For more information, and to participate in one of the following learning communities, please contact its facilitators.

AI in Language, Learning, and Teacher Education: Ethics, Research, Pedagogical Innovation

Co-Facilitators

The AI in Language, Learning, and Teacher Education Learning Community explores how artificial intelligence can enhance teaching, research, ethics, and curriculum design. Through interactive discussions and hands-on activities, members will explore AI tools, research methodologies, ethical considerations, and pedagogical innovations. Sessions will include: (1) Introduction to AI Tools; (2) AI and Research Planning; (3) Qualitative Research with AI; (4) AI Ethics for Researchers; (5) AI Ethics in Teaching; (6) AI in Assessment and Curriculum Design; (7) AI in Applied Linguistics and Language Studies; (8) AI for Course Materials and Presentations.

AI in Learning Communities (AI Summit)

Co-Facilitators

The AI Learning Communities at MSU offer faculty, staff, and administrators a collaborative space to explore AI’s evolving impact on research, education, and university operations. Organized around themes from the AI Summit, these communities will meet regularly to discuss challenges, share resources, and develop strategies for responsible AI adoption. Open to all MSU instructional and administrative staff, these groups welcome diverse perspectives and expertise.

Blockchain and Cryptoasset Education Group

Co-Facilitators

  • Dar Meshi, Department of Advertising and Public Relations, darmeshi@msu.edu
  • Rabindra Ratan, Department of Media and Information, rar@msu.edu

Blockchains and cryptoassets are among the most misunderstood technological advancements in recent history. Join other MSU faculty to read a book about blockchains and then discuss each chapter in online meetings (each meeting will include a short presentation on the relevant book chapter by the group co-facilitators). Meeting agenda items include the discussion of problems with the current internet; how blockchains enable a new, better internet; guidance in the creation of members’ own crypto wallet and the use of public blockchains; how to better-prepare our students for a world with blockchains; discussion of the decentralized science movement, which capitalizes on blockchains to fund and publish research; and potential MSU faculty collaborations to investigate the effects of blockchains on society.

Community-Engaged Partnerships and Emergent Strategy: From Theory to Practice

Co-Facilitators

Community-engaged learning (CEL) integrates community partnerships with instruction and critical reflection to enrich student learning and strengthen communities. Emergent Strategy, rooted in Black feminist thought, emphasizes adaptability and relational approaches to social change, aligning with CEL principles. By drawing on Emergent Strategy, this learning community will explore best practices in partnership development, compensation, and evaluating transactional versus transformational relationships.

Community-Engaged Research: Theory and Praxis

Co-Facilitators

  • Miles McNall, Office of Public Engagement and Scholarship, University Outreach and Engagement, mcnall@msu.edu
  • Jessica Barnes-Najor, Director for Community Partnerships, University Outreach and Engagement barnes33@msu.edu

Faculty and academic staff who engage partners beyond the borders of our campus in co-discovery and co-generation of knowledge are welcome to join this learning community. Together, we will learn from and contribute to one another’s improved understanding and practice of respectful and ethical engagement with community partners. We will co-construct a resource list and a set of practices and tools to support our own and others’ community-engaged research.

Informational sessions

Monday, Aug 18, 3-4 pm
Register: https://events.engage.msu.edu/FLCER

Thursday, Aug 21, 3-4 pm
Register: https://events.engage.msu.edu/FLCER2

Developing Program Leaders One Chapter at a Time

Co-facilitators

The role of a language program director is comprehensive, complex, and diverse with most of the work invisible yet essential for program survival. How do you lead a program in a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive way? Come join our Book Club+ to learn from experts, exchange ideas, and advance our knowledge to transform our programs!

Disability Dynamics: Theory, Accessibility, and Practice at MSU

Co-facilitators

  • Jessica Lutz, Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, lutzjes1@msu.edu
  • Hannah Huey-Jones, Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, hueyjon1@msu.edu

This community will explore topics related to disability based on the work of prominent disability scholars and activists. Members will read or view material to prepare to discuss during meetings.

EmpowHer Writing Salon

Co-facilitators

EmpowHer Writing Salon is a peer mentoring group designed to support scholarly productivity and career development for women faculty in academic medicine. This multi-disciplinary, multicultural, and intergenerational community provides a collaborative space for faculty seeking peer mentoring and professional growth.

