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Consultations and Related Services
*New* Organizational Development Consultation Services |
Services available for Tenure System, Health Programs and College of Law faculty:
Services available and free to all MSU instructors:
Important Information:
Consultations on Teaching and Learning
Consultation services on teaching and learning are a way for instructors to discuss their teaching with professional consultants. Consulting on instructional issues is available for individuals, small groups, departments, and colleges upon request. Our consultants will offer guidance on the following topics:
- Instructional methods and innovative approaches to teaching and learning
- Instructional design, e.g., alignment of goals, teaching methods, and assessments
- Course materials including syllabi, assignments, exams and other forms of assessment, feedback on student work, grading practices, etc.
- Classroom-related concerns
- Feedback on student course evaluations
- Inclusive teaching and integration of multicultural materials into curricula
- The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
- Resources and research on college teaching and learning, e.g., teaching first year students, teaching large classes, interdisciplinary teaching, college student development, civility in the classroom, active learning, integrative learning, designing capstone experiences, evaluating teaching, etc.
Coaching for Presentation Skills
This service enables instructors to polish their classroom presentation techniques by focusing on both verbal and non-verbal behaviors, including vocal delivery (i.e., tone, inflection), use of body language and physical space, and effective expressions of enthusiasm and energy. Clients have the option of combining individual presentation coaching sessions with direct classroom observation by the consultant and/or the videotaping of a teaching session.
Consultations are provided by faculty with expertise in presentation skills from the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, which jointly sponsors this program with the Office of Faculty and Organizational Development.
This program will provide up to five hours of consultation per client, after which clients are encouraged to discuss with the consultant a variety of options for continuing the development of their professional skills.
Consultation Services for MSU Faculty Non-Native Speakers of English
The Office of Faculty and Organizational Development and the English Language Center are offering one-on-one, confidential consultations for MSU tenure-system faculty members. This service is designed to assist faculty non-native speakers of English in our academic community to develop and refine the pronunciation, fluency and accuracy of their speaking skills.
Whether to improve classroom effectiveness, to engage in academic discussion and research, to give presentations at professional forums or to interact effectively within and outside of the University community, these new services are intended to provide a flexible framework in which non-native speakers can improve their performance and competence one-on-one with an experienced consultant.
Consultations are offered on a customized basis. Clients have an opportunity to have their pronunciation, rhythm, stress, intonation patterns, grammatical accuracy and fluency in spoken discourse assessed. They also can be offered tools and a strategic plan to begin to improve the comprehensibility and effectiveness of their speaking skills and style.
This program will provide up to five hours of consultation per client, after which clients are encouraged to discuss with the consultant a variety of options for continuing the development of their professional skills.
Resources for Non-native Speakers of English:
- Listening Practice: These listening materials are designed to help you become better acquainted with a variety of typical student questions, common idioms used within them, and fast, reduced speech, a manner of speaking often used by American students. Most of the questions in these materials are generic questions; they could be heard in nearly any class or lab.
- Pronunciation Study Links
Mid-Semester Student Feedback Sessions
Mid-semester student feedback sessions are available for instructors who want to assess and improve their teaching during the semester. A consultant will confer with the instructor by email, phone or in person before the feedback session to identify the instructors' course goals and specific questions or concerns. The consultant will observe part of a class. The instructor will then leave the class for 30-40 minutes and the consultant will elicit the feedback process by asking students to form small groups to answer the following three questions before sharing findings with the class:
1) What do you like about the course/instructor?
2) What do you think needs improvement?
3) What specific recommendations for improvement would you like to make?
Responses will be reported out to the entire class. The consultant will summarize the students' input and meet with the instructor before the next class session. Together they will review the student feedback and develop a plan for responding to student concerns and suggestions. The process does not require instructors to make changes, but they often chose to do so. Instructors can also request variations of this model.
Direct classroom observation is available to instructors who wish to have a consultant observe their teaching and provide feedback. Consultants will confer with instructors by email, phone or in person before the scheduled observation to identify the instructors' goals for the consultation and the class session. A confidential review follows the observation, enabling the consultant and instructor to discuss the session and its implications for instruction.
Instructors have the option of scheduling a classroom videotaping. The tape can be viewed privately or with a consultant. A confidential discussion follows the taping, allowing the consultant and instructor to discuss the video and its implications for instruction. The instructor must provide a blank VHS tape or other appropriate storage media and agree to obtain student release forms provided by our office.
This initiative provides access to MSU teaching award winners and former Lilly Teaching Fellows who have agreed to discuss focused issues in teaching and learning with their colleagues by email, phone or in person. Their names and contact information have been posted on the F&OD website at: http://fod.msu.edu. Instructional Briefings are designed to complement the array of Instructional Consultation Services that are offered by F&OD by offering access to outstanding teachers across the disciplines.
Areas of Expertise
Instructional Briefings Respondents
Scheduling a Consultation or Service
For more information or to schedule a confidential consultation, please contact:
Associate Director of Faculty Development Programs
facdevel@msu.edu
517-432-2033
Consultations and services are conducted by professional instructional consultants with Ph.D. or Ed.D. degrees and extensive experience in instructional consulting.
Consultations are voluntary and confidential.*
Professional observations, interactions, and conclusions related to specific clients or cases and information about the actual activities and results of a consultation will be given only to the instructor to be used as he/she chooses (e.g., to put in a teaching portfolio). Any additional use of the results for educational purposes is subject to the consent of the instructor.
*If the instructor retains a copy of the consultation records, or wishes our office to retain these records, these materials may be kept confidential to the maximum extent allowed by the law, and may be subject to Michigan's Freedom of Information Act. For more information, go to the Consumer Laws link at http://www.michigan.gov/ag and F&OD policies at http://fod.msu.edu/Mission.asp.
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Office Of Faculty and Organizational Development
308 Administration Bldg. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1024 Phone: (517) 432-2033 Fax: (517) 432-2069 Email: facdevel@msu.edu | leaders@msu.edu |