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Title: Learning Experience DesignerDepartment: Center for Teaching and Learning InnovationBio: Dave Goodrich (he/him) is a Learning Experience Designer at MSU’s Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation. Dave collaborates with MSU educators who are interested in creating remarkable learning experiences for their students. He understands that designing new ways to learn, research, and improve instruction happens through good conversations and storytelling. Prior to joining MSU, Dave was a science teacher and instructional designer in organizations spanning K-20+ as well as in the private sector. He facilitates educator workshops and is an educator in MSU’s College of Education. Mostly, he likes to drink coffee with a book or guitar in front of fireplaces.Schedule a Consultation

SoTL/Education Research
Course Design
Syllabus Best Practices
Online Courses: Quality Review & Improvement
Learning Assessment

The primary goal: students should be working on day one"The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher" by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong is a staple in teacher preparation programs and k-12 districts across the country. It is a comprehensive guide for teachers, particularly those new to the profession, focusing on techniques and strategies to establish effective classroom management from the very beginning of the school year. While the book is primarily focused on K-12 education, it offers principles and strategies that can be effectively adapted and applied to higher education settings. The application of these strategies in a university environment involves recognizing the unique context and needs of adult learners while maintaining the core principles of effective teaching. The book emphasizes the importance of the first days of school in setting the tone for the entire year. It discusses practical methods for creating a positive classroom environment, establishing routines, and building relationships with students. Wong advocates for the idea that effective teaching is not just about subject matter expertise but also involves being an effective manager of the classroom. This management includes clear communication of expectations, consistent procedures, and fostering a sense of respect and responsibility among students.A key theme in Wong's work is the concept of the teacher as a facilitator of learning rather than just a transmitter of knowledge. He suggests that well-organized classrooms with clear rules and procedures enable students to engage more effectively in the learning process. Specifically, he details pre-course and early-course actions that educators can take to help ensure the effective facilitation of learning. Before the Semester1. Course Design and Syllabus Preparation: Develop a detailed syllabus that outlines course objectives, expectations, grading policies, required materials, and a schedule of topics and assignments. Ensure that the syllabus aligns with the learning outcomes and includes policies on attendance, late submissions, academic integrity, and inclusivity. The Teaching Center provides syllabus templates in the semester start-up playlist.2. Learning Environment Setup: If teaching in a physical space, consider the classroom layout and how it can foster interaction and engagement. If teaching ina room you are not familiar with, visit the room before the first day of class to get to know the workings of the classroom technology cart. For online courses, organize the digital learning environment in D2L, ensuring that all resources are accessible and user-friendly. MSU IT offers multiple D2L training resources, also detailed in the semester start-up playlist here.3. Instructional Planning: Plan your lessons for the first few weeks. This includes lecture content, discussion questions, group activities, and any multimedia resources you intend to use. Think about how these align with your course objectives and how they cater to diverse learning styles.4. Communication Channels: Set up and familiarize yourself with the communication platforms you will use, whether it’s email, a learning management system, or online forums. Consider how you will use these tools to communicate with students and facilitate discussions. Consider using the Registrar's Office "email my class" tool for early semester communications.On the First Day1. Welcome and Introduction: Do all you can to arrive early to the classroom. If possible, greet students at the door as they enter. 2. Post the Agenda: Post the day's agenda and key learning outcomes. Make it clear to students what they will do during the class session. If possible, assign seats. This gives students a sense of place in the room and helps reduce students' first day stress.3. Put the Students to Work: The primary goal of the first moments of class is to get students working. Give students a task to complete immediately at the start of class; the task should be relevant to the course content and should yield a tangible deliverable. This will set the tone that the class is a place where things happen, where students work, and where learning is defined by activity. Often this first task involves having students demonstrate their prior knowledge of the course's concepts.  4. Save the Syllabus: The least effective way to spend time on the first day of school is to review the syllabus. Use 50 percent of the first class session for content-specific, important work. Use 40 percent of the time on personal introductions and community building, and use the last 10 percent on policy. Never underestimate the power of a strong start to a semester. Define your semester by spending the first day clearly establishing procedures, setting high expectations, and modelling the value of work. This tone-setting is vital to creating a sustainable culture of learning for the rest of the semester. Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

