Recombinant Teaching: STEM Education Office Hours with Dr. Justin Shaffer
Claim This Podcastby Justin Shaffer | STEM Education Expert and Professor
Podcast Overview
<p>This is not your typical higher education interview podcast.</p><p></p><p><b>Recombinant Teaching: STEM Education Office Hours</b> is a call-in advice show dedicated to <b>YOU</b>, the instructors, professors, TAs, and administrators in the trenches of STEM higher education. Whether you are teaching a large gateway STEM course or a small senior seminar, this show is for you.</p><p></p><p>With over 13 years of experience and having taught more than <b>10,000 students</b>, your host, <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.recombinanteducation.com" target="_blank">Dr. Justin Shaffer</a>, has seen it all. Each week, he (and sometimes with guest co-hosts) unpacks your listener-submitted questions to provide practical and actionable strategies on STEM pedagogy, student success, academic careers, and everything in between. Let’s work together to keep on improving STEM education.</p><p></p><p><b>Have a question?</b> Click the <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.recombinanteducation.com/podcast/" target="_blank">"Submit a Question" link</a> to be featured on the show.</p>
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Publishing Since
2/12/2026
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Recent Episodes
July 8, 2026
STEM Course Design Series: Syllabus and Course Schedule
<p>On today's episode in the STEM Course Design Series, Justin tackles the importance of the syllabus and the course schedule by looking at how to put them together, what to add to them, and how to handle them when things go awry (snow day!).</p><p></p><p>Here is a <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://teaching.virginia.edu/resources/syllabus-rubric" target="_blank">link</a> to the student-centered syllabus rubric tool developed by Michael Palmer and a <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0301331" target="_blank">link</a> to the study on STEM syllabi from Brian Sato.</p><p></p><p>Check out the syllabus template and course schedule excel sheet <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.recombinanteducation.com/#materials" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p></p><p>Justin's AI syllabus poilicy: You are permitted to use AI whenever you want to help you with your learning and I will model how to use AI effectively in this manner in class. However, mindset and karma are important to consider here. Please try to have a positive and productive mindset when using AI and do not fall into the trap of having it do some (or even all) of your work for you (including writing) as this takes away from your humanity and the pride that you should have in your own learning. Karma is also real – if you do fall into this trap, you will find yourself in trouble when it comes time to take the quizzes and exams as you will not have AI available to help you then. Treat AI as another tool in your toolbox and use it carefully, responsibly, and wisely!</p><p></p><p>Want to be a part of the show? <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://recombinanteducation.com/podcast" target="_blank"><b>Submit a question!</b></a></p><p></p><p>Check out Justin's <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com/High-Structure-Course-Design-Evidence-Based/dp/1319583466/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3KF42JJBWK2HC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.D9c34m1JWwqY853iro2hYse-njvUb0GKXrWGxSdXQOjXIotYU8Eqxng5O1Ho-wQwkKnGOq9V7902dvCjDwrk95XbUtKIHbcxV2CTD442THSmhEovUBRBnGuqc8zieIaygZlWqkt_lfBZ1jEByYdZy7TlmMKC20N3DDsKDoyvV0qoyOBbrSY9sagr99EGe64bpVDtd4IcCRetFbRhV3A_77IxeLIU3C9RutTZJu1me8o.fVLkOLQ4dslVpbCDGNygRGAoLY3-1GozkuuwHbQK3FU&dib_tag=se&keywords=high+structure+course+design&qid=1781025831&sprefix=high+structue%2Caps%2C350&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><b>book</b></a> on High Structure Course Design to learn more about backward design and LOs.</p><p></p><p>Check out Justin's <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://recombinanteducation.myshopify.com/" target="_blank"><b>card decks</b></a> to help with course design and student learning.</p><p></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://riverside.com/www.recombinanteducation.com" target="_blank"><b>Learn how you, your department, or your institution can work with Justin to improve STEM education together.</b></a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.recombinanteducation.com" target="_blank"><b>www.recombinanteducation.com</b></a></p><p> </p><p> </p>
July 1, 2026
STEM Course Design Series: Choosing Course Materials
