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2011-2012
2010-2011
2009-2010
2008-2009
2007-2008
2006-2007
2005-2006
Faculty Learning Communities for 2011-2012
To learn more about the work of these FLCs, contact the facilitators listed below.
Sarah Jardeleza, Research Associate, Center for Integrative Studies in General Science, sarahejw@msu.edu
Julie Libarkin, Associate Professor, Dept. of Geological Sciences and Associate Director of Education Research, Center for Integrative Studies in General Science, libarkin@msu.edu
Gabriel Ording, Associate Professor, Dept. of Entomology and Director, Center for Integrative Studies in General Science, ordingga@msu.edu
This FLC is designed to engage with MSU faculty who are involved curriculum development in STEM fields and courses, with an emphasis on programs for non-science major undergraduates, such as ISB and ISP courses. These courses are often the last science course ever taken by non-science majors, and thus deserve attention to asses these programs beyond traditional, university-centered outcomes, to examine the role of different modalities on long-term student outcomes. This group will continue to engage in collaborative programmatic assessment of STEM teaching and learning. In previous years, this FLC has administered instruments to more than 3000 students and involved more than 25 faculty members.
Co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost, Undergraduate Education and F&OD
Creativity in STEM Disciplines
Engineering lies at the intersection of human desires, intentions, and technology. STEM educators will confront that disciplinary boundaries are fast eroding, and that disciplinary knowledge is evolving as well. This FLC will serve as a platform to discuss and design course learning objects to address these shifts and help members design courses in ways that promote creativity and cross-pollination of ideas from one field to another.
Effectively Engaging Students in Difficult Dialogues
The purpose of this FLC is to enable faculty to explore effective ways to engage students in difficult or controversial topics in the classroom. Students do not always know how to engage effectively and appropriately with others – both students and faculty – who hold views different from their own. Faculty members will consider ways to help students navigate these conversations civilly and with productive outcomes, both inside and outside the classroom.
Co-sponsored by the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives and F&OD
Innovation Adoption in Sustainable Development and Placemaking
The purpose of this FLC engages scholars from across disciplines to engage in a conversation about the transformation of communities to successful, resilient, and sustainable communities in the future: how to achieve innovation, leadership, and the diffusion of ideas and technology in sustainable development and placemaking. This FLC hopes to sponsor conversation, research, and events to foster increased attention and dialogue about the ineffectiveness of unstustainable—though often mainstream—views of community, to engage and promote work in building places and communities that support people, environments, and economies.
Co-sponsored by the MSU Creativity Initiative and F&OD
Interprofessional Practice Excellence: Exploring Educational Models, Synergies, and Barriers
Elizabeth Petsche, Assistant Professor, Surgical Specialties, College of Osteopathic Medicine, petschee@msu.edu
The focus of this FLC is to address the need for health-care professionals to develop the knowledge and skills to work in increasingly interprofessional environments. This group will focus on the curricular and pedagogical need to prepare students for working in ever-evolving contexts and, specifically, to focus on patient safety and patient-centered care and the integration of many specialties, such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lawyers, etc. This FLC will engage faculty in dialogue about how to impact course design to engage in creative and effective interprofessional work environments.
Co-sponsored by the MSU Creativity Initiative and F&OD
The purpose of this FLC is to develop resources for the MSU academic community related to teaching and learning abroad, and to build an expanded base of faculty who are knowledgeable about education abroad.
The primary audience for this FLC is faculty and staff involved with or interested in education, teaching, and learning abroad.
The goal of this FLC is to expand the resources available to the MSU academic community for enhancing the quality of education abroad experiences for students before, during, and after their time abroad. This FLC aims to develop a study abroad program leader toolkit and create mentoring and networking opportunities for new program leaders, among other objectives.
