We found 320 results that contain "classroom observation"

Robots Talking to Robots
5 ways to fix online discussions
We have long touted the discussion board as a way to build community in virtual classrooms: Pose a question in a thread. Two points for a post, one point for a response. These perfunctory interactions are at most an assessment of knowledge, but hardly ever the critical analysis that leads to productive conversation.
And now, with a quick copy and paste to an LLM, students can post and respond with even less effort.

In this post, I’ll give you five ways to implement human authentication to mitigate discussion posts becoming conversations between AI. Then, I'll address some general pedagogical considerations for online discussions.
Only Replies
The instructor initiates the discussion with an opening post. Students can only reply to the previous response, simulating a natural conversation. Each reply should conclude with a question or statement that encourages further dialogue.
Optional: Award points based on the engagement generated by each student's post.
Human Aspect: This approach makes it challenging to simply copy and paste responses. Students must carefully consider how their replies will stimulate ongoing discussion.
In our recent lecture on social stratification, we discussed the concept of social mobility. Consider the factors that influence upward social mobility in contemporary society. What role does higher education play in this process? You may only reply to subsequent replies. Try to end each reply with a question or a statement that others can respond to.
Source Search
The instructor provides a specific topic from class, and students must find a relevant source that meets given criteria.
Optional: Students can include a quote from their source and explain its connection to the topic.
Human Aspect: While AI tools can find sources, they often struggle with relevancy, accurate quotations, and may even hallucinate information.
Find a peer-reviewed article published in the last two years that discusses the impact of climate change on Michigan's freshwater ecosystems. Your post should include the article's title, authors, publication, and a brief summary of the findings. How do these findings relate to our recent field trip to the Red Cedar River?
Multimedia
Students post video or audio files in discussion threads instead of written responses.
Optional: Have students experiment with MSU supported tools like Flip, Mediaspace, or Camtasia.
Human Aspect: This format allows students to present their natural selves, showcasing personality and communication skills that are difficult for AI to replicate.
Create a one minute video response to today’s lecture, or post an audio response to another student’s video.
Learning Reflections
Students reflect on their progression through a concept or discuss aspects of the course they find challenging.
Human Aspect: These personal reflections on the learning process are unique to each student's experience and difficult for AI to authentically generate.
As we conclude our unit on stereochemistry, reflect on your learning journey. Discuss concepts you initially struggled with, moments of clarity, and areas where you still have questions. How has your understanding of molecular structure and its importance in organic reactions evolved?
AI Critique
The instructor posts an example provided by an LLM and asks students to critique the information.
Optional: Students use AI to critique AI-generated content, and then reflect on the patterns they observe.
Human Aspect: This exercise encourages students to analyze how generated text compares to their own work or the course material in general, fostering conversation about AI's capabilities and limitations.

“All news outlets should transition to fully AI-generated content. AI can produce articles faster and more efficiently than human journalists, covering a wider range of events without bias. This change would allow for 24/7 news coverage while significantly reducing operational costs.”
Analyze the above AI-generated statement about AI in journalism. Identify any biases, oversimplifications, or logical flaws. Then, use an AI tool of your choice to generate a critique of this statement. Compare your analysis with the AI-generated critique. What patterns or differences do you notice?

Why are We Using Discussion Posts Anyway?
At MSU, discussion forums on D2L Brightspace allow students to post and reply. This is an asynchronous discussion; an online bulletin board that simulates the same level of conversation as a Reddit post. But without a clear objective to link the activity, discussion posts just end up being public knowledge checks. Which begs the question, why not just have students submit an assignment?
It is an intimate thing to share our work, and students are more likely to turn to AI if their work is reviewed publicly. Consider then, that discussion posts do not build community, but a classroom community can use discussions to achieve collaboration-based objectives. Some examples of collaboration objectives include:

Practice giving and receiving constructive feedback.
Engage in peer-to-peer learning by responding to classmates' ideas.
Develop interpersonal communication skills through discussions.

Don’t ditch the discussion posts, just align them with a goal that will help students develop skills to engage with others. How do you run discussions in your class? Comment below or drop me a line at freyesar@msu.edu.Freyesaur out.

