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The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from Other Educator Units. For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".
The Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation (formerly Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology)
Dave Goodrich: Dave has been at the core of Spartan QM and Quality Matters quality initiative, and authored the primary report summarizing the quality initiative undertaken by the Provost and MSU IT during the pandemic to ensure our online courses all had an opportunity to receive peer review. His collaboration with IT, Library, and EDLI on Quality Matters adoption will help us carry forward peer review and faculty training as key strategies going forward, with a solid grounding in evidence based practices. In addition to these efforts, Dave continues to be a willing colleague who steps in to share expertise and time when demand arises. Plus he has the winningest external mics!…The planning and facilitation committee for the Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit has continued to invaluablely contribute to shaping the ways MSU thinks about, supports, and recognizes educators. Through thoughtful synchronous activities to active engagement as a team, multiple modality asynchronous opportunities, and working collaboratively to generate outcomes from our charge, this group has been getting it done! I'm grateful to have fellow educators and colleagues like them to work with!…This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
Summer Issawi: Summer volunteered multiple times to facilitate workshops in online teaching which were vital to MSU's pivot to remote learning and served as a Spartan QM peer review process coach. Summer also worked on numerous learning experience design projects this year to help clients complete redesigns, often including a greater digital component because of the pandemic. Summer is a kind and considerate colleague who goes out of her way to check in with others and kindle/maintain interpersonal relationships despite remote work environments. 
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The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
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This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
Jay Loftus: Jay Loftus helped MSU prepare for a return to in-person instruction by modifying ASPIRE into a blended teaching primer that is designed to help faculty make choices about what portions of a course ought to be taught face to face vs. in a distance learning modality. This was important as we attempted to maximize in-person experiences for quality while preserving gains in digital activities made during the pandemic.Jay provides a really valuable perspective to ongoing conversations about educator development, and his willingness to collaborate with others is invaluable.
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The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
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This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
Angie Martin: Angie has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to enable the distribution of faculty and staff incentives for commissioned works, peer-review facilitation, and participation in special faculty development during the pandemic. Angie has also been critical to the startup of MSU's Science Gallery and Apple Developer Academy initiatives. Angie is a great example of the expanded definition of "educator". Her efforts to help others navigate the context of MSU successfully - through multiple and ongoing transitions- has been so valued. 
Rashad Muhammad: Rashad volunteered multiple times to facilitate workshops in online teaching which were vital to MSU's pivot to remote learning and served as a Spartan QM peer review process coach. Rashad also worked on a sweeping inventory of educational technology tools and gathered metrics on their increased use during the pandemic, culminating in the Mapping the Ed Tech Landscape report. He has continued to prove himself invaluable in the ongoing development of iteach.msu.edu as MSU matains external developer relationships, and is a refreshing alternative perspective in many conversations. Plus he has great music recommendations!
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The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
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This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
Michael Lockett: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
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This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
Alicia Jenner: Alicia volunteered multiple times to facilitate workshops in online teaching which were vital to MSU's pivot to remote learning and served as a Spartan QM peer review process coach. Alicia also worked on mapping of the online student experience, and has helped the graduate school with our student onboarding process. The work she has done and continues to do surrounding online.msu.edu is almost as astounding as her commitment to improving student experiences at MSU. Alicia is kind and generous- always helping our team feel like a work family despite not being in a shared space. 
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The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
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This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
Jerry Rhead: Jerry has volunteered to facilitate Spartan QM course review groups and has reviewed much of our advice for online faculty before publication. Jerry also has volunteered to serve on the lifelong learning committee and 60 year curriculum group. He is a wonderful colleague with the best way of explaining ideas so people understand. He cares deeply about his work as well as the people he works with. MSU is lucky to have him!
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The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
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This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
Brendan Guenther: Brendan has been instrumental in the multiple transitions the Hub team has undergone since last summer. His leadership and expertise are extremely valuable in the multiple initiatives led by the OPM team, in addition to keeping some semblance of "normal" despite working remotely and layers of uncertainty. He has been a great advocate for the team in rooms where they do not have a voice (management) and is truly invested in supporting educators to make MSU the best learning and working experience possible. 
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The planning and facilitation committee for the Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit has continued to invaluablely contribute to shaping the ways MSU thinks about, supports, and recognizes educators. Through thoughtful synchronous activities to active engagement as a team, multiple modality asynchronous opportunities, and working collaboratively to generate outcomes from our charge, this group has been getting it done! I'm grateful to have fellow educators and colleagues like them to work with!
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This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
Makena Neal: Just had to send a note to affirm one of the many roles you play on CTLI meetings. Higher ed literature [and other disciplines] talk about the importance of members of a team who focuses on the emotional aspects of working together – being aware of saying thank you, monitoring “temperature” of members of the group around certain issues or the ebb/flow of life in general, considering how different ideas may be understood within and outside the group. You exemplify what the literature talks about more than I have typically ever seen and just wanted to give a shout out about that. It’s exceptional and very beneficial to all.
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This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
Ellie Louson: Just had to send a note to affirm one of the many roles you play on CTLI meetings. Higher ed literature [and other disciplines] talk about the importance of members of a team who focuses on the emotional aspects of working together – being aware of saying thank you, monitoring “temperature” of members of the group around certain issues or the ebb/flow of life in general, considering how different ideas may be understood within and outside the group. You exemplify what the literature talks about more than I have typically ever seen and just wanted to give a shout out about that. It’s exceptional and very beneficial to all.
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The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
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This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
 
Provost Communications
Kelly Mazurkiewicz: Kelly has been a critical resource in organizing the Keep Teaching website, the primary magnet of advice and policy dissemination during MSU's remote pivot. She also has planned and composed periodic announcements that have been critical to keeping instructors informed and equipped with actionable advice in rapidly changing times. Kelly has also been a key asset in the launch and promotion of #iteachmsu. Additionally, Kelly shows up in a pinch - when colleagues need quick insights or feedback on ideas, she is always there (which for a person in her position and demand is astounding). She is accessible, down-to-earth, and a wealth of knowledge. MSU is lucky to have an educator like her, helping us think through best ways to build community and advance initiatives through storytelling. 
Erica Venton: Erica has been a key asset in promoting the #iteachmsu Commons, working with spreading work about fellowships and opportunities for faculty development, and in communicating the excellent work of our exemplary educators working with Catalyst grants and fellowships. Erica has also helped improve the student experience for online students. She brings a level of enthusiasm to her work, and campus generally, that is unmatched!
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The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
 
Office for Enrollment Management and Academic Strategic Planning
Ashely Braman: During our pivot to remote teaching, Ashley organized many groups and did lots of thankless work behind the scenes to gather information and resources for the Keep Teaching Site, the teams working on SOIREE, ASPIRE, and the Blended Teaching Primer. Logistically she helped ensure faculty knew how and where to participate and made sure that stipends and awards that were earned by educators were given their due recognition and made it to the recipient. In addition, she maintained composure under difficult circumstances and still continues to be a resource and grounding source for colleagues. …This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
Emilio Esposito: Emilio has helped with multiple learning research projects, including the startup of the Apple Developer Academy and has assisted colleagues with data analytics and survey research using the Hub Toolkit. Emilio also agreed to take on the role of project mentor for a Hub Graduate Fellow and has proven to be a thoughtful guide and collaborator for the students working on his projects. He continues to juggle lingering Hub projects despite transitioning unit affiliations.
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This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
 
Center for Integrative Studies in General Science
Stephen Thomas: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
 
Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (IDI)
 Patti Stewart: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
 
Kognito 4 Education
Sheila Marquardt: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
 
MSU Libraries
Sarah Miller: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit! 
Terri Miller: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit! 
Rachel Minkin: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit! 
Ben Oberdick: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit! 
Jessica Sender: The planning and facilitation committee for the Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit has continued to invaluably contribute to shaping the ways MSU thinks about, supports, and recognizes educators. Through thoughtful synchronous activities to active engagement as a team, multiple modality asynchronous opportunities, and working collaboratively to generate outcomes from our charge, this group has been getting it done! I'm grateful to have fellow educators and colleagues like them to work with!
Abraham (Abe) Wheeler: Abe is always so helpful and detailed with his responses to questions. He is great to work with and usually has suggestions and alternatives for issues and challenges related to digital resources, copyright, and tools.
 
MOASIC (Multicultural Unity Center)
Maggie Chen-Hernandez: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
 
MSU IT Services
Jason Beaudin: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
Nick Noel: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
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Nick is my pedagogical go-to/expert! Knowing how technology works is one thing, and being able to explain it and use it to keep courses engaged is a true art and Nick does it so effortlessly. How it started: classroom support, How it's going: instructional technology and development; every organization needs a Nick! Any time Nick needs me to assist with a document or a live training session, I'm there; he's one of my teachers here at MSU. Keep us learning, and thank you!
 
Office for Faculty and Academic Staff Development (OFASD)
Marilyn Amey: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
 
Omsbudsperson’s Office
Shannon Burton: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
 
Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD)
Leslie Johnson: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
 
The Graduate School
Stefanie Baier: The planning and facilitation committee for the Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit has continued to invaluably contribute to shaping the ways MSU thinks about, supports, and recognizes educators. Through thoughtful synchronous activities to active engagement as a team, multiple modality asynchronous opportunities, and working collaboratively to generate outcomes from our charge, this group has been getting it done! I'm grateful to have fellow educators and colleagues like them to work with!
Hima Rawal: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
 
University Outreach and Engagement (UOE)
Diane Doberneck: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
 
WorkLife Office (WLO)
Jaimie Hutchison: The last two years have taxed and tested us all in more ways than we could possibly have projected. Jaimie has worked far beyond the scope of her roles and responsibilities to address countless needs that have emerged during this time - building connections among campus members around identities we often don't hold up like caregiver and single parent; providing regular information and outreach that has guided so many to campus and off-campus resources of value; reminding us through her efforts that our lives comprise more than job tasks and need to be an important focus if we are to feel at all effective in our university roles; and always sharing her brightness, care, and hope in everything she does. As an educator, Jaimie models what we aspire to be as lifelong learners engaged with and supportive of each other, regardless of how we "show up" across the university.
 
Apple Developer Academy
Sarah Gretter: Sarah was the founding educator in MSU's iOS Design Lab, and worked closely with Apple to extend the curriculum to better serve cross functional design teams. She was vital in successfully transferring this program to the College of Arts and Letters prior to moving to Detroit to serve as the founding Director of the Apple Design Academy in Detroit. During her time "on campus", Sarah proved to be an outstanding leader and mentor - especially for her fellow women-identifying colleagues. Apple Design Academy is LUCKY to have her at the helm.
…
This group of colleagues [Makena, Summer, Alicia, Brendan, Michael, Jay, Rashad, Gerry, Dave, Emilio, Ashley, Sarah, Ellie, Erica] have been so supportive and willing to give of their time during a period of incredible transition. They have shared, taught, explained, and been very patient helping me and others understand their important work and the contributions they make to our overall achievement of student success and academic excellence. I have learned so much and cannot thank them enough!
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 see a short form where you can enter the name, netID, and a short story of the educator you'd like to recognize.

This week, we are featuring Brittany Dillman, MAET Graduate Certificate Program Coordinator, within the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education at MSU. Brittany was recognized via iteach.msu.edu's Thank and Educator Initiative! We encourage MSU community members to nominate high-impact Spartan educators (via our Thank an Educator initiative) regularly!
Read more about Brittany’s perspectives below. #iteachmsu's questions are bolded below, followed by their responses! 

You were recognized via the Thank an Educator Initiative. In one word, what does being an educator mean to you?  
Love.
Share with me what this word/quality looks like in your practice?
Being an educator is an act of love. I have always known this, but I don’t think I have always been able to (brave enough or self-secure enough) enact this in ways that I do now. 
Have your ideas on this changed over time? if so how?
In previous versions of my educator self, I put content first. Now, I put learners first. This includes checking in with them kindly, sharing myself and my humanity (flaws, quirks, and challenges), and giving them lots of chances. I have learned so much from the work of Lisa Laughman and the MSU Health4U program about emotional wellness to help me make the shift from content first to learners first.
Tell me more about your educational “setting.” This can include, but not limited to departmental affiliations, community connections, co-instructors, and students. (Aka, where do you work?)
I am the Graduate Certificate (GC) Programs Director for the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program in the College of Education at MSU. This is my favorite job in my life (so far). In my position, I work very closely with my team to create and maintain curriculum, advise GC students, teach online and hybrid master’s-level courses, support a group of phenomenal adjunct instructors, promote our program and the amazing work of our instructors and learners via social media, recruit students, and anything else that comes up.
What is a challenge you experience in your educator role?
The biggest challenge we face in our program is the increasing prices of MSU tuition and the barriers that cause for potential learners, particularly those learners of color or disability. Our program is phenomenal and students are consistently, incredibly pleased with their experience with us, but the cost is prohibitive for too many learners. In addition to our “assigned duties,” my colleagues and I are looking for grants and other ways we can support our students financially. We haven’t had the success that we want with this, but are continuing to explore big and small ways we can support our learners.
Any particular “solutions” or “best practices” you’ve found that help you support student success at the university despite/in the face of this? What are practices you utilize that help you feel successful as an educator?
I work with an amazing team (program staff and adjunct faculty) and we intentionally focus time and energy on how we work as a team, building our team’s strength, and ways we can improve as a team. This provides the foundation for all of our other work. You’ll notice that most of my answers center around how my team functions because that is what supports me as an educator.

We have a shared mission and vision that we all believe in and buy into. We have it on our website, in our presentations, and on our meeting agendas. We use that to guide us in our decisions. I feel like that sounds a bit cheesy, but it’s true and it really helps!
We believe in and use backward design for course design, and also for program design and decisions to move us forward. So, we make decisions that lead us toward our mission and vision.
Along the way, we make mistakes and so we iterate. One of our instructors emailed me yesterday and wrote, “You are masters of iteration!” We aren’t perfect, but we try to get better.
We rely on each other and our strengths. I bring organization (and spreadsheets!). Other colleagues bring creativity, writing, and networking/connections. We don’t pigeonhole ourselves into these archetypes, but we build off of the best of what we can each bring.
We push each other, question each other, and engage in critical questioning with our ideas. We do this in safe and kind ways, but it helps us all get better when one person asks a question like “have we considered this other way?”
We treat each other, our learners, and instructors, as human beings who are amazing and flawed. We respect each others’ humanity and help when we can. It’s not perfect, but we do our best.

What topics or ideas about teaching and learning would you like to see discussed on the iteach.msu.edu platform? Why do you think this conversation is needed at MSU?
Because my program is educational technology, there is often an assumption that we know everything - all the tools, apps, programs, and all the tricks and shortcuts. We don’t. We ground our program in pedagogy and thoughtful design based on the TPACK Framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). I wish all Spartan educators would approach curriculum, design, teaching, instruction, and assessment from a thoughtful, human-centered perspective. How do you design your course to best fit your content, your context, your students, your available technologies, and pedagogies? Then, how do we teach in alignment with this? Then, how do we assess students? Then, how do we improve the whole cycle for the next round? Will specific technologies be a part of this process? Of course! But my wish is that we can keep students at the center of all our work. Two of my favorite MSU events that do this are the Accessible Learning Conference (held in the fall) and the Spring Conference on Teaching, Learning, and Student Success (held in May annually). So, if you are seeking fellow Spartans with this perspective, I recommend starting in those places.
What are you looking forward to (or excited to be a part of) next semester?
So much! 

My colleagues and I have been taking some Quality Matters courses to learn more about their research, best practices of online education. So, I am excited to use some of my new knowledge this fall with students and experience the impact of some of the design decisions we have made based on our new and improved knowledge.
I haven’t taught, yet, in 2021 (based on my work schedule and some course buyouts) so I am excited to teach this fall. Our program shifted to a program-wide ungrading philosophy and practice in Fall 2020 and I am excited to get “back” into that now that we’ve had a chance to iterate and improve it.
I am looking forward to my children starting school (they just turned 5) and to experience their continued growth and learning...and being a parent of kids who are in school (a new experience for me)
Finally (and maybe most of all) I’m looking forward to fall weather. I know we need to appreciate all of Michigan’s amazing seasons, but fall is my favorite! I look forward to crisp days, colorful leaves, apple cider, donuts, and pumpkin spice flavored everything for the few short weeks it’s with us. I’m so sorry that pumpkin spice has gotten such a bad reputation in the last few years (though pumpkin spice flavored goat cheese does take the trend a smidge too far for even me). So, if there are fellow fall and pumpkin spice lovers out there who want to connect (or talk about pedagogy and teaching), please email me: dillmanb@msu.edu 



Don't forget to celebrate individuals you see making a difference in teaching, learning, or student success at MSU with #iteachmsu's Thank an Educator initiative. You might just see them appear in the next feature! Follow the MSU Hub Twitter account to see other great content from the #iteachmsu Commons as well as educators featured every week during #ThankfulThursdays.

Edit a Question During its Availability
Occasionally, a test question will need to be edited while an exam is in progress.
 

Quizzes – Manually Grade a Quiz - Instructor
Short answer questions, although auto-graded by D2L, should be double-checked for grading accuracy.
 

D2L Assessment Analytics
Examining quiz question statistics can help instructors determine if a question is too easy, too challenging, or needs editing for clarification.
The following is a quick guide for D2L Quiz and Grade Item statistics to help you monitor and improve your assessment questions and results.
D2L Quiz Statistics
To see how students performed overall on each of the quizzes, in your own course go to Assessments > Quizzes > Statistics (click on Statistics from the tab view across the top).

This list displays all of your course quiz averages.
Click on a quiz to see more details including User Stats, Question Stats, and Question Details.

Question Stats
The Question Stats list the Standard Deviation, Discrimination Index, and Point Biserial value for each question. 

You can click on the link, "What do the statistics on this page mean?" above the table in your course to learn more. The information is also copied below.
What do the statistics on this page mean?
All statistics are calculated based on each user’s first attempt on the quiz. If a question is changed after attempts have been made, only the attempts on the newest version of the question are included in the statistics (ie. First attempts made before a question was changed are not included in the statistics for that question).
STANDARD DEVIATION
The standard deviation indicates how much scores vary from the average, ranging from 0% to 100%. A high standard deviation indicates that scores are spread out from the average, whereas a low standard deviation indicates that scores are close to the average.
DISCRIMINATION INDEX
The discrimination index indicates how well a question differentiates between high and low performers. It can range from -100% to 100%, with high values indicating a “good” question, and low values indicating a “bad” question.
POINT BISERIAL CORRELATION COEFFICIENT
The point biserial correlation coefficient is an analysis only applied to multiple choice and true/false question types that have only one answer with weight 100%, and all others with weight 0%.
Similarly to the discrimination index, the point biserial correlation coefficient relates individuals’ quiz scores to whether or not they got a question correct. It ranges from -1.00 to 1.00, with high values indicating a “good” question, and low values indicating a “bad” question.
*Note that only first attempts are included in that question's statistics.
Question Details
This tab will show you the summary of student responses for each question. If you notice a low or negative value for the Point Biserial or Discrimination Index, you may want to investigate the question. It could indicate a badly worded question or improperly keyed question answer.


 

For more, view the video tutorial on Generating Reports in D2L Learning Environment opens in new window. Currently, the statistics do not display for random "pool item" question types. Contact the MSU Service Desk to check on obtaining reports through the Data Hub.


Grade Item Statistics
To view grade item stats, in your own course go to, Assessments > Grades > (Grade Item) View Statistics – Use the pull down menu by a grade item title and select Statistics to display Class and User Statistics. If you have a grade scheme setup to display, you will also see the grade distribution chart on the page.

Working with student data

Keep the MSU Institutional Data Policy opens in new window in mind when storing data and making reports public in order to protect the security and confidentiality of student data.
Read more about best practices for handling data at secureit.msu.edu/data opens in new window from MSU IT Services – Academic Technology.

Addressing Issues of Academic Misconduct
What should you do if you discover cheating in your course? Follow the link to find out more. 
What is an Academic Dishonesty Report
If you give a penalty grade as a result of academic misconduct, you must submit an Academic Dishonesty Report (ADR) to the university. See the link above as an example. 

This week, we are featuring, Nick Noel, Interim Manager of the Instructional Technology and Development Team, within the Department of Academic Technology in IT Services at MSU. Nick was recognized via iteach.msu.edu's Thank and Educator Initiative! We encourage MSU community members to nominate high-impact Spartan educators (via our Thank an Educator form) regularly!
Read more about Nick’s perspectives below. #iteachmsu's questions are bolded below, followed by his responses! 
You were recognized via the Thank an Educator Initiative. In one word, what does being an educator mean to you?  
It's difficult to pick a single word, but if I had to choose I'd say empowerment.
Share with me what this word/quality looks like in your practice?
I want teachers to feel that they are able to design and implement their courses in the way that they find the most effective. I want students to feel empowered by the course to contribute to the goals of the course, and make connections to their lives and interests.
Have your ideas on this changed over time? if so how?
Over time, I have increasingly advocated for greater student agency and collaboration. Basically, I have realized that while it is possible to design a course that anticipates all of the variations in backgrounds, interest, skills, and abilities of the students, it is a lot easier to just ask students what they want to get out of the course, what their goals are, and be flexible in how they demonstrate their knowledge, then build the norms of the course with them.
Tell me more about your educational “setting.” This can include, but not limited to departmental affiliations, community connections, co-instructors, and students. (Aka, where do you work?)
I am the Interim Manager of the Instructional Technology and Development Team, within the Department of Academic Technology in IT Services. We are a team of 8, with 5 postdoc positions and 4 Information Technologists positions. We all have different areas that we specialize in, but for the most part, we work on similar projects.
What is a challenge you experience in your educator role?
There are a few challenges I face, the one that comes up often when we’re consulting on a course is the balance of flexibility for students, without making it overwhelming for instructors. So we will often be in the role of advocating for student agency, while also anticipating potential bottlenecks that will lead to the instructors getting burned out during the course. We have a lot of dedicated and hardworking educators at MSU, and they often want to do really amazing things. So it can be a little strange to subtly advocate for their emotional and physical health while designing a course. However, we trust that the people we work with know their limits, and we’re also here to support them if they need to make changes during the course.
Any particular “solutions” or “best practices” you’ve found that help you support student success at the university despite/in the face of this? What are practices you utilize that help you feel successful as an educator?
In terms of best practices, implementing learning  authentic experiences, whenever possible, is really useful. That means trying to create an environment as close to what students experience outside of the course. So allowing for flexibility, student input, and even access to reference materials, when an exam is necessary, can all lead to more authentic and effective learning experiences.
What topics or ideas about teaching and learning would you like to see discussed on the iteach.msu.edu platform? Why do you think this conversation is needed at msu?
Student-focused vs instructor-focused courses is a common discussion in my work. But I would love to see a conversation around the unification of the student and instructor experience so that the course becomes exciting and interesting for everyone involved.
At various times throughout many courses, students and instructors are teaching and learning from each other, so though it might be difficult at times, it’s important to make that an intentional part of the experience.
What are you looking forward to (or excited to be a part of) next semester?
I’m new to my role, so it’s been interesting to see how the people and the dynamics of my team have changed over time. It’s been really awesome to see. So, in general, I’m excited to see that process continue.
Specifically, we are thinking of ways to provide opportunities for instructors to create things and engage in meaningful conversations around the tools and practices that we teach. I’m really excited to experiment with it and see how it works out.
Don't forget to celebrate individuals you see making a difference in teaching, learning, or student success at MSU with #iteachmsu's Thank an Educator initiative. You might just see them appear in the next feature! Follow the MSU Hub Twitter account to see other great content from the #iteachmsu Commons as well as educators featured every week during #ThankfulThursdays.

Leadership Fellows

2015-2016: Zach Frenzel
2016-2017: Kyle McCarthy
2017-2020: Tracy Melvin
2019-2021: Clara Graucob
2020-2021: Alex White
2021-2022: Liz Stebbins

Zach Frenzel (2015-2016)Zach Frenzel not only served as the first Agriculture & Natural Resources Leadership Fellow, he was selected to be the first ever Fellow after participating in the 2014 Leadership Academy. Zach conducted several needs assessment in the College, finding that graduate students in several departments did not feel their home departments were a cohesive as it related to research, scholarship, and sense of community.  He used the results of those assessments to inform his work strengthening the community of graduate students in CANR by hosting department-specific events to facilitate inter-departmental connections. Zach also worked closely with Graduate Student Organizations (GSOs) and departments on leadership frameworks, enabling both groups to state that they felt Zach helped them make significant progress towards becoming a more unified team.
Kyle McCarthy (2016-2017)Zach’s work to facilitate communication and collaboration among the GSOs, departments, and stakeholders that shape graduate students’ lives within the college served as an inspiration for Zach’s successor, Kyle McCarthy, the 2016-2017 CANR Leadership Fellow. Kyle leveraged results from the survey that Zach distributed to GSO leadership as well as his connections with leaders from nine of CANRs GSOs to identify the need for a CANR-specific GSO handbook to facilitate greater collaboration & engagement among the groups. Kyle ended his Fellowship by giving a presentation about his findings and the handbook draft he and other CANR leaders developed to the graduate program directors.
Tracy Melvin (2016-2020) | Coordinator (2020-2021)Zach and Kyle’s diligent work building relationships within the college and with the Institute laid the foundation for Tracy Melvin to organize CANR Rising in 2018, an event where Tracy brought in a panel of respected CANR faculty and administrators to vulnerably share their lived experiences with overcoming failure. Her event had a significant impact on both the graduate students involved, who commonly suffer from Imposter Syndrome and feel that failure is not an option, as well as on the presenting faculty members, who reported that the process of sharing helped them better understand their past experiences and shifted their ways of thinking about failure. Though Tracy’s second CANR Rising was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19, she was determined to not let her work with the Institute come to an end. She was brought on as a Co-Coordinator of the Leadership Institute from 2020-2021 and was instrumental in reshaping the Fellowship’s curriculum and structure.
Clara Graucob (2019-2021)Tracy’s success with the CANR Rising event during the 2017-2018 helped secure funding for an additional Agriculture and Natural Resources Leadership Fellow, Clara Graucob. As an international student from Germany, Clara recognized the lack of congruence between the resources provided to international grad students by the Graduate School and the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS). After distributing a survey to international graduate students in 2019 regarding the accessibility and publicity of resources intended to ease their transition into the American education system, Clara leveraged iteach.msu, a collaborative educational resource-sharing platform developed by Institute Co-Coordinator Makena Neal. Clara’s playlist, “Resources for new Spartans,” serves as a one-stop-shop for resources to help new Spartans transition into life at MSU, addressing topics such as housing, grocery shopping, social activities, nature/outdoor activities, postal services, health care, insurance, mental health, IM sports teams, navigating campus, and many others. The dedication, thoughtfulness, and drive evident in Clara’s work and her approach to leadership enabled her to develop connections with Office of International Students and Scholars and secure an assistantship, through which she will continue supporting international grad students at MSU.
Alex White (2020-2021)Alex White conducted a Field Safety Week for graduate students who enter the program with different levels of comfort in forested environments. Alex designed the training to serve as a risk mitigation intervention that would prepare students with the basic skills needed to conduct field work safely. The trainings included hitching and backing a trailer, safety concerns for field researchers from underrepresented backgrounds, overview of safety equipment, snakes of Michigan, land navigation, and self-defense. The field safety week also included the opportunity to get a Wilderness First Aid Certification with the Great Lakes EMS Academy. Alex worked with Lauren Noel, Kelly Millenbaugh, Laura Bix, and CANR Diversity Office to organize logistics, secure funding, and recruit speakers. In a post-event survey, participating grad students said the training made them feel safer in the field and expressed an interest in participating in the training again. Alex continues to promote a culture of field safety in the department as she completes her program.
Liz Stebbins (2021-2022)Liz was interested in finding ways to connect graduate students, old and new, to community resources within and external to MSU. She worked with College of Education Fellow, Sarah Galvin, to create plans for a “Community Orientation” to help get new graduate students engaged in their local community. They connected with the Center for Community Engaged Learning and the Office for Public Engagement and Scholarship, as well as several Lansing and East Lansing-area organizations. They made plans for an involvement fair that they hoped to launch in the Fall of 2022 where they would invite members of the community to come meet interested graduate students.

(Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash )
You can also access the Generative AI Syllabus Guide Playlist with this content broken down into the following sections. Table of Contents:

MSU Guidance and [Non]Permitted Uses
Developing and Communicating a Course-level Generative AI Use policy
Example Syllabus Statements for the Use of AI Tools in Your Course

Design For Generative AI (restrict, permit, require)
Design Around Generative AI (ban)


Example Statements from Current USA, Higher Education Educators
Developing your Scholarly and Ethical Approaches to Generative AI
Beyond Syllabi Language
Additional considerations to help you develop your generative AI philosophy (Watkins, 2022)
References

The following MSU-specifics should be used to inform your decisions...
Overall guidance: We collectively share the responsibility to uphold intellectual honesty and scholarly integrity. These are core principles that may be compromised by the misuse of GenAI tools, particularly when GenAI-generated content is presented as original, human-created work.  
Permitted uses in Teaching & Learning: Instructors are expected to establish a course-specific guidance that defines the appropriate and inappropriate use of GenAI tools.

Students may only use GenAI tools to support their coursework in ways explicitly permitted by the instructor.  

Non-permissible uses: 

Do not Use GenAI to deliberately fabricate, falsify, impersonate, or mislead, unless explicitly approved for instruction or research in a controlled environment.
Do not Record or process sensitive, confidential, or regulated information withnon-MSU GenAI tools.
Do not Enter FERPA-protected student records, PII, PHI, financial, or HR data into unapproved tools; comply with MSU’s data policy and all regulations.
Do not Use export-controlled data or CUI with GenAI tools unless approved for MSU’s Regulated Research Enclave (RRE).

Developing and Communicating a Course-level Generative AI Use policy 
A well-prepared course should be designed for ("restrict", "permit" or "require") or designed around ("ban") generative AI. Courses designed for AI should detail the ways and degrees to which generative AI use will be incorporated into activities and assessments. Courses designed for AI may incorporate AI for some activities and not others and depending on course AI may be explicitly excluded or included at different stages. Courses designed around AI may discuss impacts of generative AI as a topic but expectations are that students will not use these types of tools, and the course should be intentionally designed such that the use of generative AI would either not be conducive to the completion of assessments and activities, or such that the attempt to do so would prove overly cumbersome. 
Regardless of your approach, communicating your expectations and rationale to learners is imperative.
Set clear expectations. Be clear in your syllabus about your policies for when, where, and how students should be using generative AI tools, and how to appropriately acknowledge (e.g., cite, reference) when they do use generative AI tools. If you are requiring students to use generative AI tools, these expectations should also be communicated in the syllabus and if students are incurring costs, these should be detailed in the course description on the Registrar’s website. 
Regardless of your approach, you might include time for ethics discussions. Add time into your course to discuss the ethical implications of chatGPT and forthcoming AI systems. Talk with students about the ethics of using generative AI tools in your course, at your university, and within your discipline or profession. Don’t be afraid to discuss the gray areas where we do not yet have clear guidance or answers; gray areas are often the places where learning becomes most engaging.
Example Syllabus Statements for the Use of AI Tools in Your Course 
There is no “one size fits all policy” for AI uses in higher education. Much like attendance/participation policies, GenAI course-level rules and statements will be determined by individual instructors, departments, and programs. The following resource is provided to assist you in developing coherent policies on the use of generative AI tools in your course, within MSU's guideline. Please adjust these examples to fit your particular context. Remember communication of your course generative AI policies should not only be listed in your syllabus, but also explicitly included  in assignment descriptions where AI use is allowed or disallowed. 
It is your responsibility as instructor to note and explain your individual course-level rule. A conversation with your department is highly recommended so that generative AI use in the classroom reflects broader use in the unit and  discipline. If you have specific questions about writing your course rules, please reach out to the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation. 
Design For Generative AI
Restrict [This syllabus statement is useful when you are allowing the use of AI tools for certain purposes, but not for others. Adjust this statement to reflect your particular parameters of acceptable use. The following is an example.] 
Example1:  

The use of generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Dall-e, etc.) is permitted in this course for the following activities:

[insert permitted your course activities here*]


The use of generative AI tools is not permitted in this course for the following activities:

[insert not permitted your course activities here*]


You are responsible for the information you submit based on an AI query (for instance, that it does not violate intellectual property laws, or contain misinformation or unethical content). Your use of AI tools must be properly documented and cited in order to stay within university policies on academic integrity and the Spartan Code of Honor Academic Pledge.

Example2: Taken, with slight modification, from Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching  to demonstrate the kinds of permitted/restricted activity an instructor could denote.
The use of generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Dall-e, etc.) is permitted in this course for the following activities: 



Brainstorming and refining your ideas; 
Fine tuning your research questions; 
Finding information on your topic; 
Drafting an outline to organize your thoughts; and 
Checking grammar and style. 



The use of generative AI tools is not permitted in this course for the following activities: 



Impersonating you in classroom contexts, such as by using the tool to compose discussion board prompts assigned to you or content that you put into a Zoom chat. 
Completing group work that your group has assigned to you, unless it is mutually agreed within your group and in alignment with course policy that you may utilize the tool. 
Writing a draft of a writing assignment. 
Writing entire sentences, paragraphs or papers to complete class assignments. 



You are responsible for the information you submit based on an AI query (for instance, that it does not violate intellectual property laws, or contain misinformation or unethical content). Your use of AI tools must be properly documented and cited in order to stay within university policies on academic integrity and the Spartan Code of Honor Academic Pledge. For example, [Insert citation style for your discipline. See these resources for APA guidance, and for other citation formats.]. Any assignment that is found to have used generative AI tools in unauthorized ways [insert the penalty here*]. When in doubt about permitted usage, please ask for clarification. 
 
Use permitted [This syllabus statement is useful when you are allowing, and perhaps encouraging, broad use of generative AI tools. Adjust this statement to reflect your particular parameters of acceptable use in your course. The following is an example.] 
Example:
You are welcome to use generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Dall-e, etc.) in this class as doing so aligns with the course learning goal [insert the course learning goal use of AI aligns with here*]. You are responsible for the information you submit based on an AI query (for instance, that it does not violate intellectual property laws, or contain misinformation or unethical content). Your use of AI tools must be properly documented and cited in order to stay within university policies on academic integrity and the Spartan Code of Honor Academic Pledge.
Use required [This syllabus statement is useful when you have certain assignments that will require that students use generative AI tools. Adjust this statement to reflect your particular parameters of acceptable use. The following is an example.] 
Example:
You will be expected to use generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Dall-e, etc.) in this class as doing so aligns with the course learning goal [insert the course learning goal use of AI aligns with]. Our class will make use of the [insert name of tool(s) here*] tool, and you can gain access to it by [insert instructions for accessing tool(s) here*]. You are responsible for the information you submit based on an AI query (for instance, that it does not violate intellectual property laws, or contain misinformation or unethical content). Your use of AI tools must be properly documented and cited in order to stay within university policies on academic integrity and the Spartan Code of Honor Academic Pledge.
 
Design Around Generative AI
Ban [This syllabus statement is useful when you are forbidding all use of generative AI tools for any purpose in your class. Adjust this statement to reflect your particular parameters of acceptable use. The following is an example.] 
The use of generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, etc.) is not permitted in this class; therefore, any use of AI tools for work in this class may be considered a violation of Michigan State University’s policy on academic integrity, the Spartan Code of Honor Academic Pledge andStudent Rights and Responsibilities, since the work is not your own. The use of unauthorized AI tools will result in [insert the penalty here*].

CONCERN: The ubiquity of generative AI tools, including their integration into Google search results and MS Office products, means that an outright generative AI ban is implausible for any activity that makes use of the Internet or MS Office Suite.

* It is highly recommended that you have conversations in your department about the appropriate penalties for unauthorized use of an AI. It is important to think about the appropriate level of penalty for first-time offenders and those who repeatedly violate your policies on the use of AI. 



Example Statements from Current USA, Higher Education Educators
This collection of example statements are a compilation from a variety of sources including Faculty Learning Community (FLC) at Cleveland State University, Ohio University’s AI, ChatGPT and Teaching and Learning, and some of Michigan State University’s own educators! (If you have an example generative AI policy from your course that you’d be willing to share, please add it to the comments below or e-mail it to MSU Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation at teaching@msu.edu) NOTE: making your own course-level determination of "ban", "restrict", "permit", or "require" and using the sample language is the best, first place to start!
 “AI (artificial intelligence) resources such as ChatGPT can be useful in a number of ways. Because it can also be abused, however, you are required to acknowledge use of AI in any work you submit for class. Text directly copied from AI sites must be treated as any other direct quote and properly cited. Other uses of AI must be clearly described at the end of your assignment.” -Claire Hughes-Lynch
 “While AI tools can be useful for completing assignments and detecting plagiarism, it is important to use them responsibly and ethically. Practice based on these guidelines as a future or current K-12 teacher. The following are some guidelines for what not to do when using AI in your assignments and for plagiarism detection:

Do not rely solely on AI tools to complete assignments. It is important to understand the material and complete assignments on your own, using AI tools as a supplement rather than a replacement for your own work.
Do not use AI tools to plagiarize*. Using AI to generate or modify content to evade plagiarism detection is unethical and violates academic integrity.
Do not assume that AI responses are always correct. It has been noted that AI can generate fake results.* Please see the plagiarism/academic integrity policy in the course syllabus.” -Selma Koc

“Intellectual honesty is vital to an academic community and for my fair evaluation of your work. All work submitted in this course must be your own, completed in accordance with the University’s academic regulations. Use of AI tools, including ChatGPT, is permitted in this course. Nevertheless, you are only encouraged to use AI tools to help brainstorm assignments or projects or to revise existing work you have written. It is solely your responsibility to make all submitted work your own, maintain academic integrity, and avoid any type of plagiarism. Be aware that the accuracy or quality of AI generated content may not meet the standards of this course, even if you only incorporate such content partially and after substantial paraphrasing, modification and/or editing. Also keep in mind that AI generated content may not provide appropriate or clear attribution to the author(s) of the original sources, while most written assignments in this course require you to find and incorporate highly relevant peer-reviewed scholarly publications following guidelines in the latest publication manual of the APA. Lastly, as your instructor, I reserve the right to use various plagiarism checking tools in evaluating your work, including those screening for AI-generated content, and impose consequences accordingly.” -Xiongyi Liu
“If you are ever unsure about whether collaboration with others, including using artificial intelligence, is allowed or not, please ask me right away. For the labs, although you may discuss them in groups (and try using AI), you must all create your own code, output and answers. Quizzes will be done in class and must be solely your own work. You alone are always responsible for the correctness of the final answers and assignments you submit.” - Emily Rauschert on AI as collaboration partner
“Chat GPT: The use of Chat GTP is neither encouraged nor prohibited from use on assignments for GAD 250. Chat GPT is quickly becoming a communication tool in most business settings. Therefore, if you choose to use Chat GPT for assignments, please be sure to revise the content for clarity, conciseness, and audience awareness. Chat GPT is simply a tool and should not be used as a way to produce first and only drafts. Every assignment submission will be graded using the rubric provided in the syllabus. Be aware that Chat GPT may not develop high-quality work that earns a passing grade. It is your responsibility to review and revise all work before submitting to the instructor.” -Leah Schell-Barber for a Business Communications Course
“Use of Generative AI, such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Bing-Chat, must maintain the highest standards of academic integrity and adhere to the OU Code of Student Conduct.  The use of Generative AI should be seen as a tool to enhance academic research, not as a replacement for critical thinking and originality in assignments. Students are not permitted to submit assignments that have been fully or partially generated by AI unless explicitly stated in the assignment instructions. All work submitted must be the original work of the student. Any ideas garnered from Generative AI research must be acknowledged with proper in-text citation and reference. Students may be asked to save the AI chat as a PDF file for verification.” -Ohio University College of Business Generative AI Use for Academic Work Policy
“‘The policy of this class is that you must be the creator of all work you submit for a grade. The use of others’ work, or the use of intelligent agents, chat bots, or a.i. engines to create your work is a violation of this policy and will be addressed as per MSU and Broad College codes of conduct.’ - Jeremy Van Hof… Or, you might consider this, which I asked ChatGPT to write for me: ‘Sample Policy Language: Students should not use ChatGPT to complete course assignments or for any other academic activities. ChatGPT should be used as a supplemental resource and should not replace traditional academic activities.’ (ChatGPT per Jeremy Van Hof’s prompting) 
Or this much longer version, also written by ChatGPT: ‘The following course policy statement prohibits the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the’ completion of assignments and activities during the duration of the course. At the Broad College, we strive to create an academic environment where learning is the foremost priority. We strongly believe that learning is best achieved through the hard work and dedication of our students. As such, we prohibit the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the completion of assignments and activities during the course.  Our policy is in line with our commitment to providing a fair and equitable learning environment for all students. We believe that AI should not be used to substitute human effort, as it defeats the purpose of our educational goals, which are to encourage critical thinking and problem-solving.  We understand that AI can be a useful tool in many contexts, and we do not discourage its use in other courses. However, in this course, we will not accept assignments or activities that have been completed through the use of AI. We expect our students to be honest and to complete their work independently.  We will be monitoring student work closely to ensure compliance with this policy. Violations of this policy will be met with disciplinary sanctions. All students are expected to adhere to this policy and to abide by the standards of the University.’ (ChatGPT per Jeremy Van Hof’s prompting)” -Jeremy Van Hof, Broad College of Business
“I study AI. I research it in my role as faculty in the Experience Architecture and Professional & Public Writing majors. And I don’t think it’s inherently bad or scary, in the same way that a calculator isn’t bad/scary for math. Artificial intelligence technologies such as ChatGPT can be an excellent starting point and a place to begin inquiry. But they are not a replacement for human thinking and learning. Robots lack empathy and nuance. As such, here is my policy:
You may use AI as a tool, but you may not use AI to replace your own beautiful brain. That means that you may ask ChatGPT, for example, to give you a list of bands similar to one that you hear and appreciate in this course. You may ask ChatGPT to give you an overview of a punk scene in a geographic location at a particular time. You may ask it for the history of punk rock and punk cultures. You may ask it what happened to Sid Vicious. 
But you may not ask it to write on your behalf, and you must not turn in anything that has been written by ChatGPT and pass it off as your own for any assignment in this class, including discussion responses, papers, and exams. If you do so, I will know, and that will lead to an uncomfortable moment–and to you failing the assignment.
This is not meant to be punitive. It’s meant to reinforce how much I value you and your ideas and your intellect. In a face-to-face environment, we would have a lengthy conversation about AI, ethics, and human learning. If you want to have that conversation, I’m happy to do so via Zoom–email me!” -Kate Birdsall, asynchronous US23 course on punk-rock politics
Developing your Scholarly and Ethical Approaches to Generative AI 
Taken, with slight modification, from “Update Your Course Syllabus for chatGPT” by Ryan Watkins, Professor of Educational Technology Leadership, and Human-Technology Collaboration at George Washington University in Washington DC (2022), via Medium. 
Beyond Syllabi Language 
Communicate your perspective about AI use. In addition to syllabus statements, consider talking with your students about AI tools like ChatGPT. Regardless of your orientation to generative AI use, it is important that you clearly communicate your expectations with the introduction of each assignment/assessment.   
Different levels of familiarity: As an emerging technology, students will have differing levels of familiarity with these tools. For instance, while ChatGPT can write a grammatically correct paper or appear to solve a math problem, it may be unreliable and limited in scope. Discuss with students the uses and limitations of AI tools more broadly in addition to your perspective on their use in your class. 
Connect to critical thinking skills: AI tools have many implications beyond the classroom. Consider talking with students about how to be engaged-consumers of AI content (e.g., how to identify trusted sources, reading critically, privacy concerns). Discuss how you and colleagues use AI in your own work.
Adapt assessments. AI tools are emerging and it can be incredibly difficult to make any assessment completely free from AI interference. Beyond a syllabus statement, you may also consider adapting your assessments to help reduce the usefulness of AI products. However before revising any assignment, it’s helpful to reflect on what exactly you want students to get out of the experience and share your expectations with your students. Is it just the end product, or does the process of creating the product play a significant role? 

Create assessments that allow students to develop ideas over time. Depending on your class size, consider scaffolding assessments to be completed in small components (e.g., proposal, annotated bibliography, outline, first draft, revised drafts). 
Ask students to connect their writing to specific course materials or current events. Students can draw from the course textbook, additional readings on Moodle or Blackboard, and even class discussion boards or in-class discussions.  
Incorporate personal experiences and reflections. Provide students with opportunities to connect what they are learning to their own lives and experiences—stories unique to each individual. 
Incorporate Multimedia Assessments. Consider developing or adapting assessments to include multimedia submissions (e.g., audio or video components). Also, consider peer-review and social annotation tools like Eli Review or Google Docs for students to use when responding to assigned readings or other materials.  
Use class time. Ask students to complete writing assignments during class time (e.g. complete reading reflections at the beginning of class, or use exit tickets). Asking students to organize their ideas by writing during class may also support student engagement in other class activities such as discussions and group work.  

Get Creative With Your Assignments: Visit “Update Your Course Syllabus for chatGPT” by Ryan Watkins (Medium article) for 10 ideas for creative assignments adapted for a classroom with chatGPT. You can mitigate the risk of students using chatGPT to cheat, and at the same time improve their knowledge and skills for appropriately using new AI technologies inside and outside the classroom.
Additional considerations to help you develop your generative AI philosophy (Watkins, 2022)
Expand your options. Consider your repertoire of instructional strategies. Atsusi Hirumi offers a guide to research-grounded strategies for any classroom. These are not, however, “a la carte” menus; you must use all of the steps of any strategy to gain the evidence-based benefits.
Reflect on your values. As Tyler Cowen pointed out, there will be those who gain and those that lose with the emergence of chatGPT and other generative AI tools. This is as true for students as it is for faculty and instructors. Be ready to openly discuss the ethical implications of generative AI tools with your students, along with the value of what you are teaching and why learning these are important to their futures.
Consider time. As discussed during Bryan Alexander’s webinar, chatGPT and other generative AI tools offer a short-cut to individuals who are short on time. Examine your course schedule to determine if you are unknowingly pushing students to take short-cuts. Some instructors try to cover too much content in their courses already.
Remember, AI is not human. Be careful not to anthropomorphize chatGPT and other generative AI tools. ChatGPT is a language model, and if we anthropomorphize these technologies, then it will be much harder to understand their promise and perils. Murray Shanahan suggests that we avoid statements such as, “chatGPT knows…”, or “ChatGPT thinks…”; instead, use “According to chatGPT…” or “ChatGPT’s output…”.
Again, AI is likely to be a part of your students’ life to some extent this semester, so plan accordingly. Critically considering your course design in the context of generative AI is an important educator practice. Following the Provost’s call, MSU instructors are encouraged to 1) develop a course-level generative AI use policy and actively discuss with students about expectations for generative AI use in the work for your class, 2) promote equitable and inclusive use of the technology, and 3) work with colleagues across campus to determine ethical and scholarly applications of generative AI for preparing students to succeed in an evolving digital landscape. MSU does not currently have a university-wide policy on AI in the classroom, so  it is your responsibility as instructor to note and explain your individual course policy. A conversation with your department is highly recommended so that generative AI use in the classroom reflects that in the discipline. 
References
This resource is collated from multiple sites, publications, and authors with some modification for MSU context and links to MSU specific resources. Educators should always defer to University policy and guidelines. 

MSU Office of Student Support & Accountability Faculty Resources, including Academic Dishonesty Report form. 
Watkins, R. (2022) Update Your Course Syllabus for chatGPT. Educational Technology Leadership, The George Washington University via Medium: https://medium.com/@rwatkins_7167/updating-your-course-syllabus-for-chatgpt-965f4b57b003 
Center for the Advancement of Teaching (2023). Sample Syllabus Statements for the Use of AI Tools in Your Course. Temple University 
Center for Teaching & Learning (2023) How Do I Consider the Impact of AI Tools like ChatGPT in My Courses?. University of Massachusetts Amherst. https://www.umass.edu/ctl/how-do-i-consider-impact-ai-tools-chatgpt-my-courses 
Center for Teaching, Learning and Assessment (2023). AI, ChatGPT and Teaching and Learning. Ohio University. https://www.ohio.edu/center-teaching-learning/instructor-resources/chat-gpt
Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology. (2023). Artificial Intelligence Tools and Teaching. Iowa University. https://teach.its.uiowa.edu/artificial-intelligence-tools-and-teaching 
Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (2023). Chat GPT and Artificial Intelligence Tools. Georgetown University. https://cndls.georgetown.edu/ai-composition-tools/#privacy-and-data-collection 
Office for Faculty Excellence (2023). Practical Responses to ChatGPT. Montclair State University. https://www.montclair.edu/faculty-excellence/practical-responses-to-chat-gpt/ 
Teaching and Learning at Cleveland State University by Center for Faculty Excellence is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
 

This week, we are featuring Hui-Ling Malone, Assistant Professor of English Education.  Dr. Malone was recognized via iteach.msu.edu's Thank and Educator Initiative! We encourage MSU community members to nominate high-impact Spartan educators (via our Thank an Educator form) regularly!
Read more about Hui-Ling’s perspectives below. #iteachmsu's questions are bolded below, followed by their responses!

You were recognized via the Thank an Educator Initiative. In one word, what does being an educator mean to you? 
Connection. 
Share with me what this word/quality looks like in your practice?
At the end of the day teaching is about sharing with each other, learning from one another and seeing ourselves in others. It is about creating a community willing to engage in content that helps us think deeply about the world around us. It is the willingness to be vulnerable, which as Brene Brown helped us understand, creates connection. 
Have your ideas on this changed over time? if so how?
I’ve taught in several communities that ranged in different age groups, racial backgrounds, socio economic status, religion, language, etc. I’ve learned that teaching is deeply relational, and one does not learn and grow in an environment where they don’t feel safe enough to take risks and thrive.
Tell me more about your educational “setting.” This can include, but not limited to departmental affiliations, community connections, co-instructors, and students. (Aka, where do you work?)
I am a Visiting English Education professor in the English Department. Most of my students plan on being secondary English teachers. It’s exciting and a great privilege to teach the next generation that will teach the next generation! :) I also include community members such as activists, artists, and young leaders to visit and co-teach my class. As a teacher educator, I want my students to know that they are not alone in their pursuit of educational equity and encourage them to build with others outside of their classrooms.
What is a challenge you experience in your educator role?
Throughout this pandemic many of my students have encountered personal challenges, such as loss, illness and maintaining their emotional and mental wellness. 
Any particular “solutions” or “best practices” you’ve found that help you support student success at the university despite/in the face of this?
I encourage my students to communicate with me when they need additional support. I also allow students to zoom in, as some are immunocompromised or want to protect the elderly and vulnerable who are in their close circle. I think this pandemic has taught me to be flexible and to remain as inclusive as possible for all my students.
What are practices you utilize that help you feel successful as an educator?
As much as possible, I try to maintain my own personal health and wellness. I practice self care so that I am in a place to show up for my students. I value communication, transparency and make an effort to create a classroom environment where everyone feels valued, safe and excited to participate! Also, I don’t lecture. It’s never been my style. As much as possible, I provide opportunities for students to teach each other and activities that are experiential and prime for reflection and connection.
What topics or ideas about teaching and learning would you like to see discussed on the iteach.msu.edu platform? Why do you think this conversation is needed at msu? 
I’m relatively new to MSU (I started as faculty in Fall 2020) and understand that there are so many incredible educators who are doing great work. Unfortunately, due to the nature of our work and the pandemic, I’ve been a bit isolated. I’d love for this page to showcase the work educators are doing to learn and connect with others across campus. 
I also know that there is so much going on in the world and see that it is important for us to engage in difficult but necessary conversations around race, identity, the political climate, etc. Perhaps there can be a space to showcase what conversations our classrooms are having and how they can be productive.
What are you looking forward to (or excited to be a part of) next semester?
I’m excited to keep learning from and building with my colleagues and students!

Don't forget to celebrate individuals you see making a difference in teaching, learning, or student success at MSU with #iteachmsu's Thank an Educator initiative. You might just see them appear in the next feature!

Instructional Guidance Is Key to Promoting Active Learning in Online and Blended Courses Written by: Jay Loftus Ed.D. (MSU / CTLI) & Michele Jacobsen, Ph.D. (Werklund School of Education - University of Calgary)
Abstract - Active learning strategies tend to originate from one of two dominant philosophical perspectives. The first position is active learning as an instructional philosophy, whereby inquiry-based and discovery learning are primary modalities for acquiring new information. The second perspective considers active learning a strategy to supplement the use of more structured forms of instruction, such as direct instruction. From the latter perspective, active learning is employed to reinforce conceptual learning following the presentation of factual or foundational knowledge. This review focuses on the second perspective and uses of active learning as a strategy. We highlight the need and often overlooked requirement for including instructional guidance to ensure active learning, which can be effective and efficient for learning and learners.
Keywords - Active learning, instructional guidance, design strategy, cognitive load, efficiency, online and blended courses
 
Introduction
Learner engagement in online courses has been a central theme in educational research for several years (Martin, Sun and Westing, 2020). As we consider the academic experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020 and started to subside in 2022, it is essential to reflect on the importance of course quality (Cavanaugh, Jacquemin and Junker, 2023) and learner experience in online courses (Gherghel, Yasuda and Kita, 2023). Rebounding from our collected experience, learner engagement continues to be an important element of course design and delivery. This fact was highlighted in 2021, when the United States Department of Education (DOE) set forth new standards for institutions offering online courses. To be eligible for Title IV funding, new standards require non-correspondence courses to ensure regular and substantive interactions (RSI) between instructors and students (Downs, 2021). This requirement necessitates the need to find ways to engage students allowing instructors the ability to maximize their interactions. One possible solution is to use active learning techniques that have been shown to increase student engagement and learning outcomes (Ashiabi & O’ Neal, 2008; Cavanaugh et al., 2023).
Active learning is an important instructional strategy and pedagogical philosophy used to design quality learning experiences and foster engaging and interactive learning environments. However, this is not a novel perspective. Many years ago in their seminal work, Chickering and Gamson (1987) discussed the issue of interaction between instructors and students, suggesting that this was an essential practice for quality undergraduate education. The newfound focus on active learning strategies has become more pronounced following an examination of instructional practices from 2020 to 2022. For example, Tan, Chng, Chonardo, Ng  and Fung (2020) examined how chemistry instructors incorporated active learning into their instruction to achieve equivalent learning experiences in pre-pandemic classrooms. Similarly, Misra and Mazelfi (2021) described the need to incorporate group work or active learning activities into remote courses to: ‘increase students’ learning motivation, enforce mutual respect for friends’ opinions, foster excitement’ (p. 228). Rincon-Flores & Santos-Guevara (2021) found that gamification as a form of active learning, ‘helped to motivate students to participate actively and improved their academic performance, in a setting where the mode of instruction was remote, synchronous, and online’ (p.43). Further, the implementation of active learning, particularly gamification, was found to be helpful for promoting a more humanizing learning experience (Rincon-Flores & Santos-Guevara, 2021).
This review examines the use of active learning and presents instructional guidance as an often-overlooked element that must be included to make active learning useful and effective. The omission of explicit and direct instructional guidance when using active learning can be inefficient, resulting in an extraneous cognitive burden on learners (Lange, Gorbunova, Shcheglova and Costley, 2022). We hope to outline our justification through a review of active learning and offer strategies to ensure that the implementation of active learning is effective.
Active Learning as an Instructional Philosophy
Active learning is inherently a ‘student-centered’ instructional paradigm that is derived from a constructivist epistemological perspective (Krahenbuhl, 2016; Schunk, 2012). Constructivism theorizes that individuals construct their understanding through interactions and engagements, whereby the refinement of skills and knowledge results over time (Cobb & Bowers, 1999). Through inquiry, students produce experiences and make connections that lead to logical and conceptual growth (Bada & Olusegun, 2015). Engaging learners in activities, tasks, and planned experiences is an overarching premise of active learning as an instructional philosophy. As an overarching instructional philosophy, the role of instructional guidance can be minimized. As Hammer (1997) pointed out many years ago, the role of the instructor in these environments is to provide content and materials, and students are left make ‘discoveries’ through inquiry.
Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is an instructional practice that falls under the general category of ‘active learning’. The tenets of IBL adhere to a constructivist learning philosophy (de Jong et al., 2023) and can be characterized by the following six elements (Duncan & Chinn, 2021). Students will:

Generate knowledge through investigation of a novel issue or problem.
Work ‘actively’ to discover new findings.
Use of evidence to derive conclusions.
Take responsibility for their own learning through ‘epistemological agency’ (Chinn & Iordanou, 2023) and share their learning with a community of learners.
Use problem-solving and reasoning for complex tasks.
Collaborate, share ideas, and derive solutions with peers.

Historically, inquiry-based learning as a form of active learning was adopted as an overall instructional paradigm in disciplines such as medicine and was closely aligned with problem-based learning (PBL) (Barrows, 1996). Proponents of PBL advocate its use because of its emphasis on the development of skills such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking (Dring, 2019). Critics of these constructivist approaches to instruction highlight the absence of a structure and any form of instructional guidance (Zhang & Cobern, 2021). Instead, they advocate a more explicit form of instruction such as direct instruction (Zhang, Kirschner, Corben and Sweller, 2022).
The view that a hybrid of IBL coupled with direct instruction is the optimal approach to implementing active learning has been highlighted in the recent academic literature (de Jong et al., 2023). The authors suggest that the selection of direct instruction or active learning strategies, such as IBL, should be guided by the desired outcomes of instruction. If the goal of instruction is the acquisition of more foundational or factual information, direct instruction is the preferred strategy. Conversely, IBL strategies are more appropriate ‘for the promotion of deep understanding and transferrable conceptual understanding of topics that are open-ended or susceptible to misconceptions’ (de Jong et al., 2023 p. 7).
The recommendation to use both direct instruction and approaches like IBL has reframed active learning as an instructional strategy rather than an overarching pedagogical philosophy. Active learning should be viewed as a technique or strategy coupled with direct instructional approaches (de Jong et al., 2023).
Active Learning as an Instructional Strategy
Approaching active learning as an instructional strategy rather than an overarching instructional philosophy helps clarify and address the varying perspectives found in the literature. Zhang et al. (2022) suggested that there is a push to emphasize exploration-based pedagogy. This includes instructional approaches deemed to be predicated on inquiry, discovery, or problem-based approaches. This emphasis has resulted in changes to curricular policies that mandate the incorporation of these instructional philosophies. Zhang et al. (2022) discussed how active learning approaches can be incorporated into science education policy to emphasize ‘inquiry’ approaches, despite adequate evidence for effectiveness.  Zhang et al. (2022) stated that the ‘disjoint between policy documents and research evidence is exacerbated by the tendency to ignore categories of research that do not provide the favored research outcomes that support teaching science through inquiry and investigations’ (p. 1162). Instead, Zhang et al. (2022) advocate for direct instruction as the primary mode of instruction in science education with active learning or ‘inquiry’ learning incorporated as a strategy, arguing that conceptual or foundational understanding ‘should not be ‘traded off’ by prioritizing other learning outcomes’ (p. 1172).
In response to Zhang et al. ’s (2022) critique, de Jong et al. (2023) argued that research evidence supports the use of inquiry-based instruction for the acquisition of conceptual understanding in science education. They asserted that both inquiry-based (or active learning approaches) and direct instruction serve specific learning needs. Direct instruction may be superior for foundational or factual learning, while inquiry-based or active learning may be better for conceptual understanding and reinforcement. The conclusion of de Jong et al. ’s (2023) argument suggests the use of a hybrid of direct instruction and active learning techniques, such as inquiry-based designs, depending on the stated learning objectives of the course or the desired outcomes.
This hybrid approach to instructional practice can help ensure that intended learning outcomes are matched with effective instructional strategies. Furthermore, a hybrid approach can help maintain efficiency in learning rather than leaving the acquisition of stated learning outcomes to discovery or happenstance (Slocum & Rolf, 2021).  This notion was supported by Nerantzi's (2020) suggestion that ‘students learn best when they are active and immersed in the learning process, when their curiosity is stimulated, when they can ask questions and debate in and outside the classroom, when they are supported in this process and feel part of a learning community’ (p. 187). Emphasis on learner engagement may support the belief that active learning strategies combined with direct instruction may provide an optimal environment for learning. Active learning strategies can be used to reinforce the direct or explicit presentation of concepts and principles (Lapitan Jr, Tiangco, Sumalinog, Sabarillo and  Diaz, 2021).
Recently, Zhang (2022) examined the importance of integrating direct instruction with hands-on investigation as an instructional model in high school physics classes. Zhang (2022) determined that ‘students benefit more when they develop a thorough theoretical foundation about science ideas before hands-on investigations’ (p. 111). This supports the earlier research in post-secondary STEM disciplines as reported by Freeman, Eddy, McDonough and Wenderoth (2014), where the authors suggested that active learning strategies help to improve student performance. The authors further predicted that active learning interventions would show more significant learning gains when combined with ‘required exercises that are completed outside of formal class sessions’ (p. 8413).
Active Learning Strategies
Active learning is characterized by activities, tasks, and learner interactions. Several characteristics of active learning have been identified, including interaction, peer learning, and instructor presence (Nerantzi, 2020). Technology affords students learning opportunities to connect pre-, during-, and post-formal learning sessions (Zou & Xie, 2019; Nerantzi, 2020). The interactions or techniques that instructors use help determine the types of interactions and outcomes that will result. Instructors may be ‘present’ or active in the process but may not provide adequate instructional guidance for techniques to be efficient or effective (Cooper, Schinske and Tanner, 2021; Kalyuga, Chandler and Sweller. 2001). To highlight this gap, we first consider the widely used technique of think-pair-share, an active learning strategy first introduced by Lyman (1981). This active learning strategy was introduced to provide all students equitable opportunities to think and discuss ideas with their peers. The steps involved in this technique were recently summarized (Cooper et al., 2021): i) provide a prompt or question to students, (ii) give students a chance to think about the question or prompt independently, (iii) have students share their initial answers/responses with a neighbor in a pair or a small group, and (iv) invite a few groups a chance to share their responses with the whole class.
Instructional guidance outlines the structure and actions associated with a task. This includes identifying the goals and subgoals, and suggesting strategies or algorithms to complete the task (Kalyuga et al., 2001). Employing the strategy of think-pair-sharing requires more instructional guidance than instructors may consider. The title of the strategy foreshadows what students will ‘do’ to complete the activity. However, instructional guidance is essential to help students focus on the outcome, rather than merely enacting the process of the activity. Furthermore, instructional guidance or instructions given to students when employing think-pair-sharing can help make this activity more equitable. Cooper et al. (2021) point out that equity is an important consideration when employing think-pair-share. Often, think-pair-share activities are not equitable during the pair or share portion of the exercise, and can be dominated by more vocal or boisterous students. Instructional guidance can help ensure that the activity is more equitable by providing more explicit instructions on expectations for sharing. For example, the instructions for a think-pair-share activity may include those that require each student to compose and then share ideas on a digital whiteboard or on a slide within a larger shared slide deck. The opportunity for equitable learning must be built into the instructions given to students. Otherwise, the learning experience could be meaningless or lack the contribution of students who are timid or find comfort in a passive role during group learning.
Further considerations for instructional guidance are necessary since we now use various forms of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to promote active learning strategies. Web conferencing tools, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, were used frequently during the height of required remote or hybrid teaching (Ahshan, 2021). Activities that separated students into smaller work groups via breakout rooms or unique discussion threads often included instructions on what students were to accomplish in these smaller collaborative groups. However, the communication of expectations or explicit guidance to help direct students in these groups were often not explicit or were not accessible once the students had been arranged into their isolated workspaces. These active learning exercises would have benefited from clear guidance and instructions on how to ‘call for help’ once separated from the larger group meetings. For example, Li, Xu, He, He, Pribesh, Watson and Major, (2021) described an activity for pair programming that uses zoom breakout rooms. In their description, the authors outlined the steps learners were expected to follow to successfully complete the active learning activity, as well as the mechanisms students used to ask for assistance once isolated from the larger Zoom session that contained the entire class. The description by Li et al. (2021) provided an effective approach to instructional guidance for active learning using Zoom.  Often, instructions are verbalized or difficult to refer to once individuals are removed from the general or common room. The lack of explicit instructional guidance in these activities can result in inefficiency (Kalyuga et al., 2001) and often inequity (Cooper et al., 2021).
The final active learning approach considered here was a case study analysis of asynchronous discussion forums. To extend engagement with course content, students were assigned a case study to discuss in a group discussion forum. The group is invited to apply course concepts and respond to questions as they analyze the case and prepare recommendations and a solution (Hartwell et al., 2021). Findings indicate that case study analysis in discussion forums as an active learning strategy “encouraged collaborative learning and contributed to improvement in cognitive learning” (Seethamraju, 2014, p. 9). While this active learning strategy can engage students with course materials to apply these concepts in new situations, it can also result in a high-volume-low-yield set of responses and posts without sufficient instructional guidance and clear expectations for engagement and deliverables. Hartwell, Anderson, Hanlon, and Brown (2021) offer guidance on the effective use of online discussion forums for case study analysis, such as clear expectations for student work in teams (e.g., a team contract), ongoing teamwork support through regular check-ins and assessment criteria, clear timelines and tasks for individual analysis, combined group discussion and cross-case comparison, review of posted solutions, and requirements for clear connections between case analysis and course concepts.
Active Learning & Cognitive Load Theory
In a recent review of current policy and educational standards within STEM disciplines, Zhang et al. (2022) argued that structured instructional approaches such as direct instruction align more closely with cognitive-based learning theories. These theories are better at predicting learning gains and identifying how learning occurs. Cognitive load theory is one such theory based on three main assumptions. First, humans have the capacity to obtain novel information through problem-solving or from other people. Obtaining information from other individuals is more efficient than generating solutions themselves. Second, acquired information is confronted by an individual’s limited capacity to first store information in working memory and then transfer it to unlimited long-term memory for later use. Problem-solving imposes a heavy burden on limited working memory. Thus, learners often rely on the information obtained from others. Finally, information stored in long-term memory can be transferred back to working memory to deal with familiar situations (Sweller, 2020). The recall of information from long-term memory to working memory is not bound by the limits of the initial acquisition of information in working memory (Zhang et al., 2022).
Zhang et al. (2022) state that ‘there never is a justification for engaging in inquiry-based learning or any other pedagogically identical approaches when students need to acquire complex, novel information’ (p. 1170). This is clearly a one-sided argument that focuses on the acquisition of information rather than the application of acquired information. This also presents an obvious issue related to the efficiency of acquiring novel information. However, Zhang et al. (2022) did not argue against the use of active learning or inquiry learning strategies to help reinforce concepts, or the use of the same to support direct instruction.
The combination of active learning strategies with direct instruction can be modified using assumptions of cognitive load, which highlights the need to include instructional guidance with active learning strategies. The inclusion of clear and precise instructions or instructional guidance is critical for effective active learning strategies (Murphy, 2023). As de Jong et al. (2023) suggest, ‘guidance is (initially) needed to make inquiry learning successful' (p.9). We cannot assume that instructional guidance is implied through the name of the activity or can be determined from the previous learning experiences of students. Assumptions lead to ambiguous learning environments that lack instructional guidance, force learners to infer expectations, and rely on prior and/or potentially limited active learning experiences. In the following section, we offer suggestions for improving the use of active learning strategies in online and blended learning environments by adding instructional guidance.
Suggestions for Improving the Use of Active Learning in Online and Blended Courses
The successful implementation of active learning depends on several factors. One of the most critical barriers to the adoption of active learning is student participation. As Finelli et al. (2018) highlighted, students may be reluctant to participate demonstrating behaviors such as, ‘not participating when asked to engage in an in-class activity, distracting other students, performing the required task with minimal effort, complaining, or giving lower course evaluations’ (p. 81). These behaviors are reminiscent of petulant adolescents, often discouraging instructors from implementing active learning in the future. To overcome this, the authors suggested that providing a clear explanation of the purpose of the active learning exercise would help curb resistance to participation. More recently, de Jong et al. (2023) stated a similar perspective that ‘a key issue in interpreting the impact of inquiry-based instruction is the role of guidance’ (p. 5). The inclusion of clear and explicit steps for completing an active learning exercise is a necessary design strategy. This aspect of instructional guidance is relatively easy to achieve with the arrival of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools used to support instructors. As Crompton and Burke (2024) pointed out in their recent review, ‘ChatGPT can assist teachers in the creation of content, lesson plans, and learning activities’ (p.384). More specifically, Crompton and Burke (2024) suggested that generative AI could be used to provide step-by-step instructions for students. To illustrate this point, we entered the following prompt into the generative AI tool, goblin.tools (https://goblin.tools/) ‘Provide instructions given to students for a carousel activity in a college class.’ The output is shown in Fig. 1. This tool is used to break down tasks into steps, and if needed, it can further break down each step into a more discrete sequence of steps.