Faculty Rights and Responsibilities 
Source MSU Faculty Handbook (Last updated: 7/27/1984)
IV. ACADEMIC HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES (Cont.)
The following policy was approved by the Board of Trustees on July 27, 1984.
The Bylaws of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees state that "the Constitution (of the State of Michigan) confers upon the Board of Trustees the freedom, power, and responsibility to develop a free and distinguished university and to promote the welfare of mankind through teaching, research, and public service." 1,2,3
As the primary functions of an academic community, learning, teaching, scholarship, and public service must be characterized by a fundamental commitment to academic freedom and maintained through reasoned discourse, intellectual honesty, mutual respect and openness to constructive criticism and change. Faculty members, as central to this community, serve as scholars pursuing the search for knowledge and its free expression, as teachers instructing students, and as professionals and citizens contributing special knowledge and skills through public service and community participation. In the performance of all these functions faculty members are held accountable to the University, in accordance with established policies and procedures, by the Board of Trustees which, as an elected body, is responsible to the people of the State of Michigan. 4
In order to carry out the mission of the University, faculty members, as members of both the academic and the broader public community, have the right to a clear statement of academic freedom, tenure, and other fundamental faculty rights and responsibilities. The purpose of this document is to acknowledge these fundamental rights and responsibilities. 5
Academic Freedom and Responsibility
Michigan State University endorses academic freedom and responsibility as essential to attainment of the University's goal of the unfettered search for knowledge and its free exposition. Academic freedom and responsibility are fundamental characteristics of the University environment and are always closely interwoven and at times indistinguishable. Academic freedom and responsibility are the twin guardians of the integrity and quality of universities. The University looks to its faculty members to exercise their rights responsibly and to meet their obligations fully as professionals. Faculty acceptance of their responsibilities to students, colleagues, the scholarly community, and the public explains in great part why society historically has accepted the concept of academic freedom and has afforded its protection through the institution of academic tenure.
For faculty members, the principal elements of academic freedom include:


The right, as teachers, to discuss in the classroom any material which has a significant relationship to the subject matter as defined in the approved course description;
The right to determine course content, grading, and classroom procedures in the courses they teach;
The right to conduct research and to engage in creative endeavors;
The right to publish or present research findings and creative works;
The right to engage in public service activities; and
The right to seek changes in institutional policy through established University procedures and by lawful and peaceful means.

Academic freedom carries with it responsibilities. For faculty members, the principal elements include:

The responsibility to carry out assigned teaching, research, and public service duties in a professional manner and in keeping with University policy;
The responsibility, as teachers, to refrain from introducing matters which are not consistent with their teaching duties and professional competence and which have no significant bearing on the subject matter of the course as approved under University procedures;
The responsibility to pursue excellence and intellectual honesty in teaching, research, and other creative endeavors and in public service activities; and in publishing or presenting research findings and creative works;
The responsibility to encourage students and colleagues to engage in free discussion and inquiry; and to evaluate student and colleague performance on a scholarly basis;
The responsibility to work in a collegial manner with appropriate individuals and bodies to encourage the free search for knowledge; its free exposition, and the University's continuing quest for excellence; and
The responsibility to differentiate carefully their official activities as faculty members from their personal activities as citizens and, when the situation warrants, to make it clear that, when speaking as private citizens, they do not speak for the University.

The above list provides a summary outline of the principal elements of academic freedom and responsibility. More detailed and explicit definitional statements applicable to specific faculty rights and responsibilities are set forth below under the following headings: Academic Tenure, Academic Governance, Teaching, Research and Creative Activity, Public Service, Relations with Colleagues, Relation to the University and the Community, and Resolution of Conflicts.
Footnotes:
1  The terms, "faculty" or "faculty members," as used in this document, apply to individuals appointed in the tenure system with the rank of instructor through professor. (However, as applicable in the context of assigned duties and responsibilities, the provisions of this policy apply to all faculty and academic staff).
2  Bylaws of the Board of Trustees, as amended January 24-25, 1980, Preamble, page 1.
3  "The Board of Trustees, the administration, and the faculty carry out their respective responsibilities not as isolated entities, but as major and primary constituents of the total University organization and structure which remain mutually independent and must be supportive of each other's purposes, functions, and obligations. It is within this context that the rights and responsibilities of the faculty are to be construed" (Bylaws of the Board of Trustees, as amended January 24-25, 1980, Article 7, page 7.)
4  "The Board of Trustees, elected by the voters of the State and responsible to all the people of Michigan, exercises the final authority in the government of the University, within the limits fixed by the State Constitution. In exercising its responsibility, the Board delegates to the President of the University and through the President to the faculty, appropriate authority and jurisdiction over matters for which they are held accountable by the Board. These matters include educational policy and the development of a strong and efficient organization with which to accomplish the objectives of the University." (Bylaws of the Board of Trustees, as amended January 24-25, 1980, Preamble, page l.)
5  Some faculty rights and responsibilities referred to in this document are stated elsewhere (see Appendix A).

