We found 347 results that contain "instructors"
Posted on: #iteachmsu
PEDAGOGICAL DESIGN
Conflict Management for Instructor: Centering and Maintaining Student Relationships
The ideal learning expereince fosters thoughtful discussions between educators and students. These collaborative conversations, dialogues, and even debates can empower students to develop and grow their ideas and perspectives. It is important to remember that conflict is normal, and there are effective [healthy] ways to navigate difficult conversations with your students. By adopting an open and proactive approach to conflicts, you can reduce the frequency with which conflicts arise and their impact. Here are some strategies to help you both prevent and manage conflicts in your teaching:
Preventing conflicts
Be credible. Credibility is built from the first day of class and is continually judged throughout the term. On the first day, establish your credibility by providing some background information about your experience with the subject matter, your experience as a student, your research, etc. Show that you are focused and prepared. Keep this up throughout the term by coming to lectures prepared and sharing your lecture goals with your students. Organization, enthusiasm, solid knowledge of the content, and fairness all help to build and maintain credibility. Finally, you do not need to be perfect to be credible. If you make a mistake or don’t know the answer to a question, acknowledge the situation and focus on ensuring that the students get access to the required information as soon as possible. Defensive reactions tend to build conflict instead of preventing it.
Set clear expectations. Provide expectations from the start, both by writing them in your course outline and stating them in class. You can describe the goals of the course and outline roles for you and your students. You can also clearly emphasize your expectations for student behaviour and the consequences for prohibited behaviour, stressing mutual respect as a rationale for any ground rules. You can also include University policies towards certain behaviours (e.g., plagiarism) in your course outline. What this looks like in practice:
Listing expectations in your course syllabus.
Discussing the expectations in class at the beginning of the semester.
Reminding students of the expectations throughout the semester when teaching and during office hours.
Develop rapport and listen for understanding. Strengthening your relationships with students can help prevent conflict. Students work better when they feel that their instructors care about them; therefore, try to reduce anonymity and use students’ names whenever possible (e.g., in lectures and when grading assignments or papers). Be present a few minutes before and after class to answer questions and chat with the students informally. If students feel comfortable sharing their concerns with educators, every effort should be made to take those opportunities to listen. Employ these tips for productive conversations:
Enter conversations with an open mind.
Recognize that there may be something going on in the student’s life outside of academics that is impacting them.
Express empathy for how a student’s life experiences can impact their behavior. The student’s reaction may differ from your interpretation of the conflict.
Acknowledge and validate the student's feelings by listening fully without judgment.
Help the student feel heard and valued by asking questions to clarify what they are trying to say.
Use a dynamic teaching style. Good presentation and facilitation skills as well as enthusiasm for your teaching are assets that will keep students’ attention focused and help prevent distracting classroom behaviour such as lateness, talking, sleeping, etc. Using interactive teaching methods also helps to prevent distracting behaviours by involving students in the lecture.
Responding to conflict situations
Not all conflicts can be avoided with proactive measures. The following six steps describe a flexible response to many conflict situations. To practice implementing these steps, remember a conflict you have experienced and think about how these steps could be adapted to help you respond to that situation.
Don’t take it personally (but reflect on your impact). Conflict situations can make the participants feel upset, threatened, frustrated, and/or angry. These emotional reactions are unpleasant and they can interfere with your ability to respond constructively. Educators are in a position of authority when dealing with students and how you react/respond matters. Be aware of the power dynamic and take responsibility for initiating the conflict resolution process. Help to control your emotional responses to challenging situations by changing your perceptions of them. Due to this power imbalance, there may be times when your intentions do not align with your impact. Take steps to evaluate your actions and rectify the situation. What this looks like in practice:
Reframe your reaction...think to yourself, “That student is really upset – I wonder what the problem is?”, or “This is a distraction that needs to be addressed.”
Consider the impact of your words and actions on students.
Ask yourself if your message or delivery was disproportionately demanding or hurtful.
Take responsibility for the harm caused and discuss actions you will take in the future to ensure it does not happen again. You can serve as a role model by showing students a positive example of taking ownership of your impact and working to repair harm.
Ask yourself if you are the best person to discuss the situation with the student. Would other faculty, staff or students be better suited to respond? Sometimes asking for help to initiate a difficult conversation can be beneficial.
Choose when and where to deal with the situation. Responding immediately to student concerns, distress and inappropriate behaviour demonstrates that you are attentive to your students’ needs and reinforces your expectations for student behaviour. For example, if students are noisy in class you can respond immediately by pausing until you regain the students’ attention, making eye contact with the disruptive students, or asking if there is a problem you can help resolve. Some situations can not be fully addressed immediately. For example, addressing a serious disagreement in class can distract the students, undermine your authority and take time away from the planned learning activities. The best response can be to note that there is a situation that needs to be resolved and suggest when and where it might be further investigated. Try to be attentive to both your needs and the student’s situation when picking the time and place. If you sense that a student is intimidated by authority, you may want to meet in a neutral location, like a conference room, rather than in your office. By meeting at an appropriate time and place, you can facilitate open communication between yourself and the students.
Follow up, listen, and find common ground. When you meet with students, indicate that you are interested in hearing their perspectives by keeping a positive tone, and asking them open-ended questions, like “What part of the marking do you see as unfair?” When the students explain their situation, really listen: focus on their communication, don’t interrupt, and let them finish. Consider asking:
What outcomes do you and the student each hope come from the resolution?
How can you and the student work together to meet each other’s needs?
What steps can you and the student take to achieve these goals?