When considering anti-oppressive classrooms (learning environments where all forms of oppression are actively and intentionally challenged) it is important to consider instructor identity (specifically that how you employ your identity can empower and/or oppress students). We use the word anti-oppression because it specifically targets unjust treatment in learning environments. We may often think of an example of oppression in the classroom as a blatant act, such as a student using overtly racist language. However, when you think of oppression in the classroom we want you to include subtle forms of oppression in your definition – such as students interrupting one another. We introduced a 4-step process of self-reflection on your identity, which we put forth as necessary to create and maintain anti-oppressive learning environments. In this card, we want to continue the journey on inclusive, anti-oppressive learning environments, but with a focus on student identities.
 
Four Questions to Begin the Journey

Are you aware of all student identity statuses: sex, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, age, ability, religion, socioeconomic status, national status, language, etc.?

Answering this question is the first step toward a non-oppressive classroom in that you become aware of the student identity statuses so that you can begin to understand their meaning and how they intersect.
 
Suggestions:
Administer a survey before the start of the term (where you could, for instance, allow students the opportunity to share about their cultural background, make you aware of preferred nicknames or pronouns, etc.). Have students record how they pronounce their names for a pre-semester D2L assignment
 

Have you acknowledged/do you understand what student identities mean to students?

Answering this question allows you to understand who students are, so that you can begin to address the privileges (or lack thereof) associated with student identity statuses.
 
Suggestions:
Establish discussion guidelines with communication norms and expectations. Facilitate discussions and assignments    that allow students to relate course material to their experiences.
 

Have you accepted the privileges (or lack thereof) that comes with student identities?

Have you internalized why this matters? Answering this question allows you to deal with reactions you may have while accepting student identity statuses (such as defensiveness, guilt, powerlessness, responsibility, ownership), so that students can embody their identities in a true and authentic way.
 
Suggestions:
Recognize unfair treatment when it surfaces. Have open and honest dialogue with the students regarding privilege and oppression
 

Do you actively engage student identities within your teaching?

How do you situate or position yourself in the classroom? Now that you have become aware of, acknowledged and accepted all student identity statuses, you must critically consider what actions you can take to address privilege (or lack thereof) in the classroom.
 
Suggestions:
Provide a variety of course material, references, and examples that reflects all of the student identities. Use Identity-specific or targeted activities, like the “Class Race.”

Professors generally provide students with building names and room numbers for their classrooms, offices, and relevant resources on campus, but how can they make these locations more accessible to students, especially those who are blind or visually impaired? In short, referencing noticeable landmarks and changes in environment go a long way! This card will provide some tips on how to provide clear directions to students, and where to put them so they are easy to access.
Tips for giving clear directions

Mention landmarks (a fountain that is always running, brick pavers by the entrance, a change in terrain, steps, a bridge, etc.)
Mention if the building of the location is near a popular structures (south of Bomont Tower, next to The Union, west of Wells hall).
Specify where to find the wheelchair accessible entrance.
Describe where the classroom is located within the building (across from the elevator, on the left past the drinking fountain).

 
Where to make these directions viewable

As a hyperlink in the syllabus.
On D2L.
In an email or conversation if discussing a meeting with a student who might benefit.

 

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash
 
When Teaching “Fails”
We all experience failure in our lives, including in our roles as instructors in postsecondary classrooms. Lessons and assessments don’t always render the results we hope for, but they can serve as essential “teachable moments” as we strive to become stronger teachers. In this post, we explore our approaches to responding to  “teaching failures” –  to both understand why they happened and explore some strategies for both processing these failures and responding to them.
 
Seeing Failures as Opportunities
We often see our favorite teachers as “perfect.” Little do we know that the effective teaching we experience has actually emerged from teaching failures. When we make mistakes in any aspect of life, we can take two paths – ignore the mistake or learn from it. We may choose to ignore the failures because examining them feels painful, we lack motivation, or we blame others or the circumstances associated with the event. However, when avoiding these moments, we lose an opportunity to improve our teaching. The first step to learn from our failures is to recognize we’ve made them and then see them as opportunities for our own growth. Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University, demonstrates the power of believing you can improve after failure with her renowned research. This begins a process of  four steps that have been helpful for us in learning from our teaching failures.
 
Four Steps Toward Learning From Teaching Failures Recognize Failures: 
 
1) Pay specific attention to noticing what isn’t working in your teaching. Strategies to notice failures include collecting regular feedback from students, observing circumstances you see as ‘unusual’ happening repeatedly, and carefully analyzing assessments for what they may say in relation to your learning outcomes. As teachers, we will make many kinds of failures. Though some may be less significant than others, each can be a learning opportunity.
 
