We found 553 results that contain "classroom engagement"

MSU's Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development has a great collection, "Resources for Difficult Dialogues in the Classroom" including but not limited to internal [to MSU] and external links on confrontation, bias, policies, and more. Here are a few of the resources:
The Art of Confrontation – COVID version

Prepared by Rick Shafer, Dean of Students Officehttps://remote.msu.edu/_assets/docs/The_Art_of_Confrontation_faculty_COVID_version.pdf

Bias Busters: Guides to Cultural Competence

Website Project of the MSU School of Journalism, College of Communication Arts and Scienceshttp://news.jrn.msu.edu/culturalcompetence/

IDI Education and Training Opportunities

Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusionhttp://inclusion.msu.edu/education/index.html

Ideas for Disciplinary Content

Compiled by the MSU Librarieshttps://www.lib.msu.edu/inclusiveteaching/

Office of Institutional Equity Policies

http://oie.msu.edu/

To My Professor: Student Voices for Great College Teaching

Book by MSU School of Journalism students and editor Joe Grimm, College of Communication Arts and Scienceshttps://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/09/12/new-book-advice-college-instructors-based-thousands-student-comments

Difficult Dialogues Guide

Annotated resources produced by Vanderbilt Universityhttps://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/difficult-dialogues/

Difficult Dialogues Handbook, Strategies and Resources

Resources produced by the University of Alaska Difficult Dialogues Project and the Ford Foundation

http://www.difficultdialoguesuaa.org/handbook
http://www.difficultdialoguesuaa.org/strategies_and_resources



Handbook for Facilitating Difficult Conversations

Resources produced by Queens College, City University of New York (pdf)Link to PDF document

Inclusive Practices for Managing Controversial Issues

Online document produced by Flinders University of Australiahttps://ofasd.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/TIPS_controversial.pdf

Inviting Dialogue

Resource produced by Clark University (pdf)https://ofasd.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ClarkUnivInvitingDialogue.pdf

Mindfulness and Discussing “Thorny” Issues in the Classroom (article)

Alexakos, K., Pride, L. D., Amat, A., Tsetsakos, P., Lee, K. J., Paylor-Smith, C., … & Smith, T. (2016). Mindfulness and discussing “thorny” issues in the classroom. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-015-9718-0 

Toolkit for Inclusive Learning Environments

Project by the Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins Universityhttp://guides.library.jhu.edu/TILE

Books Available from oFASD
To borrow any of the following titles, stop by 2W of the Main Library (across from the Digital Scholarship Lab). Some titles are available electronically on stable links through MSU Libraries.

Brookfield, Stephen D. The Discussion Book: 50 Great Ways to Get People Talking.    

Book via electronic access, courtesy of MSU Libraries


Chickering, Art (Foreword)   Encountering Faith in the Classroom: Turning Difficult Discussions into Constructive Engagement

Book via electronic access, courtesy of MSU Libraries


Landis, Kay (ed.) Start Talking: A Handbook for Engaging Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education.  

Book via electronic access


Nash, Robert J. How to Talk About Hot Topics on Campus: From Polarization to Moral Conversation.
Roderick, Libby. Stop Talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning and Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education.
Wheatley, Margaret J.  Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future

Book via electronic access



BIAS AND RACE
#Charlestonsyllabus

Resource produced by the African American Intellectual History Societyhttp://www.aaihs.org/resources/charlestonsyllabus/

#FergusonSyllabus

Resources produced by Sociologists for Justicehttps://sociologistsforjustice.org/ferguson-syllabus

Eight Actions to Reduce Racism in College Classrooms

Article by Shaun R. Harper and Charles H. F. Davis III from Academe  (pdf)https://ofasd.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/HarperDavis-EightActionsToReduceRacismInCollegeClassrooms.pdf

Learning to Talk about Race in the Classroom

Resource from Inside Higher Ed.’s Gradhacker (blog article)https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/learning-talkrace-classroom

Project Implicit (Implicit Bias)

Project by Harvard Universityhttps://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

Promoting Racial Literacy in Schools: Differences That Make a Difference

Book by Stevenson, H. C. (2013). Teachers College Press.

