EDLI facilitates an online graduate fellowship, the Colleges Online Learning Academy, that allows graduate students from our three colleges opportunities for networking, mentorship, creation of deliverables for their professional development as educators, and opportunities for peer review and reflection on teaching practice. In the months of May and June, we put on five workshops for our COLA students, with each workshop centered around one of three themes:
- Developing a scholarly teaching identity
- Pedagogical and technological skills in digital teaching and learning
- Accessibility and inclusion in digital teaching and learning
We translate these workshops into asynchronous modules for MSU graduate students to complete if they are unable to attend the synchronous events. If you’d like to learn more about that process, see our article here. We also have an article in review at Communication Design Quarterly.
We have made the asynchronous COLA workshop series available for anyone who is interested. Feel free to engage fully in the workshop activities, and contact us with any questions about the content or to solicit feedback: edli.team@msu.edu
Developing a Scholarly Teaching Identity
This workshop category integrates personal reflection and identity with professional goals.
Cultivating a Reflective Practice
Reflecting on your teaching practice or professional work can help you work out your goals, future directions, and plans to achieve them. This workshop will guide you through thinking about how you already engage in self-reflection in your professional roles and provide additional frameworks for reflective practice. The workshop is available here.
Pedagogical and Technological Skills in Digital Teaching and Learning
Workshops in this category directly address how to approach elements of course design, with a particular focus on integrating online modalities and activities. The two workshops in this category are:
Promoting Student Classroom Engagement
Facilitators: Dr. Min Zhuang, Dr. Hala Sun, and Imari Cheyne Tetu
Student engagement is at the heart of teaching and learning. This workshop explores strategies for student engagement particularly addressing the challenge in online or multimodal learning. In discussing student engagement, we will also briefly explore ways to efficiently address issues with online class management. Engage with the workshop here.
Multimodality
Facilitators: Dr. Stephen Thomas and Imari Cheyne Tetu
“Multimodality” refers to the multiple ways that course content and delivery is offered online or in-person, for example by offering Zoom access to in-person classes, having online assessments, or posting videos of course sessions. In this workshop, we will cover important considerations for various modalities, how to decide on appropriate modalities, and how to develop course components for certain modalities. Check this workshop out here.
Accessibility and Inclusion in Digital Teaching and Learning
These workshops provide strategies and resources for creating accessible and inclusive course materials and classroom spaces to benefit all learners. Workshops in this category are:
Accessibility of Online and Digital Resources
Facilitators: Dr. Caitlin Kirby and Sarah Wellman
Digital components of courses require additional considerations to ensure that all learning materials and assessments are accessible for students with different needs and disabilities. Using the Universal Design for Learning framework and Quality Matters, we will provide recommendations for how to ensure your materials are accessible. Find the workshop here.
Creating Inclusive Classrooms
Facilitators: Dr. Caitlin Kirby and Dr. Min Zhuang
Instructors can influence students’ sense of belonging in classrooms and can develop inclusive course materials and assessments. We will discuss some principles of creating inclusive classrooms. Participants will also develop a strategy for how to integrate additional work on inclusion into their future teaching. See the workshop here.