Check your perception. It’s very easy to misinterpret someone, especially if either of you are at all emotional. To ensure that you understand your students, you can check your perception of their accounts by describing your understanding and asking them to correct any misinterpretations or elaborate on anything that you find unclear. When describing your understanding, reframe their points as positive comments using non-blaming words. For example, “If my group members think they can do this to me again, they’re mistaken!” can be rephrased as “It’s important to you that your rights are respected.” Rephrasing the problem reassures the students that you are listening to them and it ensures that all the parties understand the problem. You can also ask lots of open-ended questions until you have enough information to understand the problem. Ideally, the feedback process would end when the students’ comments and body language confirm that they are sure that you have completely understood their message.
Select and explain your position. Now that you understand the students, you are in a good position to select a course of action. Be sure to choose an action that is in line with your teaching goals for the course. Tell the students what you have decided and give them your rationale for your decision. For example, when responding to a mark dispute, you might choose to review the assignment with the student by making reference to the marking criteria. In explaining your position, you might want to show an example of an assignment that better meets your expectations.
Discuss next steps and document your decision. When you have explained what you have decided to do, you can discuss possible next steps with the students. Finally, in many cases, you will want to document your decisions and, where appropriate, the information upon which you have based your decision.
If your plan of action requires follow-up on your part, you may want to briefly explain the process. For example, if you agree to review an assignment, you might want to indicate when they can expect to receive your comments.
You may want to direct students to other resources on campus, including counseling or health services, to get support and/or documentation.
If the students are not satisfied with your decision, it is good practice to direct them to an appropriate avenue for appeal (e.g., department chair).
Responding to highly emotional students
Schedule an appointment. If a student is too emotional to communicate his or her situation, it may help to schedule an appointment for a later time. This delay gives both parties a chance to calm down and to review the problem.
Open your door. This gives a chance for neutral, outside observers to witness the event. Leaving the door open protects both the student and the instructor.
Acknowledge behaviours and emotions. You may want to recognize the student’s emotional state at the beginning of your meeting. For example, you could say, “I can see that you are really upset. Can you tell me what you find especially frustrating?” If a student’s behaviour becomes inappropriate, point it out to the student.
Get assistance. If you don’t know how to approach a conflict situation, get assistance from a colleague or one of MSU's relevant offices (IDI, Ombudsperson, CTLI). If a student becomes very aggressive or threatening, contact the Michigan State Univesity police.
Keep others informed. If you are concerned that a difficult situation is developing, consider notifying others immediately. For example, if you are a teaching assistant, you could notify the instructor, the department chair, and the Graduate School GTA-Development staff.
Ineffective ways to deal with conflicts
Conquest. Trying to win an argument will turn a disagreement into a battle for dominance. Intimidation tactics can cause students to challenge you further and discourage their participation.
Avoidance. Ignoring problems does not make them go away.
Bargaining. Compromise can be a laudable way to resolve a conflict, but not when your teaching objectives get subverted by the resolution process. For example, asking a student to be less disruptive in class in exchange for a better grade on an assignment rewards unacceptable behaviour, harms your credibility, and is unfair to your other students. Make sure that your response to conflict situations is consistent with your teaching and assessment goals and is equitable to all in your course.
Quick fix. A band-aid solution, like changing a grade to get rid of a student, can not solve a conflict. This strategy also rewards unacceptable behaviour, harms your credibility, and is unfair to other students.
Thank you to colleagues in university educator development at the Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo, the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Colorado Boulder and others for their materials that informed or were adapted into this resource. Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
Preventing conflicts
Be credible. Credibility is built from the first day of class and is continually judged throughout the term. On the first day, establish your credibility by providing some background information about your experience with the subject matter, your experience as a student, your research, etc. Show that you are focused and prepared. Keep this up throughout the term by coming to lectures prepared and sharing your lecture goals with your students. Organization, enthusiasm, solid knowledge of the content, and fairness all help to build and maintain credibility. Finally, you do not need to be perfect to be credible. If you make a mistake or don’t know the answer to a question, acknowledge the situation and focus on ensuring that the students get access to the required information as soon as possible. Defensive reactions tend to build conflict instead of preventing it.
Set clear expectations. Provide expectations from the start, both by writing them in your course outline and stating them in class. You can describe the goals of the course and outline roles for you and your students. You can also clearly emphasize your expectations for student behaviour and the consequences for prohibited behaviour, stressing mutual respect as a rationale for any ground rules. You can also include University policies towards certain behaviours (e.g., plagiarism) in your course outline. What this looks like in practice:
Listing expectations in your course syllabus.
Discussing the expectations in class at the beginning of the semester.
Reminding students of the expectations throughout the semester when teaching and during office hours.
Develop rapport and listen for understanding. Strengthening your relationships with students can help prevent conflict. Students work better when they feel that their instructors care about them; therefore, try to reduce anonymity and use students’ names whenever possible (e.g., in lectures and when grading assignments or papers). Be present a few minutes before and after class to answer questions and chat with the students informally. If students feel comfortable sharing their concerns with educators, every effort should be made to take those opportunities to listen. Employ these tips for productive conversations:
Enter conversations with an open mind.
Recognize that there may be something going on in the student’s life outside of academics that is impacting them.
Express empathy for how a student’s life experiences can impact their behavior. The student’s reaction may differ from your interpretation of the conflict.
Acknowledge and validate the student's feelings by listening fully without judgment.
Help the student feel heard and valued by asking questions to clarify what they are trying to say.
Use a dynamic teaching style. Good presentation and facilitation skills as well as enthusiasm for your teaching are assets that will keep students’ attention focused and help prevent distracting classroom behaviour such as lateness, talking, sleeping, etc. Using interactive teaching methods also helps to prevent distracting behaviours by involving students in the lecture.
Responding to conflict situations
Not all conflicts can be avoided with proactive measures. The following six steps describe a flexible response to many conflict situations. To practice implementing these steps, remember a conflict you have experienced and think about how these steps could be adapted to help you respond to that situation.