Responding to Incidents of Hate Speech

Webpage produced by the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning at the University of Michiganhttp://crlt.umich.edu/node/93036

Teaching Tolerance

Program of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Resources for K-12, but many transferrable ideashttp://www.tolerance.org/lets-talk

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

As a scholar and a clinician, Dr. Buchanan shared advice on how the MSU community and those who have experienced a traumatic event can stay informed while also protecting their mental health. Dr. NiCole Buchanan is a professor of ecological-community psychology at MSU and the Clinical Director and Founder of Alliance Psychological Associates, PLLC in East Lansing, MI.
https://psychology.msu.edu/news-events/news/media-after-trauma.html

Title: Incorporating Reflective Practices in Classrooms: Our Learning Assessment ModelPresenters: Salomon Rodezno, Dustin Petty (Bailey Scholars Academic Advisor, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources); Sarah Prior (Bailey Scholars Program Director, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Sociology Department, College of Social Science); Eric Abaidoo (Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources); Salomón Rodezno (Educational Administration, College of Education) A.L. McMichael (Director, LEADR; History and Anthropology, College of Social Science); Harlow Loch (Accounting Department, Eli Broad College of Business); Reva Durr (Educational Administration, College of Education); Guanglong Pang (Educational Administration, College of Education); Brandy Ellison (Center for Integrative Studies in Social Science, College of Social Science)Format: WorkshopDate: May 11th, 2023Time: 2:45pm - 3:45pmClick here to viewDescription:Reflective practices emotionally connect learners to their classroom experiences. This connection increases self-efficacy, retention, and integration of content. Incorporating reflective practices meaningfully into learning spaces and syllabi can be elusive given the substantive demands of the curriculum and the temporal limits of the semester. This workshop will address the benefits and challenges of using reflective practices as a central component of the assessment and/or grading processes. Bailey Scholars Graduate and Faculty Fellows will share their experiences using reflective practices in their classes within and beyond the Bailey Scholars Program.

 
 

 

 










