We found 82 results that contain "behavioral intervention"

(If you model civility, your students will too.)

Generate an atmosphere of trust.
Keep appointments and office hours.
Demonstrate enthusiasm for the course and the subject.
Review course expectations through the syllabus.
Consider asking students to establish rules of behavior.
Be responsive to student questions.
Provide quality feedback, consider grading rubrics.
Model inclusive language that acknowledges student differences.
Decrease anonymity by learning students’ names.


Encourage active learning.

 
Why civility?
Promoting civility in the classroom environment promotes a safe environment that is conducive to learning. An environment that is conducive to learning is one where students are able to focus on what is being taught – in other words to learn.
 
KNOW…
 
The Code of Teaching Responsibility
“Satisfaction of teaching responsibilities by instructional staff members (herein referred to as instructors) is essential to the successful functioning of a university. This University conceives these responsibilities to be so important that performance by instructors in meeting the provisions of this Code shall be taken into consideration in determining salary increases, tenure, and promotion.”
 
For the full policy, please visit:
http://splife.studentlife.msu.edu/regulations/selected/code-of-teaching-responsibility  
 
If you have questions,
Please contact the University Ombudsperson at ombud@msu.edu or (517) 353-8830

Strategies for Engaging in 
Dialogue Across Difference
 
Interrupting Bias: The PALS Approach
This is a methodology to use when you hear someone say something that may be problematic or hurtful to a specific group of people or yourself. The objective of this approach is to stay connected with the person and speak your truth clearly. 
 
Pause/Halt/Slow the conversation
Interrupt the flow of the conversation and let the speaker know you are interested in learning more about something they said – “Wait a second..”
 
Acknowledge/Ask
Ask for clarification, get curious, make sure you understand what the person said – “What I hear you saying is…” 
 
Listen to what the person said
Practice engaged listening in which you truly try to understand the meaning of what is being said.
 
Speak your truth/Share stories
Share your experience and/or learning. Tell stories, as they are shown to be more effective than data at reaching hearts and minds
 
How to Apologize:
Re-AACT
Reflect - listen to what others are saying is the harm done
Acknowledge responsibility for your actions
Apologize and DO NOT explain your intent
Change your behavior
Thank them for bringing this to your attention

Interested in participating in MSU Dialogues? 
 
Faculty & staff applications will open soon!
Email Jackie Heymann at heymannj@msu.edu to among the first to receive the application as soon as it opens.

This article is a component of the Resources for Teaching After Crisis playlist.
College Students: Coping After the Recent Shootingfrom the National Child Traumatic Stress Network [factsheet]This resource describes what college students might experience after a shooting. It includes types of reactions, and what they can do for themselves. 
Slowing Down For Ourselves and Our Students by Alex Shevrin Venet and Arlène Elizabeth Casimir, Heinemann Blog [blog post]Article emphasizing the need to slow down and interrupt the stress and trauma cycles that impact our health and affect our teaching; the dangers of teaching in “survival mode,” and the importance of slowing down to name and claim our stress experiences to better meet our needs.
Helping Teachers Manage the Weight of Trauma: Understanding and mitigating the effects of secondary traumatic stress for educatorsby Jessica Lander on the education research outreach site Usable Knowledge, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education [article]Describes the conditions for and risks of secondary traumatic stress (STS) for educators who work with students experiencing trauma. STS affects educators’ health, emotions, and work. Includes tips for how institutions can recognize and address STS risks.
Coping in the Aftermath of a Shootingresources from the American Counseling Association [article]This article has tips and resources specifically for those counseling others in the aftermath of violence. Counselors need to support themselves first, in a variety of ways, in order to be available to support others effectively.
Coping after Mass Violencefrom the National Child Traumatic Stress Network [factsheet]This factsheet is designed for a general audience to explain the possible reactions (feelings, thoughts, and behaviors) after experiencing mass violence and ways to cope.
Tips for Survivors: Coping With Grief After Community ViolenceSAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) [fact sheet]This fact sheet focuses on trauma and grief reactions in the aftermath of community violence, with specific description of grief response in children as well as suggestions for coping. It includes resources for further support (including hotlines).
Tips for Survivors of a Disaster or Other Traumatic Event: Managing StressSAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) [fact sheet]This fact sheet focuses on how to manage stress after experiencing a traumatic event. It includes resources for further support (including hotlines).
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

 
Citing Generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) in Higher Education Scholarship, Teaching, and Professional Writing
As generative AI tools like ChatGPT are increasingly used in academic settings—for teaching support, scholarly writing, and even faculty development—it's important to adopt citation practices that are centerend on ethics and that ensure clarity, transparency, and academic integrity. Below are structured guidelines across major citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago), tailored to the needs of university instructors, researchers, and students. A final section also offers examples of less formal disclosures appropriate for drafts, instructional materials, and academic development work. 
 
