We found 82 results that contain "adapt"

1. Review the feedback
You want to ensure students feel their feedback is valuable to you and the course, so keep your students abreast on where you are in the review process. Are you synthesizing data? Noting key themes? Maybe you're working on a way to present the anonymous findings back to your class. Regardless, review the data, share it back, and make a plan for change. 
 
2. Quick Tips on How to Interpret the Data 
Review our article on how to interpret the data. These tips are adapted from the Enhanced Digital Learning Initiative at MSU: Scott Schopieray (CAL), Stephen Thomas (Nat. Sci.) Sarah Wellman (CAL & Broad), Jeremy Van Hof (Broad). Additional sources: Faculty Innovation Center at University of Texas at Austin 
 
3. Discuss with a Colleague 
Review this article on debriefing with peers. 
There is a body of literature that indicates biases are real and problematic in students’ evaluation of teaching. The goal of this mid-semester instrument is not evaluative of the instructor, but instead is focused on feedback surrounding the learning experience. That being said, be aware that a host of factors including (but not limited to) gender, race, and subject matter, stress, and load can lead students to make statements that imprecisely reflect the actual quality of instruction.
We recognize it can be difficult to look past the most impassioned individual feedback and consider all the data holistically, but remember that the “loudest” voice or the longest comments may not reflect the overall feelings of learners. One helpful strategy is to have someone you trust read the comments before you do, then provide you their overall impressions and filter out any inappropriate remarks.  
 
4. Share with students the common themes surfaced in the data
When you collect mid-semester feedback, you are asking your students for feedback. You want to make sure they feel valued and heard, that they have a voice in your class space, and that their input isn’t being collected just “for show.” You should clearly indicate which elements of their feedback you will and will not act on (and why). We know that students who feel empowered and who see their voice reflected in class activities feel more engaged and are more likely to show positive learning outcomes.

Upsetting and sometimes tragic events that occur locally, nationally, or internationally can divert attention away from learning and teaching. In these situations, instructors are faced not only with the challenge of coping with the events personally, but also with the task of managing the responses of their students. In response to previous tragic events, the higher education community has developed resources to help instructors address the concerns of their students. 
Whether and how to broach the subject of a tragedy is always at the instructor’s discretion. However, as a most basic response, it can be helpful to acknowledge the event in class in a humane way to help students cope and focus on their coursework. Students can find a total lack of response from their instructors frustrating and disappointing. Furthermore, many students find it unhelpful for an instructor to say that the “class has to go on” or that “there is nothing we can do” without offering additional comment. An instructor need not hold a discussion about the event in class, especially if they feel it is unrelated to the class topic, or if they feel unprepared to have such a challenging discussion. However, there are simple teaching strategies which students find helpful during times of crisis (Huston and DiPietro, 2007): 

Up to date MSU Crisis Response Resources
Offer extensions to students who request them. 
Offer to add review sessions or to revisit class information at a later date. 
Allow a minute or two of silence before proceeding with the course material. 
Give students a few minutes to write their thoughts down about the event. Instructors don’t need to collect these writings; they can simply be placeholders for students’ thoughts so that they can focus on the course material. 
Read an inspirational passage. 

