Understanding the University Context
Some universities have philosophies or missions that guide classroom practices. For example, Michigan State University has its Liberal Learning Outcomes. To develop in this competency, one needs to learn about the different philosophies and what that means for the instructor and their classroom, to help develop an appropriate teaching philosophy.
Artifact #1: I attended a workshop as part of the college teaching certification institute at Michigan State University. Below are some notes I took pertaining to what I found helpful and interesting. My reflections and thoughts on the usage of what I learned from this workshop are at the bottom of the page.
Artifact #2: The ombudsperson at Michigan State held a discussion in one of my courses about student and faculty rights and responsibilities, a description of which can be found furhter down this page. Much of how instructors cover student rights and responsibilities is written in the syllabus. In writing the syllabus for the course I assisted, I made sure to address topics such as grading, assignment schedule, and academic misconduct.
Artifact #2: The ombudsperson at Michigan State held a discussion in one of my courses about student and faculty rights and responsibilities, a description of which can be found furhter down this page. Much of how instructors cover student rights and responsibilities is written in the syllabus. In writing the syllabus for the course I assisted, I made sure to address topics such as grading, assignment schedule, and academic misconduct.
Developing your teaching presence and philosophy
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Reflections and Applications of Teaching and Learning
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Student and Faculty Rights and Responsibilites
Dr. Robert Caldwell, MSU Ombudsperson
We took a quiz so we could see where we stood on understanding the university's position on a number of issues. I learned some important things this way. I won't list all the questions, but discuss some of the ones that tripped the class up the most.
The major lesson from this discussion with Dr. Caldwell is that it is important to become familiar with your University's positions and the systems they have in place for academic misconduct.
- Instuctors CAN change their course syllabi after the beginning of the semester. The syllabus is a communication, not a contract. However, every effort should be made to inform students of changes in a timely manner, and make sure that everyone is aware of the changes. I would add that it would be wise to send an email out with the changes, rather than covering them in class only, as students might forget to make note of these changes or may not have been in attendance.
- It is not required to include an attendance policy in the syllabus, nor is it required to explain how acts of academic misconduct will be handled. At MSU, students can ready about what constitutes academic misconduct in the student handbook.
- A student may face sanctions in addition to a penalty grade for academic misconduct if the student's instructor or dean calls for an academic disciplinary hearing.
The major lesson from this discussion with Dr. Caldwell is that it is important to become familiar with your University's positions and the systems they have in place for academic misconduct.