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  • WordPress Editor – an introduction

    Part 1 – adding blocks In the WordPress blog editor, blocks are the building units used to create and format content. Each block represents a specific type of content or layout element. Here’s a breakdown of how they work: What Are Blocks? Blocks are modular elements that let you add and arrange content visually. Instead of writing everything…

  • Posting to the new iTeach Commons

    The WordPress blog editor, also known as the Block Editor or Gutenberg, is the default content editor in WordPress since version 5.0. It offers a modern, flexible way to create and manage blog posts and pages using a system of blocks Key Features of the WordPress Block Editor

  • Your Pedagogy and the Syllabus

    This section does not exist to instruct you on how to form your own pedagogies, but to instead consider how your pedagogy is worked into your syllabus, what benefits your pedagogy offers the students of your course and are your methods and strategies towards teaching supported through up-to-date research.

  • Collaboration with Colleagues on Syllabi

    This will be the briefest section of this guide. It is impossible to know the specific needs of every field, of every institution, of every department, of every class and of every student. The research this project is based on attempted to capture the most valuable uses of a syllabus but never pretended that it…

  • Integrating Immersive Storytelling Through CTLI’s Catalyst Grant: DSL & PDC 491 Collaboration 

    In February 2026, the Digital Scholarship Lab (DSL) partnered with Dr. Jisun Lee to bring immersive media production into PDC 491 – Special Topics in Planning, Design and Construction: Virtual Reality Application in Interior Design. This collaboration was made possible through a Catalyst Grant from MSU’s Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation (CTLI), which supports faculty in developing innovative digital learning…

  • Introduction to Effective Assessments

    Effective assessment design is one of the most powerful ways instructors can support student learning. Yet many educators inherit assessment practices that emphasize grading rather than learning. This five-part series explores how thoughtful assessment design can help instructors create clearer expectations, support student success, and align assignments with meaningful learning outcomes. The articles in this…

  • Part 5: Designing for Integrity in the AI Era

    Part 5 of the “Introduction to Effective Assessments” Playlist In the previous articles in this series, we explored the foundations of effective assessment design. We examined how assessments can empower learning, how validity, reliability, and alignment ensure that assessments measure what they claim to measure, how instructors can choose strategies suited to their teaching context,…

  • Part 4: What Your Grading Formula Really Communicates

    Part 4 of the “Introduction to Effective Assessments” Playlist In the first three parts of this series, we explored how effective assessments support learning, how validity, reliability, and alignment make assessments trustworthy, and how instructors can choose strategies that fit their teaching context. But assessment design does not stop with choosing assignments. Equally important is…

  • Part 3: Choosing the Right Assessment Strategy for Your Context

    Part 3 of the “Introduction to Effective Assessments” Playlist In the first two parts of this series, we explored the purpose of assessment and the qualities that make assessments trustworthy. We discussed how effective assessment ecosystems combine multiple approaches and how validity, reliability, and alignment ensure that assessments truly measure learning. But even well-aligned assessments…

  • Part 2: What Makes an Assessment Trustworthy?

    Part 2 of the “Introduction to Effective Assessments” Playlist. Assessment design is one of the most important responsibilities instructors take on. A well-crafted assessment gives students the chance to demonstrate genuine learning. A poorly designed one risks confusing, discouraging, or even misrepresenting what students know. So how do we know whether an assessment is good?…

  • Part 1: Moving Beyond Grades: Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education

    Part 1 of the “Introduction to Effective Assessments” Playlist When most of us think of assessment, grades immediately come to mind. Exams, papers, and quizzes are treated as checkpoints or hurdles students must clear to earn credit. This framing positions assessment as judgment, with the instructor holding the final word on what counts as “success.”…

  • Advice and Resources for Interdisciplinary Graduate Students

    Interdisciplinarity for Graduate Students workshop Based on the sustained high interest we see from graduate students looking for interdisciplinary opportunities, CIRCLE (MSU’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Collaboration, Learning, and Engagement) organized a workshop for graduate students to offer expert advice, a supportive community, and resources to help them identify their skills and strengths as interdisciplinarians and…

  • What Now?! with AI: Podcast Launch

    Tom Cheng and I have started a podcast series one recent AI developments, available on  Spotify  , Apple , and on MSU Teams at What Now! with AI Podcast . In our first episode, we talk about Moltbook, Faculty Perceptions on AI, and eFlesh.   Blurb: MJ and Tom couldn’t be more different, but they…

  • Teaching the AI-Ready Graduate: Integrating AI-related Competencies into your Course

    Earlier this month, I facilitated a well-attended and highly engaging CTLI workshop titled Teaching the AI-Ready Graduate: Integrating AI-Related Competencies into Your Course. The session brought together MSU educators from across disciplines to think collectively about what it means to prepare students for a world in which artificial intelligence is already shaping academic work, professional…