Environmental Justice and Climate Action Pedagogy Learning Community

Co-facilitators

  • Laura Markham, Center for Integrative Studies in General Science (CISGS), markham@msu.edu
  • Kelly Richmond, Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH), burkej25@msu.edu

The Environmental Justice and Climate Action Pedagogy LC seeks MSU educators from all disciplines concerned about the current state of ecological and social imbalance, who seek to integrate environmental justice topics and climate action-based exercises into their teaching. Together, we strive to create an educational environment where learning about environmental issues motivates positive action and contributes to the well-being of our planet and its inhabitants.

Feminist Community-Engagement Disrupted: Writing our scholarship stories

Co-Facilitators

  • Chelsea Wentworth, Office of Medical Education Research and Development, wentwo21@msu.edu
  • Diane Doberneck, University Outreach and Engagement, connordm@msu.edu

We co-design research with partners as an ideal plan; but, in reality, numerous changes impact our implementation. Our learning community discusses disruptions external to the community (e.g., changes in federal funding, COVID-19, political or community/campus violence), or internal to the community (e.g., partners leaving their roles for new jobs, caregiving responsibilities), or within individuals in the community (e.g., illness, stressors). New and expansive disruptions are facing our academic and community partners internationally, nationally, and on our campus. This requires thinking about responding, adapting, and overcoming challenges in fundamental ways that reach far beyond pivoting scholarly work. This Learning Community will write and discuss feminist approaches to community engagement and will include scholar-educators who are innovating in their community-engaged practices working from diverse disciplines.

Graduate Teaching Assistant & Postdoc Teaching Learning Community (GTAP TLC)

Co-Facilitators

  • Stefanie Baier, Director of GRaduate Educator Advancement and Teaching (GREAT) Office, stbaier@msu.edu

The goal of our Learning Community is to come together and share pedagogy, evidence-based best practices, holistic educator development, and accessible and inclusive student and educator success strategies. Our bi-weekly Lunch & Learns are collaborative spaces for graduate teaching assistants, postdocs, and any educator. We strive to cultivate a culture of care and build an inclusive community throughout the year and invite educators in any role to engage with us and share their knowledge and teaching practices.

ISS 3-2-1

Co-Facilitators

  • Seven Mattes, Center for Integrative Studies in Social Science, bryant22@msu.edu
  • Marcie Cowley, Center for Integrative Studies in Social Science, cowleyma@msu.edu

Come together with ISS faculty, graduate assistants, and undergraduate assistants to build community and share teaching expertise across the various disciplines that comprise the social sciences! Our meetings will follow a 3-2-1 format: We will meet to share 3 tips or strategies for implementing a social science discipline into your classes during a 2-hour time slot on the 1st Thursday of every month. This meeting will take place in person, with a virtual zoom option.

Large Course Learning Community

Co-Facilitators

Everyone is welcome to join us as we share experiences, advice, and ideas for teaching students in large courses. While not all classes at MSU are large, almost all students at MSU will take large classes and we want to ensure their experiences are stellar and their professors are supported. If you are unable to attend in-person or virtually during our regularly scheduled meetings, please engage by connecting with us directly via email to ask questions, share ideas, and/or access the recordings of our meetings hosted on MediaSpace and MSU Commons.

Learning Community for Supporting International Student Success

Co-Facilitators

We are an assets-based, idea-sharing group focused on the holistic concept of international student success at MSU, aiming to ensure that MSU is a welcoming and supportive institution for culturally diverse learners. We collectively seek solutions for emergent, timely issues such as challenges to academic learning brought to the fore through navigation of travel restrictions, availability of technology, and online instruction in varied time zones, as well as persistent issues such as those associated with linguistic differences and varied cultural constructs of academic concepts; and we routinely share innovative and thoughtful pedagogical approaches. Co-facilitators recruit members through personal/professional networks, the adviser listserv, the ISP distribution list, the Education Abroad and Global Youth Advancement Network newsletters, and by requesting that current learning community members spread the word.

