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Responding to the Tragic Events at MSUWebinar created to assist with your own personal response as well as how to apply this information to assist in your colleagues’ response to the trauma we have faced. In this presentation, we will discuss the different ways in which we respond to trauma, what the natural recovery process looks like, as well as resources available to all of our MSU community. Watch webinar

Tips for College and University Students: Managing Your Distress in the Aftermath of the [Virginia Tech] ShootingsAs a university or college student, you may be struggling to understand how a shooting rampage could take place on a university campus and why such a thing would happen. There may never be satisfactory answers to these questions.
We do know, though, that it is typical for people to experience a variety of emotions following such a traumatic event. These feelings can include shock, sorrow, numbness, fear, anger, disillusionment, grief and others. You may find that you have trouble sleeping, concentrating, eating or remembering even simple tasks. This is common and should pass after a while. Over time, the caring support of family and friends can help to lessen the emotional impact and ultimately make the changes brought about by the tragedy more manageable.
You may feel that the world is a more dangerous place today than you did yesterday. It will take some time to recover your sense of equilibrium.
Meanwhile, you may wonder how to go on living your daily life. You can strengthen your resilience—the ability to adapt well in the face of adversity—in the days and weeks ahead.
Here are some tips:
Talk about it — Ask for support from people who care about you and who will listen to your concerns. Receiving support and care can be comforting and reassuring. Your campus is likely to be offering support services through its counseling center. It often helps to speak with others who have shared your experience so you do not feel so different or alone. If your parents seem particularly distressed, it may be because they are reacting to their own sense of not being able to control the college environment to keep you as safe as they would like.
Strive for balance — When a tragedy occurs, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and have a negative or pessimistic outlook. Balance that viewpoint by reminding yourself of people and events which are meaningful and comforting, even encouraging. Striving for balance empowers you and allows for a healthier perspective on yourself and the world around you.
Turn it off and take a break — You may want to keep informed, but try to limit the amount of news you take in whether it’s from the internet, television, newspapers or magazines. While getting the news informs you, being overexposed to it can actually increase your stress. The images can be very powerful in reawakening your feeling of distress. Also, schedule some breaks to distract yourself from thinking about the incident and focus instead on something you enjoy. Try to do something that will lift your spirits.
Honor your feelings — Remember that it is common to have a range of emotions after a traumatic incident. Go a little easy on yourself and on your friends. You may experience intense stress similar to the effects of a physical injury. For example, you may feel exhausted, sore, or off balance.
Take care of yourself — Engage in healthy behaviors to enhance your ability to cope with excessive stress. Eat well-balanced meals, get plenty of rest, and build physical activity into your day. Avoid alcohol and drugs because they can suppress your feelings rather than help you to manage and lessen your distress. In addition, alcohol and drugs may intensify your emotional or physical pain. Establish or reestablish routines such as eating meals at regular times and following an exercise program. If you are having trouble sleeping, try some relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation, or yoga.
Help others or do something productive — Find out from your university or community how you can help people who have been affected by this incident, or have other needs. Helping someone else often has the benefit of making you feel better, too. Try volunteering at your school or within your community.
If you have recently lost friends in this or other tragedies — Remember that grief is a long process. Give yourself time to experience your feelings and to recover. For some, this might involve staying at home; for others it may mean getting back to school or work. Dealing with the shock and trauma of such an event will take time. It is typical to expect many ups and downs, including "survivor guilt"—feeling bad that you escaped the tragedy while others did not.
For many people, using the tips and strategies mentioned above may be sufficient to get through the current crisis. At times, however an individual can get stuck or have difficulty managing intense reactions. A licensed mental health professional such as a psychologist can assist you in developing an appropriate strategy for moving forward. It is important to get professional help if you feel like you are unable to function or perform basic activities of daily living. Your university or college counseling center may be a good place to start.
Recovering from such a tragic event may seem difficult to imagine. Persevere and trust in your ability to get through the challenging days ahead. Taking the steps in this guide can help you cope at this very difficult time.
This tip sheet was made possible with help from the following APA members: Dewey Cornell, PhD, Richard A. Heaps, PhD, Jana Martin, PhD, H. Katherine O’Neill, PhD, Karen Settle, PhD, Peter Sheras, PhD, Phyllis Koch-Sheras, PhD, and members of Division 17.
Documents from apahelpcenter.org may be reprinted in their entirety with credit given to the American Psychological Association.

