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Photo by Changbok Ko on Unsplash
 
A common problem stemming from large class sizes is that of assessing a large amount of student writing (which you may already know too well!). We offer here tools and solutions for dealing with this workload.
 
TOOL: Distribute the labor with a calibrated peer review system like Eli Review or CPR (http://cpr.molsci.ucla.edu/Home.aspx). Setting your students up to give feedback to each other can get tricky in larger classroom because there are so many logistical steps that may leave you facing more challenge. If you are a Michigan State affiliate, Eli is free when you use it for Michigan State courses. Currently, Eli is integrated with D2L, so you can activate your account through your course’s D2L site. 
 
1) Design a writing assessment document, or rubric, with clear learning goals that you can scaffold.
Before students ever sit down to review one another, make sure you have made clear the writing practices a given assignment is designed to foster. We have found we are most successful as writing teachers when we make the learning goals or criteria for writing assignments as transparent and explicit as possible. This allows you and students to save time by staying on track and using a common measuring standard.
 
2) Introduce the concept of review early and model how students can review their colleagues’ work.
Review doesn’t need to wait on a completed draft. Instead, Eli is designed to help instructors review early, and review frequently. When we have taught writing, we have found that developing a culture of review early on in a course has helped our students’ overall learning because it front loads assignments and tasks with the learning goals in mind. However, we have also found that students frequently ask us what it is we are “looking for.” And indeed, it’s helpful to show students how to engage in a review process that leads towards your (or your program’s) course goals. Show students what kinds of feedback can be helpful toward working toward those outcomes and how to practice that kind of feedback so that students can begin to effectively respond to each other.
 
3) Start small and review more frequently.
Review doesn’t need to happen all at once. Instead, we have found it helpful to isolate learning goals in review activities, and to center reviews around a limited set of criteria, rather than around a holistic evaluation of writing quality. If a goal of your writing assignment, for example, is to make a convincing argument, then it may be helpful to have separate reviews that focus respectively on the quality of students’ claims and the quality of their evidence. Because you are breaking down larger assignments, students would be able to do small review assignments for each other quickly and efficiently in a low stakes way.
 
4) Use the rubric throughout the entire project, not just for final assessment.
There is plenty of research about the value of using rubrics as instructional tools. In the case of peer review, however, using the rubric as a common document for understanding the nature and purpose of a writing assignment can ensure that peer review provides a large quantity of feedback without sacrificing the quality or richness of that feedback.
 
5) Check in with your students to see how well it is working.
Despite all the positive benefits of the feedback we’re describing, it’s not going to work without strong pedagogical direction, and at times, intervention. Talk to your students — learn what feedback has been helpful, what hasn’t, and ask for suggestions about what can improve their experience of the process and help your feedback system become more effective.

Hillary's project sought to develop a peer mentoring system for students in the Department of Physiology. 
 
"I would like the Physiology Graduate Student Council (PSL GSC) to build a sense of community between Physiology grad students and faculty in by addressing student needs and providing opportunities for students to engage with each other." -Hillary Woodworth
 
Presentation: https://iteach.msu.edu/posts/preview_attachments?post_id=1475 

Topic Area: Student Success
Presented by: Perry Fittrer, Jonglim Han, Christina Bridges, Dominique Devereaux
Abstract:
This session will present how three different student success programs maintained student sense of belonging and community in a virtual setting. The Detroit MADE Scholars, Dow STEM Scholars and TRIO Student Support Services programs are all cohort based student support programs housed within the Neighborhood Student Success Collaborative unit. Each program strives to close opportunity gaps for a variety of underserved student populations. Through the pandemic each program has utilized creative and unique forms of student engagement to keep students connected to MSU and program communities. This session will explore the importance of community, sense of belonging, and identity to student success while providing examples of program specific and collaborative efforts to provide these elements virtually.
Session Resources:
Developing and Sustaining Community-NSSC Path (PDF)

Mark W. Hodginshodgins@msu.eduInstructional Technology and Development TeamResponsible for the instructional development of both video and computer-aided instruction. Joint coordination with other staff members within ITS and the Innovation HUB as well as other technical support people on campus. Technical consultant to the faculty, students and staff on the design/development/delivery of all forms of mediated instruction and administrative information systems.  Technical knowledge in the configuration and use of Learning Management Systems (i.e. Angel, Blackboard, and D2L) as well as Cloud services like Microsoft Office 365, Google Apps, Apple iCloud. Apple University and Kultura MediaSpace. Extensive experience in relational database system design and development.
 
