We found 695 results that contain "undergraduate education"

Topic Area: Pandemic Pivot
Presented by: Jay Miller, Sabbi Merz
Abstract:
This session will overview each of the required Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct Prevention programs required by MSU undergraduate students. Presenters will review the impact of these programs through participation data and student feedback. Participants will also learn how the Prevention, Outreach and Education Department (POE), made the pivot to all zoom sessions from in-person workshops during the summer of 2020. Lessons learned will be shared.Learners will identify how they can help improve our community.Learners will understand the MSU-specific reporting options as well as the resources available at our campus/community.Suggested Syllabus language will be shared. Success data will be shared for each program.

Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULAs) are an important part of MSU’s educational approach, creating instructional teams by working alongside instructors, course coordinators, and graduate students. To better prepare ULAs for the classroom, the following trainings have been developed. Ideally, ULAs should have completed these at the beginning of their employment. If you are a faculty/staff member with an Undergraduate Learning Assistant (ULA), please forward the following training opportunities to your student assistants. 


Asynchronous Online ULA Training
Students can self-enroll here for a ULA training course covering how the ULA role intersects with the following concepts :

Code of Teaching Responsibility
Student records and privacy
Disability and Accommodation
Creating Inclusive environments
Navigating relationships and the institution

In addition to this asynchronous training, ULAs should have a special RVSM training (details below), and possibly a laboratory safety training if assigned by their course instructor/coordinator (also below).
Relationship Violence Sexual Misconduct (RVSM) for ULAs
In addition to the above course, ULAs should attend one of the following RVSM trainings.
ULA RVSM Training AMonday, Jan 8th, 20242pm-3pmRegister Here
ULA RVSM Training BWednesday, Jan 10th, 202410am-11amRegister Here
Laboratory Safety Training (only required for ULAs in laboratory settings)
If you are a learning assistant in a laboratory, you may need to attend a 1-hour training with Colin Phillipo from Environment Health & Safety. Check with your course instructor/coordinator to see if you need to attend.
The training is 

Friday, January 5th from 10-11am – Register Here

If you are not able to make this training, you can contact Colin Phillippo at phill394@msu.edu to see what accommodations can be made.Photo by fran innocenti on Unsplash

Title: Digital Collaborative Learning to Empower and Engage Students in IAH CoursesPresenter: Kristen MapesFormat: Paper PresentationDate: May 10th, 2023Time: 1:00 pm - 2:15 pm Room: 3201Description:Undergraduate students in the Digital Humanities curriculum are given the “project” as the orienting point of evaluation and critique across multiple courses. While the introductory course challenges students to create a project of their own as individuals, the Seminar course is oriented around collaborative and ethical project management Over the semester, the class works as a group with the instructor to create three projects, with self-reflection essays following each project’s completion. Project work emphasizes iteration, effective communication, and process over product. Students from the Digital Humanities Seminar course will showcase the projects they created and will reflect on their learning experience. Each public-facing project focuses on different audiences, engaged distinct source material, and supported unique goals. Two of the projects worked with a non-profit organization (Monuments Men and Women Foundation) to showcase their material and create visibility for their work. For these projects, students met with the Foundation President to learn more about the organization and to ask questions that informed the project work. The students developed the project aims and final products independently in order to support the Foundation rather than upon the request of the Foundation (e.g. this was not a ‘client’ relationship). The third project gave students free reign to explore a topic on local MSU or Lansing/East Lansing history. This presentation will help faculty from across disciplines envision how they can implement project-based activities to promote student engagement and deep learning. Presenters will share avenues for instructors to learn about digital humanities methods and approaches to pedagogy if they would like to incorporate these methods into their own courses. There is opportunity in doing so, because when students create public-facing work as a team, they are empowered to participate in larger conversations in society.

Title: Exploring the effects of the flipped classroom approach in an undergraduate lab math coursePresenters: Jun Fu (Neighborhood Student Success Collaborative); Angela Wholehan (Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program);  Julie Libarkin (Associate Dean for STEM Education Research and Innovation)Format: Paper PresentationDate: May 11th, 2023Time: 1:30pm - 2:30pmClick here to viewDescription:The flipped classroom approach has been applied as an instructional strategy to enhance active learning and critical thinking – even in basic science courses. During this past year, the participants of a MSU faculty learning community has collaboratively designed and implemented an action research study to examine the effects of a flipped classroom approach on students' integration and application of content knowledge, sense of belonging, and critical thinking skills in an undergraduate lab math course. This presentation will share the findings of this work and implications on the assessment of student learning in the STEM context.