Don’t take it personally (but reflect on your impact). Conflict situations can make the participants feel upset, threatened, frustrated, and/or angry. These emotional reactions are unpleasant and they can interfere with your ability to respond constructively. Educators are in a position of authority when dealing with students and how you react/respond matters. Be aware of the power dynamic and take responsibility for initiating the conflict resolution process. Help to control your emotional responses to challenging situations by changing your perceptions of them. Due to this power imbalance, there may be times when your intentions do not align with your impact. Take steps to evaluate your actions and rectify the situation. What this looks like in practice:
Reframe your reaction...think to yourself, “That student is really upset – I wonder what the problem is?”, or “This is a distraction that needs to be addressed.”
Consider the impact of your words and actions on students.
Ask yourself if your message or delivery was disproportionately demanding or hurtful.
Take responsibility for the harm caused and discuss actions you will take in the future to ensure it does not happen again. You can serve as a role model by showing students a positive example of taking ownership of your impact and working to repair harm.
Ask yourself if you are the best person to discuss the situation with the student. Would other faculty, staff or students be better suited to respond? Sometimes asking for help to initiate a difficult conversation can be beneficial.
Choose when and where to deal with the situation. Responding immediately to student concerns, distress and inappropriate behaviour demonstrates that you are attentive to your students’ needs and reinforces your expectations for student behaviour. For example, if students are noisy in class you can respond immediately by pausing until you regain the students’ attention, making eye contact with the disruptive students, or asking if there is a problem you can help resolve. Some situations can not be fully addressed immediately. For example, addressing a serious disagreement in class can distract the students, undermine your authority and take time away from the planned learning activities. The best response can be to note that there is a situation that needs to be resolved and suggest when and where it might be further investigated. Try to be attentive to both your needs and the student’s situation when picking the time and place. If you sense that a student is intimidated by authority, you may want to meet in a neutral location, like a conference room, rather than in your office. By meeting at an appropriate time and place, you can facilitate open communication between yourself and the students.
Follow up, listen, and find common ground. When you meet with students, indicate that you are interested in hearing their perspectives by keeping a positive tone, and asking them open-ended questions, like “What part of the marking do you see as unfair?” When the students explain their situation, really listen: focus on their communication, don’t interrupt, and let them finish. Consider asking:
What outcomes do you and the student each hope come from the resolution?
How can you and the student work together to meet each other’s needs?
What steps can you and the student take to achieve these goals?
Check your perception. It’s very easy to misinterpret someone, especially if either of you are at all emotional. To ensure that you understand your students, you can check your perception of their accounts by describing your understanding and asking them to correct any misinterpretations or elaborate on anything that you find unclear. When describing your understanding, reframe their points as positive comments using non-blaming words. For example, “If my group members think they can do this to me again, they’re mistaken!” can be rephrased as “It’s important to you that your rights are respected.” Rephrasing the problem reassures the students that you are listening to them and it ensures that all the parties understand the problem. You can also ask lots of open-ended questions until you have enough information to understand the problem. Ideally, the feedback process would end when the students’ comments and body language confirm that they are sure that you have completely understood their message.
Select and explain your position. Now that you understand the students, you are in a good position to select a course of action. Be sure to choose an action that is in line with your teaching goals for the course. Tell the students what you have decided and give them your rationale for your decision. For example, when responding to a mark dispute, you might choose to review the assignment with the student by making reference to the marking criteria. In explaining your position, you might want to show an example of an assignment that better meets your expectations.
Discuss next steps and document your decision. When you have explained what you have decided to do, you can discuss possible next steps with the students. Finally, in many cases, you will want to document your decisions and, where appropriate, the information upon which you have based your decision.
If your plan of action requires follow-up on your part, you may want to briefly explain the process. For example, if you agree to review an assignment, you might want to indicate when they can expect to receive your comments.
You may want to direct students to other resources on campus, including counseling or health services, to get support and/or documentation.
If the students are not satisfied with your decision, it is good practice to direct them to an appropriate avenue for appeal (e.g., department chair).
Responding to highly emotional students
Schedule an appointment. If a student is too emotional to communicate his or her situation, it may help to schedule an appointment for a later time. This delay gives both parties a chance to calm down and to review the problem.
Open your door. This gives a chance for neutral, outside observers to witness the event. Leaving the door open protects both the student and the instructor.
Acknowledge behaviours and emotions. You may want to recognize the student’s emotional state at the beginning of your meeting. For example, you could say, “I can see that you are really upset. Can you tell me what you find especially frustrating?” If a student’s behaviour becomes inappropriate, point it out to the student.
Get assistance. If you don’t know how to approach a conflict situation, get assistance from a colleague or one of MSU's relevant offices (IDI, Ombudsperson, CTLI). If a student becomes very aggressive or threatening, contact the Michigan State Univesity police.
Keep others informed. If you are concerned that a difficult situation is developing, consider notifying others immediately. For example, if you are a teaching assistant, you could notify the instructor, the department chair, and the Graduate School GTA-Development staff.
Ineffective ways to deal with conflicts
Conquest. Trying to win an argument will turn a disagreement into a battle for dominance. Intimidation tactics can cause students to challenge you further and discourage their participation.
Avoidance. Ignoring problems does not make them go away.
Bargaining. Compromise can be a laudable way to resolve a conflict, but not when your teaching objectives get subverted by the resolution process. For example, asking a student to be less disruptive in class in exchange for a better grade on an assignment rewards unacceptable behaviour, harms your credibility, and is unfair to your other students. Make sure that your response to conflict situations is consistent with your teaching and assessment goals and is equitable to all in your course.
Quick fix. A band-aid solution, like changing a grade to get rid of a student, can not solve a conflict. This strategy also rewards unacceptable behaviour, harms your credibility, and is unfair to other students.