Education:

Master of Arts in Educational Systems Development - Instructional Computing

Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI


Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications

Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI


Associates of Applied Science (Digital Electronics)

Lansing Community College, Lansing, MI



Experience: 

Instructional System Designer - Michigan State University, IT Services | Instructional Technology and Development. Responsible for the instructional development of both video and computer-aided instruction. Joint coordination with other staff members within ITS and the Innovation HUB as well as other technical support people on campus. Technical consultant to the faculty, students and staff on the design/development/delivery of all forms of mediated instruction and administrative information systems.  2017 – Present
Training Program Developer III - Michigan State University, Health Information Technology. Responsible for the instructional development of both video and computer-aided instruction. Joint coordination with other staff members within HIT as well as other technical support people on campus. Technical consultant to the faculty, students and staff on the design/development/delivery of all forms of mediated instruction and administrative information systems.  2003 – 2017
Training Program Developer II - Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine.  Responsible for the development of video and computer-aided instructional programs. Joint-coordination with other staff members of the Learning Resource Center and Interactive Computer Lab. Technical consultant to the faculty, students and staff of COM on the design/development/delivery of all forms of mediated instruction and administrative information systems. 1991 – 2003
Television Production Engineer - Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine. Responsible for the operation of the college’s media production facility. Co-supervisor of Media Services and Learning Resource Center and in charge of Technical Services. Involved in the design and production of instructional video programs for the college's faculty. 1981-1991
Technical Production Assistant - Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine. Assisted staff engineer on television studio operations.  Involved in A/V system designs and installations. Assisted program director with the production of educational videotape programs. 1978-1980

Attended Conferences 

Interactive HealthCare Conference & Exposition - Washington, D.C. 
Information Technology in the Health Sciences - Memphis, TN, Houston, TX, New Orleans, LA. 
Society of Applied Learning and Technology (SALT) -Orlando, FL 
Slice of Life Conference - Salt Lake City, UT, Chicago, IL, Philadelphia, PA, Portland, OR, Munich, Germany 
Campus Technology Syllabus Conference -San Jose, CA, Boston, MA.
Apple World Wide Developers Conference – San Francisco, CA

Published Research 

Lovell K, Haf J, Hodgins M. Development of neuropathology interactive videodisk instructional units. Teaching and Learning in Medicine 1991;3:156-8. 
Bean P, Lovell K, Hodgins M, Parkhurst P, Sprafka S. Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation of Interactive Videodisk Instructional Modules in Preclinical Neuropathology Education Teaching and Learning in Medicine 1993;5:3-9.
Oommen J Z, Hodgins M, Hinojosa R, et al. (June 21, 2021) Accuracy of Weight Estimation Using the Broselow Tape in a Peruvian Pediatric Population. Cureus 13(6): e15807. doi:10.7759/cureus.15807

Current Projects

Part of MSU's Institute for Global Health team working on curriculum revisions for the Armed Forces College of Medicine in Cairo Egypt.
Serving as an Instructional Technology Advisor for MSU's Global Health Studies Program.
Remediation of Medical Administrative Systems to integrate with MSU's new Student Information System.

International Travel

Travele extensively around the world to attend Instructional Technology conferences, conduct project site visits, as well as  pleasure trips to visit family.
Destinations include British Columbia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Egypt, France, Germany, England, and Ireland.

Teaching and Effective Classroom Practices for any Educator
2022-23 Graduate Teaching Assistant Preparation
The Graduate School Teaching Development Unit offers all international, new, and returning graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) an orientation and preparation program to get familiar with teaching in the U.S. as well as learn about important policies and their implementation, about supporting student success, being culturally responsive and communicate effectively and set healthy boundaries. In addition, accomplished educators deliver pedagogy workshop for educators.
This year, the Pedagogy Workshops and Best Practices in Teaching Sessions are offered in person at the STEM Teaching & Learning Facility (642 Cedar Rd.). Any educator can register and participate. Find the link to register for any of the workshops underneath the table with all workshop titles.




