In this episode, Thomas Schrand, PhD, shares how the Hallmarks Core and its Power Skills cultivate adaptable, intellectually curious graduates prepared for an evolving, AI-influenced world. He offers practical insights into learner-centered teaching, critical thinking, and reflective practice that help students build durable, human-centered competencies. Educators will gain strategies for strengthening meaningful learning across disciplines.

Follow and subscribe to be notified about new episodes! Episodes premiere monthly, every first Wednesday at 10:30AM. Head over to our webpage to check out more episodes and learn more about the podcast!

Guest: Thomas Schrand, PhD

• Role: Associate Dean for General Education & Professor of History
• Expertise: Curriculum development, pedagogy, general education, and active learning.

Quote from the Episode:

“At the end of four years of this experience… you end up as someone who can think on their feet, someone who has confidence in what they're saying and their ability to grapple with challenging and nuanced questions.” - Thomas Schrand, PhD

Getting Started:

• Ask students to apply course concepts to real‑world or professional scenarios, reinforcing both disciplinary relevance and transferable competencies.
• Start each class with a device‑free expectation to promote presence, note‑taking by hand, and deeper engagement with peers and content.
• Build in reflective moments—such as end‑of‑week or end‑of‑unit prompts asking students to identify key takeaways or what learning mattered most to them.
• Contact usto talk about learning design and incorporating these skills into your classroom.

Terms to Know:

The terms below are mentioned in the episode, and for context and clarity, we've provided brief definitions of potentially unfamiliar terms you may hear.

• Learner Centered Teaching: An approach that focuses on how students learn—emphasizing engagement, active participation, and cognitive processes rather than instructor-led delivery.
• Active Learning: Any instructional method that requires students to be metacognitive and engage in meaningful activities (e.g., discussion, problem solving) rather than passively listening to lectures.
• Cognitive Psychology: A branch of psychology which explores the mental process related to perceiving, attending, thinking, language, learning, and memory.

Selected Resources: The Learning Curve team curated this list based on university resources or guest recommendations.

1. The Science of Learning – Academic Commons Self-Paced Program
2. Designing Learning that Endures: The Science of Learning in Practice: Academic Commons Self-Paced Program
3. The Hallmarks Core Program – Thomas Jefferson University Page
4. Major, C. H., Harris, M. S., & Zakrajsek, T. (2021). Teaching for learning : 101 intentionally designed educational activities to put students on the path to success. (Second edition.). ROUTLEDGE.
5. Zakrajsek, T., & Nilson, L. B. (2023). Teaching at its best: a research-based resource for college instructors (Fifth edition.). Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Brand.
6. Academic Commons Upcoming Workshops and Events

This episode features Pamela Walter, MFA, the Director of the Office for Professional Writing, Publishing, and Communication (OPWPC). Pam shares how the OPWPC supports researchers in writing, publishing, presenting, and navigating the complexities of scholarly communication. This episode also highlights common writing challenges, the importance of narrative flow in scientific communication, team-based approaches to increasing publication output, and the influence of generative AI in academic writing.

Follow and subscribe to be notified about new episodes! Episodes premiere monthly, every first Wednesday at 10:30AM. Head over to our webpage to check out more episodes and learn more about the podcast!

Guest: Pamela Walter, MFA

• Role: Medical Editor/Writer and Director of the Office for Professional Writing, Publishing, and Communication
• Expertise: Professional writing skills, publishing practices, and presentation skills.

Quote from the Episode:

• "If you can speak, you can write, and there are plenty of resources available to turn that unpolished writing into polished writing." Pam Walter, MFA

Getting Started:

• Participate in writing retreats for focused, uninterrupted writing time, and use short writing sprints to overcome writer's block and make consistent progress.
• Take advantage of in-house services like manuscript reviews, presentation feedback, and workshops to enhance the quality and impact of your research communication.
• Use connective words and a logical flow to make your research writing more engaging and easier to follow, even for technical audiences.
• Utilize tools like BioRender to create graphical abstracts and visually summarize your research.
• Contact us to improve your academic writing.

Terms to Know:

The terms below are mentioned in the episode, and for context and clarity, we've provided brief definitions of potentially unfamiliar terms you may hear.

• Connective Words: A word or phrase whose function is to link linguistic units together.
• Narrative Writing: In essence, story writing; it can be fiction or nonfiction. If it has a narrative structure and tells a story, it is narrative writing.
• Generative AI: An AI system capable of generating text, images, or other media in response to prompts.

Selected Resources:

The Learning Curve team curated this list based on university resources or guest recommendations.

1. Professional Writing & Communication (OPWPC)
2. Jefferson Libraries Homepage
3. AI for Educators: From Basics to Best Practices
4. Research Administration Center of Excellence (RACE)
5. Hillier, A., Kelly, R. P., & Klinger, T. (2016). Narrative Style Influences Citation Frequency in Climate Change Science. PloS One, 11(12), e0167983.
6. Academic Commons Upcoming Workshops and Events