The ISB202 course is asynchronous, and thus one of the main ways that the teaching team (i.e., the ULAs and instructor [Dr. Bierema]) interact with students is on the discussion board. This guide was created for ULAs, but much of it might also be helpful for instructors that are new to participating in a discussion board.
 
You can read more about the instructions provided to students as well!
How is Participation Different for a ULA vs. a Student?

In some ways, participation looks the same for a student or ULA, but the purpose of posting is different. As a student, the goal of participating (whether the student realizes it or not), is to engage with the material of the course in a meaningful way. As a ULA, it is to further discussion so that students engage with the material on a deeper level.
Some ULA posts may be representative of a student post. For instance, if students are posting about a specific topic and you know of a great resource for them to check out, the resource should be cited properly. This allows the students to see what a good post looks like.
Other ULA posts are different from a student post. For instance, sometimes we need to ask students to think more deeply or research an idea further. Although these posts would not count as a student participation post, they are essential for furthering that student’s engagement with the material.
Some types of posts may or may not be representative of a student post. For instance, if a discussion is moving off-track, then a student or a ULA may bring it back to the course objectives by asking a meaningful, detailed, possibly leading question. A student may do this, but they are not in charge of this. It is our responsibility as a teaching team to bring the discussion back to the course objectives.

Why Participate in the Discussion Board?

Interact with and form relationships with students.
Illustrate how to setup a meaningful and detailed post.
Move off-topic discussions back to course objectives.
Have students think more deeply about their posts.
Offer new information and new resources relevant to student posts.
Relate posts to what was covered previously in class or what will be covered in the future.
Encourage students to look up information rather than guess.

 
When do I Participate?

Start at the beginning of the discussion week. It can be overwhelming to start later in the week when there are so many posts.
Have the goal to participate more during the beginning than later in the semester (not vice versa). If we do a good job in our posts and feedback early on, then students should need less of our help later in the semester.
If the class is divided into multiple discussion board groups and there is more than one ULA, then self-assign yourselves to different groups and change it each week. Make a calendar to keep track.

 
How do I Format the Post?

Address the student and, if posting something for the entire class, also refer to the class.
Change the text color of the post. Everyone in the teaching team can use dark blue to make it clear which posts come from the teaching team.
Italicize components of a post that address the entire class. See examples throughout this document.
There may be a few students that posted something similar for which you would like to address. If so, acknowledge all of them in your post.

Example response:

Interesting point, [student], about using greenways to connect areas for nature. Although we tend to only think of paths being used by humans, there are also non-human animals that might use these paths. Class, do a little research and let us know which animals might benefit from having these paths and which ones might not benefit. Explain your reasoning and don’t forget to cite your sources. 





 
What do I Post?
The following is a list of different types of possible posts.

Request that the student think more deeply about their post and provide additional information.

Example response to one student:

Student initial post: My family does our best to limit of carbon footprint. We recycle more than we throw away, reuse as much as we can but aim to reduce our plastic consumption, and limit our mat consumption (I consider myself a flexitarian) There are still a lot of adjustments to be made. 
I really like the term "flexitarian," [student]! What are some ways that you and your family are working to reduce your plastic consumption?


Example response to the class:

Context: Students were posting generic concepts regarding ecological footprints.
[Student], you brought up an important point about how overwhelming it can be to make these steps. Some of the points brought up by others, such as remembering to turn off the lights or trying a vegan meal once a month, as [student] mentioned earlier, are things are not too drastic. Class, look back at your reflections- or if you haven't written one yet, consider this question: are the ideas that you brought up actually likely to happen? Which specific things could you start doing now that wouldn't be too costly or too life changing?


Provide a more specific question than what a student originally posted.

Example response:

Student’s question: “I wonder if in the United States they implemented more options in more places, if people would be less likely to litter.”
Great question, [student]! Class, do some research in your own area. What are the recycling capabilities in your area? Does it match what you see? Explain.