2) Invest Time in Reflection: 
After recognizing your failures, intentionally think about what made you consider it a failure. Why did it happen? What was the primary cause? What were the contributing factors? What about what happened was (or seemed) wrong? We find doing some writing in response to the above questions as a helpful tool for our reflection. Then, begin to think about a course of action.
 
3) Respond with Action: 
Now, apply what you’ve learned to become a stronger teacher. Respond by thinking about your failure example. What practical steps could you take and how you will decide if your decisions result in a better experience? Research to see how others have approached similar situations. Talk with other teachers about your challenges. Make a plan and follow through with your class. Then assess how that went and repeat. Here, we’d suggest returning to your learning outcomes as guides throughout your action process.
 
4) Overall, Take Care of Yourself: 
Monitor your responses. Like teaching, this process can require self-confidence and courage. Perhaps this is most challenging and may make you feel inadequate, hopeless, guilty or embarrassed. Be honest with yourself and do your best to see this process as valuable for your growth. Meanwhile, keep a balanced perspective, think about the ‘big picture’ and consider your spheres of control. We’ve found it helpful to ask the following questions: when you decided or determined you had made a mistake, how did it make you feel about yourself as a teacher? Do you find failure more onerous in teaching than in other aspects, i.e. your research or academic work? Think about why or why not. You might find this process helps to reframe how you respond to mistakes across different aspects of your life.

The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from the College of Natural Science. For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".
Qianjie Wang: As the coordinator of the International teaching Assistant (ITA) Program and instructor of some of the the ITA support courses offered, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Ms. Qianjie Wang from the Chemistry Department last spring. Qianjie chose to take AAE 453, Support for In-Service ITA teaching, an optional course designed to support international students in their first few semesters of teaching at MSU. The course is a seminar style course where international teaching assistants can discuss and reflect on the issues that come up in the courses they are teaching and share their experiences and learn from other students. I was always so impressed with Qianjie’s genuine interest in understanding the backgrounds and challenges of the undergraduate students she taught, and her commitment to becoming the best teaching assistant possible. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to observe her teaching, however, that I fully appreciated what an asset she is to her department. teaching a lab section in the Chemistry Department presents some unique challenges as there are several sections taking place at one time in the same general space, each with a different teaching assistant and different group of students. teaching assistants need to be able to give clear instructions, encourage and guide students as they conduct their experiments, answer questions and lead students to discover answers for themselves, all while ensuring basic student safety. Qianjie excelled at all of this. Her rapport with her students was clear, as was her sincere interest in helping them to learn. Moreover, her own interest in learning and growing as a teacher was evident in the way that she implemented feedback and suggestions from AAE 453 discussions into her teaching. It was truly an honor to work with such a motivated and committed teaching assistant. Thank you, Qianjie!
 
Aaron Wasserman: Movement of a large lecture format course (200+ students) to a on-line format is not easy. Aaron made that transition so much smoother by being willing to take on extra work. Aaron took on the tasks of learning all the ins and outs of D2L so that we could switch from in-class clicker questions to D2L quizzes (all properly formatted!). In addition our first D2L exam went smoothly mostly due to his efforts. He gives weekly virtual review sessions to the students and is incredibly responsive to their questions and needs. He deserves a big shout out for his efforts!
 
Stephen Thomas: For his incredible work over the last few weeks as we have transitioned to remote learning. Stephen is a perfect person for this time in our history at MSU. 
 
Teena Gerhardt: Shows how much she would like to see her students thrive; always available for help (even if she is out of state); very good at lecturing.
 
John Keven: When classes went online John was filling in for me while I was traveling. He stepped up and managed the MANY student emails of concern with grace and compassion. He continues to be a vital component of communications with the students. He is doing all this while trying to get his dissertation wrapped up and working from home with a family. Thank so much, John!
 