Note that as large language models continue to develop, it will become increasingly important to cite the specific model or agent that was used to generate or modify content. It will also be important to regularly revisit citation guidelines, as these, too, are rapidly evolving to meet the demands of the ever-changing AI landscape. 
APA (7th ed.) Style
Official Guidance:APA Style Blog: How to Cite ChatGPT
Reference Entry Template:Author. (Year). Title of AI model (Version date) [Description]. Source URL
Example Reference:OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (May 24 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/
In-text citation:(OpenAI, 2023)
Higher Education Example:When asked to summarize Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy for use in an introductory education course, ChatGPT stated that “self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief in their ability to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments” (OpenAI, 2023).
MLA (9th ed.) Style
Official Guidance:MLA Style Center: Citing Generative AI
Works Cited Template:“[Prompt text]” prompt. ChatGPT, Version Date, OpenAI, Access Date, chat.openai.com.
Example Entry:“Summarize Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy” prompt. ChatGPT, 24 May version, OpenAI, 26 May 2023, chat.openai.com.
In-text citation:("Summarize Bandura’s concept")
Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.)
Official Guidance:Chicago recommends citing AI-generated text via footnote only, not in the bibliography.
Footnote Example:


Text generated by ChatGPT, May 24, 2023, OpenAI, https://chat.openai.com.


Higher Education Example:


Used in a teaching statement to describe inclusive pedagogy practices. ChatGPT, response to “Give an example of inclusive teaching in STEM,” May 24, 2023, https://chat.openai.com.


 
Less Formal Disclosures for Transparency
In many instructional or professional academic contexts—such as teaching statements, reflective memos, informal reports, or early-stage drafts—it may be more appropriate to disclose use of generative AI tools in a narrative or parenthetical style rather than a formal citation format. Below are examples of how this can be done responsibly and transparently:
Examples of Less Formal Attribution:


“This draft was developed with the assistance of ChatGPT, which helped generate an outline based on course goals I provided. All final content was authored and reviewed by me.”


“In preparing this teaching philosophy, I used ChatGPT to help articulate distinctions between formative and summative assessment. The generated content was edited and integrated with my personal teaching experiences.”


“Some of the examples included in this workshop description were drafted with the help of ChatGPT (May 2023 version). I adapted the AI-generated responses to better align with our institutional context.”


“This syllabus language on academic integrity was initially drafted using a prompt in ChatGPT. The AI output was revised significantly to reflect course-specific values and policies.”


(Used in slide footnotes or speaking notes): “Initial ideas for this section were generated using ChatGPT and reviewed for accuracy and alignment with our campus policy.”


When to Use Informal Attribution:


Internal memos or reports


Course or assignment drafts


Teaching statements or portfolios


Slide decks or workshop materials


Informal educational publications (e.g., blog posts, teaching commons)


Best Practices for Academic Use in Higher Education


Transparency is key. Whether using a formal citation style or a narrative disclosure, always clearly communicate how AI tools were used.


Human review is essential. AI-generated content should always be edited for accuracy, nuance, inclusivity, and disciplinary alignment.


Tailor to context. Use formal citation when required (e.g., published research); use informal attribution for pedagogical artifacts or collaborative drafts.

The ISB202 course is asynchronous, and thus one of the main ways that the teaching team (i.e., the ULAs and instructor [Dr. Bierema]) interact with students is on the discussion board. This guide was created for ULAs, but much of it might also be helpful for instructors that are new to participating in a discussion board.
 
You can read more about the instructions provided to students as well!
How is Participation Different for a ULA vs. a Student?