Remind students of support structures on campus which are equipped to manage students in stress or shock. MSU’s office of Counseling and Psychological Services offers a walk-in service for students who need help.
Additional details shared below compiled from various sources, and these should be applied with adequate consideration to the unique needs of each course section and students.
Take time to talk as a group or class.
Consider providing an opportunity at the beginning of a class period. Often, a short time period is more effective than a whole class period. This serves the purpose of acknowledging that students may be reacting to a recent event, without pressuring students to speak. Introduce the opportunity by briefly acknowledging the tragic event and suggesting that it might be helpful to share personal reactions students may have.
Have students discuss “facts” first, then shift to emotions.
Often the discussion starts with students asking questions about what actually happened and “debating” some details. People are more comfortable discussing “facts” than feelings, so it’s best to allow this exchange for a brief period of time. After facts have been exchanged, you can try to shift the discussion toward sharing personal and emotional reactions.
Invite students to share emotional, personal responses.
You might lead off by saying something like: “Often it is helpful to share your own emotional responses and hear how others are responding. It doesn’t change the reality, but it takes away the sense of loneliness that sometimes accompanies stressful events. I would be grateful for whatever you are willing to share.”
Respect each person’s dealing with the loss.
Some will be more vocal or expressive than others with their feelings and thoughts. Everyone is affected differently and reacts differently. Some may view events at least in part from the perspective of their discipline and/or background. Be aware that the presence of someone in our classroom who is evidently from a different background or who has a different relationship to crisis events will alter the dynamics of the classroom. We must be aware that differences (such as religion or nationality) are not always obvious or visible. The challenge is to create a meaningful, educational dialogue without creating an uncomfortable situation for any student. All students must feel that it is truly safe to express their thoughts, but they must do so with reasonable courtesy and willingness to allow that there are other valuable points of view.
Allow freedom of participation.
If students feel uncomfortable during class discussion, allow them to leave. If they feel coerced into the conversation, then they are likely to withdraw from the conversation or guard closely what they say. .
Acknowledge both verbal and non-verbal communication.
In a discussion or conversation, silence can make faculty feel uncomfortable, but silence and other non-verbal behaviors can be just as vital to a productive conversation as words are. It is tempting to fill silence with variations on the question asked, but doing so can inhibit students’ abilities to think through the issue and to prepare to share their thoughts with their classmates. If students repeatedly need extremely long silences, however, faculty should invite conversation as to why students do not feel comfortable sharing with their classmates.
Be prepared for blaming.
When people are upset, they often look for someone to blame. Essentially, this is a displacement of anger. It is a way of coping. The idea is that if someone did something wrong, future tragedies can be avoided by doing things “right.” If the discussion gets “stuck” with blaming, it might be useful to say: “We have been focusing on our sense of anger and blame, and that’s not unusual. It might be useful to talk about our fears.”
It is normal for people to seek an “explanation” of why the tragedy occurred.
By understanding, we seek to reassure ourselves that a similar event could be prevented in the future. You might comment that, as intellectual beings, we always seek to understand. It is very challenging to understand “unthinkable” events. By their very natures, tragedies are especially difficult to explain. Uncertainty is particularly distressing, but sometimes is inevitable. It is better to resist the temptation to make meaning of the event. That is not one of your responsibilities and would not be helpful.
Make contact with those students who appear to be reacting in unhealthy ways.
Some examples include isolating themselves too much, using alcohol excessively, throwing themselves into academics or busy work in ways not characteristic of them, etc.
Ask a professional counselor to come and talk to your students.
Students may experience such feelings as shock, sadness, anxiety, and suffering which may be better addressed by a trained counselor. Trained professionals can accurately interpret student responses and actions, collaborate with you to identify student concerns and needs, implement referrals, and establish a follow-up course of action. In addition, the counselor can assist you to develop strategies to successfully navigate through the remainder of the academic year.
Find ways of memorializing the loss, if appropriate.
After the initial shock has worn off, it may be helpful to find a way of honoring and remembering the person in a way that is tangible and meaningful to the group.
Make accommodations as needed, for you and for the students.
Many who are directly affected by the tragedy may need temporary accommodations in their workload, in their living arrangements, in their own self-expectations. It is normal for people not to be able to function at their full capacity when trying to deal with an emotional situation. This is the time to be flexible. Adapt your syllabus for the week following the crisis to accommodate reduced workload. Modify expectations to meet current conditions and provide additional time and support for student learning.
Thank students for sharing and remind them of resources on campus.
In ending the discussion, it is useful to comment that people cope in a variety of ways. If a student would benefit from a one-on-one discussion, you can encourage him or her to make use of campus resources.
Give yourself time to reflect.
Remember that you have feelings too and thoughts about what occurred, and these thoughts and feelings should be taken seriously, not only for yourself, but also for the sake of the students with whom you may be trying to work. Some find it helpful to write down or talk out their feelings and thoughts.
Take care of yourself.
Engage in healthy behaviors to enhance your ability to cope with stress. Eating well, resting, and exercising help us handle stressful situations more effectively and deal with students and their needs.
Come back to the feelings as a group at a later time.
It is important to acknowledge the adjustments people have made. Just because everything seems to be back to normal does not mean that everyone has finished having feelings about the loss.
When in doubt, consult your department chair.
If you think a particular course topic or course activity could result in unintended responses from students, please consult your department chair on planning alternatives.
If you choose to discuss the tragedy in class, set up discussion structures that support the emotional and psychological safety of students in the class. 
 