As we contemplate re-entering the classroom, we are likely still grappling with our own reactions to this tragic event. At the same time, many of us are wondering how best to support students experiencing grief, trauma, and fear in the aftermath of violence. There is no perfect way to teach during a crisis, but it is important to explicitly acknowledge what has happened and adjust your teaching accordingly. How you adjust will depend on your relationships to students, the size and nature of your class, and the types of interventions you feel equipped to make. These might range from a simple moment of silence and a reduced workload to a more structured debrief and discussion. Specific pointers for such debriefs are offered by trauma therapist Carolyn Schuyler (LCSW, UVA Visiting Scholar) below, along with general strategies for signalizing compassion and care that are relevant for all of us.




While it is necessary to acknowledge the tragic gun violence and the devastating loss of classmates and to create space for connecting with the emotions and needs of students, we recognize not everyone feels equipped for this work or is inclined to go there for a variety of reasons. We hope this information provides enough suggestions to help you arrive at an approach that works for you.
To guide your decisions, consider asking for quick feedback from your students. Being prepared to meet students where they are is worth the time and thought. Points to consider:

In times of turmoil, predictability and structure are vitally important. Students will benefit from the structure and predictability you provide.
Sharing feelings and discussing the tragic events may be too overwhelming for some students, so it is important to make clear students have choice in how they participate. Opting out is perfectly acceptable. Welcome and invite direct feedback.
It may be wise to send an email to your students to let them know what to expect when they return to class. This Google Folder contains a "Post-crisis student feedback form" is one way to get a read on your students’ needs before sending a proposed class agenda. You may make clear that the plan is subject to change based on the evolving input and needs of the class.

This document outlines how you can make a copy of the form and customize for your setting. 
please make sure you are logged into your MSU google drive to access.


You may be concerned students will be overwhelmed if every class includes processing, but it is better to err on the side of providing support than to overlook student needs. This is such a significant event. It is important to acknowledge the event at minimum even if others will do the same.

