Over the last few decades, there has been an increase in the number of large federally funded transdisciplinary programs and initiatives. Scholars have identified a need to develop frameworks, methodologies, and tools to evaluate the effectiveness of these large collaborative initiatives, providing precise ways to understand and assess the…

Effective teaching practice focused on encouraging deep engagement helps all students learn and succeed. Considerable work by researchers and change agents, encouraged by national organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Research Council, has promoted greater use of evidence-based educational practices, such as…

Standards-based grading (SBG) is an assessment/grading system that attaches scores to the mastery level of specific learning objectives. This methodology is gaining momentum in the K-12 environment but has been largely overlooked at the post-secondary level. In this paper, I will discuss the implementation of this practice in a College Algebra…

This paper describes a project undertaken at Grand Valley State University in which a co-creative model was used to develop a rubric for assessing student learning in library instruction. It outlines the design process as well as the training and support provided throughout implementation. It concludes with the authors' reflections on the…

When educators develop and introduce new learning approaches or resources, they usually have specific didactic goals in mind that they want to achieve. However, these goals may not always match the needs of their students, who often confound such plans by finding new and different uses for the educational tools that are offered to them.…

This document outlines the Michigan Department of Education's (MDE) efforts to improve literacy achievement by providing guidance regarding the establishment of diverse classroom libraries. It also answers the why, what, and how of establishing or refining a diverse library.

A Michigan school district established a districtwide reading board as a different but necessary alternative to a response to intervention model. The reading board sought a new way to acknowledge the depth and breadth of individualized diagnoses, instructional needs, and social justice in their school district. In addition, the reading board…

Community-engaged scholars, practitioners, and community partners often find the language of community engagement challenging. Words like "participate," "collaborate," "partner," or "engage" fail to convey who in a community-university partnership has voice and authority in decision-making and responsibility…

As some of the most stable and important structures in society, colleges and universities are rarely described as nimble. Yet, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, institutions across the globe not only shifted within days to online instruction, but many academic researchers also immediately launched efforts to understand the virus,…

School leaders, specifically principals, play a pivotal role in shaping student learning outcomes. The benefits of strong leaders extend beyond academic achievement, such as reductions in absenteeism and exclusionary discipline. While quality principals are critical for creating and sustaining quality schools, the staffing pipeline is facing…

Critical thinking is a common and important learning outcome in college curricula. Case-based and problem-based learning can be used to assess and foster critical thinking skills. HNF 250--Contemporary Issues in Human Nutrition is a critical thinking course developed during the redesign of a nutritional sciences major program. Course assignments…

Regardless of whether video is used for an online course, or serves as supplemental material in another course format, the videos must be watched by students in support of their learning. If professors give video production their best effort and still end up with undesirable outcomes, how can institutions better support the production of…

Formative assessment is one of the most effective tools that teachers use to promote student learning and watching one's self teach on video is one of the most effective ways to improve teaching. As part of a project for the Michigan Department of Education, the authors worked with eight teachers in Michigan who are using videos of their teaching…

Writing is a key disciplinary practice in STEM used to construct scientific knowledge and communicate research findings. With its role in the scientific process, writing is often incorporated into STEM classrooms to train students in scientific writing. The importance of incorporating writing in STEM classrooms is heightened by the role it can…

The Transforming Learning for the Third Century (TLTC) initiative funds projects that seek to promote students' self-agency and their ability to innovate and take risks. The Provost Task Teams on Engaged Learning and Digital Instruction define this learning goal as follows: "Students must know how to observe the opportunities and capacities…