<p>How do you pick course materials that are worth it for you and your students? In this episode of the STEM Course Design Series, Justin gives his advice and thoughts on this question through discussing the pros and cons of paid vs OER materials, how to use rubrics to choose a textbook and courseware, and what to think about with adopting AI tools for your courses.</p><p></p><p>Check out the textbook and courseware adoption rubrics <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.recombinanteducation.com/#materials" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p></p><p>Want to be a part of the show? <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://recombinanteducation.com/podcast" target="_blank"><b>Submit a question!</b></a></p><p></p><p>Check out Justin's <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com/High-Structure-Course-Design-Evidence-Based/dp/1319583466/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3KF42JJBWK2HC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.D9c34m1JWwqY853iro2hYse-njvUb0GKXrWGxSdXQOjXIotYU8Eqxng5O1Ho-wQwkKnGOq9V7902dvCjDwrk95XbUtKIHbcxV2CTD442THSmhEovUBRBnGuqc8zieIaygZlWqkt_lfBZ1jEByYdZy7TlmMKC20N3DDsKDoyvV0qoyOBbrSY9sagr99EGe64bpVDtd4IcCRetFbRhV3A_77IxeLIU3C9RutTZJu1me8o.fVLkOLQ4dslVpbCDGNygRGAoLY3-1GozkuuwHbQK3FU&dib_tag=se&keywords=high+structure+course+design&qid=1781025831&sprefix=high+structue%2Caps%2C350&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><b>book</b></a> on High Structure Course Design to learn more about backward design and LOs.</p><p></p><p>Check out Justin's <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://recombinanteducation.myshopify.com/" target="_blank"><b>card decks</b></a> to help with course design and student learning.</p><p></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://riverside.com/www.recombinanteducation.com" target="_blank"><b>Learn how you, your department, or your institution can work with Justin to improve STEM education together.</b></a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.recombinanteducation.com" target="_blank"><b>www.recombinanteducation.com</b></a></p><p> </p>
June 24, 2026
STEM Course Design Series: Summative Assessment
<p>In this episode of the STEM Course Design Series, Justin goes over the big picture of summative assessment design and how to make sure they are aligned to your learning objectives. Justin also discusses a few types of assessments including traditional quizzes and exams, group quizzes, and how to make your assessments authentic and gives examples of how he uses them in his STEM courses.</p><p></p><p>Here is a <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://teaching.virginia.edu/collections/assessment-as-learning" target="_blank">resource</a> for more info on assessment from the UVA Teaching Hub.</p><p></p><p>Here is a <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://citl.indiana.edu/teaching-resources/assessing-student-learning/authentic-assessment/index.html" target="_blank">resource</a> on authentic assessment from the University of Indiana.</p><p></p><p>Want to be a part of the show? <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://recombinanteducation.com/podcast" target="_blank"><b>Submit a question!</b></a></p><p></p><p>Check out Justin's <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com/High-Structure-Course-Design-Evidence-Based/dp/1319583466/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3KF42JJBWK2HC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.D9c34m1JWwqY853iro2hYse-njvUb0GKXrWGxSdXQOjXIotYU8Eqxng5O1Ho-wQwkKnGOq9V7902dvCjDwrk95XbUtKIHbcxV2CTD442THSmhEovUBRBnGuqc8zieIaygZlWqkt_lfBZ1jEByYdZy7TlmMKC20N3DDsKDoyvV0qoyOBbrSY9sagr99EGe64bpVDtd4IcCRetFbRhV3A_77IxeLIU3C9RutTZJu1me8o.fVLkOLQ4dslVpbCDGNygRGAoLY3-1GozkuuwHbQK3FU&dib_tag=se&keywords=high+structure+course+design&qid=1781025831&sprefix=high+structue%2Caps%2C350&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><b>book</b></a> on High Structure Course Design to learn more about backward design and LOs.</p><p></p><p>Check out Justin's <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://recombinanteducation.myshopify.com/" target="_blank"><b>card decks</b></a> to help with course design and student learning.</p><p></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://riverside.com/www.recombinanteducation.com" target="_blank"><b>Learn how you, your department, or your institution can work with Justin to improve STEM education together.</b></a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.recombinanteducation.com" target="_blank"><b>www.recombinanteducation.com</b></a></p><p> </p>
21 total episodes available
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- What is Recombinant Teaching: STEM Education Office Hours with Dr. Justin Shaffer?
<p>This is not your typical higher education interview podcast.</p><p></p><p><b>Recombinant Teaching: STEM Education Office Hours</b> is a call-in advice show dedicated to <b>YOU</b>, the instructors, professors, TAs, and administrators in the trenches of STEM higher education. Whether you are teaching a large gateway STEM course or a small senior seminar, this show is for you.</p><p></p><p>With over 13 years of experience and having taught more than <b>10,000 students</b>, your host, <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.recombinanteducation.com" target="_blank">Dr. Justin Shaffer</a>, has seen it all. Each week, he (and sometimes with guest co-hosts) unpacks your listener-submitted questions to provide practical and actionable strategies on STEM pedagogy, student success, academic careers, and everything in between. Let’s work together to keep on improving STEM education.</p><p></p><p><b>Have a question?</b> Click the <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.recombinanteducation.com/podcast/" target="_blank">"Submit a Question" link</a> to be featured on the show.</p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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