Adapted from IUB Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning & NIU Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning with special thanks to Virginia Tech’s Cook Counseling Center, NIU’s Counseling and Student Development Center, Western Kentucky University’s Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching, and Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching. 
 
References 
Huston, T. A., & DiPietro, M. (2007). In the eye of the storm: Students perceptions of helpful faculty actions following a collective tragedy. In D. R. Robertson & L. B. Nilson (Eds.) To Improve the Academy. Vol 25. Resources for faculty, instructional, and organizational development (pp. 207-224). Bolton, MA: Anker. 

The following are a collection of publicly sourced articles related to the recent rise of artificial intelligence in everyday applications. 
note: following each [hyperlinked] title/subtitle are abstracts generated by ChatGPT after receiving prompts from M. Neal. "Write an abstract for [article link]" is indicated with [URL] abstract. "Write an abstract for [article text]" is indicated with [text] abstract. These very similar prompt-responses are shared consecutively in the hope that reading the abstracts will showcase the variations in ChatGPT output (despite similar input). 
Robots Are Writing Poetry, and Many People Can’t Tell the Difference
Machines are putting out astonishingly human writing. What does that mean for the future of art?
[URL] abstract: "AI Poetry" is an article published by The Walrus which explores the use of artificial intelligence in the creation of poetry. The piece delves into the potential of AI to generate poems that match human-like creativity, emotions and imagination. It also highlights the limitations of AI-generated poetry and raises questions about the future of poetry in an increasingly digital world. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of AI's impact on the art of poetry and offers insights into the role that human poets will play in the coming years.
Critical Ai: Adapting College Writing For The Age Of Large Language Models Such As Chatgpt: Some Next Steps For Educators
Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are sophisticated statistical models that predict probable word sequences in response to a prompt even though they do not “understand” language in any human-like sense. Through intensive mining, modeling, and memorization of vast stores of language data “scraped” from the internet, these text generators deliver a few paragraphs at a time which resemble writing authored by humans. This synthetic text is not directly “plagiarized” from some original, and it is usually grammatically and syntactically well-crafted.  
From an academic integrity perspective, this means that “AI”-generated writing  
1) is not easily identifiable as such to the unpracticed eye;  
2) does not conform to “plagiarism” as that term is typically understood by teachers and students; and  
3) encourages students to think of writing as task-specific labor disconnected from learning and the application of critical thinking.
last updated on 02/01/2023

In addition to caring for your own well-being and openly acknowledging a tragic event with your students, there are a number of tangible ways instructors might consider modifying their syllabus or lesson plans immediately after a crisis. This resource contains examples of policies and adaptations you may consider. These are not meant to be read as recommendations that every instructor should adopt, but rather as possibilities that instructors can individually assess and adapt to their own teaching context.
When modifying your course policies or syllabus after a crisis, it is helpful to keep a few basic principles of trauma-aware pedagogy in mind. The overarching aim of these principles is to cultivate a sense of safety in the classroom, especially when this sense has been disrupted by traumatic events. Some key principles of trauma-informed teaching include:

Empathy - take time to understand what students are experiencing, and allow them to process those experiences together
Flexibility - be patient, and forgiving with students if they aren’t able to progress through the course as you initially imagined they would.
Autonomy - give students choices that can help them feel in control
Clarity - reduce unknowns by over-communicating about what will stay the same and what will change as a result of the event
Transparency - be transparent about why you chose to respond to the event in the way that you did
Consistency - be as predictable and reliable as possible, perhaps leaning on existing classroom habits or routines to create a sense of familiarity

Next, you will find concrete examples of ways you might consider embedding these principles into your class.
Modifying the Course Content/Timeline

If classes are canceled due to a crisis, communicate to students where you plan to pick up after classes resume.
Consider pushing the course plan back a week rather than asking students to prepare for two weeks at once (e.g., the week that was missed and the current week). Then identify a week’s content to skip later on, if possible.

Explain to students why you chose to cut that section and provide a few resources for them to study on their own if they’re interested.
Revise assessments accordingly so that students aren’t evaluated on material not covered.


Review your course learning goals and think about what is truly necessary and what can be left out this time. Students’ cognitive load will be reduced after a crisis and class time might be better spent focusing on a few key topics rather than trying to get everything covered.
Reduce the quantity of readings and other work required for students to prepare for class where possible.

Modifying Assessments

Consider emphasizing low-stakes formative assessments like in-class activities and discussion posts over high-stakes summative assessments like quizzes and exams. This could be done by allowing students to choose to weight their formative assessments more heavily or by making certain summative assessments optional.

Reduce anxiety of high-stakes tests by making them take-home, or allowing students to choose a certain number of questions or problems on an existing exam to respond to as opposed to taking the entire thing.


Consider grading certain assessments pass/fail.
Make sure to revise assessments to ensure they don’t evaluate students on material that may have been skipped or not covered in detail due to an altered schedule.
Consider giving students options about how and when to complete existing assessments.

For example, allowing them to work individually or in groups. Or allowing them to submit in various formats (written, video, audio, creative, etc.)
Create new deadlines for existing assessments in conversation with students.


If using grading rubrics, consider how to adjust expectations in light of the situation, and communicate any changes to students.

Modifying Late Work Policies

Consider removing late work penalties, where possible. Ask students to stay in touch with you if they need an extension.
Give students the option to throw out a certain number of assessments, or for certain assessments to be graded pass/fail.

Modifying Attendance and Participation Policies

Consider dropping or loosening any required attendance policies. For example, increase the number of days that can be missed before incurring a penalty. You may decide to ask students to email you or their TA, when possible, if they need to miss class. Make explicit that they do not need to provide a reason for missing class.
Clearly explain to students what they need to do to make up for any classes they may miss. Try to be respectful of students’ cognitive load as you create this policy so that work doesn’t pile up when they miss class.
Consider giving everyone full credit for the “participation” score of their grade, or provide students with a variety of options about what will count as participation, especially for those who do not feel like speaking in class.


 
This resource was created by Michael McCreary. It is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

The ideal learning expereince fosters thoughtful discussions between educators and students. These collaborative conversations, dialogues, and even debates can empower students to develop and grow their ideas and perspectives. It is important to remember that conflict is normal, and there are effective [healthy] ways to navigate difficult conversations with your students. By adopting an open and proactive approach to conflicts, you can reduce the frequency with which conflicts arise and their impact. Here are some strategies to help you both prevent and manage conflicts in your teaching:
Preventing conflicts