Workshops Round 1 (Select one)




Time (all ET)


Workshop Title 




  9:00 – 10:30 am
  Room 2130


Preparing for Your First Day of Teaching & Cultivating Student Learning (Presenters: Stefanie Baier and Ellen Searle)




  9:00 – 10:30 am
  Room 2202


Promoting Student Engagement in Large Lecture-Based Courses
(Presenter: Kirstin Parkin)




10:30 – 11:00 am


BREAK




Workshops Round 2 (Select one)




11:00 – 12:30 pm
Room 2130


“What’s in Your Syllabus?”: Creating and Using Syllabi for Successful Teaching and Learning
(Presenter: Mary-Beth Heeder)




11:00 – 12:30 pm
Room 2202


Developing a Plan for Effective Grading: Technology, Communication, and Time-Management (Presenters: Seth Hunt and Chase Bruggeman)




12:30 – 1:00 pm


BREAK




Workshops Round 3 (Select one)




 1:00 – 2:30 pm
 Room 2130


Scientific Teaching and Assessing What’s Important in STEM Learning (Presenter: Diane Ebert May)




 1:00 – 2:30 pm
 Room 2202


Navigating Challenges: How to Be a Trauma-Informed Educator 
(Presenter: Hima Rawal)




 Register for your Workshops HERE   
For more information about Graduate Student Teaching Professional Development Opportunities, go to https://grad.msu.edu/gtap and check the Graduate School calendar for sessions throughout the year.

Here is a recording of the Spartan SELC's demonstration at the 2024 Spring Conference on Teaching & Learning. "The Spartan SELC: Demonstrating a new resource for data-driven equity in introductory STEM courses" was presented on April 19th by members of the MSU STEM Equity Learning Community. The SELC project is a multi-institiution, NSF-funded initiative of the SEISMIC Collaboration. We are excited to move into the next phase of this work, which involved thoughtfully creating opportunities and/or trainings for educators and units to access and learn from these data visualizations of equity measures in MSU courses.The slides from this presentation can be accessed here.For further reading, see this exploration of the impact of systemic advantages on STEM grades and grade anomalies at multiple institutions in this SEISMIC paper:
Castle, S.D., Byrd, W.C., Koester, B.P. et al. Systemic advantage has a meaningful relationship with grade outcomes in students’ early STEM courses at six research universities. IJ STEM Ed 11, 14 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00474-7
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please reach out to Ellie Louson lousonel@msu.edu in the CTLI.

Topic Area: Student Success
Presented By: Jon Stoltzfus, Katie Krueger, Kirstin Parkin, Mike Wiser, George Mias
Abstract:
The switch to online learning provided fourteen instructors the opportunity to collaborate and develop an evidence-based synchronous online course that enrolled over 2000 BS161 students during the 20-21 academic year. Here we present lessons learned as we worked collaboratively to create a course that focused on science practices, core ideas, and cross-cutting concepts using a highly structured format based on the flipped classroom model. In this course, students complete guided notes using a short, recorded lecture and the textbook and take a formative pre-class quiz before attending the synchronous session. During the synchronous session, small groups of students meet in Zoom breakout rooms and complete a scaffolded activity. The activity requires construction of scientific arguments to support claims and predictions leveraging reasoning and the core ideas from their notes. Groups are formed using CATME software to increase the chances of creating productive group-learning environments. Each week students complete a low-stakes summative review and integration quiz that includes construction of a scientific argument like those created during the in-class activity but focused on a slightly different biological phenomenon or process. The review and integration quizzes are formatted and timed like the exams, helping students become familiar with the on-line exam format. The number of students who did not earn credit for BS161 in FS20 was 7.2% as compared to 10.4%, 8.1%, and 6.6% the previous three fall semesters. This indicates that the course supported student success as well as or better than previous face-to-face versions of the course.
Session Resources: Supporting 3-D Learning and Student Success (PowerPoint)

The Advising/Tutoring Appointment System within Campus Solutions is a platform advisors will access daily to view and manage advising appointments. It is also used by undergraduate and Osteopathic Medical students to schedule appointments with their advisors and tutors. Students, advisors, and tutors can access the appointment system by logging into Campus Solutions at https://student.msu.edu.A live training was held on January 30th, 2025 and a recording of this training can be accessed in MSU's Mediaspace. 
The following video tutorials will introduce you to different components of the Advising and Tutoring Appointment System. Watch each video in chronological order to have a better understanding of how to use the Appointment System.1. My Appointment Settings2. Creating Appointments3. Viewing Appointments 
Practice What You Learn
It's helpful to open up the Advising and Tutoring Appointment System and follow along as you progress through the modules.
In addition to this course, the following Job Aid is available as a resource to assist you with navigating the Advising and Tutoring Appointment System. 
In considering how to open your time blocks, it will be helpful to discuss the number of appointments expected with your supervisor/other advisors in your unit.
The Advising and Tutoring Appointment System is automatically synced with your Outlook calendar, so there are no additional steps you need to take to sync the two platforms.More Training and Resources
Additional video tutorials and job aids for different components of the Advising/Tutoring Appointment System, as well as other helpful guides for the Student Information System, are shared on the SIS Training Website.