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This week, we are featuring Ken Szymusiak, Managing Director – Academic Programs, within the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at MSU. Ken was recognized via iteach.msu.edu's Thank and Educator Initiative! We encourage MSU community members to nominate high-impact Spartan educators (via our Thank an Educator initiative) regularly!
Read more about Ken’s perspectives below. #iteachmsu's questions are bolded below, followed by their responses! 


You were recognized via the Thank an Educator Initiative. In one word, what does being an educator mean to you?  
Trust 
Share with me what this word/quality looks like in your practice?
I feel like students have entrusted me with their time and I want to make sure they leave my classroom feeling that they gained something useful for the adventures that lie ahead.
Tell me more about your educational “setting.” This can include, but not limited to departmental affiliations, community connections, co-instructors, and students. (Aka, where do you work?)
I have a really unique setting. Although my home base for teaching is within the Management department in the Broad College of Business my classes are open campus wide. One of the hallmark qualities of the Burgess Institute’s programming is that it is open to all students from the Minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation, to our New Venture Creation Programs, to our Innovate Speaker series, and many more. Entrepreneurship and innovation thrive on diversity and creativity and I love that MSU has fully embraced this mission.
What is a challenge you experience in your educator role?
I think the biggest challenge as an educator is empowering students to participate in the path the class takes. The best learning happens when students feel like they are co-creating and not just being “lectured to.”
Any particular “solutions” or “best practices” you’ve found that help you support student success at the university despite/in the face of this? 
I think the key to unlocking student engagement is really getting to know what their interests are and trying to provide them with relevant and realistic examples of how the material is being applied in fields that really excite them.
What are practices you utilize that help you feel successful as an educator?
I don’t know if I have any particular practices, but I really love when students reach out after they had my class for more information or resources which show genuine curiosity. I also really enjoy it when students refer a friend to take one of my classes…there’s no greater compliment.
What topics or ideas about teaching and learning would you like to see discussed on the iteach.msu.edu platform? Why do you think this conversation is needed at MSU?
I think we have a unique opportunity with the current generation of students to reimagine the value of higher education. I get a sense that there is quite a bit of anxiousness and cynicism amongst this group of students. I think it should be our mission to transform the college experience so that every student feels as if they truly get their monies worth regardless of major. I think all ideas should be on the table to reimagine the college experience.
What are you looking forward to (or excited to be a part of) next semester?
Seeing people...haha
But in all seriousness, I think the big lesson from 2020 was not to take anything for granted. I wonder if this will affect how we engage with students and how they engage with us. I’m most curious to see if there are any cultural changes on this front