 
Introduction
Academic integrity is critical in any teaching and learning environment, but with the move to more frequent online learning, this conversation becomes more important because of increased concern with student dishonesty on assessments, particularly exams. In this lesson, we will discuss how to promote a climate of academic integrity within your classroom. We will first examine factors that motivate students to cheat in courses. After that, we will examine strategies for minimizing academic dishonesty.
Why Students Cheat
Research shows that both students and faculty believe that cheating is more prevalent in online learning compared to face-to-face. However, many studies indicate this is not true and that cheating is no more common online than in person. Let’s examine some of the common reasons students turn to academic dishonest behaviors.
Many students enter courses with extrinsic motivation to succeed, meaning they are focused only on the end grade result and not the actual process of learning. When students tie their classroom goals to only a grade, they often view exams as not being valuable outside of a way to achieve a 4.0. Combine this view of assessments with the fact that grade competition is common, and the scenario for cheating becomes more attractive. For example, over half of medical school applicants will be denied admission, and admission prioritizes GPA, so grades are frequently a driving motivator for pre-med students.
Exam structure can also affect the likelihood of academic misconduct. When exams are high stakes, meaning they account for a significant percentage of the final grade, or cover a considerable amount of material, students are more likely to use dishonest behavior.
Student characteristics also play a role. Students may have test anxiety, preventing them from succeeding, so they rely on cheating. Students may also hold beliefs that the exams or the instructor are unfair, and so they see the effort they would put into studying as worthless. Finally, students may simply be unprepared for the exams.
There are also reasons related to academic integrity itself. An important issue discovered in integrity research is that there is a disconnect between faculty and student perceptions of what actions constitute cheating. Students will admit to dishonest behaviors, for example, asking a friend for their opinion on a question, but also claim they did not cheat, and that is because they do not view these actions as cheating. Research has also shown that students are more likely to cheat if they believe the consequences of being caught are minor.
Context Matters!
As we discuss these common reasons why students cheat, it is important to recognize that Spring 2020 was not a good example of online learning, student anxiety, or integrity. There was a significant increase in the number of faculty and student complaints regarding academic misconduct in the classroom, but the switch to emergency remote learning was challenging for everyone, and student actions in spring are not indicative of typical online learning experiences.
Strategies
Integrity Considerations
Managing discussions surrounding academic integrity can occur right at the beginning of the semester. When you inform students of the grading scale and exam dates, also mention the importance of academic integrity. Practicing integrity as a student is important for ethical practices in other courses and after graduation. Remind students about integrity expectations, particularly at the time of each exam or assessment.
Be transparent with your expectations. Define the behaviors you consider to be examples of academic dishonesty. If collaboration is allowed on some but not all assignments, make sure students understand those instructions. Likewise, explain to students the consequences of academic misconduct in your class, such as penalty grades and submission of an Academic Dishonesty Report.
Finally, have student sign an honor code or the Spartan Academic Pledge at the beginning of every assessment. Honor codes have been shown to decrease cheating particularly when they are used in a classroom or institution that promotes and values academic integrity.
Extrinsic Motivators
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an instructional framework that attempts to minimize barriers to allow for a diverse group of learners to all be successful in the classroom. One of the three main components of UDL is increasing student engagement in the course, which can result in an increase in intrinsic motivation and a decrease in extrinsic motivation.
Students are more likely to be engaged with content when they feel that the learning is valuable to their goals. By writing clear learning objectives for the course and having those objectives be relevant to student interests, it increases student participation and buy-in. This does not mean course content must only be limited to content students choose; it means by presenting the content chosen by the instructor as being valuable, students will become more motivated to participate. Explicitly explaining how the content of your course increases future success in another course or in a career path can motivate students that might not have seen those connections on their own. When students understand the broader purpose of a course or assessment, they are also less likely to complain about the work being unfair.
Integrating reflective or metacognitive assignments during the semester can also mitigate the effects of external motivators. These assignments allow students to think about their individual process of learning and can move focus away from getting a specific grade. Reflective work can help students self-assess their effort, determination, and persistence, and help them gain a growth mindset, which views errors and failures as learning opportunities.
Exam Structure & Student Considerations
There are multiple approaches that an instructor can take when managing exam structure, and some of these amendments can alleviate concerns related to the student characteristics as well.
Decreasing the amount of content that is covered on an exam and increasing the frequency of assessments can turn high stakes, high anxiety testing into something viewed as more manageable by the student. Additionally, deciding to make exams open book or collaborative will level the playing field for students since this removes some of the more traditional forms of academic dishonesty.
Allowing materials or collaboration, though, is more successful when exam questions are written to assess critical thinking or other higher-level skills. It is possible to write multiple choice questions that test problem solving. When this is accomplished, explaining how the assessment aligns with course learning goals and is relevant to student learning can help obtain student buy-in, which decreases the prevalence of cheating.
There are also ways to use D2L exam tools to reduce academic dishonesty during exams. Options such as selecting questions from a larger pool, randomizing questions and showing only one per page, and determining the appropriate amount of time for a student to complete the exam but not have extended time remain can take away opportunities for cheating.
Finally, scaffolding learning in the classroom with appropriate formative assessments provides students with opportunities for practicing skills and learning content. These activities will help students feel prepared when it is time for the assessment.
Conclusion
It should be noted that none of these strategies are guaranteed to stop cheating in the classroom. However, integrating these practices into your curriculum can decrease the likelihood of academic dishonesty. All decisions regarding assessment and integrity must weigh the risk of cheating with the overall effect on the course. The actions suggested here have been shown to decrease academic misconduct while also being equitable and creating a valuable educational environment.




 

 

 

 

So you've started to think about diversity, equity, and inclusion. You read DEI & Student Belonging and have reflected on your educator identity. But now you're wondering - how... how do I work to make sure my course is an equitable and inclusive space?

Start with your syllabus

Use the Interfaith Calendar when planning important dates for the course
Syllabus resources: The What and Why of a Syllabus, CELT Checklist Iowa State




Consider your course resources

Be mindful of choosing course materials (language, examples, photos) and whose voices you're highlighting
Older materials can be an opportunity to address DEI awareness over time


Think about your students

Pronunciation, pronouns & consistency
Consider everyone as individuals who are unique & don’t make assumptions about student identities (race, religion, orientation, gender)
Address growth mindset & possible anxiety


Be intentional in how you facilitate discussion

Establish ground rules, guidelines, norms
Use a random system for asking questions
Monitor so that no one dominates
Allow students to finish before responding
Avoid generalizations