In some ways, participation looks the same for a student or ULA, but the purpose of posting is different. As a student, the goal of participating (whether the student realizes it or not), is to engage with the material of the course in a meaningful way. As a ULA, it is to further discussion so that students engage with the material on a deeper level.
Some ULA posts may be representative of a student post. For instance, if students are posting about a specific topic and you know of a great resource for them to check out, the resource should be cited properly. This allows the students to see what a good post looks like.
Other ULA posts are different from a student post. For instance, sometimes we need to ask students to think more deeply or research an idea further. Although these posts would not count as a student participation post, they are essential for furthering that student’s engagement with the material.
Some types of posts may or may not be representative of a student post. For instance, if a discussion is moving off-track, then a student or a ULA may bring it back to the course objectives by asking a meaningful, detailed, possibly leading question. A student may do this, but they are not in charge of this. It is our responsibility as a teaching team to bring the discussion back to the course objectives.

Why Participate in the Discussion Board?

Interact with and form relationships with students.
Illustrate how to setup a meaningful and detailed post.
Move off-topic discussions back to course objectives.
Have students think more deeply about their posts.
Offer new information and new resources relevant to student posts.
Relate posts to what was covered previously in class or what will be covered in the future.
Encourage students to look up information rather than guess.

 
When do I Participate?

Start at the beginning of the discussion week. It can be overwhelming to start later in the week when there are so many posts.
Have the goal to participate more during the beginning than later in the semester (not vice versa). If we do a good job in our posts and feedback early on, then students should need less of our help later in the semester.
If the class is divided into multiple discussion board groups and there is more than one ULA, then self-assign yourselves to different groups and change it each week. Make a calendar to keep track.

 
How do I Format the Post?

Address the student and, if posting something for the entire class, also refer to the class.
Change the text color of the post. Everyone in the teaching team can use dark blue to make it clear which posts come from the teaching team.
Italicize components of a post that address the entire class. See examples throughout this document.
There may be a few students that posted something similar for which you would like to address. If so, acknowledge all of them in your post.

Example response:

Interesting point, [student], about using greenways to connect areas for nature. Although we tend to only think of paths being used by humans, there are also non-human animals that might use these paths. Class, do a little research and let us know which animals might benefit from having these paths and which ones might not benefit. Explain your reasoning and don’t forget to cite your sources. 





 
What do I Post?
The following is a list of different types of possible posts.

Request that the student think more deeply about their post and provide additional information.

Example response to one student:

Student initial post: My family does our best to limit of carbon footprint. We recycle more than we throw away, reuse as much as we can but aim to reduce our plastic consumption, and limit our mat consumption (I consider myself a flexitarian) There are still a lot of adjustments to be made. 
I really like the term "flexitarian," [student]! What are some ways that you and your family are working to reduce your plastic consumption?


Example response to the class:

Context: Students were posting generic concepts regarding ecological footprints.
[Student], you brought up an important point about how overwhelming it can be to make these steps. Some of the points brought up by others, such as remembering to turn off the lights or trying a vegan meal once a month, as [student] mentioned earlier, are things are not too drastic. Class, look back at your reflections- or if you haven't written one yet, consider this question: are the ideas that you brought up actually likely to happen? Which specific things could you start doing now that wouldn't be too costly or too life changing?


Provide a more specific question than what a student originally posted.

Example response:

Student’s question: “I wonder if in the United States they implemented more options in more places, if people would be less likely to litter.”
Great question, [student]! Class, do some research in your own area. What are the recycling capabilities in your area? Does it match what you see? Explain.


Re-route the conversation to class objectives with leading questions.

Example response:

Context: A course focus was on environmental impacts and a discussion on Covid-19 drifted off-topic.
Nice job [student] and others for relating the topics to a truly "current event." Class, how much has delivery increased during these times? How is that overall impacting the environment compared to the positives of so fewer people driving and less manufacturing? Do some research and get back to us!


Provide more information. Make the post representative of the ideal student post: cite properly and hyperlink as needed.

Example response without a citation:

Great point, [student], about avoiding plastic bags at grocery stores. This point, though, reminded me of another interesting point- Class, how have your behaviors that affect the environment been impacted by COVID 19? For instance, I have used reusable bags for years- this is why it got me thinking- but now many stores will not allow them during this pandemic. On the flip side of things, I live in Kalamazoo and used to commute to East Lansing three to five days a week, but since campus closed, I barely drive my car at all.


