Limed: Teaching with a Twist – Episode 7

Dr. Travis Maynard found a game called “Silicon Valley Startups” at a Goodwill store and turned it into the basis for introducing his professional writing and rhetoric students to the skills and concepts needed for brand development and producing print, digital, audio, and video campaigns. He joins the podcast to share some of his lessons learned and ask our panel about ways to battle project and semester fatigue while making subtle improvements to a fun idea. Jill McSweeney rejoins the podcast along with John Spencer and Annelise Weaver to share their insights and ideas to keep students engaged and compare and contrast class projects from working on projects as a professional.  

This episode of Limed: Teaching with a Twist is hosted by Matt Wittstein and produced by Dhvani Toprani and Matt Wittstein in collaboration with the Center for Engaged Learning.

View a transcript of this episode.

About the Guest

Travis Maynard is an Assistant Professor of English at Elon University where he teaches courses in the Professional Writing and Rhetoric program. Dr. Maynard’s research interests include multimodal composition and alumni writing experiences. He recently contributed to the edited collection Writing Beyond the University: Preparing Lifelong Learners for Lifewide Writing. In the classroom he enjoys giving students the opportunity to be creative while developing both rhetorical and technological theories and skills, and he is energized by the consistently impressive work his students create. 

About the Panel

Jill McSweeney has worked in Educational Development for almost a decade. She began her work at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where she completed her PhD, and is now an Assistant Director for the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and an Assistant Professor at Elon University. She actively engages in scholarship around educational development and the scholarship of teaching and learning, publishing in journals such as Teaching and Learning Inquiry, the International Journal of Academic Development and The International Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. She approaches her teaching and educational development work with the focus of facilitating a space where learners and colleagues can create connections and meaning with themselves and their learning/teaching. To learn more about her teaching and ongoing scholarship, visit her on Twitter or her Faculty Profile.

John Spencer is a middle-school teacher turned author, speaker, and college professor with a passion for creativity and design thinking. He struggled with dyslexia and ADHD as a child, which led him to appreciate the power of education to transform lives. Currently, John serves as a professor of Educational Technology and Entrepreneurship at George Fox University. He also works as a consultant, providing training and workshops for educators and organizations on topics related to design thinking, creativity, and entrepreneurship. With a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a Master’s in Educational Technology, John has spent his career inspiring students and educators to embrace innovation and creative learning approaches. You can learn more about John and his work on his website: www.spencerauthor.com.  

Annelise Weaver is a sophomore at Elon University pursuing her undergraduate degree in Psychology, with minors in both Spanish and Communications. She is currently a CEL Student Scholar, conducting research on Work-Integrated Learning. Through CEL, she has had the opportunity to work with international, multi-institutional collaborators that have allowed her to expand her knowledge on the topic. Annelise also works in the university Registrar’s office as a student assistant, advising students with degree requirements. She holds leadership positions as the student director for Girls in Motion, a mentoring program for elementary and middle school girls that focuses on physical activity and nutrition, and as the education coordinator for the Intersect Conference, a conference examining the inter-disciplinary work around diversity and leadership. 

Resources Related to this Episode

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• Self-Determination Theory
  • Niemiec, Christopher P., and Richard M. Ryan. 2009. “Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness in the Classroom: Applying Self-Determination Theory to Educational Practice.” Theory and Research in Education 7 (2): 133–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878509104318
  • Ryan, Richard M., and Edward L. Deci. 2020. “Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation from a Self-Determination Theory Perspective: Definitions, Theory, Practices, and Future Directions.” Contemporary Educational Psychology  61: 101860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860 
  • Center for Self-Determination Theory
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• Silicon Valley Start-Ups Game