Co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost, Undergraduate Education and F&OD
Promoting Teaching Excellence and Quality Student Learning in Integrative Studies
Gabriel Ording, Associate Professor, Dept. of Entomology and Director, Center for Integrative Studies in General Science, ordingga@msu.edu
The integrative studies FLC seeks to help integrative studies faculty understand better the role and importance of integrative studies and how they might best teach such courses. We will read literature on general education and integrative learning, investigate best teaching practices, and explore the unique challenges and opportunities such courses pose for the faculty who teach and the students who enroll in these courses. This year, we hope to work on a collaborative effort across the Centers to create an assessment instrument (or multiple instruments) directly aligned with the Liberal Learning Goals and Outcomes that could then be administered in all IS courses. In addition, we are interested in working with the Office of Faculty and Organizational Development to create an Online Instructional Resources page for teaching Integrative Studies courses (see /oir/online-instructional-resources).
Co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost, Undergraduate Education and F&OD
Moving Ethnic Studies from the Margin to the Mainstream
This FLC intends to bring different ethnic studies scholars into conversation with one another, to consider shared and varied aspects their experiences at MSU. We will engage in scholarly discussion of the professional opportunities and challenges to faculty members whose work lies “in the margins” of their discipline, including issues of community engagement, interdisciplinary research, and publishing opportunities. This group is targeted especially at midcareer faculty, bringing them into the academic mainstream through promotion to full professor, but will also be relevant and beneficial to more senior and junior faculty who would benefit from engagement with other scholars interested in these topics. Our larger goal is to consider ways to bring ethnic studies research, which has often been on the periphery, to the center of traditional disciplines.
Using Exploratory Writing to Support Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines
Nancy C. DeJoy, Associate Professor, Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures, dejoy@msu.edu
Sara D. Miller, Assistant Library Instruction Coordinator, smiller@mail.lib.msu.edu
Making the move to inquiry-based teaching can be challenging. The purpose of this FLC is to support faculty interested in incorporating active and generative inquiry-based learning. Our FLC will support discussions about inquiry-based learning, illustrating the ways that writing can be engaged to enact these theories, and inviting participants to relate these ideas to their specific disciplines. We will link this line of inquiry to the more general mission of the university and a focus on undergraduate education.
Please check http://fod.msu.edu/opportunities/detail/semester-schedule in September for FLC meeting dates, times, and locations.
Proven Practices to Support Academic Success for Students of Color
This Faculty Learning Community (FLC) has been organized to explore best practices for helping students of color succeed academically in college. The group is open to everyone interested in the topic, meet at least once a month. The first goal is to learn about successful efforts underway in other colleges or universities that have produced documented results of student achievement in the classroom. The second goal is to implement best practices for academic success by Students of Color in our own classes, departments, and colleges at MSU.
Co-sponsored by the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives and F&OD
Teaching with Technology: Blended and Online Learning
Cathleen McGreal, Professor, Psychology, mcgreal@msu.edu
Brandon Blinkenberg, e-Producer, bran@msu.edu
The goals of this FLC are to improve the use of technology in courses, to discuss and learn current and potential applications, to foster innovation, to observe courses that use technology effectively and creatively, and to survey students to learn more about current uses and preferences regarding technology and teaching. This FLC intends to present a poster at the Spring Institute in May.
Co-sponsored by Libraries, Computing & Technology and F&OD
Faculty Learning Communities for 2010-2011
To learn more about the work of these FLCs, contact the facilitators listed below.
Evaluating Teaching Excellence Across Academic Cultures
Incorporating Active Learning and Inquiry-Based Learning in Large Lecture Courses
Inquiry-Based Problem Set Development for Molecular Cell Biology
Negotiating Sexual and Gender Identity as an Instructor
Promoting Long-Term Retention and Student Learning in the Sciences
Promoting Teaching Excellence and Quality Student Learning in Integrative Studies
Supporting Graduate Students’ Scholarly Reading
Teaching and Learning Abroad
Teaching with Technology: Blended and Online Learning
Writing in the Sciences: Teaching and Learning
X-Word Grammar and International Students Writing: New Approaches in Perspective and Technology
2009-2010 FLCs
To learn more about the work of these FLCs, contact the facilitators listed below.