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
 
No matter what courses you teach, you have probably found yourself in a situation where you are looking for better ways to express a complicated idea or complex phenomenon. Whether it be the theory of evolution, the inner-workings of a human mind, or how an internal combustion engine works, we have found ourselves in a position where we are thinking, “Hmm…how can I best explain this?” Out of many things we care about — when it comes to our students — one of the most critical challenges is to teach with clarity, without opening new doors for misconceptions, and without increasing their cognitive load. Engaging with multimodality is one approach to accomplishing this.
 
Multimodal?
The word multimodal means multiple modes of representation. In other words, using more than one mode of representation to convey the same idea. For example, written text or alphabetic text is one mode of representation. But, it is only one mode. There are obviously more. Some scholars have defined five modes of representation as important to teaching. These are written text, aural, visual, spatial, and gestural (Anstey & Bull, 2010). Each of these modes has its own affordances and constraints. Alphabetic texts are great at sending a message across, but they can also lead to multiple interpretations or ambiguity at times, and lead to further misconceptions. Visuals, which we all knowingly or unknowingly use in our instruction, are better at giving a sense of size, color, space, etc. When looking at a picture, you do not have to start from left to right or top to bottom. You are free to explore the space as you “read” the image. The rules are obviously different. What is even better is that using two or more of these modes of representation together can enrich our understanding of a topic as they can be designed to act as complementary to each other.
 
Beginning Your Multimodal Journey
No matter how complex or simple-looking the concepts we teach, we need to look beyond the use of traditional alphabetic texts. We need to understand it is natural for students to ask for the look and feel of concepts, even especially when we are dealing with the more abstract. Students can use multimodal texts to get an overall understanding of the topic and create a picture of how things work in their heads. By limiting ourselves to alphabetic texts, we make it harder for students to fathom some of the topics we may take for granted. If you are interested in integrating multimodal texts in your classrooms, I recommend searching for copyright free content that is easily available online. For instance, for images, you can start with Creative Commons search, and for sounds, I recommend Incompetech. Using these, you also choose to make videos using YouTube’s free video editor. Giphy.com is also a fun resource to create GIFs from existing videos. 
 
Let us start thinking beyond traditional texts, and find new ways to including multimodal texts in our instruction. As we wrap up this semester and begin to think about designing our curriculum for the next semester, I urge you to consider the following questions:

What are some of the most complicated topics to teach next semester?
How can I best explain these topics to my students?
What modes of representation would allow me to capture the essence of these topics and make them easier to understand without losing their complexity?
Out of the five modes of representation shared here, which ones will be the most essential?
Finally, can I spare 15 minutes to play with creating these multimodal texts for my class?

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
 
Questions Driving You
 
Why did you choose the discipline you’re teaching and researching in now? What was it about its unique lens on the world that inspired you? Sometimes, in the rush to design syllabi and curriculum, and feeling buried by stacks of grading at points, it can be easy to forget the reasons we were driven to choose our disciplines in the first place. And just as these reasons inspired and inspire you, so too can they inspire students and provide a cohesion to your curriculum.
 
Questions Driving Your Course
 
Scholars have advocated for designing classroom work out of the very real inquiry and issues at the core of our academic disciplines. Applebee (1996) believes that our curriculum design should support the opportunity for our students to engage in the “conversations” that have built our disciplines and continue to sustain our inquiry within them. Bain (2004), in his study of what makes for the best college teaching, found some of the most impactful teachers to be the ones basing their courses out of the disciplinary questions that mattered to them. And McTighe and Wiggins (2005) suggest the use of what they call “essential questions” from your discipline to anchor your syllabus, teaching, and learning.  Even in introductory courses, framing in this manner can help students be more active participants in their learning as they take up the very real current questions that the discipline seeks to answer outside the classroom. So, as you begin your course this week, we have four questions for you to ask yourself in an effort to drive your course with the questions driving you:
 
Why did you choose your discipline?: Answering this question can oftentimes help re-anchor you in the fundamental passion and inquiry at the core of your discipline and help you better see through the perspectives of your students. From there, you can identify the specific questions your discipline attempts to answer.
 