Be credible. Credibility is built from the first day of class and is continually judged throughout the term. On the first day, establish your credibility by providing some background information about your experience with the subject matter, your experience as a student, your research, etc. Show that you are focused and prepared. Keep this up throughout the term by coming to lectures prepared and sharing your lecture goals with your students. Organization, enthusiasm, solid knowledge of the content, and fairness all help to build and maintain credibility. Finally, you do not need to be perfect to be credible. If you make a mistake or don’t know the answer to a question, acknowledge the situation and focus on ensuring that the students get access to the required information as soon as possible. Defensive reactions tend to build conflict instead of preventing it.
Set clear expectations. Provide expectations from the start, both by writing them in your course outline and stating them in class. You can describe the goals of the course and outline roles for you and your students. You can also clearly emphasize your expectations for student behaviour and the consequences for prohibited behaviour, stressing mutual respect as a rationale for any ground rules. You can also include University policies towards certain behaviours (e.g., plagiarism) in your course outline. What this looks like in practice:

Listing expectations in your course syllabus. 
Discussing the expectations in class at the beginning of the semester. 
Reminding students of the expectations throughout the semester when teaching and during office hours.


Develop rapport and listen for understanding. Strengthening your relationships with students can help prevent conflict. Students work better when they feel that their instructors care about them; therefore, try to reduce anonymity and use students’ names whenever possible (e.g., in lectures and when grading assignments or papers). Be present a few minutes before and after class to answer questions and chat with the students informally. If students feel comfortable sharing their concerns with educators, every effort should be made to take those opportunities to listen. Employ these tips for productive conversations: 

Enter conversations with an open mind. 
Recognize that there may be something going on in the student’s life outside of academics that is impacting them. 
Express empathy for how a student’s life experiences can impact their behavior. The student’s reaction may differ from your interpretation of the conflict. 
Acknowledge and validate the student's feelings by listening fully without judgment. 
Help the student feel heard and valued by asking questions to clarify what they are trying to say. 


Use a dynamic teaching style. Good presentation and facilitation skills as well as enthusiasm for your teaching are assets that will keep students’ attention focused and help prevent distracting classroom behaviour such as lateness, talking, sleeping, etc. Using interactive teaching methods also helps to prevent distracting behaviours by involving students in the lecture.

Responding to conflict situations
Not all conflicts can be avoided with proactive measures. The following six steps describe a flexible response to many conflict situations. To practice implementing these steps, remember a conflict you have experienced and think about how these steps could be adapted to help you respond to that situation.

Don’t take it personally (but reflect on your impact). Conflict situations can make the participants feel upset, threatened, frustrated, and/or angry. These emotional reactions are unpleasant and they can interfere with your ability to respond constructively. Educators are in a position of authority when dealing with students and how you react/respond matters. Be aware of the power dynamic and take responsibility for initiating the conflict resolution process. Help to control your emotional responses to challenging situations by changing your perceptions of them. Due to this power imbalance, there may be times when your intentions do not align with your impact. Take steps to evaluate your actions and rectify the situation. What this looks like in practice:

Reframe your reaction...think to yourself, “That student is really upset – I wonder what the problem is?”, or “This is a distraction that needs to be addressed.”
Consider the impact of your words and actions on students.
Ask yourself if your message or delivery was disproportionately demanding or hurtful. 
Take responsibility for the harm caused and discuss actions you will take in the future to ensure it does not happen again.  You can serve as a role model by showing students a positive example of taking ownership of your impact and working to repair harm.
Ask yourself if you are the best person to discuss the situation with the student. Would other faculty, staff or students be better suited to respond? Sometimes asking for help to initiate a difficult conversation can be beneficial.





Choose when and where to deal with the situation. Responding immediately to student concerns, distress and inappropriate behaviour demonstrates that you are attentive to your students’ needs and reinforces your expectations for student behaviour. For example, if students are noisy in class you can respond immediately by pausing until you regain the students’ attention, making eye contact with the disruptive students, or asking if there is a problem you can help resolve. Some situations can not be fully addressed immediately. For example, addressing a serious disagreement in class can distract the students, undermine your authority and take time away from the planned learning activities. The best response can be to note that there is a situation that needs to be resolved and suggest when and where it might be further investigated. Try to be attentive to both your needs and the student’s situation when picking the time and place. If you sense that a student is intimidated by authority, you may want to meet in a neutral location, like a conference room, rather than in your office. By meeting at an appropriate time and place, you can facilitate open communication between yourself and the students.