Think critically about your communication

Language matters: avoid idioms, “common” figures of speech (CSU Inclusive Language Guide), abbreviations and acronyms should be explained
Use multiple forms of communication (seeing/hearing, and also explain key ideas in different ways)
Gather feedback from students 
Don’t assume quiet students don’t understand – there are numerous reasons why a student may not speak up


[Re]consider your classroom presentation/lecture/facilitation approach

Use gender neutral language and include varied examples
Promote a respectful classroom climate
Encourage participation (eye contact, wait time, talk with students outside of class)
Vary teaching methods to learning styles
Be very cautious of humor in class


Be intentional about setting up teams & group projects

Heterogeneous, but avoid tokenism
Check-in often
Use peer evaluations


Articulate assessment and evaluation expectations

Make sure your expectations are clear
Align your learning goals, content and evaluations



Photo by javier trueba on Unsplash

Community engagement can be a powerful tool for both connecting classroom learning to real life experiences and supporting community change efforts. In this our last post on community engagement in teaching, we want to address two questions: : 1) How can teachers attend to ethical concerns that may arise throughout community engagement projects?; and 2) How can teachers integrate routine reflection as a strategy to assess student learning throughout community engagement projects? Reflective activities create a critical space for us to capture the ethical issues arising with students and to reflect on our own ethical practice as instructors for community engaged courses. And we could not discuss ethical concerns without students being able to reflect about specific issues. For this last post in our community engagement series, we will focus on the ways we made sure to support student learning by exploring potential ethical issues and creating regular reflective opportunities.
Ethical Considerations When Engaging Communities
The ethical issues you must attend to are both community- and student-focused. Returning to  the community engagement spectrum from our previous two posts (Preparation and Implementation), the ethical considerations broaden as students become more immersed in communities. For example, we both had concerns about communities being exploited for the sake of students’ learning. To address this concern, Jenny (service learning) spent time with community partners prior to her course to gain an understanding about what would make the project meaningful to them and built mechanisms into the course to attend to those needs. Katie (photovoice) built guidelines for students’ photos into her photovoice rubric, spent time in class talking to students about ethical photography, and encouraged  students to ask questions they may have about their photos.
We both felt it would be unethical for students to engage with communities without first considering the impact their own identities and expectations on their work. We made sure students thought about privileged and oppressed identities, assumptions they hold  about communities that they might engage with, and how they might manage or interpret challenging experiences. Overall, we focused students on reflecting as an ethical imperative to ensure the experience worked well for community members and for students, but also as an assessment process to enhance student learning.
Reflection for Learning in Community Engagement
Reflection can be a useful tool for both students and instructors to more fully understand learning during community engagement activities. We both used multiple tools for reflection based in course objectives, both formal and informal, and creatively responding to the unexpected elements of this work. Below, we highlight how you can prepare to incorporate reflection into your community engagement efforts, along with some helpful tips for doing so that we derived from our own work
A) Reflect Flexibly Toward Course Objectives
If you’ve already elected to use community engagement as part of your course, you should consider how it will match up with course objectives. This can be very direct if you’re reading an article or bringing in a speaker about a particular topic, but may require more scaffolding if you’re integrating an experience like photovoice, service learning, or study abroad. Here, it’s essential to anticipate multiple student experiences of community engagement work. Make sure that reflection prompts are broad enough so that all students can participate, but still focused enough they are reflecting back toward the overall project and course objectives. For example, in Katie’s course, she had a full class dedicated to reflection incorporating definitions, examples and an assignment using a reflection tool called the “Ladder of Inference.” These activities taught students how to identify their own learning and thinking changed about particular issues, preparing to do deeper reflection in their photovoice project, and further connecting back to the overall course objectives of examining how concepts of power and oppression relate to social issues.
B) Reflect Informally and Formally
It’s essential to provide a spectrum of ways students can reflect on their learning. This spectrum builds a comprehensive culture of reflection in your course and provides multiple windows into student learning during community engagement and beyond. Providing informal reflection spaces help students build up to more formal, graded reflections on their work. These informal reflections could include short discussions, posing quick questions to students after explaining something, and/or having students keep a journal of their thoughts during community engagement work. And eventually building formal reflection into the course provides a culminating space for student to think about their learning across community engagement experiences. Final papers or projects can  provide a powerful picture of what students experienced and continue to validate both the community engagement work and the importance of regular reflection in connection to it. Whatever mixture of formal and informal reflection you decide on, make sure to integrate the results of the student reflection into your instruction moving forward. Through lectures and learning activities, demonstrate you’ve heard and are thinking about what students said.
C) Reflect Creatively
Reflective activities and assignments don’t have to fit within the bounds of traditional assessment strategies. There is plenty of room for creativity in setting up these activities.For example, Katie hosted a photovoice gallery in her classroom where students could explore their peers’ interpretations of the activity. Then, students had the opportunity to engage in discussion to reflect on what they’ve learned as a group from participating in the process. Doing this in both a big group and individually can speak to multiple learning styles. It also provides a space for students to generate new understandings of their experiences.
D) Reflect on the Unexpected
Realize that reflections may go beyond the scope of your course objectives and be prepared to facilitate learning that departs from expected directions. Community engagement can be both messy and beautiful. Leave space for unpacking the complexities.
We hope this series of blog posts helped remove some of the mystique regarding community engagement in the classroom. Getting students to connect course topics to what is going on around them can be rewarding and exciting! As you continue to consider incorporating community engagement into your own work, what ethical concerns do you need to consider? How important is reflection in your course? What reflective activities could you do to prepare your students for engagement and to assess their learning? We are always looking for new ideas so please share with us in the comments below!
 