Thank you to colleagues in university educator development at the Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo, the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Colorado Boulder and others for their materials that informed or were adapted into this resource. Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
Posted by:
Makena Neal
Posted on: #iteachmsu
Conflict Management for Instructor: Centering and Maintaining Student Relationships
The ideal learning expereince fosters thoughtful discussions betwee...
Posted by:
PEDAGOGICAL DESIGN
Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023
Posted on: #iteachmsu
NAVIGATING CONTEXT
Instructor/Advisor Partnerships for Student Academic Success and Thriving in College
A former academic advisor and current instructor, both members of the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation, have teamed up to discuss the benefits and opportunities for advisor and instructor partnerships. In this workshop, Dr. Ellie Louson (instructor) and Katie Peterson (academic advisor) highlight unique and overlapping roles and initiatives across educators, and how all educators strive to support our student's success. We review key milestones throughout the semester and describe opportunities for and benefits of partnership. This second session was intended for educators that hold a primary role in course instruction. A video and slides from the first session (aimed for an audience of academic advisors) can be accessed here.Access the presentation recording below!Presentation slides can be obtained by clicking here Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
Authored by:
Ellie Louson
Posted on: #iteachmsu
Instructor/Advisor Partnerships for Student Academic Success and Thriving in College
A former academic advisor and current instructor, both members of t...
Authored by:
NAVIGATING CONTEXT
Thursday, Apr 11, 2024
Posted on: MSU Academic Advising
NAVIGATING CONTEXT
Advisor/Instructor Partnerships for Student Academic Success and Thriving in College
A former academic advisor and current instructor, both members of the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation, have teamed up to discuss the benefits and opportunities for advisor and instructor partnerships. In this workshop, Dr. Ellie Louson (instructor) and Katie Peterson (academic advisor) highlight unique and overlapping roles and initiatives across educators, and how all educators strive to support our student's success. Key milestones throughout the semester are reviewed and opportunities for partnership are provided. This first session was intended for educators that hold a primary role in academic advising. A second session was specific to instructors; access the recording and presentation slides for the instructor-focused session here. Access the presentation recording below!Presentation slides can be obtained by clicking here.
Posted by:
Katie Peterson
Posted on: MSU Academic Advising
Advisor/Instructor Partnerships for Student Academic Success and Thriving in College
A former academic advisor and current instructor, both members of t...
Posted by:
NAVIGATING CONTEXT
Thursday, Apr 11, 2024
Posted on: #iteachmsu
PEDAGOGICAL DESIGN
A semester-end shout out to Graduate Student TAs and Graduate Student Instructors
Graduate students are at the core of MSU. As our partners in research, as ambassadors of MSU in the scholarly community, as teachers, and often as friends, graduate students are a critical part of the foundation of our community. Their contributions help shape MSU as a premier land grant AAU institution: Their collaboration in inquiry and research with others on campus is perhaps our greatest asset when it comes to generating new ideas and pushing out the frontiers of knowledge and understanding. Their outreach and engagement efforts across the community, state, country, and world are crucial to MSU’s land grant mission. And the impact they have on the lives of the thousands of undergraduate students while dedicating themselves to their educational goals and pursuits is immeasurable.
This is true now more so than ever. Graduate student TAs proved critical in supporting faculty to make the transition to online and remote instruction; facilitating course discussions, preparing class materials, and troubleshooting in all sorts of ways. While supporting faculty in making this transition successfully, they also provided tremendous support to our undergraduate students enrolled in these courses. Many undergraduate students find success because a graduate teaching assistant provided the boost they needed to cross the finish line. In this semester the importance of graduate student support for undergraduates was heightened even more: Our graduate students were often faced with similar circumstances as the undergraduate students they were supporting. In many instances graduate students were making the transition to take their own classes remotely even as they, too, were facing added educational and personal stressors; while at the same time assisting undergraduate students in navigating these challenges as well.
When graduate students are instructors on campus, they are often the most innovative; their fresh, bold approaches ensure we remain at the vanguard of teaching and learning. In shifting to online and remote instruction this nimbleness and creativity proved critical for many students to succeed. And throughout all this, because our graduate student population is so diverse, they frequently become key mentors who connect with undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. This mentorship is essential to the functioning of our university, especially in such unusual and stressful times. The collaborative environment they foster at MSU deepens our disciplinary understanding and broadens the appreciation of knowledge among the many members of our community.
To our graduate students pursuing the limits of possibility in their fields, while also continuing to support our students even during this time of crisis: you deserve the gratitude and the admiration of all of us in the Spartan community.
This is true now more so than ever. Graduate student TAs proved critical in supporting faculty to make the transition to online and remote instruction; facilitating course discussions, preparing class materials, and troubleshooting in all sorts of ways. While supporting faculty in making this transition successfully, they also provided tremendous support to our undergraduate students enrolled in these courses. Many undergraduate students find success because a graduate teaching assistant provided the boost they needed to cross the finish line. In this semester the importance of graduate student support for undergraduates was heightened even more: Our graduate students were often faced with similar circumstances as the undergraduate students they were supporting. In many instances graduate students were making the transition to take their own classes remotely even as they, too, were facing added educational and personal stressors; while at the same time assisting undergraduate students in navigating these challenges as well.
When graduate students are instructors on campus, they are often the most innovative; their fresh, bold approaches ensure we remain at the vanguard of teaching and learning. In shifting to online and remote instruction this nimbleness and creativity proved critical for many students to succeed. And throughout all this, because our graduate student population is so diverse, they frequently become key mentors who connect with undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. This mentorship is essential to the functioning of our university, especially in such unusual and stressful times. The collaborative environment they foster at MSU deepens our disciplinary understanding and broadens the appreciation of knowledge among the many members of our community.
To our graduate students pursuing the limits of possibility in their fields, while also continuing to support our students even during this time of crisis: you deserve the gratitude and the admiration of all of us in the Spartan community.
Authored by:
Dr. Thomas Jeitschko
Posted on: #iteachmsu
A semester-end shout out to Graduate Student TAs and Graduate Student Instructors
Graduate students are at the core of MSU. As our partners in resear...
Authored by:
PEDAGOGICAL DESIGN
Tuesday, Apr 28, 2020
Posted on: New Technologies
Getting Started with iClicker Cloud and iClicker Reef
For Instructors:
NOTE: The interface might make you think you are signing up for a free trial of iClicker. This trial does not expire as long as you use the Institution Michigan State University. More and better documentation to follow, pending vendor cooperation.
Everything you need to get started teaching with iClicker Cloud can be found at the links below
Download iClicker Cloud
Checklist: Getting Started with iClicker Cloud - Step 6 - Important Student on-boarding resources, syllabus template, and more
How to Run Practice Sessions in iClicker Cloud - Practice as the student and instructor at the same time!
iClicker Cloud Training – A recorded, asynchronous training webinar hosted by iClicker
Virtual Teaching Resources
Using iClicker for Remote Instruction - Short video on using iClicker with video conferencing options
Going Virtual Student Onboarding Tips & Tricks
Going Virtual: In Class Participation & Instructor FAQs
Going Virtual Using iClicker to Keep Students Engaged
Easily access answers to most questions using the quick links below: Getting Started
How to Manage iClicker Cloud Course Settings
How to Help Students Stay on Task with iClicker Focus - Enable iClicker Focus to help reduce distractions for mobile/laptop users
Learn More About our Focus Feature
iClicker Cloud Polling Question Types
How to Ask and Grade Target Questions in iClicker Cloud
How to Share Your iClicker Cloud Course with a Co-Instructor or TA
During Class
How to Run a Polling Session in iClicker Cloud
How to Run a Quiz Session with iClicker Cloud
How to View Attendance with the iClicker Cloud Desktop Software
How to Run an Exit Poll in iClicker Cloud
After Class
How to Grade and View Polling Results at the iClicker Cloud Instructor Website
How to Grade and View Quizzing Results at the iClicker Cloud Website
How to View Exit Poll Responses
How to Use the Gradebook on the iClicker Cloud Instructor Website
How to View and Edit Student Scores at the iClicker Cloud Instructor Website
How to View and Manage Attendance Data in iClicker Cloud
Additional Information
Student Privacy with iClicker Cloud Attendance Geolocation - in person classes only
iClicker Reef Attendance Geolocation Tips - in person classes only
iClicker Cloud Mobile Instructor App User Guide - Use your smartphone as a remote to control iClicker Cloud
iClicker System Status Page - View or subscribe for system outage reports
Contact Customer Support - Search our Support Site or contact customer support
For Students:
NOTE: The interface might make you think you are signing up for a free trial of iClicker. This trial does not expire as long as you use the Institution Michigan State University. More and better documentation to follow, pending vendor cooperation.
Everything you need to get started can be found at the links below: Getting Started
How to Create an iClicker Reef Student Account
How to Add an Instructor's Course in iClicker Reef
How Students Redeem an iClicker Reef Access Code
In Class
Student Guide: iClicker Focus
How to Participate in a Poll with Reef
How to Participate in a Quiz with Reef
After Class
How to Participate in an Exit Poll with Reef
How to View Course History and Session Results in Reef
How to Use Study Tools in Reef
Additional Information
Student Guide: iClicker Focus
Can I change my Reef username or delete my account?
Troubleshooting Your iClicker Reef Account
Student Privacy with iClicker Cloud Attendance Geolocation - in person classes only
iClicker Reef Attendance Geolocation Tips - in person classes only
Contact Customer Support - Search our the iClicker support site or contact customer support
This content can also be found on the MSU Information Technology website at http://tech.msu.edu.
NOTE: The interface might make you think you are signing up for a free trial of iClicker. This trial does not expire as long as you use the Institution Michigan State University. More and better documentation to follow, pending vendor cooperation.
Everything you need to get started teaching with iClicker Cloud can be found at the links below
Download iClicker Cloud
Checklist: Getting Started with iClicker Cloud - Step 6 - Important Student on-boarding resources, syllabus template, and more
How to Run Practice Sessions in iClicker Cloud - Practice as the student and instructor at the same time!
iClicker Cloud Training – A recorded, asynchronous training webinar hosted by iClicker
Virtual Teaching Resources
Using iClicker for Remote Instruction - Short video on using iClicker with video conferencing options
Going Virtual Student Onboarding Tips & Tricks
Going Virtual: In Class Participation & Instructor FAQs
Going Virtual Using iClicker to Keep Students Engaged
Easily access answers to most questions using the quick links below: Getting Started
How to Manage iClicker Cloud Course Settings
How to Help Students Stay on Task with iClicker Focus - Enable iClicker Focus to help reduce distractions for mobile/laptop users
Learn More About our Focus Feature
iClicker Cloud Polling Question Types
How to Ask and Grade Target Questions in iClicker Cloud
How to Share Your iClicker Cloud Course with a Co-Instructor or TA
During Class
How to Run a Polling Session in iClicker Cloud
How to Run a Quiz Session with iClicker Cloud
How to View Attendance with the iClicker Cloud Desktop Software
How to Run an Exit Poll in iClicker Cloud
After Class
How to Grade and View Polling Results at the iClicker Cloud Instructor Website
How to Grade and View Quizzing Results at the iClicker Cloud Website
How to View Exit Poll Responses
How to Use the Gradebook on the iClicker Cloud Instructor Website
How to View and Edit Student Scores at the iClicker Cloud Instructor Website
How to View and Manage Attendance Data in iClicker Cloud
Additional Information
Student Privacy with iClicker Cloud Attendance Geolocation - in person classes only
iClicker Reef Attendance Geolocation Tips - in person classes only
iClicker Cloud Mobile Instructor App User Guide - Use your smartphone as a remote to control iClicker Cloud
iClicker System Status Page - View or subscribe for system outage reports
Contact Customer Support - Search our Support Site or contact customer support
For Students:
NOTE: The interface might make you think you are signing up for a free trial of iClicker. This trial does not expire as long as you use the Institution Michigan State University. More and better documentation to follow, pending vendor cooperation.
Everything you need to get started can be found at the links below: Getting Started
How to Create an iClicker Reef Student Account
How to Add an Instructor's Course in iClicker Reef
How Students Redeem an iClicker Reef Access Code
In Class
Student Guide: iClicker Focus
How to Participate in a Poll with Reef
How to Participate in a Quiz with Reef
After Class
How to Participate in an Exit Poll with Reef
How to View Course History and Session Results in Reef
How to Use Study Tools in Reef
Additional Information
Student Guide: iClicker Focus
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Authored by:
Jessica L. Knott, Ph.D.
Posted on: #iteachmsu
ASSESSING LEARNING
Packback discussions at MSU
This power point gives an overview of the Packback discussion platform for instructors at MSU.
Authored by:
Stephen Thomas
Posted on: #iteachmsu
Packback discussions at MSU
This power point gives an overview of the Packback discussion platf...
Authored by:
ASSESSING LEARNING
Wednesday, Nov 4, 2020
Posted on: #iteachmsu
ASSESSING LEARNING
Automated analyses of written responses reveal student thinking in STEM
Formative assessments can provide crucial data to help instructors evaluate pedagogical effectiveness and address students' learning needs. The shift to online instruction and learning in the past year emphasized the need for innovative ways to administer assessments that support student learning and success. Faculty often use multiple-choice (MC) assessments due to ease of use, time and other resource constraints. While grading these assessments can be quick, the closed-ended nature of the questions often does not align with real scientific practices and can limit the instructor's ability to evaluate the heterogeneity of student thinking. Students often have mixed understanding that include scientific and non-scientific ideas. Open-ended or Constructed Response (CR) assessment questions, which allow students to construct scientific explanations in their own words, have the potential to reveal student thinking in a way MC questions do not. The results of such assessments can help instructors make decisions about effective pedagogical content and approaches. We present a case study of how results from administration of a CR question via a free-to-use constructed response classifier (CRC) assessment tool led to changes in classroom instruction. The question was used in an introductory biology course and focuses on genetic information flow. Results from the CRC assessment tool revealed unexpected information about student thinking, including naïve ideas. For example, a significant fraction of students initially demonstrated mixed understanding of the process of DNA replication. We will highlight how these results influenced change in pedagogy and content, and as a result improved student understanding.To access a PDF of the "Automated analyses of written responses reveal student thinking in STEM" poster, click here.Description of the Poster
Automated analyses of written responses reveal student thinking in STEM
Jenifer N. Saldanha, Juli D. Uhl, Mark Urban-Lurain, Kevin Haudek
Automated Analysis of Constructed Response (AACR) research group
CREATE for STEM Institute, Michigan State University
Email: jenifers@msu.edu
Website: beyondmultiplechoice.org
QR code (for website):
Key highlights:
Constructed Response (CR) questions allow students to explain scientific concepts in their own words and reveal student thinking better than multiple choice questions.
The Constructed Response Classifier (CRC) Tool (free to use: beyondmultiplechoice.org) can be used to assess student learning gains
In an introductory biology classroom:
Analyses by the CRC tool revealed gaps in student understanding and non-normative ideas.
The instructor incorporated short term pedagogical changes and recorded some positive outcomes on a summative assessment.
Additional pedagogical changes incorporated the next semester led to even more positive outcomes related to student learning (this semester included the pivot to online instruction).
The results from this case study highlight the effectiveness of using data from the CRC tool to address student thinking and develop targeted instructional efforts to guide students towards a better understanding of complex biological concepts.
Constructed Response Questions as Formative Assessments
Formative assessments allow instructors to explore nuances of student thinking and evaluate student performance.
Student understanding often includes scientific and non-scientific ideas [1,2].
Constructed Response (CR) questions allow students to explain scientific concepts in their own words and reveal student thinking better than multiple choice questions [3,4].
Constructed Response Classifier (CRC) tool
A formative assessment tool that automatically predicts ratings of student explanations.
This Constructed Response Classifier (CRC) tool generates a report that includes:
categorization of student ideas from writing related to conceptual understanding.
web diagrams depicting the frequency and co-occurrence rates of the most used ideas and relevant terms.
CRC Questions in the Introductory Biology Classroom :
A Case study
Students were taught about DNA replication and the central dogma of Biology.
Question was administered as online homework, completion credit provided. Responses collected were analyzed by the CRC tool.
CRC question:
The following DNA sequence occurs near the middle of the coding region of a gene. DNA 5' A A T G A A T G G* G A G C C T G A A G G A 3'
There is a G to A base change at the position marked with an asterisk. Consequently, a codon normally encoding an amino acid becomes a stop codon. How will this alteration influence DNA replication?
Part 1 of the CRC question used to detect student confusion between the central dogma processes.
Related to the Vision & Change core concept 3 “Information Flow, Exchange, and Storage" [5], adapted from the Genetics Concept Assessment [6,7].
Insight on Instructional Efficacy from CRC Tool
Table 1: Report score summary revealed that only a small fraction of students provided correct responses post instruction. (N = 48 students).
Student responses
Spring 2019
Incorrect
45%
Incomplete/Irrelevant
32%
Correct
23%
Sample incorrect responses:
Though both incorrect, the first response below demonstrates understanding of a type of mutation and the second one uses the context of gene expression.