Promoting Teaching Excellence and Quality Student Learning in Integrative Studies
Kirk S. Kidwell, Assistant Professor/Assistant Director Center for Integrative Studies in Arts and Humanities, kidwell@cal.msu.edu
Rocio Quispe-Agnoli, Associate Professor/Director, Center for Integrative Studies in Arts and Humanities and Department of Spanish and Portuguese,quispeag@cal.msu.edu
Christina DeJong, Associate Professor, Director, Undergraduate Studies, Criminal Justice, dejongc@msu.edu
This FLC proposes to help integrative studies faculty understand better the role and importance of integrative studies and how they might best teach such courses. FLC members will review the literature on general education and integrative learning, investigate best teaching practices, and explore the unique challenges and opportunities such courses pose for the faculty who teach and the students who enroll in these courses.
The primary audience for this FLC are faculty currently assigned to teach integrative studies courses in IAH, ISS, ISB, or ISP, as well as faculty who are interested in teaching integrative studies courses or who have been assigned to teach such courses in the future.
The FLC’s 2009-2010 goal is to develop a working bibliography of relevant integrative learning and general education literature, and to work collaboratively to develop an understanding of the role of integrative studies at MSU, how to best teach such courses, and how to enhance the excellence of MSU’s integrative studies approach to education.
Sustainability Across the Curriculum
Geoff Habron, Associate Professor, Fisheries and Wildlife and Sociology habrong@msu.edu
This FLC perceives a need to cultivate critical conversation at MSU regarding how to infuse sustainability into teaching and learning across all colleges. This includes fostering campus-wide familiarity and facility with competency-based learning and portfolio assessment.
The primary audience for this FLC is faculty, advisors and staff interested in sustainability and promoting the specialization.
Members plan to build a network of faculty, staff and advisors with familiarity with sustainability competences and program implementation; increase familiarity and use of pedagogies, content, and strategies that promote sustainability across the curriculum; refine existing competencies; generate and test assessment rubrics; and build capacity for competency assessment using electronic portfolio input and review systems.
Teaching and Learning Abroad
Facilitators:
Inge Steglitz, Assistant Director of Study Abroad (steglitz@msu.edu)
James Lucas, Assistant to the Dean, International Academic Student Life lucasjam@msu.edu
In response to recommendations by the MSU Study Abroad Task Force Report and in the spirit of Internationalizing the Student Experience, there is a need for an on-going discussion related to best practices and pedagogy for education abroad instruction (before, during, and after the student's experience), research on this topic, and development of resources to support MSU faculty and staff.
This FLC is designed to provide a forum for such discussion and resource development. The goals for 2009-2010 FLC members include developing on-line resources that support high quality study abroad experiences and developing a series of workshops designed to assist program leaders with study abroad program development.
Though FLCs are intended primarily for faculty, we would like to invite anyone to submit an application for membership who...
- currently leads or aspires to lead a study abroad program
- orks with study abroad students before and after their program participation
- would like to participate as we work toward advancing excellence in teaching and learning abroad
Quality Issues in Online Learning
Facilitators:
Cathleen McGreal, Associate Professor, Psychology mcgreal@msu.edu
R. Joy Durding, Instructor, Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures durdingr@msu.edu
There is considerable interest in improving the quality of online and blended courses at Michigan State University. Each year at the Spring Institute the eproducers at the Virtual University offer a workshop on Blended Learning. Our FLC is resource for those attending this workshop to meet with other individuals across various disciplines who are incorporating technology into their teaching. Although the focus is on online learning the range is from fully online classes to blended enriched courses. There is considerable variation in terms of experience and so the FLC functions at times as a source of support and mentoring.
The FLC will itself also function as a hybrid/blended community through our ANGEL Group site.
The proposed audience includes individuals actively engaged in online or blended course preparation or teaching.
The 2009-2010 FLC goals are to integrate course readings into individual projects. In addition, group projects will be added to the Learning Object Repository (LOR) created by the 2008-2009 FLC so that members can benefit through these shared learning objectives.