Example response with a citation:

Great point, [student], regarding how we also need to consider our impact on water when we are determining our ecological footprint quiz. There is actually a calculation for determining our water footprint! Class, check out the Water Footprint Calculator created by the Grace Communications Foundation (2020). What did you find out? Compare it to the ecological footprint quiz- why do you think those similarities and differences exist?











Citation: Grace Communications Foundation. (2020). Water footprint calculator [web interactive]. Retrieved from https://www.watercalculator.org/

Ask the class to think about topics in different ways.

Example response:

Context: Each student had to choose a specific stakeholder to represent, and after the first day of discussion everyone had chosen the same stakeholder.
Hi class,we've heard from a couple of "environmental scientists" now and they have opposing views. After reading through them and critiquing their explanations, what do you think? Would one area be better than another? Those that have written the posts from the perspective of an environmental scientist- what do you think? (Please note that I am not leading to one right answer- the goal is to evaluate the evidence.)


Admire and acknowledge a great post

Example response:

Interesting question, [student]- it takes the idea of our case study this week and really scales it up. I look forward to hearing students' responses!







How do I Build Relationships?

Address the specific student that you are replying to.

If more than one student posted a similar idea, then state all of their names.
Or, if it is more than a few students, use the person’s name for which you are replying and add “others” or “and other classmates.”
If posting a question to the entire class, then address the class, not just the student who you are responding to.
See the various examples in this document.


Acknowledge the good work that students do, such as participating early in the week.

Example response to a student that posted early and thoroughly:

Thanks for starting the conversation, [student]! [student] concluded that this greenway "would help all of the public in many ways."Class, which stakeholders are part of the "public" and which ones benefit from this greenway being between 2 and 5 (besides City Bicycling Club, as [student] thoroughly described)?


Example response to a student that posted a detailed question:

Great questions, [student]!Class, I look forward to your thoughts!


Example response to a student that posted a useful resource:

Thanks for sharing the infographic, [student]! I'm going to post it in the announcements so that students in all of the DB sections are aware of it!


Encourage students to bring in information specific to their discipline.

Example response:

Very interesting question, Sean! Any engineers in the class (or engineer enthusiasts)? How could Houston approach this problem? Feel free to bring in ideas learned from other classes!


If a student seems to be struggling with developing thorough posts, then send the student an email with the included post. Do not wait until grading the following week.

Example Email:

Thank you, [name], for participating in the discussion board. Although I noticed that you have already done a few posts, they are not quite yet demonstrating critical thinking. For instance, rather than posting that someone should look into a topic, do the investigation on your own. What did you find and where did you find it? Post a reply with your findings and citations and explain how it relates to what your peer posted. Please see the rubric on D2L for details on what we look for in posts and contact us if you have any questions. We are here to help!

Cornell University's "Getting Started with Managing Classroom Conflict" guide is a rich resource detailing how to navigate contentious situations in a classroom. One tip on that guide is to practice SOAR: Stop, Observe, Assess, and React. That guide does not elaborate on what implementing the SOAR technique look like in a classroom; here are my thoughts on what an educator might to do practice SOAR during a contentious classroom moment at MSU.Stop - Before speaking, pause to consider your physical, emotional, and intellectual position in the classroom. Consider the diversity of viewpoints among the students. Rarely will any classroom situation require immediate action. Taking even a brief moment to slow down helps to convey a sense of calm and purpose in any actions you do take.Observe - Take in the entirety of the classroom environment, including the posture and attentiveness of all the students. Make a mental note of the physical environment, should you need to usher students aside or guide students out of the space. Quickly determine where the agitation is in the room; sometimes students not directly involved in a conflict might react in unexpected ways. Use this moment of observation to evaluate what students you need to address directly.Assess - Determine if a response is merited in the immediate classroom setting. If possible diffuse the situation and address it with individuals outside of the classroom at a later time. Your goal in moments of conflict should not be to win an argument. Seek to understand and to be calm, modeling for students what civil discourse looks like. React - If immediate action is needed, state clearly that threats, violence, and harmful actions will not be tolerated.

Contact MSU DPPS if there are signs of imminent harm, violent threats, or weapons, or ask a responsible bystander to do so:

Emergencies: Call or Text 9-1-1
Non-Emergencies: Call 517-355-2221


If students are in a physical altercation with each other, use a strong, loud voice to say STOP. Often that verbal cue can be enough to cause beligerents to realise they need to redirect their emotions. Do not enter into an altercation yourself. Work to keep the situation from escalating. Calm heated emotions with a respectful tone.
Consider these sentence starters from "The Art of Coaching Teams: Building Resilient Communities that Transform Schools." 
Ideally you will reach a point of control and calm when you can indicate that opinions around contentious topics matter, but that the class also must go on.
Consider giving students an opportunity to write about their opinions or feelings about a conflict. If you are comforatble doing so, provide students a platform to share with the class the contents of that writing, encouraging them to seek to understand each other without expecting that everyone will agree.
Also if you are comfortable doing so, offer your office hours as a time where civil conversation about the matter can continue later on. 

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

AssessmentThis is the seventh article in our iTeach.MSU playlist for the Spartan Studios Playkit.
There are many options for assessment in your experiential course. In addition to assessing performance or content retention, you have the option to assess students’ holistic contribution, as well as to focus on engagement with the experiential process.
Assessment of Student Work

▶️Consider holistic and/or assignment level assessment. Will you be more focused on a holistic assessment, meaning their overall contribution and engagement with the course? There may be specific components of the course where assignment-level assessment is a better fit, eg. evaluating deliverables, specific performance, or content retention/mastery.
▶️You can assess team deliverables based on a rubric evaluating levels of quality with explicit descriptions for work that fails to meet, meets, or exceeds expectations. 
▶️Assessment should reflect both an opportunity for students to demonstrate mastery of knowledge as well as their ability to apply what they know to a novel environment/challenge. Some assessment methods capture intended learning outcomes; other methods should be designed to capture emergent learning outcomes.
▶️Whatever your choice of assessment, be upfront and transparent with your students about expectations. Keep feedback central; a focus on grades can interrupt student ownership, while a focus on feedback reinforces relationships and students’ sense of ownership (see our GORP model for details).

Assessment As Learning
In addition to assessment towards their grade, experiential courses offer opportunities for instructors and students to learn from the course processes and from each other.

How do students charge forward in a project and stumble into/ respond to barriers?
How can faculty follow student work, prototypes, collaborations, and goals with their expertise to coach students to their next sprint?
Assessment of your own coaching: are you modeling the role shift you want to see in students? If you want student groups to give good feedback to each other, are you demonstrating good feedback practices with other faculty in public so students can see how to do it?
Focus on feedback-rich classroom practices and formative assessment.

Evaluation of Process and Reflection
Give students the opportunity to reflect on their progress a few times during the project. Reflection leads to metacognitive moments, where students think about their own thinking, creates opportunities for deep learning, and can be transformative. This also helps you understand team dynamics and how students assigned work within their teams. Reflections can be written or more open-format, like art projects. Reflection prompts can be specific to your course as well as more general prompts about their learning experiences.
🔧Photovoice is a well-documented visual reflection tool used in qualitative participatory community-based research projects. MSU’s University Outreach and Engagement (engage@msu.edu) offers workshops about Photovoice. Here are some Photovoice resources including a Photovoice manual, a facilitator toolkit, an implementation guide, and an organizer’s manual.
▶️You can use reflections to:

evaluate project progress and topical knowledge
evaluate team communication
evaluate use of feedback
evaluate how individuals learn their way through challenges
evaluate student identity exploration

🔧Table of written vs. open-format reflections




Written reflections


Open-format/interpretive reflections




Pros 


Cons


Pros


Cons





Explicit framing of student feelings and growth 
Easier to standardize responses 
Good for maintaining student accountability of their own growth and experience




Potentially restrictive  to student expression 
Potential reduction in student ownership of content
Can resemble a traditional homework assignment, reinstates traditional power dynamics




Encourages student creativity and exploration 
Potentially the most honest representation of student experience 
Could facilitate more meaningful discussion 




Difficult to standardize and interpret 
Difficult to glean data from 
Harder to communicate expectations 





Sample prompt questions:

What strengths do you bring to your team? Are you using the strengths you anticipated using, or are new/different capabilities emerging as you work on your events?
What do you most appreciate about some of the other students in the course? Rather than naming names, identify characteristics, activities, behaviors, etc.
Has the course changed the way you are thinking about your work in the future? In what ways?
Are there things that you would change about the course? What suggestions would you make to the instructors for future classes?

Image by Shahid Abdullah from Pixabay