10 Teaching Challenges No One Trained You For

Teaching has always required flexibility. But today's educators are navigating challenges that barely existed when many of them started, including generative AI, widening preparation gaps, post-pandemic isolation, student mental health, digital literacy, politically charged classroom conversations, and questions about what a grade can actually certify.

In this episode of The What & Who of EDU, educators across disciplines share the teaching challenges no faculty handbook prepared them for. From finding the right balance with accommodations to helping students push past the first roadblock, supporting students without becoming their entire support system, and preserving deep thinking in an age of AI, these are the problems instructors are figuring out in real time. Because "expert in your discipline" was just the opening requirement.

Brought to you by Macmillan Learning

Episode Breakdown

[0:48] Navigating Accommodations: When to Flex and When to Hold the Line 

[3:18] Students Freeze at the First Roadblock

[5:20] When the Professor Becomes the Point Person

[7:55] There Is No "Average Student" Anymore  

[12:25] Students Are Here, But Not Really 

[15:08] When Familiar Material Suddenly Feels Political 

[17:55] When Students Don't Know Why They're Here

[21:30] Digital Natives Aren't Always Digitally Fluent 

[24:01] AI Makes Proficiency Harder to Prove 

[26:04] Teaching for Depth in an Age of Speed 

[27:51] What We Learned: The Job Description Is Never Finished 

Featured Educators

Dr. Christin Monroe is an Educational Research Associate at the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She previously taught Chemistry at Landmark College with a focus on supporting neurodivergent learners through inclusive and innovative teaching practices.

Jennifer Duncan is Associate Professor of English at Georgia State University's Perimeter College. Jennifer has been teaching English literature and composition for twenty-five years and specializing in online teaching for fifteen.

Betsy Langness is the Psychology Department Head at Jefferson Community and Technical College, where she has worked for more than 20 years. She teaches general and developmental psychology courses in a virtual, asynchronous environment.

Dr. Sara Lahman is a biologist, educator, and curriculum designer with over a decade of experience in STEM education, program development, and learning design. As a Professor of Biology at the University of Mount Olive, she's created courses that align student learning outcomes with professional and market needs.

Dr. Ryan Herzog is an Associate Professor of Economics, Program Coordinator, and Faculty Fellow at Gonzaga University, where he has been teaching for 16 years. His work focuses on macroeconomics, financial markets, and public policy.

Dr. Jennifer Ripley Stueckle has spent the past 17 years as a Teaching Professor and Non-Majors Biology Program Director at West Virginia University. She has taught introductory biology, immunology and human physiology. She also created biology courses offered through dual enrollment at West Virginia high schools.


Rebecca Whittaker Matte is a Professor of Education at Landmark College with over 30 years of experience supporting neurodivergent students in college and career transitions.. A champion of strengths-based approaches to learning, she helps students develop meta-cognition, self-awareness and self-advocacy skills so they can harness their natural strengths.  

Edward Lee, Ph.D., is an Instructional Associate Professor and Director of Service Laboratories at Texas A&M University in the Department of Chemistry. His research is related to synthetic organic chemistry and its application towards biological systems.

Dr. Erika Martinez is a Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida, where she has taught economics for 14 years. She's passionate about making economics accessible and engaging for all students and also teaches at UNC-Kenan Flagler Business School's MBA@UNC online program and Santa Barbara City College.

Dr. Kevin Revell teaches chemistry at Murray State University, with experience that spans high school, community college, and state flagship institutions. He is the author of several leading textbooks, including Macmillan Learning's Introductory Chemistry and General Chemistry.

What's the teaching challenge nobody trained you for?

Send us the one that belongs on your faculty-orientation bingo card, and share this episode with the colleague who's been figuring it out right beside you.