Download FLC-QualityIssuesInOnlineLearning.mov
Science Writing: Teaching and Learning
Facilitators:
Terri Trupiano Barry, Visiting Assistant Professor, Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures barryter@msu.edu
Michael Orth, Associate Professor, Animal Science orthm@msu.edu
One of the most common complaints of prospective employers of graduating seniors in the sciences is their inability to write well. In fact The National Commission on Writing reported that companies may spend over $3 billion dollars to help remedy deficiencies in the writing skills of their employees (Report of 2004). We believe that by creating a cohort of teachers in the sciences and writing, we can begin to ameliorate this problem on our campus.
The FLC's 2009-2010 goals include reading and discussing readings on student-centered learning and teaching portfolios; observing FLC colleagues' classes; creating a website for designing effective writing assignments in the sciences; and developing ways for more collaboration across colleges to implement more writing in the sciences.
Effective Teaching in Large Classes
Facilitators:
Fred Jacobs, Associate Professor, Accounting and Information Systems jacobs@bus.msu.edu
Jon Stoltzfus, Instructor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology stoltzfu@msu.edu
Virtually every MSU student enrolls in at least one large class during their first two years, with the University offering numerous large classes across almost all disciplines. Effective instruction in large classes typically demands instructional approaches that are different than those that work in classes of 30-50 students, and faculty who teach large courses may not be familiar with some of these methods for engaging large classes. This Learning Community is designed to facilitate discussion among those who teach large classes to share best practices with other instructors. This FLC has the potential to affect the learning of many students across the MSU campus.
The FLC's 2009-2010 goals include visiting the classes of faculty who have been recognized for their work with large classes, followed by structured debriefings; exploring how faculty teaching large classes are evaluated, and disseminating best practices.
Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment
Facilitators:
Fayyaz Hussain, Assistant Professor, Center for Integrative Studies in Social Science hussain3@msu.edu
Richard Lee, Specialist-Advisor, Supportive Services Program leer@msu.edu
This FLC is designed to be an experiential and personal exploration of one's understanding of how our encounters in life impact not only us but others in the classroom and beyond. The format is intended for every participant to be not only a learner, but also an instructor. This FLC is based on the premise that the more we learn about ourselves, the more effectively we can interact with those who are different from us. By sharing experiences and life-changing incidents through activities, guest speakers, special readings and inter-group dialogue, it is anticipated that each person will proceed along a course of reflective self-development. Differences discussed may include; class, gender, gender identity, race/ethnicity, age, religion, capabilities and others. The ultimate goal is that each participant will leave with a toolbox of useful methodologies to integrate healthy and productive approaches into their pedagogies as they relate to living in a diverse world.
2008-2009 FLCs
Sustainability Across the Curriculum
Facilitators:
Geoff Habron, Associate Professor, Fisheries and Wildlife and Sociology habrong@msu.edu
This FLC perceives a need to cultivate critical conversation at MSU regarding how to infuse sustainability into teaching and learning across all colleges. This includes fostering campus-wide familiarity and facility with competency-based learning and portfolio assessment.
The primary audience for this FLC is faculty, advisors and staff interested in sustainability and promoting the specialization.
Members plan to build a network of faculty, staff and advisors with familiarity with sustainability competences and program implementation; increase familiarity and use of pedagogies, content, and strategies that promote sustainability across the curriculum; refine existing competencies; generate and test assessment rubrics; and build capacity for competency assessment using electronic portfolio input and review systems.
Advancing Global Competence through Teaching and Learning Abroad
Facilitators:
Inge Steglitz, Assistant Director of Study Abroad steglitz@msu.edu
James Lucas, Assistant to the Dean, International Academic Student Life lucasjam@msu.edu
In response to the MSU Study Abroad Task Force Report and in the spirit of Internationalizing the Student Experience, there is a need for an on-going discussion related to best practices and pedagogy for education abroad instruction (before, during, and after the student’s experience), research on this topic, and development of resources to support MSU faculty and staff.
