I wrote a Tweet about an exam, which lead to being featured in MSU Today!
It’s official!
My Foundations of Neuroscience, Open Edition is published by MSU Libraries and Pressbooks. I am so excited that this work can now be shared and used freely in the neuroscience community.
Foundations of Neuroscience is aimed at undergraduate students new to the field of neuroscience. The first edition specifically targets students enrolled in Neurobiology at Michigan State University and primarily contains topics covered in that course. For example, only three sensory systems are discussed in this version of the text. Future editions will continue to expand the number of topics and concepts presented (see below for a list of planned topics).
Following the principles of Universal Design for Learning, multiple means of representation will be provided for students to engage with the content. Clear, accessible text will be divided into short, easily digestible chapters that focus on one concept. Numerous images and animations will be paired with the text, and a captioned video version of the text is shared for each chapter. The text is written with the undergraduate student that is new to neuroscience in mind. Neuroscience terminology will be introduced in an easy-to-understand manner, and supporting content will be clear and concise to minimize cognitive load not associated with understanding new material.
Each chapter will end with an interactive quiz for student self-evaluation of the content. All quiz answers (i.e. both correct and incorrect) will provide feedback, so students can self-check their understanding at the end of each concept and receive immediate feedback about their learning.
Since I created and have been using an open education resource (OER) in my class, I was asked to participate in a faculty panel hosted by the MSU student government, ASMSU, yesterday in celebration of Open Education Week 2021. It was a great panel with multiple faculty sharing their experiences of using OER. I was surprised, though, by finding out that ASMSU was also honoring us with OER Leadership Awards as recognition for using OER in our courses. It always feels so great to be recognized for my work by students.
I was recently awarded the 2019 College of Natural Science Faculty Teaching Prize. It is an honor to be recognized for my teaching accomplishments by the college. Many thanks go to my Program Chair, Jim Galligan, and CNS Digital Curriculum Specialist, Stephen Thomas, for nominating me for the award.
Read the College of Natural Science press release to see everyone who was recognized at the award ceremony.
I have been trying to integrate more Office 365 apps into my course content, since I have been transitioning from Google Classroom to Microsoft Class Teams and Word. As part of my exploration of the different apps, I came across Sway and began playing. Sway allows for easy web page creation. As an individual with actual web design experience, at first I found Sway to be incredibly frustrating – I could not control where items went or their exact size, etc… But once I stepped back and accepted the program for what it was, I started having a great time.
I am going to incorporate Sway into my class and have student collaborate on presentations. To do this, though, I knew I needed to become a bit of an expert, so I decided to create some lecture-type lessons. Below are some of the neuroscience lessons I have created:
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In April, my fully online graduate course, NEU 841 Medical Neuroscience, was awarded first place for the Best Fully Online category of the 2019 AT&T Faculty-Staff Instructional Technology Awards competition at MSU. It is an honor to win this award. I put student learning at the top of my priority list, and to be recognized at this level for my work is simply incredible. The award judges said the following about the course:
The selection committee (consisting of experts in digital learning including previous MSU-AT&T Award winners) appreciated your well-designed, immersive technology choices. The judges appreciated the scaffolded nature of your course design. The design choice to create a digital syllabus, utilize Google Classroom, and offering open-book exams all help to make learning a priority for the students. The judges also recognized the focus on universal design and accessibility. The focus on design and accessibility really worked harmoniously to produce great experience for a diverse group of learners.
To view my 5 minute video describing the course, visit the AT&T Award website.
The College of Natural Science also wrote about my recognition.