Brean Prefontaine: Brean Prefontaine is an outreach coordinator for the Women and Minorities in the Physical Sciences (WaMPS) graduate student group, and she has gone above and beyond with public science outreach. Brean took the initiative to greatly expand WaMPS's outreach program from participating in 2-3 outreach events per semester to now more than a dozen outreach events each semester. These new events include MSU Science Fest, after-school programs at libraries, and classroom visits. She also volunteered as SL@MS co-chair last summer, organizing and running the WaMPS summer camp for middle school students. She spent a lot of time developing new fun and educational activities for all these new outreach events, with modifications for many age groups that range all the way from preschool to high school, and she acquired all of the supplies and materials that are needed for them. This is an incredible amount of work for a single person to tackle! Because of Brean, a lot more graduate students have been able to get involved in outreach, and she is very patient with teaching them how to engage the kids. Thanks to Brean, WaMPS's outreach program has been a huge success and has grown immensely over the past 2 years! She definitely deserves to be thanked and the WaMPS Board wants to recognize for her amazing outreach work in the physics department!
Anyone can recognize a fellow Spartan for their contributions to MSU's teaching and learning mission or for how they made a lasting impression on your experience. All you have to do is click "Thank an Educator" in the left panel of iteach.msu.edu. From there you'll be directed to a form where you can enter the name, netID, and a short story of the educator you'd like to recognize.

ResearchThis is the eighth article in our iTeach.MSU playlist for the Spartan Studios Playkit.
There are many potential approaches to research connected to teaching a Spartan Studios course. These include:

Disciplinary research inspired by the course

Novel methods, insights, theories, applications, or results inspired by activity in the course that fall within one instructor’s discipline. For example, a student team comes up with a new approach to solving a packaging problem. The packaging faculty member works with those students to write up and publish this innovation.

Studying institutional or student success outcomes
Education research on your pedagogical methods and processes
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) or Disciplinary‐Based  Education Research (DBER) about student learning outcomes.
Research into student teamwork (for example, by analyzing student communication networks)
Research on partner or community impacts and outcomes
See our Appendix for examples of research about Studios and other similar experiential courses 

▶️Plan ahead with your team for the kinds of research you’re interested in pursuing. There may be relevant data to collect during the semester, including classroom observations, student interviews/surveys, or specific assignment designs. You will also need to obtain institutional approval as well as consent from students and/or external partners to include their data in your research. 
🔧MSU’s Office of Research and Innovation has resources for faculty members to get started on a research project, involving undergraduate students in research projects, and more.  
🔧The Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology has been conducting research on several Studios courses and can share our experiences in that area.
Next Steps
For more information about any of this material or to find out how you can teach your own Spartan Studios course, contact the Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology (hub@msu.edu). We offer yearly workshops on planning and pedagogy for Studios courses and can consult with any interested units or faculty members. You are welcome to watch our workshop from the Spring Conference on Teaching, Learning, and Student Success (May 7, 2021) where faculty heard more about teaching Spartan Studios courses, got feedback on ideas for course designs, and heard from instructors who have already taught a Studio course.Photo by hannah grace on Unsplash

The purpose of a syllabus is NOT a contract, but instead:

A marketing document
An introduction to a course and its instructor
A ‘map’ to the course including:

expectations
requirements 
conditions of engagement
how to be successful


Key elements of a syllabus include:

Instructional objectives
Instructor contact information
Evaluation criteria
Expectations of students
Important due dates
Required and recommended materials
Required proctoring arrangements

Important syllabus statements and reminders:

Spartan Code of Honor
Academic integrity
OIE Information for Mandatory Reporters
Attendance policy
Model Statements for Disability Inclusion (from RCPD)
Emergency issues
Inclusion in the classroom
Religious Observance Policy
Mental Health Support (Developed by CAPS)
Participation guidelines

Include Course Objectives:

Must be consistent with University-approved course description found in MSU Descriptions of Courses catalog
Make them clear
Focus on a product/outcome, not a process
State each as single outcome
Personal learning goals

And of course, you need to cover how grading and evaluation will be approached:

Be explicit about how students will be evaluated
Share rubrics or grading criteria
Remind students of approaching deadlines frequently
Participation expectations
Include resources that may help
Primer on effective study skills
Reading critically/effectively
Writing tips

Remember, your syllabus is your opportunity to set the tone for your course. Make sure to include:

Office hours, offer other options to meet student needs
Set reasonable boundaries
Can be friendly/conversational and also set high expectations
Convey your passion about the subject


Accessible Document Templates
Templates for commonly used documents and content management systems.  Keep in mind that templates may only help in structuring your content, the main content still needs to be formatted with accessibility in mind.