Figure 1 . Goblin.tools instructions for carousel active learning exercises.
The omission of explicit steps or direct instructional guidance in an active learning exercise can potentially increase extraneous cognitive load (Klepsch & Seufert, 2020; Sweller, 2020). This pernicious impact on cognitive load is the result of the diversion of one’s limited capacity to reconcile problems (Zhang, 2022). Furthermore, the complexity of active learning within an online or blended course is exacerbated by the inclusion of technologies used for instructional purposes. Instructional guidance should include requisite guidance for tools used in active learning. Again, generative AI tools, such as goblin.tools, may help mitigate the potential burden on cognitive load. For example, the use of webconferencing tools, such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, has been pervasive in higher education. Anyone who uses these tools can relate to situations in which larger groups are segmented into smaller groups in isolated breakout rooms. Once participant relocation has occurred, there is often confusion regarding the intended purpose or goals of the breakout room. Newer features, such as collaborative whiteboards, exacerbate confusion and the potential for excessive extraneous load. Generative AI instructions (see Figure 2) could be created and offered to mitigate confusion and cognitive load burden.

Figure 2. Zoom collaborative whiteboard instructions produced by goblin.tools
 
Generative AI has the potential to help outline the steps in active learning exercises. This can be used to minimize confusion and serve as a reference for students. However, instruction alone is often insufficient to make active learning effective. As Finelli et al. (2018) suggest, the inclusion of a rationale for implementing active learning is an effective mechanism to encourage student participation. To this end, we suggest the adoption of what  Bereiter (2014) called Principled Practical Knowledge (PPK) which consists of the combination of ‘know-how’ with ‘know why’ (Bereiter, 2014). This perspective develops out of learners’ efforts to solve practical problems. It is a combination of knowledge that extends beyond simply addressing the task at hand. There is an investment of effort to provide a rationale or justification to address the ‘know why’ portion of PPK (Bereiter, 2014). Creating conditions for learners to develop ‘know-how’ is critical when incorporating active learning strategies in online and blended courses. Instructional guidance can reduce ambiguity and extraneous load and can also increase efficiency and potentially equity.
What is typically not included in the instructional guidance offered to students is comprehensive knowledge that outlines the requirements for technology that is often employed in active learning strategies. Ahshan (2021) suggests that technology skill competency is essential for the instructors and learners to implement the activities smoothly. Therefore, knowledge should include the tools employed in active learning. Instructors cannot assume that learners have a universal baseline of technological competency and thus need to be aware of this diversity when providing instructional guidance.
An often-overlooked element of instructional guidance connected to PPK is the ‘know-why’ component. Learners are often prescribed learning tasks without a rationale or justification for their utility. The underlying assumption for implementing active learning strategies is the benefits of collaboration, communication, and collective problem-solving are clear to learners (Dring, 2019; Hartikainen et al., 2019). However, these perceived benefits or rationales are often not provided explicitly to learners; instead, they are implied through use.
When implementing active learning techniques or strategies in a blended or online course one needs to consider not only the ‘know-how,’ but also the ‘know-why.’ Table 1 helps to identify the scope of instructional guidance that should be provided to students.
 
Table 1. Recommended Type of Instructional Guidance for Active Learning




 


Know How


Know Why




Activity


Steps


Purpose / Rationale




Technology


Steps


Purpose / Rationale




Outcomes / Products


Completion


Goals




 
The purpose of providing clear and explicit instructional guidance to learners is to ensure efficiency, equity, and value in incorporating active learning strategies into online and blended learning environments. Along with our argument for “know-why” (Bereiter, 2012), we draw upon Murphy (2023) who highlights the importance of “know-how’ by stating, ‘if students do not understand how a particular learning design helps them arrive at a particular outcome, they tend to be less invested in a course’ (n.p.).
Clear instructional guidance does not diminish the authenticity of various active learning strategies such as problem-based or inquiry-based techniques. In contrast, guidance serves to scaffold the activity and clearly outline learner expectations. Design standards organizations, such as Quality Matters, suggest the inclusion of statements that indicate a plan for how instructors will engage with learners, as well as the requirements for learner engagement in active learning. These statements regarding instructor engagement could be extended to include more transparency in the selection of instructional strategies. Murphy (2023) suggested that instructors should ‘pull back the curtain’ and take a few minutes to share the rationale and research that informs their decision to use strategies such as active learning. Opening a dialogue about the design process with students helps to manage expectations and anxieties that students might have in relation to the ‘What?’, ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’ for the active learning exercises.
Implications for Future Research
We contend that a blend of direct instruction and active learning strategies is optimized by instructional guidance, which provides explicit know-how and know-why for students to engage in learning tasks and activities. The present discussion does not intend to evaluate the utility of active learning as an instructional strategy. The efficacy of active learning is a recurring theme in the academic literature, and the justification for efficacy is largely anecdotal or based on self-reporting data from students (Hartikainen, Rintala, Pylväs and Nokelainen, 2019). Regardless, the process of incorporating active learning strategies with direct instruction appears to be beneficial for learning (Ahshan, 2021; Christie & De Graaff, 2017; Mintzes, 2020), and more likely, the learning experience can be harder to quantify. Our argument relates to the necessary inclusion of instructions and guidance that make the goals of active learning more efficient and effective (de Jong et al., 2023). Scardamalia and Bereiter (2006) stated earlier that knowledge about dominates traditional educational practice. It is the stuff of textbooks, curriculum guidelines, subject-matter tests, and typical school “projects” and “research” papers. Knowledge would be the product of active learning. In contrast, knowledge of, ‘suffers massive neglect’ (p. 101).  Knowledge enables learners to do something and allows them to actively participate in an activity. Knowledge comprises both procedural and declarative knowledge.  It is activated when the need for it is encountered in the action. Instructional guidance can help facilitate knowledge of, making the use of active learning techniques more efficient and effective.
Research is needed on the impact of instructional guidance on active learning strategies, especially when considering the incorporation of more sophisticated technologies and authentic problems (Rapanta, Botturi, Goodyear, Guardia and Koole 2021; Varvara, Bernardi, Bianchi, Sinjari and Piattelli, 2021). Recently, Lee (2020) examined the impact of instructor engagement on learning outcomes in an online course and determined that increased instructor engagement correlated with enhanced discussion board posts and student performance. A similar examination of the relationship between the instructional guidance provided and student learning outcomes would be a valuable next step. It could offer more explicit guidance and recommendations for the design and use of active learning strategies in online or blended courses.
Conclusion
Education was disrupted out of necessity for at least two years. This experience forced us to examine our practices in online and blended learning, as our sample size for evaluation grew dramatically. The outcome of our analysis is that effective design and inclusion of student engagement and interactions with instructors are critical for quality learning experiences (Rapanta et al., 2021; Sutarto, Sari and Fathurrochman, 2020; Varvara et al., 2021). Active learning appeals to many students (Christie & De Graaff, 2017) and instructors as it can help achieve many of the desired and required outcomes of our courses and programs. Our review and discussion highlighted the need to provide clear and explicit guidance to help minimize cognitive load and guide students through an invaluable learning experience. Further, instructors and designers who include explicit guidance participate in a metacognitive process, while they outline the purpose and sequence of steps required for the completion of active learning exercises. Creating instructions and providing a rationale for the use of active learning in a course gives instructors and designers an opportunity to reflect on the process and ensure that it aligns with the intended purpose or stated goals of the course. This reflective act makes active learning more intentional in use rather than employing it to ensure that students are present within the learning space.
 
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