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

Through different class communications, the presenter collected MSU international students' reflections on their study and life in the pandemic and tries to reveal a glimpse of their remote learning in global contexts through a documentary report. To many international students, studying in the pandemic was just like riding a roller coaster: a great expectation of study abroad at the beginning, then disappointment as it had been changed into online classes, and then excitement again with interesting findings on Zoom class. This, however, was often followed by mid-term exhaustion after a few weeks' struggle with study pressure and time differences. First, online classes offered great convenience and mobility. Many international students could now enjoy a nice family reunion while taking online classes. When attending Zoom lectures, many international students were nervous and worried about their English. Therefore, remote teaching of international students often requires much more patience and understanding.Many students also liked the self-paced learning offered by asynchronous classes. Still, many times the class would be reduced to a routine of watching class videos and finishing follow-up quizzes.In 2020, MSU collaborated with Fudan University in Shanghai to offer some local classes during the pandemic. Though students could only take online classes from Fudan, they still enjoyed some of the classes and different activities/events organized by MSU students' association. In this way, they got to know each other better and became more familiar with MSU courses and culture.To access a PDF of the "Global Spartan Stories: International Students in the Pandemic" poster, click here.Description of the Poster :
Global Spartan Stories: International Students in the Pandemic 
Xinqiang Li 
Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures 
Why MSU 
“My father studied at MSU 30 years ago. And surprisingly I’ve been assigned to the same dormitory building as my father’s!” – a student from Korea 
“I have many friends studying here and dreamed one day I could see the beautiful snow at MSU. Because of the recent chaos, my parents worried about my future study in the US and tried to persuade me to transfer to Singapore, but I eventually chose MSU for its higher quality of education.”  – a student from China 
“My older brother studied at MSU and he suggested me apply to this school. He gave me a lot of advice on how to apply for scholarship (from my country) for studying abroad.” – a student from UAE 
“I attended high school here in Michigan and really enjoyed the football games at MSU. Actually, it was my American host mother who drove me to campus when I moved in, as she was concerned about my safety in the pandemic.” – a student from China 
Taking online classes  
Zoom in – Classes on Zoom 
First contact – in English  
For the very first time Hua (pseudonym) clicked into Zoom class, rehearsing in her mind the self-introduction she previously wrote: “My name is…”.  To many international students like Hua, this was their first time to take overseas class online. They were nervous, worried about their English expression and often kept silent until the teacher asked them to answer questions. Luckily, many times the instructors showed patience and understanding to such situation and tried to accommodate the international students in the online space. 
Breakout room and groupwork 
Groupwork might sometimes be a challenge, too. Coming from different cultural and educational background, many international students might still need time to adapt to different groupwork. There were inspiring conversations in Zoom Breakout rooms, but there were also awkward 15 minutes of silence before the instructor pulled them back to the main room.   
On the other hand, there were happy collaborations in online class. International students often found their American classmates “friendly” and “helpful”, offering to input discussion summaries on Google doc. and never hesitating to shout out “Good job!” when their international partners finished their presentations. This was one of the sweetest cultural experiences the international students had enjoyed, even in an online space.   
Camera on and off 
One of the advantages of Zoom class at MSU is students were allowed to turn off their camera during the class. Such flexibility added more home comfort to the “learning-at-home” format and enhanced the learning effects. More importantly, this way international students would suffer less language difficulties and Zoom fatigue, and concentrate more on the instructor’s English speech. This actually provided one special advantage which could hardly be achieved in a traditional classroom. Admittedly, this might sometimes lead to abuse of the freedom, with students swiping cell phone or sleeping behind the camera. Still, it turned out there were few students drifting away from my class behind the black screens, and I was fine with students taking class in pajamas or drinking coffee behind the camera, if only this could make themselves at home and help to improve their learning.    
Zoom inspiration and fatigueThe exciting moment on Zoom was when students from countries, despite the time difference, insisted on participating in the class and sharing their cultures, exchanging different perspectives and building constructive relationship online.  
“Every class having a similar format, such as sharing a power-point presentation, and lecturing on the side, has gotten to be quite tiring. From hearing and looking at the same thing every day, I have lost interest in a lot of my classes.”
Zoom out - online classes in general 
To many international students, studying in the pandemic was just like riding a roller coaster: a great expectation when getting admitted to MSU, then disappointment as it switched to online class, and then the excitement came back when they met people from different countries online while enjoying home comfort.  This, however, was often followed by a mid-term burnout after a few weeks’ struggle with study pressure and time differences.  
“After a few weeks, my enthusiasm waned and didn’t care about my class anymore. Since the class was recorded, I can always watch the recordings. That gave me an excuse for not paying attention to the class.” 
Time difference 
“Due to different time zones, I start my first class at 10 pm. If I have a class at 4 AM, I try to sleep 2 or 3 hours before the first-class starts. I usually set an alarm 15 minutes before the class starts. Waking up, I take some water, and this helps me to stay awake at 4 AM and concentrate on the class.”  
“At 3am I woke up all of a sudden, and sadly found I’ve missed the CAS 110 class at 12 am. Then, I fell asleep again…” 
Time difference posed many challenges to international students. Luckily, most classes offered the advantage of having class sessions recorded, which is “a useful resource for all students, not just those attending asynchronously” (Gannon). On the other hand, there were also many enthusiastic international students who expected and enjoyed the intimacy of the overseas class and insisted on participating in the synchronous lectures (instead of watching the class recordings) even when it was 3, 4am in their home countries. 
Bonuses of online class 
Online class offered more convenience and mobility. Now students didn’t have to get up early and wait for the bus in the cold winter morning. Even though they sometimes had to take class late at night, they could at least enjoy the delicious midnight snacks made by their moms. Despite the inconveniences of class time, they could now celebrate different festivals with their families, which was unimaginable when they studied in the US. 
“In order to celebrate the Spring Festival with my family, I tried to finish all my homework on New Year’s Eve. Even though I had to leave the dinner party earlier for another online class, I was excited when hearing my American professor greet us with “Happy New Year” in the class.” In the meantime, their friends staying at MSU admired their photos of family reunion and festival celebration. These friends, however, had their own way of celebration, enjoying the spacious hall of the dormitory building, and sometimes cooking together with friends. When they missed home, their moms were always available on video chat asking about their life in the US. 
The Fudan program  
In 2020, MSU collaborated with different partner schools around the world to offer more classes during the pandemic. The collaboration with Fudan University in Shanghai was one of the major programs. Fudan is a well-known university in China (“it’s just like Stanford University in China”, as one student said) and Shanghai is such a vibrant cosmopolitan city. Therefore, this program had attracted many Chinese students. However, it was a pity that they could not visit the campus of Fudan as the program offered only online classes. Despite the disadvantages, many students still enjoyed some classes, and they could speak Chinese freely in the class, which was an added bonus. Even in Shanghai the MSU students could still participate in different activities/events organized by MSU students’ association, and in this way, they got to know each other better and became more familiar with MSU courses and culture.  
Acknowledgments  
Thank WRA 1004 classes for their contribution. All the materials come from in-class discussions and writing practices.  
References  
Gannon, K. (2020, October 26). Advice: Our hyflex experiment: What's worked and what hasn’t.  
MSU Alumni Office (2021, April 28). Global Day of Service, Spartans Will! 