What questions does your discipline attempt to answer?: Here is where you can begin to stake some claims about the affordances and limits of your discipline’s view of the world. Does your discipline seek answers connected to literary interpretation and meaning-making? About the best ways to engineer physical structures? Your discipline no doubt asks and answers through specific lenses.
 
How are the questions in your discipline currently being asked in your discipline and out in the world?: Contemporary relevance can help with overall engagement, as students see how what they’re doing in your course may connect with present-day applications. This allows students to begin to answer the “so what?” about your course and why one may care to know the content and skills you’re engaging in.
 
How does your course help students ask or begin to ask the questions you identified in two and three above?: Your curriculum design choices are key. Provide opportunities for students to be anchored in the real inquiry and perspectives that matter most in your discipline. Make this inquiry explicit along the way. Your assessment choices are also important here, as you have the opportunity to provide real-world tasks for students that you and others in your discipline would engage in outside the classroom.
 
Resources
Applebee, A. N. (1996). Curriculum as Conversation: Transforming Traditions of Teaching and Learning. Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press.
Bain, K. (2004). What the Best College Teachers Do. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition. Alexandria, VA: Pearson.
 

GORP for High Impact Experiential TeachingThis is the third article in our iTeach.MSU playlist for the Spartan Studios Playkit.
🔧 Earlier phases of the Studios project developed a framework for experiential learning with the acronym GORP: Gravity, Ownership, Relationship, and Place (Heinrich, Lauren, & Logan, under review). The acronym GORP stands for “good ol’ raisins and peanuts” and emerged from one of the researchers’ background in outdoor education. The GORP framework is a key aspect of how we have designed Studios courses. We have seen how its 4 elements can lead to transformational learning experiences for students in Studios courses. (Heinrich et al. 2021). We encourage you to consider how the following 4 elements of the framework might fit in your own experiential course. They aren’t all-or-nothing, and course instructors can decide in what ways to incorporate them into your course design. 
▶️Gravity: Give students a challenge or opportunity that matters to them and they’ll be motivated. The primary motivator for student work in a traditional course is usually the assessment or grade. By organizing your experiential course around a significant challenge, a wicked problem, or an opportunity for students to meaningfully participate in or affect their world, you can offer students an alternative motivator: making a difference to communities affected by these challenges. A course description that includes this gravity can help attract students who are passionate about that issue. Keep gravity central as you design your course and students’ interactions with community partners. A holistic approach to grading, where students are assessed on their overall participation, processes, and reflections about their experience, helps to prevent the course grade from reasserting itself as the gravity. In other words, shift the point of gravity for students away from the grade.
▶️Ownership: Give students autonomy throughout the experiential course, from the design of their projects through their implementation. Let them manage their teams and be accountable to each other for their work. Having this ownership movitates high levels of engagement with the course material and assignments and increases participation. In a course with high ownership, students see themselves as creators and contributors to real conversations with the course’s local partners. This could even extend to giving students autonomy over elements of your course design. Include opportunities for emergent outcomes  that aren’t predetermined in the course design (for example, be flexible about the kinds of projects that are within the scope of the course, or students being able to pivot their approach based on new ideas) and for students to steer the instruction. 
▶️Relationship: Experiential courses give instructors the opportunity to reset the traditional teacher-student relationship. Be a coach in addition to a lecturer. You can support students’ work on their teams and be a resource for them as they solve problems that emerge during their work. This could look like instructors circulating as student teams explain their project plans and giving feedback or suggesting alternatives the students hadn’t considered. Even something as simple as putting yourself at the same literal level as your students, instead of lecturing from the front of the room, can contribute to a more even relationship. Learn from the students outside your discipline, and encourage students to learn from each other. By removing yourself as the gatekeeper of acceptable solutions, you empower students to learn from their choices. These reconfigured relationships require trust within student teams, within the team of co-instructors, and between students and faculty. And although instructors ultimately do have power over students’ evaluations, try to avoid sudden reassertions of that power which can undermine student ownership and trust. Students (and faculty!) may be uncomfortable at first with such a dramatic shift in agency; you should be explicit that this will be a different kind of learning experience. We suggest making reflection on the new relationships part of your classroom culture. Instructors should be empowered to facilitate student-driven learning while also providing the benefits of their expertise, knowledge, and judgement. We offer more advice and examples in “Coaching” below.
▶️Place: Because Studios courses connect to local needs or partners in specific places, you can focus your teaching on those places and connect them to students’ work. These places can be elsewhere on campus, in the local community, or even abroad. Visit it if you can (physically or virtually), and have students experience and reflect on their time outside the classroom. Places resonate, even if they can’t visit in-person. Encourage students to form their own connections with the place: What does it mean to them or to the community impacted by the course’s challenge?  Also, think about your teaching space. Early Studios courses were held in the Hub’s flex space, a room with moveable furniture and whiteboard walls that students could reconfigure based on their teams’ needs. A flexible and collaborative mindset open to new and radical student-driven possibilities is part of the conceptual space we want to build in these courses. This flexibility and connection is also possible in virtual classrooms and workspaces. Consider the learning affordances of both physical and virtual spaces that can enhance your students’ experience.Photo by Pratik Bachhav on Unsplash

