Welcome to the third episode of season five! In this episode we talk with Dr. Sharon Lauricella. Sharon Lauricella is the inaugural Teaching Scholar in Residence at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ontario. She holds a position as Full Professor in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities and is a scholar of Communication and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Sharon holds a doctoral degree from the University of Cambridge (UK), a BA from Wheaton College (Massachusetts), and a Certificate in Higher Education Teaching from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University. Her research focuses on teaching with technology, mental health of undergraduate students, and the value of fun and play in higher education.   🧶Key Takeaways:   Experimenting with alternative communication tools like Discord can enhance student engagement and collaboration. Designing thematic syllabi and incorporating diverse teaching methods can make the learning experience more interesting and impactful. Fostering listening skills is crucial in education and can contribute to building stronger relationships and communities.     🤖 Katbot's questions for further conversation 🤖 Sharon emphasizes that we don’t fully understand students’ perspectives unless we ask the right questions—how can we better design our professional development sessions to ensure we’re truly understanding the needs and challenges of teachers, rather than assuming we already know? My other question for you is Sharon mentions the unfiltered rawness of TikTok compared to Instagram—how can we create spaces in our school culture that encourage raw, unpolished feedback, and what risks would we need to manage in doing so?