 
Originally posted at “Inside Teaching MSU” (site no longer live): Gregory K. and Lawlor, J. Building Community Engagement into Your Course: Ethics and Reflections. inside teaching.grad.msu.edu

Title: Teaching English in Chinese way? International Engagement in a Writing CoursePresenters: Xinqiang Li (Dept. of Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures); Xinyu Wu (The Office of China Programs)Format: WTMCDate: May 11th, 2023Time: 1:30 pm - 2:30 pmClick here to viewDescription:This presentation will introduce an inclusive and innovative course model for international students. In Fall 2022, the Office of China Programs (OCP) in collaboration with the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures (WRAC) piloted a student-focused academic writing and mentoring course (WRA291) targeting MSU undergraduate students from Chinese-speaking countries and regions.Based on the instructor’s intercultural knowledge and experiences, the class tried to balance Chinese and Western perspectives in the curriculum, ranging from the arrangement of classroom practice to the selection of course materials. By familiarizing students with writing process and providing effective instructional scaffolding, the class tried to help students overcome their writing anxiety and develop academic writing skills. The course also invited 6 faculty from different colleges to mentor one to two students by providing individual assignment writing support. Through one-on-one conferences, the mentors customized their teaching according to students’ practical needs.The class supported an inclusive, and welcoming environment. It kept an open attitude towards students’ diverse cultures, and the supportive and vibrant environment created in the class has enhanced students’ motivation and inspiration, which has in turn helped them fully realize their potential. This course proved to be successful, meeting both the project goals and students’ expectation. The immediate outcome and impact on students’ success are demonstrated by various feedback from participating students and faculty as well as program evaluation. All these teaching efforts have enriched the course’s pedagogy and demonstrated how inclusion in a global education context can be put in practice.

Blended Learning Instructional Skills: In the Classroom was a workshop offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation (CTLI) presented by Jay Loftus and Ellie Louson. Below we have an outline, the workshop's takeaways, links to further resources, and to the slide deck and recording of our workshop. Please feel free to be in touch with Jay or Ellie with any follow-up questions about this topic.
OutlineThe seminar includes the following sections:

What do we mean by ’blended learning’?​
Design of blended learning​
Best Practices​
Strategies​ / Tips and Tricks
Wrap-Up​
Questions 

Takeaways

Importance of Explanations and Instructions – What? How? Why?​
Ensure that activities don’t become more important than the goals of instruction.​
Ensure activities adhere to equitable learning experiences – technical and social.

Further ResourcesOther blended learning resources from the CTLI (including a previous webinar) are available here.Slide DeckSildes from the workshop are available here which include many resources. Seminar RecordingThe recording of our 58-minute seminar is available below.Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash