Podcast on Joy Centered Pedagogy – Baldwin CLT Teaching Times

On Episode 566 of Teaching in Higher Ed, I had the pleasure of speaking with Eileen Camfield about her new book, Joy Centered Pedagogy in Higher Education: Uplifting Teaching and Learning for All. Eileen invited us to reflect on what it means to center joy in teaching—how curiosity, connection, and creativity can truly transform the experience for both students and educators.Before we got to joy, though, we acknowledged the pain that has permeated higher ed, especially since the onset of the pandemic. Eileen shared powerful stories about how students have disengaged, struggled with feelings of failure, and suffered in systems built around competition, hierarchy, and an often unexamined notion of “rigor.” We discussed how those issues were present long before COVID-19, and how academic culture sometimes equates effective learning with hardship and endurance, rather than fulfillment and growth.The episode offered space to question and resist norms that no longer serve us or our students, and to imagine new approaches—like Eileen’s own experience teaching stand-up comedy—that invite risk, authenticity, and real connection. Our conversation reminded me (and I hope, you) that joy is not just a fleeting feeling; it’s a renewable resource that emerges when we care for one another through both challenges and flourishing.