Below you will find a suggestion for the first class back and a list of alternative approaches for acknowledging the tragic event. All suggestions may be adapted for office hour meetings or for classes.
First Class Back: Normalize Feelings
It is natural to experience a wide range of fluctuating emotions in response to the events of the last few days. Some students may present as highly emotional and distressed, while others may appear shut down and numb. Many will question why they are not feeling strong emotion at all. Normalizing all reactions paves the way for open sharing and the healing power of community.
In greeting students when they come back to class, you might begin by naming and honoring those students lost by stating their names slowly with reverence.
"In honor of the beloved students we lost on Monday, I would like to take a moment to say their names. Please join me in honoring them and their loved ones. Brian Fraser, Alexandria Verner, Arielle Anderson" (Read the names slowly or invite a student to do so.)
After allowing for a moment of silence, briefly share how you have been processing the news. This gives permission for the students to reflect on their own experiences and shows that you have their needs in mind.
"I have been holding all of you in my thoughts in the last few days. I notice that I have deep concern about the rise of gun violence and its cost for your generation, and I find myself reflecting on how it may be impacting your worldview."
Secondly, take a moment to validate and normalize feelings. Make explicit your understanding of the wide range of reactions students may be experiencing.
"Whatever you are feeling, you can be sure you are not alone in that experience. There are others who are traveling this path right along with you. We can expect a range of reactions from outrage to anxiety to numbness. You may feel a wide range of feelings at different points and in different contexts. To process this experience, it is vital to connect with others and seek support as needed."
After this introduction, you may give the students the option for a 1) quiet moment of reflection or 2) time to journal for five minutes. Suggest a clear prompt such as: "I am _____."  This sentence stem gives permission to go in any direction while centering the writing on the self.
Following the reflection time or journal writing, ask a few volunteers to read excerpts of their work or to share their thoughts. In large classes, you may invite students to share with a partner. Ask that comments not be made after reading or listening to each other, but rather suggest that gratitude be expressed for the opportunity to connect. 
"Thank you for the gift of your words."
To wrap up the experience, speak to the power of sharing our stories to build strong networks of social support. Mention your hope that students will continue to share deeply with each other.
"Our ability to speak to our experience connects us in meaningful ways. Knowing and caring for each other is what makes healing possible."
Our job is simple but profound. It is to be present with what students are experiencing with genuine openness, concern, and curiosity. To do this, we may take a moment to ground ourselves and set an intention to be relaxed and open in our demeanor. There is deep cultural conditioning to try to move away from distress, but it is the ability to stay with feelings without judgment or agenda that offers the strongest emotional support.
To do this work, it is vital to have had the space and time to honor and attend to your own needs. Have you had the time to have your own voice heard?  Have you given yourself the rest, nourishment, and space for the internal reflection you need in order to be present for others?
Additional Ways to Support Students
The shared purpose of all the strategies below is to honor the students’ emotional experience, provide a holding space for connecting on a deep level, and invite hope for moving forward. Gestures of connection and care restore a sense of safety and allow for a renewed sense of community to emerge.
Offer nurturance. Often the first step in assisting people in crisis is to offer a blanket, some water, and food to eat. While this is not the response called for in our circumstance, the ability to offer gestures of support and care for one another is essential. You might bring tea or coffee to class, flowers to share with each student, or an invitation for a meal at your home. Once the basic need for nurturance is met, healing truly begins. If none of these concrete suggestions fit, consider taking a moment to directly express you care for the students.
"I want to take a moment to say to you directly that I care deeply about what you have experienced since Monday evening. I have found myself imagining what your days have been like with a hope that you are finding the kindness, gentleness, and care we all need right now.  I am hoping that you can feel this from me even though we don’t have adequate space and time to do all that is truly called for in this circumstance."
Name the feelings. Ask students to call out the feeling words and phrases that match their experience of the last few days. 
“I want to honor each one of you and the experiences you have had in the last few days. To do that, I am going to ask you to share words or short phrases (popcorn style) that capture your feelings. Likely, you have had a wide range of emotional reactions, and I invite you to name them in all their complexity. I will be recording the words without comment on the white board*. I ask that we speak and listen to the words with a spirit of reverence for our shared humanity, recognizing the broad range of histories and experiences that inform our reactions. Once the words and phrases are up, we will take a moment of silence to acknowledge our variety of experience.”*In virtual spaces, a similar outcome can be acheived by using a chat water fall (prompting participants to share their words in the chat at the same time [countt down]) and pulling responses into a word cloud to visualize. 
When the brainstorm is complete, validate the full range of human emotions that arise in times of tragedy. If the words and phrases shared do not capture a full range of emotion, you may mention to students some of the internal experiences that are expected in times of distress.
"I’d like to share with you some of the additional experiences you may notice in yourself and your friends. It is expected that you may have difficulty concentrating. You may experience waves of anger, sadness, fear, and anxiety. Some of you may notice a strong sense of compassion and tenderness and a desire to connect with others to honor the deceased or make your voice heard by lawmakers. At times, you may also notice a sense of disorientation and unease given the violent disruption of life on our campus. You may also notice painful associations from earlier in your life. Some of you may feel a need to 'move on' or a sense of unease with the feeling that violence has become expected and, in some ways, normalized."
To transition the conversation, take a moment to acknowledge their willingness to share.
"I want to thank you for your willingness to share the truth of your experience. I am now inviting all of us to take two minutes in silence to honor one another, the larger community, and those most impacted by the tragic loss on Monday. If you would like to reflect in writing, drawing, or movement, please feel free to do that."
If it feels right, you may move towards brainstorming ways of coping that promote mental wellness. 
"There is wisdom in this room. This is not the first hardship you have faced, although it may feel very different. Many of you have found ways of coping and even thriving through challenging times. I want to invite a period of sharing concrete mindsets and strategies that are in your toolboxes or that you feel the need to create now. I will record the ideas on the white board. You’ll be invited to take a picture of the white board for further reflection. Sometimes we need a chance to reflect on unhelpful approaches that we want to discontinue and space to consider new strategies. I hope this time will give you that opportunity."
Again, thank the students.
Affirm community. Ask students how they want to affirm community at MSU in the days ahead.
"At some point in our processing of the events of the last few days, we may start to wonder what we can actually do that will be meaningful and genuinely helpful. Without a doubt, cultivating a strong sense of community is powerfully important. We are social beings and healing happens together, never alone. I want to invite you to reflect on what you believe builds community in your own life and on campus. Please find two other classmates to spend five minutes discussing what builds connectedness in this time and beyond. For example, you might point to the importance of slowing down to greet people when walking or having longer, leisurely meals with friends to intentionally check in with each other. You may have larger ideas having to do, for example, with how spaces are configured or how information is communicated. Once we have had time to talk in small groups, we will reconvene for idea sharing."
Please note: You may broaden this discussion to suggest reflection on actions on a societal level. This will open discourse on our political climate, on race, and other critical issues that students may have a pressing need to discuss. If you go this direction, it is critical to set ground rules (Agreements for Multicultural Interactions) or review already established expectations for difficult conversations.
Seek connection. Ask students to interview each other about works of art and literature (books, paintings, poems, music, and films) that have helped them in hard times before.
"Artists, musicians, writers, and poets have always been guides and supports in deepening our understanding of what it means to be human, particularly in times of suffering.  As a means of coming together as a class today, I would like to invite you to gather in groups of three to discuss the art and literature that has been most nourishing to you. Please reflect on what it may mean to you now. To set the stage, I would like to briefly share with you (a piece of music, a painting, a short reading) that has been meaningful to me. I hope it will be of support to you as well."
Encourage students to plan times outside of class to share these sources of meaning and inspiration with each other. Remind them of the power of nature on campus to offer solace.
"Thank you for taking the time to share with each other the power of your experiences with art and literature. I encourage you to continue having these discussions and invite you to seek out new sources of beauty, wisdom, and understanding. The natural world on our campus, like a piece of art, may serve as a source of solace and strength as well. I hope you will have time to linger in spaces you enjoy."
Thank you again for your thoughtful work preparing to meet with students. As is often the case, your presence and genuine concern will be what the students remember, rather than the actual words spoken. Gratitude to our colleagues at UVA Center for Teaching Excellence for sharing the foundations of this resource. 