“This is a nonsense mutation and will end the DNA replication process prematurely leaving a shorter DNA strand” (spellchecked)
“It will stop the DNA replication… This mutation will cause a gene to not be expressed”
CRC report provided:
Response score summaries
Web diagrams of important terms
Term usage and association maps
The instructor Identified scientific and non-scientific ideas in student thinking
This led to:
Short term pedagogical changes, same semester
During end of semester material review, incorporated:
Small group discussions about the central dogma.
Discussions about differences between DNA replication, and transcription and translation.
Worksheets with questions on transcribing and translating sequences.
Figure one:
The figure depicts an improvement in student performance observed in the final summative assessment.
Percentage of students who scored more than 95% on a related question:
In the unit exam = 71%
Final summative exam = 79%
Pedagogical Changes Incorporated in the Subsequent Semester
CR questions:
Explain the central dogma.
List similarities and differences between the processes involved.
Facilitated small group discussions for students to explain their responses.
Worksheets and homework:
Transcribe and translate DNA sequences, including ones with deletions/additions.
Students encouraged to create their own sequences for practice.
Revisited DNA replication via clicker questions and discussions, while students were learning about transcription and translation.
Table 2: 68% of students in the new cohort provided correct responses to the CRC question post instruction. (N = 47 students).
Student Responses
Spring 2020
Incorrect
19%
Incomplete/Irrelevant
13%
Correct
68%
Conclusions
The results from this case study highlight the effectiveness of using data from the CRC tool to address student thinking and develop targeted instructional efforts to guide students towards a better understanding of complex biological concepts.
Future Directions
Use the analytic rubric feature in the CRC tool to obtain further insight into normative and non-normative student thinking.
Use the clicker-based case study available at CourseSource about the processes in the central dogma [8].
Incorporate additional CRC tool questions in each course unit.
Questions currently available in a variety of disciplines:
Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Physiology, and Statistics
Visit our website beyondmultiplechoice.org and sign up for a free account
References:
Ha, M., Nehm, R. H., Urban-Lurain, M., & Merrill, J. E. (2011). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 10(4), 379-393.
Sripathi, K. N., Moscarella, R. A., et al., (2019). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 18(3), ar37.
Hubbard, J. K., Potts, M. A., & Couch, B. A. (2017). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 16(2), ar26.
Birenbaum, M., & Tatsuoka, K. K. (1987). Applied Psychological Measurement, 11(4), 385-395.
"Vision and change in undergraduate biology education: a call to action." American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC (2011).
Smith, M. K., Wood, W. B., & Knight, J. K. (2008). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 7(4), 422-430.
Prevost, L. B., Smith, M. K., & Knight, J. K. (2016). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar65.
Pelletreau, K. N., Andrews, T., Armstrong, N., et al., (2016). CourseSource.
Acknowledgments.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (DUE grant 1323162). Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the supporting agencies.
Automated analyses of written responses reveal student thinking in STEM
Jenifer N. Saldanha, Juli D. Uhl, Mark Urban-Lurain, Kevin Haudek
Automated Analysis of Constructed Response (AACR) research group
CREATE for STEM Institute, Michigan State University
Email: jenifers@msu.edu
Website: beyondmultiplechoice.org
QR code (for website):
Key highlights:
Constructed Response (CR) questions allow students to explain scientific concepts in their own words and reveal student thinking better than multiple choice questions.
The Constructed Response Classifier (CRC) Tool (free to use: beyondmultiplechoice.org) can be used to assess student learning gains
In an introductory biology classroom:
Analyses by the CRC tool revealed gaps in student understanding and non-normative ideas.
The instructor incorporated short term pedagogical changes and recorded some positive outcomes on a summative assessment.
Additional pedagogical changes incorporated the next semester led to even more positive outcomes related to student learning (this semester included the pivot to online instruction).
The results from this case study highlight the effectiveness of using data from the CRC tool to address student thinking and develop targeted instructional efforts to guide students towards a better understanding of complex biological concepts.
Constructed Response Questions as Formative Assessments
Formative assessments allow instructors to explore nuances of student thinking and evaluate student performance.
Student understanding often includes scientific and non-scientific ideas [1,2].
Constructed Response (CR) questions allow students to explain scientific concepts in their own words and reveal student thinking better than multiple choice questions [3,4].
Constructed Response Classifier (CRC) tool
A formative assessment tool that automatically predicts ratings of student explanations.
This Constructed Response Classifier (CRC) tool generates a report that includes:
categorization of student ideas from writing related to conceptual understanding.
web diagrams depicting the frequency and co-occurrence rates of the most used ideas and relevant terms.
CRC Questions in the Introductory Biology Classroom :
A Case study
Students were taught about DNA replication and the central dogma of Biology.
Question was administered as online homework, completion credit provided. Responses collected were analyzed by the CRC tool.
CRC question:
The following DNA sequence occurs near the middle of the coding region of a gene. DNA 5' A A T G A A T G G* G A G C C T G A A G G A 3'
There is a G to A base change at the position marked with an asterisk. Consequently, a codon normally encoding an amino acid becomes a stop codon. How will this alteration influence DNA replication?
Part 1 of the CRC question used to detect student confusion between the central dogma processes.
Related to the Vision & Change core concept 3 “Information Flow, Exchange, and Storage" [5], adapted from the Genetics Concept Assessment [6,7].
Insight on Instructional Efficacy from CRC Tool
Table 1: Report score summary revealed that only a small fraction of students provided correct responses post instruction. (N = 48 students).
Student responses
Spring 2019
Incorrect
45%
Incomplete/Irrelevant
32%
Correct
23%
Sample incorrect responses:
Though both incorrect, the first response below demonstrates understanding of a type of mutation and the second one uses the context of gene expression.
