the garden is a dynamic museum, where specimens' conditions are painstakingly monitored and their provenance recorded.
Informal Learning at State is a new blog series by Dr. Ellie Louson that will explore the spaces for informal learning at MSU. While several definitions of informal learning exist, this series will include learning experiences that are non-curricular and accessible to the public. In other words, these are spaces for learning that admit everyone…
As we've recently welcomed our 21st president and with a new academic year upon us, it's a great time to try something new (to our little book club) - an invitation!
By: Summer Issawi, Alicia Jenner, and Sarah Gretter When one of our team mates pitched the idea to of starting a book club to fellow Hub colleagues we were all in. We started the #MSUHubBookClub (as mentioned in a previous post) this past February and spend 4-5 weeks reading a book before we meet at…
Both in project work and content consumption, I've found that the most influential teaching and learning experiences are those journeys that start with validating the understanding of others.
“People love to say, ‘Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.’ What they don’t say is, ‘And it would be nice if you gave him a fishing rod.’ That’s the part of the analogy that’s missing.” ― Trevor Noah In our informal #MSUHubBookClub, we…
These are two development cases we’ve recently encountered with faculty creating online courses, and we wanted to share different considerations for approaching an online course or program development. The infographic below breaks down themes we frequently encounter in our work helping faculty design courses, curriculum, and experiences. Lessons Learned: One thing we’ve noticed is that…
I recently attended the 3rd annual Spring Conference on Student Learning and Success at MSU. The first year it ran, it was a joining of a couple of similar events across campus that previously had been taking place simultaneously. This year, there were more added to the party. Namely, what was previously a Student Success…
by Jess Knott This week I have had the incredible opportunity to camp at the beautiful Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona with a small group of interdisciplinary professionals engaged at the intersections of science, design, pedagogy and social justice. I am not locked in, and I have not met Pauly Shore, but as part of…
My prior two blog posts in this series on the Future of Digital Learning considered definitions and questions raised in our community this year. The writing thus far touches on opportunities present in these ideas about education and emerging potential in the digital era. This post will identify several in brief teases. Each of these…
In many museums, docents share knowledge about artwork or special exhibits with museum visitors. These docents receive training or are particular experts on certain movements or styles. For Science Gallery International, the docent role is transformed in several ways. First, the role is staffed by young people—the same people who are in Science Gallery’s target…
Earlier this semester, 134 faculty and staff from Michigan State University gathered at the Hub for six lightning talks from faculty representing the Colleges of Education, Music, Arts and Letters, Natural Science, and Communication Arts and Sciences. As participant, I enjoyed the faculty-focused, generative conversation about the future of digital learning at MSU. Dialogues like…
When Manna Chowdhury first became aware of the Detroit Science Gallery mediator position for the HUSTLE exhibit, it was because of a class she was enrolled in, while still in high school. After reading the mission statement and realizing that the mission of Science Gallery’s dedication to public engagement with science and art, by igniting…