Originally posted in response to the burn-out as a result of the pandemics of 2020, this post is as relevant as ever. Juggling ever changing contexts and considerations at work, while setting boundaries to keep ourselves healthy can really wear a person down. And that's not even considering additional responsibilites in caregiving, at home and in our communitites. Needless to say as we approach the end of the calendar year, and with it a short break, here is some advice from MSU's Well-being at Work Guide: Taking time away from work, in the forms of breaks, vacation time, or strengthening boundaries around employees’ workdays, is important. Breaks throughout employees’ days have many benefits. Employees should also remember to take a break for lunch. There are additional resources that walk employees through how to maximize lunch breaks, as well as the benefits from doing so. Taking vacation time, whether vacationing away or staying at home, helps employees increase their productivity and improve their health. This information is important for both supervisors and employees in order to work toward supporting employees and creating a healthier workplace. Vacation TimeGoing on a vacation or taking time away from work improves employees’ productivity, as well as their energy and focus within the workplace. Employees then can come back to the office refreshed and excited to get back to work, which translates into better productivity, higher quality work, and more energy in their workplace. Organizations and supervisors supporting employees taking vacation time increases the retention of employees and their loyalty to the organization, as well as increasing their job satisfaction (Vinocur, n.d.; Mohn, 2014). Almost 70% of employees feel more satisfied with their jobs if they take regular vacations, and more satisfied employees will stay at their jobs longer, reducing high turnover and costs associated with hiring (Vinocur, n.d.). Taking vacation time also strengthens employee relationships with their families and those they care about outside of work (Hutchison, n.d.c; Kasser & Sheldon, 2009). Taking vacation time also improves employees’ health, preventing heart disease and other illnesses, helping manage anxiety and depression, and improving their sleep by almost 20%. This can result in lower healthcare costs for employers and reduced stress for employees (Vinocur, n.d.). Taking vacation time should be encouraged, as it leads to a happier heather work climate. For employees to get the most out of their vacation time, they should prepare their workspace for their absence. Taking care of any final emails, setting up their “out of office” email, and organizing their work area allows employees to step away from their work for their vacation and come back to as little catch-up work as possible. If an employee must work during their vacation, they should set up certain time periods to work, then not work outside of that time, including checking their email (Hutchison, n.d.c). Taking these steps helps employees focus as much of their time as possible on their vacation, to step away from work and de-stress, and be excited to jump back into work upon their return. For more information on MSU’s vacation policies, visit MSU’s Human Resources Solution Center for walk-in services in Suite 110 of Nisbet Building or email them at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu.
Benefits of taking vacation time:

Improves productivity 
Improves employees’ focus and energy in the workplace  
Increases retention of employees and employees’ loyalty to the organization 
Increases job satisfaction 

Almost 70% of employees feel more satisfied with their jobs if they take regular vacations 


