New Program Honors Effective Teachers and Rekindles Joy in Education

In the midst of the pandemic, with teaching and many other parts of life disrupted, Randi Stanulis decided it was time to rekindle the joy that College of Human Medicine faculty members find in helping students grow and succeed.

“I know that coming out of the pandemic, we found that many of us were experiencing burnout and people feeling we were stretched too thin,” said Stanulis PhD, assistant dean for faculty development and director of the college’s Office of Medical Education Research and Development (OMERAD).

“It made me think we needed to do something about it.”

Thus, a year ago was born Finding Joy in Teaching, an honorific program based on the belief that the best teachers love what they do. Research shows that the most effective teachers not only like what they do, but are flexible and focused on student growth, Stanulis said.

“There are a lot of people who say, ‘I teach biochemistry,’” she said. “I say, ‘No, you teach students about biochemistry. That shift is significant.”

A year ago, College of Human Medicine department chairs and directors nominated faculty members known for their effective teaching skills and enthusiasm. Stanulis then led the recording of a series of 10 short audio presentations offering the honorees’ perspectives and suggestions on the joy of teaching. The episodes were posted online and celebrated at the inaugural Joy in Teaching reception, funded in part by the Dr. Ruth Allen Endowment in OMERAD.

The idea for this movement is “to elevate a culture where teaching effectiveness is valued and where peers can see what others are doing and be inspired by that,” Stanulis said, adding that it “really raised awareness to another level that teaching is joyful, is recognized, and is valued at the College of Human Medicine.”

While research is an important part of the college’s mission, skillful teaching is equally essential, she said.

In October, department chairs and directors will nominate a second cohort of faculty members to be recognized for their teaching excellence in Finding Joy in Teaching. Those chosen will add their perspectives to the audio series collection and will be honored in the spring. For most, it is clear through listening to their audio episodes, teaching is its own reward.

For 18 years, Stanulis was a professor in MSU’s Department of Teacher Education in the College of Education before becoming director of OMERAD.

“I enjoy the energy that comes from students when they are actively involved,” she said. “I enjoy their curiosity. I enjoy seeing them light up as they learn.”

https://soundcloud.com/user-857841413/sets/finding-the-joy-in-teaching?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fuser-857841413%252Fsets%252Ffinding-the-joy-in-teaching

• Building a Safe Learning Environment: Getting to know your students and build relationships quickly
• Building a Safe Learning Environment: Setting Clear Expectations
• Noticing and Encouraging Small Group Participation
• Understanding and Drawing out Introverted Learners
• Exercising the Mind and Body to Maximize Student Learning
• Clinical Debriefing

Asynchronous webinars will be sent via email to registered participants upon payment.

$10/webinar or $50 to register for all six Register Here

For more information about the modules, contact: Stacey Pylman, PhD at pylmanst@msu.edu 

The Office of Medical Education Research and Development (OMERAD) is now offering you a unique opportunity for personalized coaching in developing engaging online teaching! Faculty in OMERAD have expertise in coaching for improved teaching. As experienced educators, we will work directly with you to learn about your unique context with a focus on student engagement, eliciting student thinking and assessing student understanding into your online instruction. We observe, collect data, and provide you with targeted feedback to empower you to make instructional changes. Finally, we plan with you to prepare you for the next instructional session.

At the end of this coaching series, you will receive a certificate of completion and a letter summarizing your progress that can be used in annual review documentation.

The coaching experience involves learning cycles where the coach will observe you teach, engage in a data-based debrief, and co-plan to prepare you for future instruction. Your personalized coaching sessions will be scheduled at an agreed upon convenient time for you and your coach, beginning soon after you complete your intake form.

Cost: $400 per person

REGISTER HERE

Questions? Contact OMERAD omerad@msu.edu.

OMERAD Coaches: Dr. Stacey Pylman, Dr. Julie Christensen, Ms. Amy Greenberg

 Coaching Testimonials:

 “I have tried many programs, courses, and tools to improve my teaching with very marginal improvement. This opportunity of a person observing me and giving me personalized coaching was transformational. I am recommending absolutely everybody to do this. The coach is so knowledgeable, caring, experienced, and she totally identifies difficulties, and has tools and techniques to teach you.”

– Ana Vasquez, PhD, Assistant Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, MSU

“My experience with the OMERAD has been invaluable…helping me self-evaluate my teaching habits to stimulate better class discussion, course objectives, and student assessments. I saw improvement in SIRS and feedback from students.”

– David Ferguson, PhD, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, MSU

“This (coaching experience) redefines how I am preparing and presenting the materials in small groups. It is the best thing to happen for my academic career.”

– Sath Sudhanthar, MD, Associate Professor, College of Human Medicine, MSU

1. Choose the video type that works best for you and your students. You can choose among screencast (recording what is displayed on your screen like PowerPoint; using software like Screencast-O-Matic or Camtasia), talking head (close-up shots of an instructor’s head), recording live training or demonstration, or using animations.
2. Set up your environment. Find a quiet environment that no one will interrupt you. Turn off any computer notifications (Outlook, messages) that might pop up. You don’t want your message or emails keep popping up on your screen during screencasting.
3. Introduce yourself. A video is like a one-on-one conversation with the students. Introducing yourself allows you to have certain interaction and make connections with the students.
4. Keep each video segment short. Our attention spans are short, so it’s best to keep each instructional video within 6-9 minutes. Research has suggested that shorter videos are more engaging, with the optimal time of videos being 6 minutes (Guo, 2013). If you have more than that to say, chunk it up into smaller segments.
5. Instructor presence is important. If you choose screencasting, having your own headset at the corner of the screen would be helpful to make the students feel close to you.
6. Talk directly to the camera. When recording yourself talking, look right at the camera lens so your audience can feel the eye contact with you. You can put a photo or an object that you like above your camera to help you making some emotional connections. Also, prepare a brief outline or some notes next to your webcam if you need, so you don’t look away from the camera all the time.
7. Talk naturally. It’s better not to script your videos; just talk naturally as you would in real classrooms. You can use notes or outlines to help you focus on key concepts but do not read texts on the slides. Talking conversationally to the camera could make it feel more nature and engaging.
8. Record in one shot and edit later. If you make mistakes, don’t start over, simply pause or say “Mistake.” You can always edit them out at the end. Recording the second time won’t make it better.
9. Stick with one major point in a video. Explain the concept or skill first and then present a real-life example in different contexts. The 4E instruction model (i.e., engage, explore, explain, and extend) may be useful to prepare your content. Avoid interesting but irrelevant information.
10. Use guiding questions. To keep students engaged instead of passively sitting there and listening, you can ask questions, and pause on that slide to give viewers time to think about their answers.
11. Highlight key concepts. Use on-screen texts or animations to zoom in to highlight important parts. This could help reduce extraneous load of learners by helping them focus on important information.
12. Accessibility. Make sure to provide captions or text transcripts if your video containing audio is going to be made available publicly. This is required for viewers with hearing impairments and would also benefit non-native speakers.

References

1. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/10-tips-creating-effective-instructional-videos/
2. https://wp0.vanderbilt.edu/cft/guides-sub-pages/effective-educational-videos/
3. http//sydney.edu.au/education-portfolio/ei/teaching@sydney/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Making-videos_v.2.pdf
4. GUO, P.J., 2013. Optimal video length for student engagement, edX