Follow up, listen, and find common ground. When you meet with students, indicate that you are interested in hearing their perspectives by keeping a positive tone, and asking them open-ended questions, like “What part of the marking do you see as unfair?” When the students explain their situation, really listen: focus on their communication, don’t interrupt, and let them finish. Consider asking:

What outcomes do you and the student each hope come from the resolution? 
How can you and the student work together to meet each other’s needs? 
What steps can you and the student take to achieve these goals? 



Check your perception. It’s very easy to misinterpret someone, especially if either of you are at all emotional. To ensure that you understand your students, you can check your perception of their accounts by describing your understanding and asking them to correct any misinterpretations or elaborate on anything that you find unclear. When describing your understanding, reframe their points as positive comments using non-blaming words. For example, “If my group members think they can do this to me again, they’re mistaken!” can be rephrased as “It’s important to you that your rights are respected.” Rephrasing the problem reassures the students that you are listening to them and it ensures that all the parties understand the problem. You can also ask lots of open-ended questions until you have enough information to understand the problem. Ideally, the feedback process would end when the students’ comments and body language confirm that they are sure that you have completely understood their message.


Select and explain your position. Now that you understand the students, you are in a good position to select a course of action. Be sure to choose an action that is in line with your teaching goals for the course. Tell the students what you have decided and give them your rationale for your decision. For example, when responding to a mark dispute, you might choose to review the assignment with the student by making reference to the marking criteria. In explaining your position, you might want to show an example of an assignment that better meets your expectations.


Discuss next steps and document your decision. When you have explained what you have decided to do, you can discuss possible next steps with the students. Finally, in many cases, you will want to document your decisions and, where appropriate, the information upon which you have based your decision.

If your plan of action requires follow-up on your part, you may want to briefly explain the process. For example, if you agree to review an assignment, you might want to indicate when they can expect to receive your comments.
You may want to direct students to other resources on campus, including counseling or health services, to get support and/or documentation.
If the students are not satisfied with your decision, it is good practice to direct them to an appropriate avenue for appeal (e.g., department chair).



Responding to highly emotional students

Schedule an appointment. If a student is too emotional to communicate his or her situation, it may help to schedule an appointment for a later time. This delay gives both parties a chance to calm down and to review the problem.
Open your door. This gives a chance for neutral, outside observers to witness the event. Leaving the door open protects both the student and the instructor.
Acknowledge behaviours and emotions. You may want to recognize the student’s emotional state at the beginning of your meeting. For example, you could say, “I can see that you are really upset. Can you tell me what you find especially frustrating?” If a student’s behaviour becomes inappropriate, point it out to the student.
Get assistance. If you don’t know how to approach a conflict situation, get assistance from a colleague or one of MSU's relevant offices (IDI, Ombudsperson, CTLI). If a student becomes very aggressive or threatening, contact the Michigan State Univesity police.
Keep others informed. If you are concerned that a difficult situation is developing, consider notifying others immediately. For example, if you are a teaching assistant, you could notify the instructor, the department chair, and the Graduate School GTA-Development staff.

Ineffective ways to deal with conflicts

Conquest. Trying to win an argument will turn a disagreement into a battle for dominance. Intimidation tactics can cause students to challenge you further and discourage their participation.
Avoidance. Ignoring problems does not make them go away.
Bargaining. Compromise can be a laudable way to resolve a conflict, but not when your teaching objectives get subverted by the resolution process. For example, asking a student to be less disruptive in class in exchange for a better grade on an assignment rewards unacceptable behaviour, harms your credibility, and is unfair to your other students. Make sure that your response to conflict situations is consistent with your teaching and assessment goals and is equitable to all in your course.
Quick fix. A band-aid solution, like changing a grade to get rid of a student, can not solve a conflict. This strategy also rewards unacceptable behaviour, harms your credibility, and is unfair to other students.