Strengthens relationships with those outside of work 
Improves sleep by almost 20% 
Helps manage anxiety and depression 
Helps prevent heart disease and other illnesses 
Gives the body a break from constant stress 
Lowers healthcare costs 

How to set yourself up to get the most out of your vacation time:

Take care of any final emails 
Set up your “out of office” email 
Organize your work area so you come back to a clean space 
If you have to work during your vacation, try to set a certain time period that you work, and do not work outside of that time period, including checking your email

For more information on MSU’s vacation policies, the HR Solution Center offers walk-in services in Suite 110 of Nisbet Building and answers questions via email at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu Additionally, in Focus on Can and Serve, educator Erica Venton shares her own tips for being present this time of year, even if it brings difficulties, stress, or sadness. She includes being giving the gift of kindness and reflecting on what you have control over in her recommendations. Read the full article here.
Resources Supporting Wellness on Campus

Health4U  

Rest with Music classes 
Emotional wellbeing classes and one on one coaching 
Walking paths across campus can be useful for employees to practice grounding strategies throughout the workday. See Health4U’s maps to chart walks, runs, or bike paths: https://health4u.msu.edu/resources/msu-campus-walking-tour
See https://health4u.msu.edu/wellness for more information


Employee Assistance Program 

Free, confidential, up to six sessions of counseling, per issue

For MSU employees (faculty and staff), their spouses or partners, and their children (insurance eligible)


Counseling on work and employment situations 
Stress reduction classes 
Emotional wellness classes 
See https://eap.msu.edu/ for more information


WorkLife Office 

Professional staff offer one-on-one consultations to help employees deal with many issues, including stressors at work and at home

See the introduction page of this guide for information on how to request a consultation


The office also offers many presentations and trainings on a variety of topics, including stress and grounding strategies

See the introduction page of this guide for information on how to request a presentation





Sources
Hutchison, J. (n.d.c). Why vacations matter. Michigan State University WorkLife Office. https://worklife.msu.edu/news/why-vacations-matter
Kasser, T., & Sheldon, K. M. (2009). Time affluence as a path toward personal happiness and ethical business practice: Empirical evidence from four studies. Journal of Business Ethics, 84, 243–255. http://dx.doi.org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/10.1007/s10551-008-9696-1
Vinocur, L. (n.d.). 10 reasons why vacations matter. Take Back Your Time. https://www.takebackyourtime.org/why-vacations-matter/10-reasons-to-vacation/
Mohn, T. (2014, February 28). Take a vacation: It’s good for productivity and the economy, according to a new study. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2014/02/28/take-a-vacation-its-good-for-productivity-and-the-economy-according-to-a-new-study/#7652f6a85a33
Photo by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash

Many decisions must go into the structure of an exam and how that assessment fits into the overall organization of a course. This document will review options for test configuration at multiple levels and then provide some examples of MSU faculty that have incorporated these strategies into their courses.
Course-Level Considerations
Course-level considerations require reviewing the structure of the class to see where major scheduling or grading changes can be made.

Lower the stakes / reduce the scope – Deliver more assessments that each cover less content. This provides students with more accountability for checking understanding in quicker and shorter ways throughout the course which can enhance the learning experience. Reducing the scope of exams in this way can also provide you as the instructor and the student with more targeted areas of feedback earlier on in the learning process
Drop a lowest exam grade – Provide students an “out” if they are unprepared or have a bad testing experience
Use honor codes – When combined with taking time to establish a climate of integrity, honor codes can reduce academic dishonesty

Exam-Level Considerations
Exam-level considerations can be made without altering other components of the course. However, these strategies often require evaluating the style of question asked.

Allow open book or notes and/or collaboration - The National Association of Colleges and Employers determined that the most important skill employers look for in college graduates are problem-solving and teamworking skills. Exams can be structured to practice and assess those skills
Write authentic questions – Teach and test skills and application of knowledge necessary for successful performance as a professional in the field
Allow corrections – Turn typical summative assessments into formative assessments by allowing students to use exams as a learning tool. Exams do not always need to be used as assessment of learning; they can also be used as assessment for learning
Offer more points on the exam that what is needed to achieve a 100% grade
Allow students to have multiple attempts at the exam
Use a two-part exam structure that has students take the exam both individually and in groups.