Linguistic Justice for Educators: Theory and Praxis

Co-Facilitators

  • Amanda Hawks, Writing Center, hawksama@msu.edu
  • Bethany Meadows, Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation

Join a monthly Linguistic Justice Learning Community to examine how language, power, and identity shape teaching and learning in higher education. Through interdisciplinary readings, discussions, and shared practices, this learning community will examine strategies for fostering inclusive linguistic environments that honor students’ full linguistic repertoires. Open to educators across all disciplines, this collaborative space will culminate in the creation of a practical toolkit for implementing linguistic justice in diverse educational contexts. For questions or concerns, please contact Amanda Hawks (hawksama@msu.edu) and Bethany Meadows (meadow53@msu.edu).

Mentorship Matters: Enhancing Undergraduate Research and Community Engagement

Co-Facilitators

Mentoring undergraduate research and community-engaged scholarship is often a solo effort—this group changes that. Join a community of faculty who share strategies, tackle challenges, and support each other in making mentorship more effective and rewarding. Through lunch-based discussions, we’ll exchange ideas, develop practical resources, and strengthen a culture of research and outreach. Open to experienced mentors and those looking to grow.

MSU Trauma Services and Training Network

Co-Facilitators

  • Cheryl Williams-Hecksel, School of Social Work, will1534@msu.edu
  • Natalie Moser, Department of Psychology and Office for Resource and Support Coordination, mosern@msu.edu

The focus of the Learning Community is to support, explore and develop strategies to advance a commitment to creating a trauma informed university. The work focuses on service delivery including clinical services, advising, and student support services. In addition, the Learning Community presents and trains on trauma informed teaching and developing trauma-informed communities. The MSU TSTN has developed content for use in training across the campus community. The Learning Community is open to anyone interested in working to build a trauma-informed campus.

MSU’s SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Innovation Learning Community

Co-Facilitators

  • Monica Mills, Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation, mlmills@msu.edu
  • Caitlin Kirby, Evidence-Driven Learning Innovation Team, CAL & CNS, kirbycai@msu.edu

Are you interested in exploring research-informed teaching practices and conducting meaningful inquiries into student learning? The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Learning Community, co-hosted by CTLI and EDLI, provides a collaborative space for MSU faculty and academic staff to engage in interdisciplinary discussions, develop SoTL projects independently or collaboratively, and access mentorship, funding, and dissemination opportunities. Open to all instructional and administrative staff, this community meets regularly throughout the academic year—join us to connect with colleagues and advance evidence-based teaching!

Pedagogies in Support of Global Learning

Co-Facilitators

This Faculty Learning Community (FLC) proposes to share experiences and ideas on how to integrate global learning experiences in an existing curriculum. We will take a practical approach, offering group support in all aspects of globalization of the curriculum. Assessment of student learning and growth in cross-cultural awareness will also be discussed. If you are interested in offering a global experience to your students, please join us.

The FLC will provide resources and support for MSU faculty interested in:

  • Integrating global learning in their current curriculum
  • Discussing creative ways and practical concerns about global learning and student engagement
  • Discussing ways of assessing global learning outcomes and leaner impact

Sim4One Health

Co-Facilitators

The Sim4One Health simulation community encompasses a dynamic group of innovators committed to exploring, sharing and integrating healthcare simulation methodologies in the interest of interprofessional education, clinical practice, patient safety and quality of care. Simulationists, faculty and staff interested in expanding the field of healthcare simulation at MSU are invited to join!

Spartan Undergraduate Student Success – Five Opportunity Areas Learning Community

Co-Facilitators

Please consider joining members of a campus-wide community that will contribute to new discoveries and refine the institutional commitments and metrics for five opportunity areas of undergraduate success outlined in the Spartan Undergraduate Experience strategy guide.

The Educator Exchange

Co-Facilitators

  • Makena Neal, Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation, mneal@msu.edu
  • Crystal Eustice, Department of Community Sustainability, mill1879@msu.edu

The Educator Exchange is a community of practice where meaningful discussions and playful collaborations help educators learning with and from one another. MSU is a big place and there is a lot happening in your/our/the world. Join us as we celebrate each other’s successes and find solutions to challenges together– in a supportive environment where every educator’s voice is valued.

Well Being and Belonging

Co-Facilitators

Belonging is central to both dialogic practice and well-being. We will discuss and model ways to create community and belonging in learning spaces (and beyond) to support dialogic methods and well-being.

We will consider research, best practices, and each other’s experiences (both good and bad!) to create a toolbox of resources that will support well-being, foster community and belonging, and support dialogic practices and non-violent communications in our environments.

Come as you are and when you are able!