Thank you to colleagues in university educator development at the Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo, the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Colorado Boulder and others for their materials that informed or were adapted into this resource. Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

Topic Area: Pandemic Pivot
Presented by: Ashley Maloff, Jennifer Montague
Abstract:
This presentation will discuss how the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) adapted services to support students with disabilities when classes became remote due to COVID-19. We will provide information on common accessibility issues for students, both pre-COVID and now, and discuss the critical role faculty play in the student accommodation process. We will review the process for registering with the RCPD and the steps taken to determine reasonable accommodations. We will cover what is a reasonable accommodation and how to communicate with students about VISA accommodations.The presentation will also provide an overview of the innovative services offered by the RCPD to meet student needs during the pandemic. We will discuss the collective efforts of the RCPD staff to respond to student requests for more connection. These programs include peer mentoring, community building, and an enhanced program for incoming freshmen with disabilities.

This article is a component of the Resources for Teaching After Crisis playlist.
Mental Health Resources

American Psychological Association
American School Counselor Association 
African American Therapist Database 
School Crisis Recovery and Renewal 
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network 

The NCTSN has prepared resources in response to the MSU incident here


GLSEN
Adapted from materials curated with love and solidarity by Kaitlin Popielarz, PhD  Dr. Popielarz is an MSU alum and you can contact her at: kaitlin.popielarz@utsa.edu

Project Title: Opening New WindowsProject Leads: Sunil Kishore Chakrapani and Jenifer Saldanha





College/ Unit:







Department of ECE, College of Engineering and Biological Science Program, College of Natural Sciences








 














 











Elevator Pitch:Quick response or QR codes are machine readable (typically by smart phone/tablet cameras) systems similar to bar-codes that can contain information within the image. They are used to provide an easy, fast and concise way to connect to information via the internet. QR codes are used in stores as payment options, and to display information, especially becoming commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic. This project explores the use of QR codes in improving the delivery of instructional content in engineering and biology laboratories. The specific objective of this project is to implement QR code-based instruction strategies for laboratories, which will help to make “lab-manuals” more accessible and engaging. Standard laboratory manuals can be overwhelming due to clutter and overloading of information. Students can find it unengaging, and accessing specific information can be challenging. This project will utilize sequentially programmed QR codes placed at different locations in the lab to “walk” students through experimental procedures. The QR codes will be linked to interactive web pages which will display the course content in an engaging manner. When students want to find information regarding a specific instrument or experimental protocol, they can simply scan the associated QR code which will lead them to the information along with a video of how it works. This project also employs this QR code concept to design interactive assessments. Students will answer questions by identifying and scanning the correct QR codes. Team Bios: Dr. Sunil Kishore Chakrapani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in both departments in the topics of computer aided manufacturing, and mechanics. His research interests include use of ultrasonics for nondestructive evaluation. Dr. Jenifer Saldanha is an Assistant Professor in the Biological Sciences program in the College of Natural Science. She is the Curriculum Coordinator for introductory molecular and cellular biology labs. Her broad research interests include student success and retention in STEM disciplines, life science education research, and stress biology.What are some of the successes?QR coded links for videos and initial course content were embedded in HTML pages and these work well. The use of sequential QR codes for activities was tested and we found that these work well and smoothly. QR coded assignments were developed for the lab and they work as expected. What are some of the challenges that you have experienced on this project?The QR coded assignments work for the engineering lab, but will require more time and effort to adapt for the biology lab. Web design requires a lot of effort. Using the tools from this project requires a smooth web interface. In the future, it’ll be great if the project resources can be used for web design and development in the form of undergrad hours. Supply chain issues delayed our ability to order tablets for the courses.Image attribution:QR Code for Object Taggingby preetamrai is licensed under CC-BY-2.0