Question-Level Considerations
Question-level considerations are the easiest to implement; most changes can be accomplished using D2L quizzing tools.

Use question pools
Randomize questions
Limit the number of questions per page
Provide technology practice before the first major exam

Timing Considerations
Deciding on a time limit for an exam is an important decision. There are pros and cons for either limiting time or giving extended time.

Using untimed exams reduces student anxiety – When you have pools of questions that reduce the chances of students cheating on exams, it can allow a unique advantage of removing time limits on exams so as to reduce the anxiety that comes from timed exams
Using timed exams – Setting a time limit can provide a layer of security against academic misconduct. By minimizing the time students have to take the exam, they are more likely to spend that time focusing on the questions and not copying questions or collaborating
Ask TAs or ULAs to take the exam prior to delivery – Provides a report on time estimates that it will take for the class to complete the exam. It also provides opportunities for them to spot check the questions themselves for errors or opportunities to enhance the exam’s efficacy

Collaboration Considerations
When possible, collaborating with faculty colleagues, TAs, or ULAs in exam creation can help minimize the time and effort needed.

Generate questions pools as a faculty team
Have TAs or ULAs to create questions – Their direct involvement with students in supporting their learning throughout the course gives them a unique advantage in knowing how to write questions that can be useful for drawing out evidence of knowledge among learners

Examples from MSU Instructors
Mini-Exams
For many years, chemistry instructors in Lyman Briggs College have incorporated a low-stakes “mini-exam” as the first timed assessment in their introductory chemistry courses. In terms of points, the mini-exam is typically worth about 40% of a midterm exam. The mini-exam gives students an opportunity to experience “exam difficulty” questions in an exam setting. This early exam provides feedback to students regarding their approach to the class (have their study approaches been working?) on a lower-stakes exam. This also allows the instructors an early opportunity to intervene and support students prior to the first higher-stakes midterm exam. The mini-exam can be considered as either more formative (i.e., score dropped if midterm exam scores are higher) or more summative (testing on important expected prior knowledge), depending on the course design. With the move to online instruction, a mini-exam also gives instructors and students an opportunity to test and become familiar with the technology being used for midterm exams in a lower-stakes setting.
Strategies

Lower stakes exams
Provide technology practice before the first major exam

Extra Points
One approach has been successfully used in multiple introductory as well as some upper-level chemistry courses is offering more possible points on an exam than is needed for a grade of 100%. For example, if there are 80 possible points on an exam, grading might be based on a total of 73 points; a student who gets 73 points would earn a 100% grade. This approach allows instructors to communicate high standards for responses to exam questions but still relieves some pressure on students. Anecdotally, instructors have sometimes found that this alleviates the need for regrades. Instructors might choose to limit the maximum grade to 100% or offer bonus credit for students who score above 100%. In addition, building in extra points can potentially reduce some stress for first-year students accustomed to high-school grading scales where often scores above 90% are required for an “A.”
Strategies

Offer more points on the exam that what is needed to achieve a 100% grade

Authentic, Low Stakes Exams
In her neuroscience for non-majors course, Casey Henley writes exam questions that require students to make predictions about novel experiments based on content learned in class. These questions often require students to read and interpret graphs. Since the questions require problem solving, and the answers cannot be looked up, the exams are open book and open note. Additionally, the exams become a learning experience themselves because optional correction assignments are offered, and students can earn points back by reviewing their work and resubmitting answers. Exam corrections also provide information about the misconceptions that students held going into the test, which helps Casey create or edit content for future semesters. The class has four non-cumulative unit exams and one cumulative final. Each has the same point value, and students get to drop one exam grade.
Strategies

Write authentic questions
Lower the stakes
Drop a lowest exam grade
Allow open book or note
Allow corrections

Collaborating on Question Pool Creation
Consider working together with your colleagues on developing shared pools of questions that can be used for quizzes and exams within the same subject matter. This can greatly reduce the chances of cheating and bring a new sense of alignment across courses for those who are teaching similar courses already. It is also an important space for collaboration to take place among peers. A good example of this happening at MSU already is the way instructors in the Biological Sciences program share questions. Instructors in the Physics and Astronomy department have also shared questions across the institution with LON-CAPA for many years. and
Strategies

Use question pools
Generate questions pools as a faculty team