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.

Topic Area: Information Session
Presented by: Renata Opoczynski
Abstract:
Tackling big student success issues (transfer student success; communication policies) is a massive undertaking often requiring large workgroups with diverse perspectives. Often these projects or initiatives are unsuccessful or fizzle out due to lack of a clearly defined scope or inability to move from discussion/problem identification to action/solutions.
Strategic Doing is a project management framework that helps groups move from discussion into action in 10 easy and clearly defined steps. In this session, we will explain what Strategic Doing is and how we have successfully used it in our work on campus. We will then do an overview of how participants can incorporate strategic doing in their work on campus and lead participants through the first few steps of strategic doing. Participants should come with a complex problem they have tried to solve or a topic they have had issues moving from talk to action to work through during the session.

Topic Area: Information Session
Presented By: Erica Shifflet-Chila, Gary Anderson, Gretchen Sheneman
Abstract:
This session will detail a pilot program used by The School of Social Work to begin studying the use of Virtual Reality as a supplement to current methods of child welfare training for both students and currently practicing professionals. Recruiting, orienting, training and retaining a competent workforce in the field of child welfare is serious business. Social workers, and other child welfare professionals, are responsible for investigating reports of child abuse and neglect, assessing the safety and well-being of children, and potentially removing children from their parents temporarily or permanently. Creating and supporting a workforce able to make good decisions requires careful training and that is the challenge. Training professionals typically relies on classroom teaching methods or shadowing veteran workers in the course of their work in the community. Classroom role-playing and case discussions lacks authenticity and shadowing provides limited exposure to family circumstances and minimal responsibility for assessing family strengths and risks. Immersive scenarios delivered through virtual reality technology introduces the powerful learning environment lacking in the traditional training room and provides an intense and realistic experience that can be explored beyond job shadowing. So, MSU School of Social Work invested in a pilot program: licensing virtual reality equipment and an actor-staged immersive home visit for training purposes. The goal for this round-table session is to offer an introduction to this learning tool, and lead discussion on how this technology could be incorporated into other fields.
Session Resources: VR as a Teaching Tool (PowerPoint)

Topic Area: Information Session
Presented by: Mary Beth Heeder, Stefanie Baier, Hima Rawal
Abstract:
Imagine a picture of instructor best practices that could lead us out of a pandemic; it might include stories about time, trust, giving, caring, listening… and mindset. As we look at the picture, we see that mindset stands out. Because student mindset is so powerful, some faculty make it an integral part of their instruction. The importance of educator mindset, however, is often overlooked. Carol Dweck, the author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, has found that teachers’ mindsets about their students’ abilities and themselves affect student achievement. During this workshop, we will share stories that suggest a blueprint to inspire mindsets that allow for teaching with kindness, generosity, care and concern for all students. Central to the blueprint are the interconnected relationships with ourselves and our students. Attendees will 1) learn about current mindset research; 2) explore the impact their mindsets have on their work/life; and 3) share practices that can help faculty and staff reshape their mindsets and consequently their students’ mindsets. Participants will walk away with tools and stories they can use to shape a hopeful, compassionate learning environment that supports student success and offers a second wind. Pema Chödrön, a Buddhist teacher, reminds us that we have some control during this surreal experience. “We can let the circumstances of our own lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have a choice.”
Session Resources:
Mindset over Matter Final 4.28.21_Marybeth Heeder.pdf
Resources from Workshop

Topic Area: Information Session
Presented by: Casey McArdle, Jessie Borgman
Abstract:
Casey McArdle and Jessie Borgman will share what they have learned over their years of experience teaching online in this session and will present on their approach to teaching writing online via PARS: Personal, Accessible, Responsive, Strategic. This session will go in depth with each letter and provide an opportunity for participants to see the approach in action via examples and give attendees an opportunity to ask questions. McArdle and Borgman will offer several quick and easy strategies that online instructors and administrators can incorporate into their classes to facilitate a better user experience for both faculty and students. This session and the PARS approach, while developed for teaching writing online, can be applied to numerous disciplines. They have two recently published books, one that discusses the PARS approach and how it can be applied to teaching online, and another that is an edited collection of educators who have applied PARS to their online classrooms. This session will consist of a brief presentation of the PARS approach, a few small activities, and then a question and answer portion.