“This is a nonsense mutation and will end the DNA replication process prematurely leaving a shorter DNA strand” (spellchecked)
“It will stop the DNA replication… This mutation will cause a gene to not be expressed”
CRC report provided:
Response score summaries
Web diagrams of important terms
Term usage and association maps
The instructor Identified scientific and non-scientific ideas in student thinking
This led to:
Short term pedagogical changes, same semester
During end of semester material review, incorporated:
Small group discussions about the central dogma.
Discussions about differences between DNA replication, and transcription and translation.
Worksheets with questions on transcribing and translating sequences.
Figure one:
The figure depicts an improvement in student performance observed in the final summative assessment.
Percentage of students who scored more than 95% on a related question:
In the unit exam = 71%
Final summative exam = 79%
Pedagogical Changes Incorporated in the Subsequent Semester
CR questions:
Explain the central dogma.
List similarities and differences between the processes involved.
Facilitated small group discussions for students to explain their responses.
Worksheets and homework:
Transcribe and translate DNA sequences, including ones with deletions/additions.
Students encouraged to create their own sequences for practice.
Revisited DNA replication via clicker questions and discussions, while students were learning about transcription and translation.
Table 2: 68% of students in the new cohort provided correct responses to the CRC question post instruction. (N = 47 students).
Student Responses
Spring 2020
Incorrect
19%
Incomplete/Irrelevant
13%
Correct
68%
Conclusions
The results from this case study highlight the effectiveness of using data from the CRC tool to address student thinking and develop targeted instructional efforts to guide students towards a better understanding of complex biological concepts.
Future Directions
Use the analytic rubric feature in the CRC tool to obtain further insight into normative and non-normative student thinking.
Use the clicker-based case study available at CourseSource about the processes in the central dogma [8].
Incorporate additional CRC tool questions in each course unit.
Questions currently available in a variety of disciplines:
Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Physiology, and Statistics
Visit our website beyondmultiplechoice.org and sign up for a free account
References:
Ha, M., Nehm, R. H., Urban-Lurain, M., & Merrill, J. E. (2011). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 10(4), 379-393.
Sripathi, K. N., Moscarella, R. A., et al., (2019). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 18(3), ar37.
Hubbard, J. K., Potts, M. A., & Couch, B. A. (2017). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 16(2), ar26.
Birenbaum, M., & Tatsuoka, K. K. (1987). Applied Psychological Measurement, 11(4), 385-395.
"Vision and change in undergraduate biology education: a call to action." American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC (2011).
Smith, M. K., Wood, W. B., & Knight, J. K. (2008). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 7(4), 422-430.
Prevost, L. B., Smith, M. K., & Knight, J. K. (2016). CBE—Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar65.
Pelletreau, K. N., Andrews, T., Armstrong, N., et al., (2016). CourseSource.
Acknowledgments.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (DUE grant 1323162). Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the supporting agencies.
Authored by:
Jenifer Saldanha, Juli Uhl, Mark Urban-Lurain, Kevin Haudek
Posted on: #iteachmsu
Automated analyses of written responses reveal student thinking in STEM
Formative assessments can provide crucial data to help instructors ...
Authored by:
ASSESSING LEARNING
Monday, Apr 26, 2021
Posted on: Equitable Pedagogy Learning Community
PEDAGOGICAL DESIGN
Join the Equitable Pedagogy Learning Community
For many instructors, COVID revealed unintentional barriers to learning in the classroom. Perhaps it was inflexible attendance policies, or grading policies that focused on behavior and concealed true learning, or hidden curriculum that privileged students who were willing to ask for more time / credit / help over students too embarrassed to do so.
The equitable pedagogy learning community will welcome educators looking to dismantle these barriers. By creating learning environments where all students feel supported, all students can succeed. Students enter our classrooms with different backgrounds, perspectives, identities, and experiences, and the intellectual communities we form can be enriched by those differences.
As a community, we will read and discuss topics such as humanizing the classroom, equitable grading practices, Universal Design for learning, culturally responsive pedagogy, pedagogy of kindness, and similar themes. The goal for each member would be to develop and integrate changes to teaching practices to be more inclusive and equitable. As a community, we would like to create resources to share with instructors; this could look like a collection of reflections from the community members and/or easily digestible professional development documents like infographics. If you are interested in joining this learning community, find us on Microsoft Teams or contact Valerie Hedges (hedgesva@msu.edu) or Casey Henley (mcgove14@msu.edu). The community will meet the third Friday of every month from 10-11:30 both in person (room TBD) and on Zoom. Every other month (October, December, February, April) we will meet at 9:00 in Synder-Phillips for breakfast. For the fall semester, we will read Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto by Kevin Gannon.
The equitable pedagogy learning community will welcome educators looking to dismantle these barriers. By creating learning environments where all students feel supported, all students can succeed. Students enter our classrooms with different backgrounds, perspectives, identities, and experiences, and the intellectual communities we form can be enriched by those differences.
As a community, we will read and discuss topics such as humanizing the classroom, equitable grading practices, Universal Design for learning, culturally responsive pedagogy, pedagogy of kindness, and similar themes. The goal for each member would be to develop and integrate changes to teaching practices to be more inclusive and equitable. As a community, we would like to create resources to share with instructors; this could look like a collection of reflections from the community members and/or easily digestible professional development documents like infographics. If you are interested in joining this learning community, find us on Microsoft Teams or contact Valerie Hedges (hedgesva@msu.edu) or Casey Henley (mcgove14@msu.edu). The community will meet the third Friday of every month from 10-11:30 both in person (room TBD) and on Zoom. Every other month (October, December, February, April) we will meet at 9:00 in Synder-Phillips for breakfast. For the fall semester, we will read Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto by Kevin Gannon.
Posted by:
Casey Henley
Posted on: Equitable Pedagogy Learning Community
Join the Equitable Pedagogy Learning Community
For many instructors, COVID revealed unintentional barriers to lear...
Posted by:
PEDAGOGICAL DESIGN
Wednesday, Sep 14, 2022