This week, we are featuring Norman Scheel, a Research Associate in MSU’s Department of Radiology Cognitive Imaging Research Center. Norman was recognized via iteach.msu.edu's Thank and Educator Initiative! We encourage MSU community members to nominate high-impact Spartan educators (via our Thank an Educator form) regularly!
Read more about Norman’s perspectives below. #iteachmsu's questions are bolded below, followed by their responses!

You were recognized via the Thank an Educator Initiative. In one word, what does being an educator mean to you? Share with me what this word/quality looks like in your practice? (Have your ideas on this changed over time? If so, how?) 
The word would be “rewarding”. For me, teaching and learning is a two-way street and no matter in which direction you are driving, it is always an investment in the future and there is always traffic in both ways. Above all, I want to set up my students for success. As a teacher, I see myself as a conductor to help my students achieve their personal goals and as a role model who possibly has a substantial influence on the future of my students. So, seeing my students excel is highly rewarding, but I am also learning so much from my students, every day, which is also immensely rewarding.
Tell me more about your educational “setting.” This can include, but not limited to departmental affiliations, community connections, co-instructors, and students. (AKA, where do you work?)
I am now in the final stages of my postdoc in the Radiology Department of Michigan State University and am currently applying for Assistant Professor positions. Together with Prof. David Zhu I supervise and mentor the graduate students in our lab as well as students that rotate through it. I also mentor and advise students remotely for their bachelor’s and master's theses at my home University of Lübeck, Germany where I did my Ph.D. in Computer Science and Computational Neuroscience. In my research, I work interdisciplinary with many different universities, e. g. Vanderbilt University, University of Texas, John Hopkins University, or the Max Planck Institute Tübingen, Germany, on a variety of research questions. With my collaborators at these institutions, there are always students working on joint projects where it is natural to mutually teach skills important for the project’s success but also in the personal interest of the students.
What is a challenge you experience in your educator role? Any particular “solutions” or “best practices” you’ve found that help you support student success at the university despite/in the face of this?
My German Diploma in Informatics taught me the importance of multidimensional learning, or as Aristotle said, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Over the last few years, I saw a trend that students are taught highly specific topics, without relating these to a “grand scheme”. Integrating information from multiple perspectives gives cross-references to other related topics and courses. This integration facilitates the ability to abstract learned information and helps to apply it in a more holistic way of connecting “the bigger picture”. For clarity, the content in my lectures is presented in a way that is illustrative rather than abstract, so that students are able to grasp the content and put it into relation to what they have learned before. I always try to highlight cross-references as much as possible, so that students see past the boundaries of final exams.
What are practices you utilize that help you feel successful as an educator?
The most important I think is to find a way to effectively communicate. As my teaching is typically in a small group or individual setting, I am able to tailor my teaching directly to the needs of my students. This helps tremendously in finding ways to communicate expectations between my students and me. 
What topics or ideas about teaching and learning would you like to see discussed on the iteach.msu.edu platform? Why do you think this conversation is needed at MSU? 
It would be amazing to have a central place on the platform, where educators could advertise potential master’s or bachelor’s theses, or rotation projects, or vice versa, students could advertise that they are on the look-out for these projects, with a few skills that they have, to see if there might be a fit. In my time here at MSU, it has been very difficult to find mid-level academic hands, especially interdisciplinary ones. The lack of or at least problematic communication between different parts of the University makes local collaboration very difficult.
What are you looking forward to (or excited to be a part of) next semester?
I am excited for a few of my students to get the chance to present at scientific conferences. It is always such a rewarding experience and always such a big push for motivation and new ideas.


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