This will include the continuation of the discussion and ideas presented during last spring’s Best Practices in Experiential Education conference. This FLC is designed to provide a forum for such discussion and resource development. Though FLCs are intended primarily for faculty, we would like to invite anyone to submit an application for membership who…
- currently leads or aspires to lead a study abroad program
- works with study abroad students before and after their program participation
- would like to participate as we work toward advancing excellence in teaching and learning abroad
Learning About Our Learners
Facilitators:
Jeno Rivera, Assistant Professor, CARRS jeno@msu.edu
Glenn Sterner, Senior Director, Bailey Scholars Program sternerg@msu.edu
Are you interested in understanding who our students are? Do you wish you could better reach your students? Do you feel disconnected from this generation of students? Our students are constantly changing in attitudes, needs, and expectations. This Faculty Learning Community named “Learning about our Learners” is open to anyone interested in exploring who are students are, how they learn, and how we can better help them learn. It is open to all faculty, academic specialists and graduate students at MSU, and we are looking for individuals to begin our journey of exploring this exciting and important topic.
Quality Issues in Online Learning (formerly focusing on Challenges and Opportunities in Blended 'Teaching and Learning')
Facilitators:
Cathleen McGreal, Associate Professor, Psychology mcgreal@msu.edu
R. Joy Durding, Instructor, Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures durdingr@msu.edu
Blended courses (hybrid) are those in which there is a mixture of traditional classroom pedagogies and computer-based technologies. But teaching courses using hybrid or blended instructional technology is relatively new territory for many faculty and staff. Although the use of online technology in courses can be a powerful enhancement to the learning experience, it presents unique challenges for both teachers and students. This FLC provides an opportunity for faculty and staff to communicate and explore the challenges of teaching such courses and to network with other colleagues who are experimenting with these new technologies. The FLC will itself also function as a hybrid/blended community through our ANGEL Group site.
Scientists and Writers: Sharing Our Knowledge of Teaching Writing in the Biological Sciences
Facilitators:
Terri Trupiano Barry, Visiting Assistant Professor, Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures barryter@msu.edu
Michael Orth, Associate Professor, Animal Science orthm@msu.edu
Are you looking for new ways to help students write better lab reports or research projects? Do you wonder how you can squeeze teaching about writing into your syllabus when it is already overfilled with content that must be covered? As a writing teacher, are you stymied by your lack of knowledge about the conventions of scientific writing? In this FLC, writing teachers and science teachers can come together to learn from each other. Topics we investigate include developing writing assignments, responding to student writing, writing in different genres, and using writing assignments to help students learn content. We also study well-written articles from major journals to discuss ways to make the subtleties of science writing more visible for students. A major goal of this FLC is a reciprocal exchange of information on methods of facilitating student development as writers--writing teachers learning from scientists and scientists learning from writing teachers. The ultimate purpose of the FLC is to facilitate student writing in both Tier I and Tier II courses and to open lines of communication across the disciplines to foster an environment of mutual support between teachers in the sciences and in writing.
Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment
Facilitators:
Fayyaz Hussain, Assistant Professor, Center for Integrative Studies in Social Science hussain3@msu.edu
Richard Lee, Specialist-Advisor, Supportive Services Program leer@msu.edu
This FLC is designed to be an experiential and personal exploration of one’s understanding of how our encounters in life impact not only us but others in the classroom and beyond. The format is intended for every participant to be not only a learner, but also an instructor. This FLC is based on the premise that the more we learn about ourselves, the more effectively we can interact with those who are different from us. By sharing experiences and life-changing incidents through activities, guest speakers, special readings and inter-group dialogue, it is anticipated that each person will proceed along a course of reflective self-development. Differences discussed may include; class, gender, gender identity, race/ethnicity, age, religion, capabilities and others. The ultimate goal is that each participant will leave with a toolbox of useful methodologies to integrate healthy and productive approaches into their pedagogies as they relate to living in a diverse world.