Re-route the conversation to class objectives with leading questions.

Example response:

Context: A course focus was on environmental impacts and a discussion on Covid-19 drifted off-topic.
Nice job [student] and others for relating the topics to a truly "current event." Class, how much has delivery increased during these times? How is that overall impacting the environment compared to the positives of so fewer people driving and less manufacturing? Do some research and get back to us!


Provide more information. Make the post representative of the ideal student post: cite properly and hyperlink as needed.

Example response without a citation:

Great point, [student], about avoiding plastic bags at grocery stores. This point, though, reminded me of another interesting point- Class, how have your behaviors that affect the environment been impacted by COVID 19? For instance, I have used reusable bags for years- this is why it got me thinking- but now many stores will not allow them during this pandemic. On the flip side of things, I live in Kalamazoo and used to commute to East Lansing three to five days a week, but since campus closed, I barely drive my car at all.


Example response with a citation:

Great point, [student], regarding how we also need to consider our impact on water when we are determining our ecological footprint quiz. There is actually a calculation for determining our water footprint! Class, check out the Water Footprint Calculator created by the Grace Communications Foundation (2020). What did you find out? Compare it to the ecological footprint quiz- why do you think those similarities and differences exist?











Citation: Grace Communications Foundation. (2020). Water footprint calculator [web interactive]. Retrieved from https://www.watercalculator.org/

Ask the class to think about topics in different ways.

Example response:

Context: Each student had to choose a specific stakeholder to represent, and after the first day of discussion everyone had chosen the same stakeholder.
Hi class,we've heard from a couple of "environmental scientists" now and they have opposing views. After reading through them and critiquing their explanations, what do you think? Would one area be better than another? Those that have written the posts from the perspective of an environmental scientist- what do you think? (Please note that I am not leading to one right answer- the goal is to evaluate the evidence.)


Admire and acknowledge a great post

Example response:

Interesting question, [student]- it takes the idea of our case study this week and really scales it up. I look forward to hearing students' responses!







How do I Build Relationships?

Address the specific student that you are replying to.

If more than one student posted a similar idea, then state all of their names.
Or, if it is more than a few students, use the person’s name for which you are replying and add “others” or “and other classmates.”
If posting a question to the entire class, then address the class, not just the student who you are responding to.
See the various examples in this document.


Acknowledge the good work that students do, such as participating early in the week.

Example response to a student that posted early and thoroughly:

Thanks for starting the conversation, [student]! [student] concluded that this greenway "would help all of the public in many ways."Class, which stakeholders are part of the "public" and which ones benefit from this greenway being between 2 and 5 (besides City Bicycling Club, as [student] thoroughly described)?


Example response to a student that posted a detailed question:

Great questions, [student]!Class, I look forward to your thoughts!


Example response to a student that posted a useful resource:

Thanks for sharing the infographic, [student]! I'm going to post it in the announcements so that students in all of the DB sections are aware of it!


Encourage students to bring in information specific to their discipline.

Example response:

Very interesting question, Sean! Any engineers in the class (or engineer enthusiasts)? How could Houston approach this problem? Feel free to bring in ideas learned from other classes!


If a student seems to be struggling with developing thorough posts, then send the student an email with the included post. Do not wait until grading the following week.

Example Email:

Thank you, [name], for participating in the discussion board. Although I noticed that you have already done a few posts, they are not quite yet demonstrating critical thinking. For instance, rather than posting that someone should look into a topic, do the investigation on your own. What did you find and where did you find it? Post a reply with your findings and citations and explain how it relates to what your peer posted. Please see the rubric on D2L for details on what we look for in posts and contact us if you have any questions. We are here to help!

This workshop explores scientific teaching in undergraduate STEM, including the 'how' and 'why' behind the effective implementation thereof. GTAs will also learn about how to assess what is most important in STEM courses, and to create assessments that show how students utilize their knowledge. Upon completing this session, GTAs will be able to:

Articulate challenges that teaching undergraduate students in STEM courses face.
Acquire strategies to effectively teach students in a STEM course.
Work through an example to apply pedagogy for effective teaching.

Topic Area: DEI
Presented by: Sharon Combs, James Brinkmann, Erika Knapp, Liza Calisesi-Maidens, Lin Li, Hima Rawal, McKayla Sluga, Jonny Thurston-Torres, Joanna Bosse
Abstract:
With a focus on the scholarship of teaching and learning in the arts and humanities, the panelists (the 2020-21 RCAH Fellows) will explore the cultivation of community in the classroom. They will present the results from their ongoing original research projects on trauma-informed pedagogy, creating safe classroom spaces and cultures of care in the classroom, and generating students’ sense of belonging in both in-person and virtual learning environments. Furthermore, panelists will address the challenges of conducting research on teaching and learning in a pandemic, the value of interdisciplinarity in such research, and considerations for bringing the research back into the classroom to enhance student learning.
Session Resources:
Cultivating Community and Belonging (PDF)

How can a first-year writing course help to create 21st century STEM students with foundations for interdisciplinary inquiry? Could such as curriculum engage STEM students in knowledge production in ways that help to acculturate them as collaborative, ethical, and empathetic learners? Bringing together insights from writing pedagogy, work on critical science literacy, and science studies, this round-table is hosted by the collaborative team leading an effort to rethink the first year writing course required of all students at Lyman Briggs College, MSU's residential college for STEM students. A major goal of the curriculum redesign is to develop science studies-inspired writing assignments that foster reflective experiential learning about the nature of science. The purpose of this approach is not only to demonstrate the value of inquiry in science studies (history, philosophy, and sociology of science) to STEM students as they pursue their careers, but to foster diverse inclusion in science by demystifying key aspects of scientific culture and its hidden curriculum for membership. Following the guidance of critical pedagogy (e.g. bell hooks), we aim to use the context of first-year writing instruction as an opportunity for critical reflection and empowerment. The roundtable describes how the instructional team designed the first-year curriculum and adapted it to teaching online during the pandemic, and shares data on lessons learned by both the instructor team and our students. We invite participants to think with us as we continue to iteratively develop and assess the curriculum.To access a PDF version of the "Reimagining First-Year Writing for STEM Undergraduates as Inquiry-Based Learning in Science Studies" poster, click here. Description of Poster:
Reimagining First-Year Writing for STEM Undergraduates as Inquiry-Based Learning in Science Studies  
Marisa Brandt, HPS Lyman Briggs College & June Oh, English 
Project Overview: Reimagining LB 133 
Lyman Briggs College aims to provide a high quality science education to diverse students by teaching science in social, human, and global contexts. LB 133: Science & Culture fulfills the Tier 1 writing requirement for 80-85% of LBC students. Starting in F19, we implemented a new, collaboratively developed and taught cohort model of the LB 133 curriculum in order to take advantage of opportunity to foster a community of inquiry, inclusion, and curiosity.  
First year college writing and literacy courses aim to give students skills to communicate and evaluate information in their own fields and beyond. While teaching important writing skills, LB 133 focuses on developing students’ science literacy by encouraging them to enact a subject position of a socially engaged science professional in training. LB 133 was designed based on ideas of HPS. 
History, Philosophy, and Sociology (HPS) or “science studies” is an interdisciplinary field that studies science in context, often extended to include medicine, technology, and other sites of knowledge-production. LB 133 centers inquiry into relations of science and culture. One way HPS can help students succeed in STEM is by fostering inclusion. In LB 133, this occurs through demystifying scientific culture and hidden curriculum through authentic, project-based inquiry.  
Like WRAC 110, LB 133 is organized around five writing projects. Each project entails a method of inquiry into science as a social, human practice and teaches them to write first as a form of sense-making about their data. (Column 2) Then, students develop writing projects to communicate what they have learned to non-scientific audiences.  
Research Questions:  


How did their conceptions of science change?[Text Wrapping Break] 2. Did their writing improve?[Text Wrapping Break] 3. What did they see as the most important ideas and skills they would take from the course?[Text Wrapping Break] 4. Did they want more HPS at LBC?  


Data Collection:  
[Text Wrapping Break]1. Analysis of the beginning and end of course Personal Writing assessments. [Text Wrapping Break]2. End of term survey. [Text Wrapping Break]3. Answers to course reflection questions.  
Selected Results: See Column 3. 
Conclusions: The new model seems successful! Students reported finding 133 surprisingly enjoyable and educational, for many reasons. Many felt motivated to write about science specifically, saw communication as valuable scientific skill. Most felt their writing improved and learned more than anticipated. Most learned and valued key HPS concepts and wanted to learn more about diversity in scientific cultures, and wanted to continue HPS education in LBC to do so. 
Column 2 - Course Structure: Science & Culture 




Assessment 


Science Studies Content[Text Wrapping Break]Learning Goals 


Literacy & Writing Skills Learning Goals 




Part 1 - Cultures of Science 




Personal Writing 1: Personal Statement [STEM Ed Op-ed][Text Wrapping Break]Short form writing from scientific subject position.  


Reflect on evolving identity, role, and responsibilities in scientific culture.   


Diagnostic for answering questions, supporting a claim, providing evidence, structure, and clear writing. 




Scientific Sites Portfolio[Text Wrapping Break]Collaborative investigation of how a local lab produces knowledge.   


Understand scientific practice, reasoning, and communication in its diverse social, material, and cultural contexts. Demystify labs and humanize scientists. 


Making observational field notes. Reading scientific papers.  
Peer review. Claim, evidence, reasoning. Writing analytical essays based on observation.   




Part 2 - Science in Culture 




Unpacking a Fact Poster 
Partner project assessing validity of a public scientific claim. 


Understand the mediation of science and how to evaluate scientific claims. Identify popular conceptions of science and contrast these with scientists’ practices. 


Following sources upstream. Comparing sources.  
APA citation style.  
Visual display of info on a poster. 




Perspectives Portfolio[Text Wrapping Break]Collaborative investigation of a debate concerning science in Michigan. 


Identify and analyze how diverse stakeholders are included in and/or excluded from science. Recognize value of diverse perspective. 


Find, use, and correctly cite primary and scholarly secondary sources from different stakeholder perspectives. 
Learn communicating to a broader audience in an online platform. 




Personal Writing 2: Letter + PS Revision[Text Wrapping Break]Sharing a course takeaway with someone. 


Reflect again on evolving identity, role, and responsibilities in scientific culture.   


Final assessment of answering questions, supporting a claim, providing evidence, structure, and clear writing. 




Weekly Formative Assessments 




Discussion Activities Pre-meeting writing about the readings 


Reflect on prompted aspects of science and culture 


Writing as critical inquiry. 
Note-taking. 
Preparation for discussion. 




Curiosity Colloquium responses 
200 words reflecting on weekly speaker series 


Exposure to college, campus, and academic guests—including diverse science professionals— who share their curiosity and career story.  


Writing as reflection on presentations and their personal value. 
Some presenters share research and writing skills. 




Column 3 - Results  
Results from Personal Writing 
Fall 19: There were largely six themes the op-ed assignments discussed. Majority of students chose to talk about the value of science in terms of its ubiquity, problem-solving skills and critical thinking skills, and the way it prompts technological innovation. 
Fall 21: Students largely focused on 1. the nature of science as a product of human labor research embedded with many cultural issues, and 2. science as a communication and how scientists can gain public trust (e.g., transparency, collaboration, sharing failure.)  
F19 & S20 Selected Survey Results 
 108 students responding.The full report here.  


92.5% reported their overall college writing skills improved somewhat or a lot. 


76% reported their writing skills improved somewhat or a lot more than they expected. 


89% reported planning to say in LBC. 


Selected Course Reflection Comments 
The most impactful things students report learning at end of semester. 
Science and Culture: Quotes: “how scientific knowledge is produced” “science is inherently social” “how different perspectives . . . impact science” “writing is integral to the scientific community as a method of sharing and documenting scientific research and discoveries” 
Writing: Quotes: “a thesis must be specific and debatable” “claim, evidence, and reasoning” “it takes a long time to perfect.” Frequently mentioned skills: Thesis, research skill (citation, finding articles and proper sources), argument (evidence), structure and organization skills, writing as a (often long and arduous) process, using a mentor text, confidence. 
What do you want to learn more about after this course? 
“How culture(s) and science coexist, and . . . how different cultures view science” 
“Gender and minority disparities in STEM” “minority groups in science and how their cultures impact how they conduct science” “different cultures in science instead of just the United States” “how to write scientific essays”