Syllabus template
PowerPoint template

Photo by Arisa Chattasa on Unsplash

Have you ever wondered why some students engage deeply with a concept while others struggle? Or why a strategy that worked wonders in one class doesn’t seem to resonate with another? If so, you’re already on the path to engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). At its core, SoTL is about embracing the tinkerer's mindset—approaching your teaching with curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and the drive to make a difference in student learning.
SoTL transforms the everyday tweaks we make as educators into intentional, research-based inquiries. It’s a way to take the questions you already have about your classroom and turn them into powerful insights that can enhance your teaching and your students’ success.
What Is SoTL?
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is a research-based approach to improving education. But it’s not just about conducting studies—it’s about actively engaging with your students’ learning processes to make data-informed decisions. SoTL is guided by five key principles:

Inquiry and Curiosity: Start with a question about your teaching or your students’ learning.
Systematic Investigation: Use evidence-based methods to explore that question.
Reflection: Analyze your findings to identify what’s working—and why.
Iterative Improvement: Keep refining your strategies based on what you learn.
Transparency and Sharing: Share your insights with others to contribute to the larger teaching community.

Think of it as bringing the mindset of a scientist into the classroom: What if? Why not? How can I do this better?
Your SoTL Journey in 5 Steps
Engaging in SoTL is a manageable, step-by-step process:

Identify the Research Question- Start with a specific challenge or curiosity. For example, “How does active learning influence student participation in large lecture courses?”
Design the Study- Plan your approach. Will you use surveys? Observations? Focus groups? Ensure your study aligns with your goals and ethical guidelines.
Collect Data- Gather evidence systematically. This could include student reflections, test scores, or LMS analytics.
Analyze the Data and Draw Conclusions- Look for patterns or trends. What do the results tell you about your teaching and your students’ learning?
Disseminate Results- Share your findings with colleagues, present at conferences, or publish in a SoTL journal. Your insights could inspire other educators to try new approaches in their classrooms.

How CTLI Supports Your SoTL Work
You don’t have to go it alone—MSU’s Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation (CTLI) is here to support you at every step of your SoTL journey. Here’s how:

Brainstorm and Design: Not sure where to start? Our consultations can help you refine your research question, choose methods, and plan your study.
Tools and Data: We’ll show you how to leverage psychometric methods and LMS data through tools like D2L Insights or integrate other technologies into your research.
Funding Opportunities: Apply for Catalyst Innovation Funding to bring your project to life.
Workshops and Training: Attend our sessions to build your skills in qualitative and quantitative research methods, ethical considerations, and more.
Share Your Work: Present your findings at CTLI’s Spring TALKS Conference or get advice on submitting to SoTL journals.

Whatever stage you’re at, CTLI is your partner in turning teaching questions into actionable, evidence-based answers.
Small Steps, Big Impact
You don’t need to overhaul your entire course to get started with SoTL. Begin with a single question, a small change, or a simple data collection strategy. Each step you take adds to your understanding of what works in your classroom—and why. Over time, these small steps can lead to big impacts on your teaching, your students, and your professional growth.
So, dare to tinker. Your curiosity could be the spark that transforms not only your classroom but the larger community of educators. Ready to take that first step? CTLI is here to support you every step of the way. Let’s turn your ideas into action!
Upcoming SoTL Workshops:
Introduction to SoTL (Part 1)SoTL Qualitative Methods (Part 2a)SoTL Quantitative Methods (Part 2b)SoTL Advanced Methods (Part 3)Course Analytics & D2L Insights
Register for CTLI Workshops

Resources:
1. CTLI-Specific Resources

Past Workshop Slides: SoTL Introduction (CTLI), SoTL (EDLI)
CTLI Workshops and Training: Events Calendar, Request a Workshop
Catalyst Innovation Funding: Details on how to apply.
Spring TALKS Conference: Call for Proposals coming soon. Check website.
CTLI Consultation Services

2. SoTL Guides and Handbooks

Books:

Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A Guide to the Process, and How to Develop a Project from Start to Finish by Bishop-Clark and Dietz-Uhler.
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Reconsidered: Institutional Integration and Impact by Hutchings, Huber, and Ciccone.

Online Guides:

ISSOTL’s (International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning)
University of Georgia: Getting started with SoTLVanderbilt: Doing SoTL
Notre Dame: SoTL Overview
University of Minnesota: A Guide to theScholarship of Teaching & Learning


3. SoTL Communities and Networks

Professional Organizations:

International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL).