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MSU seeks new ideas aimed at improving the digital learning experience. Incorporating digital strategies to support pedagogy can enhance students’ learning experiences and offer efficiencies in assessment and analysis. Many digital learning innovations impacting institutional initiatives at scale often start small. Innovations may spring from novel pedagogical approaches in individual courses, as collaborative experiments across disciplines, or the result of student feedback and needs analysis. We recognize the value of providing support and resources to change the student experience for the better. MSU's Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation is committed to facilitating new ideas and announces the following call for proposals for the Catalyst Innovation Program.
Catalyst Innovation Program
The Catalyst Innovation Program seeks to fund creative and innovative uses of tools, technology, and pedagogical approaches up to $10,000 for the purposes of allowing experimentation in spaces with the potential to enhance student learning experiences.
Please note that these funds are intended to fund software, technology, and/or services but are not able to support salary lines, including faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students. We are especially interested in proposals that include one or more of the following criteria:
Learning

Demonstrate learning, conceptual understanding, or increased content knowledge

Inclusivity and Accessibility

Increase access, as defined as “providing the means for all qualified, motivated students to complete courses, degrees, or programs in their disciplines of choice (Online Learning Consortium, n.d.; MSU Learning Design Strategy.)” For example, reduced or zero cost to students beyond tuition, universally designed experiences, and the like
Contribute to more equitable and inclusive digital learning experiences and environments
Experiences that are universally designed and accessible

Feedback and Adaptivity

Increase formative feedback (assessment for learning)
Provide learning analytics to educators to enable adaptive or personalized pedagogy
Provide mechanisms for student input and collaboration
Increase student engagement as defined by your discipline. For example as increased participation, collaboration, peer learning, and so on

Proposals
Proposals should include a description of the innovation and idea, implementation approach, evaluation and assessment plan, and budget. Click the following link to apply: https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cSa6sOXdRCQxPtc
Timeline (Extended deadline)

The Call for Proposals opens: April 29, 2022
Proposals are due: 5:00 pm EST, June 3, 2022
Awards will be announced: June 15, 2022
Once awarded, funding is available through December, 2022.  

Selection Criteria

Completeness of the idea proposal

Clearly explained potential impact on student engagement, mastery, or success
Challenge or shift current teaching and learning practices

Readiness to implement

Plan to implement during the funding period in an existing course or program

Opportunity for scale/re-use
Assessment and evaluation plan for your project
Proposed budget
Alignment with MSU Learning Design Strategy

Quality
Inclusivity
Connectivity


References
https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/about/quality-framework-five-pillars/
http://lds.msu.edu

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

Start with your syllabus

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




Consider your course resources

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


Think about your students

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


Be intentional in how you facilitate discussion

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


Think critically about your communication

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


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

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


Be intentional about setting up teams & group projects

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


Articulate assessment and evaluation expectations

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



Photo by javier trueba on Unsplash

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

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

expectations
requirements 
conditions of engagement
how to be successful


Key elements of a syllabus include:

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

Important syllabus statements and reminders:

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

Include Course Objectives:

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

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

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

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

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


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

Syllabus template
PowerPoint template

Photo by Arisa Chattasa on Unsplash

 
Building on the bare necessities of the syllabus as an administrative tool, we’re going to try to effectively and efficiently communicate the planned curriculum of the course. This way, we can help our students, other educators/administrative see more than just the topics we’re covering, but the learning activities we plan to facilitate them. The inclusion of these topics will make your syllabus a helpful artifact during evaluations and help determine course equivalency across instructors.  
 
Provide an overview of the topics listed in the last step.

Briefly describe each of the course topics.

This is helpful as students get a basic overview of what will be expected of them in the coming semester.


Reflections/Questions to Consider:

What are your desired learning outcomes for the topic?
What are the key components of each topic?
What questions are you expecting students to have on each topic?

How can you use the syllabus to address that concern?





 
Course Structure:

Breakdown of a student’s Course Grade:

List of Assignments, Exams, Projects, Quizzes, etc.

A brief description of what each item is worth in terms of the grade.


A Description of how grades are represented at your institution and how your course grades relate.


A Description of the Daily Structure of Class:

Whether the course is synchronous or asynchronous.
Whether this class is primarily lecture/discussion based.
If your style of course structure has a name, please name it here:

For example, a reversed classroom is a popular form of instruction.


A Description of student expectations prior to course meetings.


Reflections/Questions to Consider:

How many timed assessments are you planning to give?

What effect does this have on students with accommodations on test time?


Does participation impact a student’s grade?
Do students have any opportunities to earn extra credit?
Do you feel the weight of each grade item corresponds to the expectations/responsibilities on the student to complete it?
Do you want to provide in-class workdays for projects or homework?
If you have any Teaching Assistants:

What is their role in/out of the classroom?
Do students interact with the TA? Is the TA prepared for that?
How often do you discuss the class with the TA?


If you plan to have peer-to-peer discussions:

What types of discussions do you want students to have?
Are you allocating enough time for students to explore the ideas of the discussion?


Do you provide any descriptions/specifications of any of the assessments? For example:

What material is covered on an exam?
How many group members are there for a particular project?
Timelines for homework completion
Etc.


Lastly, and this can be applied to every step above and to this process, remember to ask yourself:

“Why did I make this choice?”





 
University/Course Policies:

Often institutions have any universal policies they want addressed in the course syllabus. However, you may also want to add to this list to make your stance on particular topics clear. Examples may include policies on/about: 

Academic Honesty
Disability Services
Use of Generative AI
Violence and Misconduct
Etc.


Reflection:

Discuss with your peers their thoughts and recommendations on what makes a good course policy and what types of policies they include on their own syllabi.        



 
 
With this part of the syllabus completed, you now have a detailed overview of your course. Anyone reading the syllabus should have a clear understanding of what is/was covered and the approach you used to teach the material.  

As teachers or students, we each enter the classroom with expectations and norms that have been cultivated by the communities and cultures from which we come. As in many social spaces shared by people with diverse identities and backgrounds, it takes explicit effort to ensure that equity and inclusion are truly guiding principles for interactions in the classroom. These are important considerations for all educators; in your reflections and preparations for classroom instruction, interactions with graduate teaching assistants and advisees, and even in many engagments with other educators.CLASSROOM DYNAMICS

Be aware of power attached to social roles and power attached to social identities. Unequal power manifests in the classroom, for one, due to the differing social roles of instructor and student. Instructors exercise power in designing courses, leading class discussions or activities, deciding grades, and offering mentorship and connection to resources for student support and development. 
Acknowledge and counter bias in the classroom. In the classroom, bias shows up implicitly and explicitly by way of course materials, classroom discussions, grading, evaluations, and more.When critically examining your course or classroom for bias, you may consider explicit and unacknowledge norms and expectations, financial burden of your course, representation in your syllabus (reading materials, cases, scenarios etc.), weight of class participation in grades, and other class policies. 
Recognize and counter stereotype threat and lift. Stereotype threat is a phenomenon in which certain groups’ academic performance is negatively impacted due to increased vigilance about possibly confirming existing stereotypes. It's important to respect each of your students as individual learners and encourage a growth mindset in the classroom. This means normalizing mistakes and failures, emphasizing the value of challenge, and offering students a variety of ways to demonstrate their learning. 

EARLY IN THE TERM

Introduce yourself to your class. Tell them about your background: how you first became interested in the subject, how it has been important to you, and why you are teaching this course. Genuinely convey your enthusiasm for the field and the subject; sharing your "why" for teaching in an authentic way. If you are comfortable doing so, introduce yourself so that your students know more than your name and contact information (e.g., outside interests, family, academic history, personal experiences). Centering yourself as a whole-human can set the tone for students doing the same. 
Give students an opportunity to meet each other. Ask students to divide themselves into groups of three to five and introduce themselves. Or go around the room and ask all students to respond to one question, such as “What’s the one thing you really want to learn from this course?” or “What aspect of the course seems most appealing to you?”
Invite students to fill out an introduction card. Suggest that they indicate their name, year in school, major field of study, goals in the course, career plans, and so on.
Learn students’ names. By learning and using your students’ names, you can create a comfortable classroom environment that will encourage student interaction. Knowing your students’ names also tells them that you are interested in them as individuals. Did you know 
Divide students into small groups. Give groups a small task, such as a brainstorming exercise, then place responses on the board for discussion and interpretation. These groups can change over time, regardless setting group agreements should be an established practice. CTLI has a student-facing survey library that includes a group agreement form. Learn more on accessing this library here.
Encourage students to actively support one another. Help them connect with at one or two other students in the class whom they can contact about missed classes, homework assignments, study groups and so on. You might also use the learning management system to create an online discussion forum where students can respond to each other's queries.  

THROUGHOUT THE TERM

Let students know that they are not faces in an anonymous audience. In large courses, students often think that their classroom behaviour (eating, talking, sleeping, arriving late, etc.) goes unnoticed. Remind students that you and their classmates are aware of -- and affected by -- their behaviour. 
If your class has extra seating space, ask students to refrain from sitting in certain rows of the classroom. For example, if you teach in a room that has rowed seating, ask students to sit in rows 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and so on so that you can walk through the audience where there is an empty row.
Recognize students’ extracurricular accomplishments. Read your campus newspaper, scan the dean’s list, pay attention to undergraduate awards and honours, and let students know that you are aware of their achievements.
Listen to students with warmth and respect. Give them your full attention. Be personable and approachable – remember the positive power of a smile.
Validate all comments and questions, even those that might seem irrelevant.
Welcome criticism and receive it with an open mind. Model for your students how you would like them to reflect on the feedback that you will be providing to them. 
When you don’t know something, ask your students for help. For example, during class, ask someone with a laptop to do a Google search for a fact or piece of information that pertains to class discussion. 
Be inclusive. Use gender-inclusive language and when giving examples make them culturally diverse.
Capitalize on outside events or situations, as appropriate. Relate major world events or events on campus both to your class and to the fabric of your students’ lives outside the classroom.
Arrive early and chat with students. Ask how the course is going. Are they enjoying the readings? Is there anything they want you to include in lectures?
Seek out students who are doing poorly in the course. Write “See me during my office hours” on all exams graded C- or below to provide individualized feedback.
Acknowledge students who are doing well in the course. Write “Good job! See me after class” on all exams graded A- or above. Take a moment after class to compliment students who are excelling.
Schedule topics for office hours. If students are reluctant to come, periodically schedule a “help session” on a particular topic rather than a free-form office hour.
Talk about questions students have asked in previous terms. Mention specific questions former students have asked and explain why they were excellent questions. This lets students know that you take their questions seriously and that their questions will contribute to the course in the future.
When feasible, give students a choice in the type of assignments they can do. For example, rather than assigning a traditional essay, give them the option of making a podcast, analysing a case study, giving a poster presentation, and so on. 
Consider providing options for how the final grade will be calculated. For example,  individual students can decide that the midterm will be worth 25% and a major project worth 35% -- or vice versa. 
Listen attentively to all questions and answer them directly. If you will cover the answer during the remainder of the lecture, acknowledge the aptness of the question, ask the student to remember it, and answer the question directly when you arrive at that subject.
Try to empathize with beginners. Remember that not all of your students are as highly motivated and interested in the discipline as you were when you were a student. Slow down when explaining complex ideas, and acknowledge the difficulty and importance of certain concepts or operations. Try to recall your first encounter with a concept – what examples, strategies, or techniques clarified it for you? 
When a student seems disgruntled with some aspect of the course, approach him or her in a supportive way and discuss the feelings, experiences, and perceptions that are contributing to the issue.
Celebrate student or class accomplishments. Instigate a round of applause, give congratulations, share cookies! 

Thank you to colleagues in university educator development at the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University, the Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo, and others for their materials that informed or were adapted into this resource. 
Resources

Eble, K. E. (1988). The Craft of Teaching: A Guide to Mastering the Profession and Art. 2nd Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Forsyth, D. R, & McMillan, J. H. (1991). Practical Proposals for Motivating Students. In Menges, R. J., & Svinicki, M. D., eds. College Teaching: From Theory to Practice. New Directions in Teaching and Learning, No.45. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, p.53-65.
Gross Davis, B. (2009). Tools for Teaching, 2nd Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Ralph, E. G. (1998). Motivating Teaching in Higher Education: A Manual for Faculty Development. Stillwater, Oklahoma: New Forums Press, Inc.
Wlodkowski, R. J. (1978). Motivation and Teaching: A Practical Guide. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association.
Fostering Student Morale and Confidence. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation (CTLI)
Purpose: The mission of the Center for TLI is to support MSU’s educators and their practices through collaboration and consultation. What do we do:

Support MSU communities where educators work together across roles to provide inclusive, research-informed experiences that support student success.
Build a path to success for every educator by leading the university with unwavering integrity and a strong culture of teaching and learning
Collaborate with and empower all MSU educators in their engagement in equitable, student-centered teaching and learning practices.

Services Provided:

Instructional Consultation
Curriculum Development & Course Design
Online Program Management
Academic Entrepreneurship
Training and Workshops

Website: https://teachingcenter.msu.edu/Contact Usteaching@msu.eduRequest a ConsultationContact Staff Directly 

Affirming Ways To Communicate:

Be present
Reflect back to the person what is being said. Use their words, not yours.
Begin where they are, not where you want them to be.
Be curious and open to what they are trying to say.
Notice what they are saying and what they are not.
Emotionally relate to how they are feeling.
Notice how you are feeling. Be honest and authentic.
Try to understand how their past affects who they are and how those experiences affect their relationship with you.
Stay in the room even if you are scared, or feeling angry, or hurt.

Here are some processing questions you can use:

“What angered you about what happened?”
“What hurts you about what happened?”
“What’s familiar about what happened?”
“What makes it unsafe for you here and what would make it safer?


David M. Graham, PhD, LPCS, NCCCounselor/ Coordinator for Inclusion and Diversity Outreach Davidson College

 
Facilitation skills are important for teaching adults and leading productive meetings. Facilitative leadership helps groups reach consensus, make decisions, and get things done. It embraces inclusive and creative thinking and discussions and helps ensure that all participants in a class, meeting, or workshop are engaged, collaborating, and contributing. It is about leading a participatory group process.
The videos below focus on facilitating online to help groups brainstorm ideas, define goals, and reach consensus.
Visit MSU Extension's Facilitative Leadership webpage to learn more.