Enhancing the First-Year Experience at MSU
Facilitators:
Kirk Kidwell, Assistant Director and Visiting Assistant Professor, Center for Integrative Studies in Arts and Humanities kidwell@msu.edu
Todd Tarrant, Senior Academic Specialist, Center for Integrative Studies in General Science tarrantt@msu.edu
The Boldness by Design task force on Enhancing the Student Experience foregrounds improving the first-year experience as essential to enhancing the overall student experience at MSU. As the Task Force report observes, “The freshman experience is absolutely critical to establishing the foundation for undergraduate education.” In the spirit of this initiative, this FLC seeks to foster a culture of teaching and learning that will enhance the first-year experience of students at MSU. The group member survey the existing scholarship on the first-year experience, investigate effective first-year teaching practices, and explore strategies for promoting first-year student success. We take a holistic approach to the first-year experience, drawing from and engaging with not only teaching faculty but also student services, residential life, and academic advising.
Effective Teaching in Large Classes
Facilitators:
Fred Jacobs, Associate Professor, Accounting and Information Systems jacobs@bus.msu.edu
Jon Stoltzfus, Instructor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology stoltzfu@msu.edu
Virtually every MSU student enrolls in at least one large class during their first two years, with the University offering numerous large classes across almost all disciplines. Effective instruction in large classes typically demands instructional approaches that are different than those that work in classes of 30-50 students, and faculty who teach large courses may not be familiar with some of these methods for engaging large classes. This Learning Community is designed to facilitate discussion among those who teach large classes to share best practices with other instructors. This FLC has the potential to affect the learning of many students across the MSU campus.
Experimental Approaches to Teaching Writing across the Curriculum
Facilitators:
Marya Sosulski, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work sosulski@msu.edu
David Sheridan, Assistant Professor, Residential College sherid16@msu.edu
The FLC is open to all instructors—new and experienced—who want to discuss the rewards and challenges of using innovative classroom techniques for promoting critical thinking through writing. The group meets twice monthly to discuss teaching philosophy and novel methods for content delivery, active learning, and evaluation and assessment. Members will receive John Bean’s book Engaging Ideas and other materials to work through during the year. Members bring writing assignments that they have discovered to enhance and assess students' critical thinking and skills. The workshop approach helps members improve assignments over the course of the semester; many will be adapted to an online format. Through this format we will explore innovative approaches such as games and simulations, integrative and experiential learning, and immersion experiences.Inter-disciplinary relationships are encouraged, so that students can connect course content across classes, and at different levels. FLC members track their own and students’ progress and gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of the writing assignments for assessing students’ work and determining the best use of instructors' time and feedback to students.
2007-2008 FLCs
Effective Teaching in Large Classes
Experimental Approaches to Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum (EATWAC), or Thinking Outside the box and other Pedagogical Puzzles
Challenges and Opportunities in Blended Teaching and Learning
Scientists and Writers: Sharing Our Knowledge of Teaching Writing in the Biological Sciences
Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment
Enhancing the First-Year Experience at MSU
2006-2007 FLCs
Challenges and Opportunities in Blended Teaching and Learning
Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment
Enhancing the First-Year Experience at MSU
Scientists and Writers: Sharing Our Knowledge of Teaching Writing in the Biological Sciences
2005-2006 FLCs
Scholarly Discussions on Problem Solving
Facilitators:
Jon Patterson
John Dirkyx
MindGames: Teaching and Learning with Games and Simulations
Punya Mishra
Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment
Fayyaz Hussain
Eric Williams
Hybrid Learning: Strategies, tactics and implementation
Paul Freddolina
Steve Triezenberg
Confronting the Challenges of Teaching Hybrid/Blended Courses
Kirk Kidwell
Teaching Writing in the Disciplines
Janet Swenson
David Sheridan
An Extended Conversation about Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
Kathleen Hoag, Assistant Professor, Medical Technology Program
Jon Patterson, Associate Professor, Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation
Visual Literacy and Pedagogy
Steve Rohs, Assistant Professor, James Madison College, Program
Colleen Tremonte, Associate Professor, James Madison College
Mind Games: Teaching and Learning with Games and Simulation
Punya Mishra, Assistant Professor, Learning, Technology and Culture Program
Brian Winn, Assistant Professor, Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media
If you have questions or comments, please contact the Office of Faculty and Organizational Development, at 432-2033 or facdevel@msu.edu.
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