gender content across topics like development. He describes writing his textbook Human Sexuality: A Well-Being Approach, a seven-year project intended to be more culturally inclusive, and highlights instructor guides, teaching notes, and Sage Vantage videos and activities. Theo shares a portfolio-based assignment involving experiential learning and reflects on how clinical skills inform facilitative teaching, along with his involvement in APA divisions, including Division 44.
[Note. Portions of the show notes were generated by Descript AI.]

Retirement doesn't mean slowing down. In this Re-Release episode, we talk with retired University of Arizona faculty member Beatrice Krause about dispelling retirement myths, staying active in academia, and pursuing an eclectic mix of passions - from harp and tango to poetry.
A thoughtful conversation about reinvention, curiosity, and life after academia. 🎧
[Note: Portions of the show notes were generated by Descript AI.]

In this episode Garth interviewed Kendra Thomas from Hope College in Holland, MI. Kendra discusses her applied developmental and educational psychology research in under-resourced public schools in Brazil and with the iThemba Projects nonprofit in South Africa. She explains the challenges of collecting valid cross-cultural data, emphasizing short, context-appropriate measures built with practitioners and designed to provide immediate value (e.g., school safety, home-visit frequency, HIV misconceptions). She discusses defining and measuring "hope" across contexts, including building measures simultaneously in English, Zulu, and Portuguese, and notes how imported measures can fail (e.g., social responsibility reading as compliance). Kendra also describes becoming Kathleen Berger's textbook co-author via chapter reviews, managing time with leave and reduced load, and teaching a "developmental imagination" through five maxims. She shares her Brazil-to-U.S. educational path and teaching-focused career trajectory.
[Note. Portions of the show notes were generated by Descript AI.]