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The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".

Andrew Corner: I just wanted to thank you for helping me become a better student. I learned so much about what I want to do when I graduate and after having you be my professor in soon to be 4 classes I feel so blessed. You pushed me to take chances and be myself regardless of what others think. I remember crying in your office hours the 2nd week of school the first time I had you as my professor because I did an assignment wrong and had never had the criticism I needed. You told me, "I can tell you are a good student, but just because you got a bad grade on one assignment does not mean it's the end of the world." I used to think it was over when something like this would happen, but, like the real world, you have to take criticism and not everyone is going to love your ideas. That's how advertising works. I later 4.0 that class. I met my best friend Jack in your class and have to say I feel like you planned it. haha jk. Thank you for putting up with Jack and I and our annoying selves. We will truly miss you.

Sara Grady: Sara has been an outstanding collaborator on an NIH R01 research proposal. She helped with budgeting, preparation of the many forms, and drafted and revised important and substantive text that contributed to the completion of the 100+ pages, all the while learning the NIH submission process and proposal writing style in real time. Most importantly were her contributions as a thought partner and researcher. Thanks Sara!

David Ford: David has demonstrated outstanding work ethics, discipline and endurance through the doctoral program. He has made lasting impact on several research projects, demonstrated excellence developing and solo-teaching 3 courses, while remaining scholarly productive and executing a successful dissertation project through the limitations imposed by the pandemic. He is the most wonderful human being, always ready to step out of his way to help others. Kudos!

Kate Shabet: Kate has served as an excellent role model and mentor to the undergraduate students in my lab. Specifically, she helped guide the students in completing the project and disseminating the work through poster presentations at the state level and MSU UURAF, and more recently helped the research team submit an abstract to a national professional conference. As a graduate student, the undergraduates on the project looked up to Kate, learned from her experience, and remained calm as deadlines approached.

Gisele Souza Neuls: On behalf of the Convergence team, I'd like to thank Gisele for her courage to start a Ph.D. program during such turbulent times. We acknowledge the many challenges she is facing as a student who started in the spring semester and is currently not living in the US. Despite these challenges, Gisele quickly became a critical member of our team, assisting with both research and project management. Gisele cares about journalism and has a deep connection with the communities impacted by the problem our research is trying to address. We look forward to meeting her in person very soon!
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.

1. Consider how AI technology might compel you to revise your course assignments, quizzes, and tests to avoid encouraging unethical or dishonest use of generative AI.  



Design For Generative AI: Sample Syllabus Language
Design Around Generative AI: Sample Syllabus Language



2. Develop and integrate a generative AI course-level rules throughout the all course materials/resources:  



Provide clear definitions, expectations, and repercussions of what will happen if students violate the rule.  
Explain the standards of academic integrity in the course, especially as related to use of AI technologies, and review the Integrity of Scholarship and Grades Policy.  






Be clear about what types of AI are acceptable and what versions of the technology students can use or not use.  
Put this rule into D2L and any assignment instructions consistently.  



3. Discuss these expectations when talking about course rules at the beginning of the course and remind students about them as you discuss course assignments:  



Take time to explain to students the pros and cons of generative AI technologies relative to your course. 
Explain the development of your course-level rules and make clear the values, ethics, and philosophies underpinning its development.  






Explain the repercussions of not following the course rules and submit an Academic Dishonesty Report if needed.  



4. If you want to integrate AI in the classroom as an allowed or required resource:  



Consult with MSU IT guidance about recommendations for use and adoption of generative AI technology, including guidelines for keeping you and your data safe.  
Determine if MSU already has access to the tools you desire for free, and if not available through MSU, consider the cost and availability of the resources you will allow or require, and go through MSU's procurement process.   
If you want to require students to use an AI technology that comes with a cost, put the resource into the scheduling system as you would a textbook, so students know that is an anticipated cost to them.  



Photo by Alexander Sinn on Unsplash

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).

A well-prepared course should be designed for ("restrict", "permit" or "require") or designed around generative AI. Courses designed for ("ban") 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.Photo by Shahadat Rahman on Unsplash

The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from the College of Communication Arts & Sciences. For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".
Samantha Shebib: Sammy is an amazing researcher, teacher, and mentor! She deserves special recognition for her mentoring of both master’s students as well as undergraduate students. As a result of her mentorship, I have seen master's students become better writers, speakers, and socialized to the discipline. In the words of one master’s student: “Above all else, Samantha consistently pushes us to become better researchers by providing us with more challenging tasks and supporting us during stressful times.” Sammy truly cares about her undergraduate students as well and wants to see them succeed in their scholarly and employment pursuits. In particular, they note that Samantha has taken the time to mentor them outside of the classroom. As an example, one undergraduate student writes: “Samantha helps all her students beyond the classroom, which highlights her role as not only a teacher, but also a mentor…I have never had a teacher so invested in her students' successes.” We thank Sammy for her generosity in mentoring students!
Anyone can recognize a fellow Spartan for their contributions to MSU's teaching and learning mission or for how they made a lasting impression on your experience. All you have to do is click "Thank an Educator" in the left panel of iteach.msu.edu. From there you'll be directed to a form where you can enter the name, netID, and a short story of the educator you'd like to recognize.

The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from College of Communication Arts & Sciences . For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".
Jason Archer: 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!
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.

Since 2017, the MSU Strategic Communication Online M.A. has been helping working professionals advance their careers with skills the marketplace demands. A tenet of the program has been the fostering of interpersonal engagement, by creating spaces for student-to-student interaction and student-to-staff interaction. Through surveys and interviews with current students, we measure the importance of program engagement for students by tracking the effectiveness of: various communication mediums and tools; and personal touchpoints with classmates and MSU StratCom staff.

To access a PDF of the "The importance of interpersonal engagement in an online master's degree program" poster, click here.
Description of the Poster 
The importance of interpersonal engagement in an online master’s degree program 
 Introduction 
The purpose of this report is to provide the Michigan State University Strategic Communication Online M.A. a summary of students’ perceptions of engagement in the program. This report focuses on the responses of currently enrolled students as of Spring semester 2021. Students voluntarily responded to a survey sent out via email and social media. Additionally, students were given the option to agree to a second phone interview for further insights. The report looks at engagement through students’ connection to each other, to staff and faculty, and facilitated through various tools and media. 
Methodology 
Survey Purpose and Methodology 
To gain an understanding and perspective of students’ views on engagement in the StratCom program a written survey was sent by Daune Rensing, StratCom Student Advisor, via email.  


The email was sent to the MSU email address of students currently enrolled in either the StratCom master’s or certificate program, on March 15, 2021. 


Written reminders were sent March 22 and March 29. 


A video reminder was posted by Jason Archer, StratCom Director, on StratCom’s Student Life, Teams and Facebook pages on March 29. 




The 24-question survey was closed on April 2, extended from the original deadline of March 25. 


Sixty-two responses were received with 2 incomplete surveys, resulting in 60 responses.  


Phone Interview Purpose and Methodology 
To expand the understanding and perspective students views on engagement in the StratCom program, a follow up phone interview was conducted. Forty students responded positively to a question on the survey asking if they would be willing to participate in a follow-up phone interview with a fellow student. 
Limitations 
The limited nature of the data set needs to be taken into consideration when weighing the meaning and significance of the insights reported here. The written surveys were completed by students enrolled anywhere from their first semester to last in the program, which may affect their perceptions of the program. All phone interviews were conducted by one person, which may result in some bias of interpretation. 
Research Questions 
To measure the importance of engagement in the StratCom program, the research questions in the survey and phone interview fell into three categories:  

What tools and resources are important for student engagement in the StratCom program?  
Do students feel the StratCom program is meeting their engagement needs?  
What changes/improvements does the StratCom program need to make to meet students’ expectations? 

Results 
These graphs highlight responses to our first two questions of what students do value and what they don’t value, and that we are meeting their engagement needs. The conclusion, in more detail, addresses ways in which respondents feel StratCom can improve engagement. 
Conclusion 
Overwhelmingly, respondents felt that StratCom was meeting their engagement needs, in terms of tools used and connection to faculty and staff, and that it was an important part of their time in the program. To continue StratCom’s good start, some respondents had suggestions to strengthen their engagement experience even more:

Set expectations for tools and resources 
More student onboarding  
Intentional diversity throughout the program 
Develop stronger bonds with fellow students and instructors 
Standardization in the curriculum 
Use the coursework to develop student-led engagement activities in the program 

Future Work 
Planning for StratCom’s future and creating a sustainable engagement model are themes respondents suggested. For instance, leadership contingency plans, consistency among courses and “keeping their finger on the pulse” of student needs and industry requirements were all important things to consider moving forward. 
  
 

AT&T, the nationwide telecommunication giant, continues its generous support of Michigan State University faculty and staff with the 2020 AT&T Awards.Established as grants in 2005, AT&T Awards recognize faculty and staff who have utilized technology in exciting new ways to improve their classrooms. With courses ranging from computer science to business, all fields of study at MSU are eligible. Each year, educators are asked to present how they use technology to enhance the learning experiences they deliver to their students. The AT&T Awards are an excellent opportunity to recognize innovation in instructional technology, as well as the educators and staff responsible for utilizing them.
 
This year, the AT&T Awards will recognize winners in three different categories: Online, Hybrid and Best Technology-Enabled Innovation. The Online category is open to instructors who use technology to enhance effective teaching practices in an online course. The Hybrid category is for instructors who replace 50% seat time with online experiences in hybrid classes. The third and final category, Best Technology-Enabled Innovation, is for those who enhance in-person courses with technology or "flip" their courses. Flipped courses are those in which much of the lecture and content work is done by the students outside of the classroom, leaving more time for active instruction.
 
All submissions will be collected by Feb. 24 and winners will be announced in March.
In April, MSU IT will host an awards luncheon featuring special guest speakers to recognize the first-place winners and honorable mentions from each of the categories. Previous winners have utilized a variety of concepts, including digital syllabi, hands-on learning for newcomers, hardware and programming and using video conference calls that help improve classroom engagement.
 
MSU IT is proud to partner with AT&T to help support MSU faculty and teaching staff. We thank all of our educators for their continued dedication to academic excellence. Their commitment and innovative spirit help build a generation of global, future-ready Spartans.
 
For more information, be sure to check out https://att-awards.msu.edu/

Four years ago, I was teaching Wireless Communication to senior year electronics engineering majors in India. I chose to teach this course because of my personal interest in digital and wireless communication. But even more than that, it is a topic that requires a deep understanding of probability–which I believe is a critical concept for everyone to learn. However, when a student asked me, “Why are we studying probability in wireless communication?,” I was surprised that I could not provide a satisfying answer.
 
Personally, wrapping my head around the concepts of probability took me several years. As a result, it has had a serious effect on my understanding of the world in general, including my position on some crucial political, medical, and spiritual issues. When my student asked me for why it was relevant, I tried to explain why I cared about it and how it connected to wireless communication. I could tell that he did not care about either of my reasons. This bothered me for weeks, perhaps, months. Well, it still kind of does. But, it led me to wonder what could I have done differently? Last year, now working as a researcher in literacies at MSU, I found my answer.
 
For the past three years, I have been doing my research in the realm of literacies. Research in literacies (plural) is contemporary to literacy (singular), and is more inclusive of different social and cultural activities and practices in which the learners engage these days. A literacies lens takes into account the role of more than one ways of making, representing, and communicating meaning in digital and non-digital spaces. It values the literacies of students and deems them important and relevant, too. Snapchatting your trip to the local science museum is an example of a type of literacy; rather, a combination of several literacies. As a result of this experience, I know now that, in my wireless communication class, I needed to make probability relevant to my student; not simply share why it was relevant to me. Sharing my personal liking did not connect with him because our experiences with probability had been quite different. I need to situate my teaching in my student experiences. The question is: how?
 
Through my research and teaching at MSU, I have learned 5 pedagogical moves that are important to make learning relevant to students: knowing student experiences, explicit instruction, situated and transformative practices, critical framing, and aesthetic framing(Cope & Kalantzis, 2015; Girod, Rau, & Schepige, 2003). Think of a topic from your own teaching that you wish your students cared more about. It could be social justice, evolution, literature, or anything that you really care about but some students do not. Now, how can you use these 5 pedagogical moves to make your topic relevant for students? To help you think through, I have 5 tips and questions–based in literacies research–that you can ask yourself to keep your teaching relevant to your students.
Knowing Student Experiences
Ask yourself: Do I know my students’ experiences that bring them to this class?
 
Knowing your students and their experiences is a continual process that cannot be achieved in a single post-class survey. It takes place in bursts of examples that slip out of several in-class discussions and through your regular awareness that provide you a window into their out-of-class experiences. As a teacher, you need to be aware of these examples that get you closer to understanding what your students find relevant.
 
Tip: You can, of course, set up surveys to get a glimpse of student experiences. Another way to tap into topics that students find relevant is by scaffolding discussions where students are given opportunities to provide examples situated in their experiences, choosing their styles of expression and communication.
Explicit Instruction
Ask yourself: Is it obvious to my students why this topic is important to study?
 
If you think it is not obvious to your students why they study a certain topic, make it explicit. As teachers, the link between significance, necessity, and implications of a topic are more clear in our heads than often in our teaching. As students just getting to know a topic, these links may not be obvious to them. And, it is possible that they are trying to make their own links to justify it, which may lead to further alternative conceptions.
 
Tip: Include a quick list of significance and implications in your syllabus. This does not have to be a comprehensive list, but something to hook your students. If you wish to have some fun with, make it a catchy Buzzfeed-like clickbait sentence. However, make sure that you do not frame your clickbaits in a way that take the substance out of the topics, or essentialize students. Here are a few examples that do and do not work.
Situated and Transformative Practice
Ask yourself: Will students be able to go outside and use what they have learned in their real world?
 
Often, we forget to make connections with students’ out-of-class experiences. Why should students care about chemical reactions, when their biggest challenge is clean drinking water? The connection between chemistry and real life may be more clear to you than it is to your students. When topics are shared with real-life implications and examples that are connected with students’ personal experiences, they become more relevant to them.
 
Tip: Create projects or assignments that involve solving a real problem in students’ communities. These could be papers, a survey of their community, or actual working projects. There is always room for improvisation.
Critical framing
Ask yourself: Are my students critical of the information they engage with, or do they agree without further questioning?
 
Critical framing sounds like a very scientific approach, but it is equally valued in literacies. Being critical to information is as important a skill for a literature major as it is for a scientist. But being critical is not limited to questioning information for evidence. It also means being socially and culturally critical. Are your students aware of racial, gender, and other biases in their learning environment and profession? Do they question practices that are taken for granted but could be marginalizing to others? Framing your own teaching in critical ways advocates a critical lens on the world. As teachers, we are among the best role models for our students on how to be socially and culturally conscious, scientifically skeptical, and adept at navigating media and information.
 
Tip: Show your own skepticism towards marginalizing and unscientific practices (e.g.: practices that are based in evidence, but still value other ways of knowing) in your discipline. Add a question at the end of each topic that makes connections to how it affects (or has affected) social and cultural issues.
Aesthetic framing
Ask yourself: Are my students genuinely curious about this topic? Do they think about this when they leave my class?
 
Aesthetic framing should be a requirement for all disciplines. Although it is inherent in disciplines like literature, music, and science, it is often lost in everyday teaching and learning. An aesthetic framing speaks of making connections to the content in a way that inspires emotional responses from  students. How you explain the inner-workings of a leaf can either bore students or inspire them with further curiosity to learn more. Our goal as teachers is to provide a disciplinary lens for  students on the world. Everywhere students go, they should be thinking about things from this disciplinary perspective; at least that should be a worthy goal for us all.
 
Tip: Pay close attention to your word choice when framing the language in your syllabus, and more importantly, during your instruction. Keep in mind that music, lighting, and other modalities can also have an effect on emotions. Feel free to experiment with the ambience of your classroom. For example, reading Edgar Allen Poe with dim lights and spooky music creates an eerie atmosphere often associated with Poe’s work and genre, thereby making it more engaging.
 
Overall, the purpose of these five questions and tips is to excite students about disciplinary content, inspire authentic discussions, and bolster relevant practices. Our goal is to have them on-board with the things that we have learned to value and care about, so they can be good, literate, and emotional citizens who value each other and the world they live in.
 
Related readings
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2015). A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Learning by Design. Palgrave Macmillan.
 
Girod, M., Rau, C., & Schepige, A. (2003). Appreciating the beauty of science ideas: Teaching for aesthetic understanding. Science Education, 87(4), 574–587.
 
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491.
 

 
Originally posted at “Inside Teaching MSU” (site no longer live): Skogsberg, E. Five Ways to Make Learning Relevant inside teaching.grad.msu.edu