Essential Education Newsblog

Tag: MTU Essential Ed

Essential Education – Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 Course Planning Tool and Reporting Information

Published
By

As noted in the October Tech Today article and the October 15 Essential Ed Newsblog, faculty support Michigan Tech’s Essential Education continuous improvement process by completing Planning Tools at the start of each semester and EA Reporting at the end, following a three-year cycle.

Why This Matters

By reflecting on and refining how their courses support the Essential Abilities, instructors help students engage with a clearer, more intentional course design. This reflection promotes deeper learning and helps students develop and demonstrate the skills essential for academic achievement and career success.

Submitted EA Reports are peer reviewed, allowing colleagues to share constructive feedback and identify trends that inform broader program improvements.

Planning Tool Updates

Thank you to all who are contributing to the rollout of Essential Education courses this year!

From faculty Planning Tool submissions, the Essential Education Course List Teams and Steering Committee responded to instructor requests for support and acted on suggestions to improve processes and available resources.

Instructors teaching in Spring 2026 will notice several updates already incorporated into the new Planning Tools.

Instructor EA Reporting – Soft Launch Expansion

The soft launch for Instructor Essential Abilities (EA) Reporting began last spring with a small number of courses and has now expanded to include three course lists this academic year: Foundations and lower-level Math and Science courses.

Feedback from this phase will guide refinements to both the process and support materials in preparation for the full launch of instructor reporting for all course lists in AY 2026–27, which marks the start of the full Essential Education three-year continuous improvement cycle.

Soft Launch Instructions for Fall 2025 Instructors

Faculty teaching Fall 2025 Essential Education Foundations or lower-level Math and Science courses received an email on October 25 with submission instructions.
When ready to report, instructors should:

If there are multiple sections of the course (the same or multiple semesters), contact essentialed@mtu.edu for assistance.

Important Dates for Instructors

Fall 2025 Courses

  • Monday, August 25 – Planning Tools due (all Essential Ed courses)
  • Friday, January 16 – Instructor EA Reports due (Foundations and lower-level Math/Science only)

Spring 2026 Courses

  • Monday, January 5 – Planning Tools due (all Essential Ed courses)
  • Wednesday, April 29 – Instructor EA Reports due (Foundations and lower-level Math/Science only)

Summer 2026 Courses

  • Planning Tools due the first day of instruction
  • Instructor EA Reports due three days after the final exam period (Foundations and lower-level Math/Science only)

Support and Resources

Workshops are being scheduled upon request, and office-hour sign-ups will be available later in the semester.

For assistance, please contact:

  • Essential Ed Steering Committee and Course List Team Members in your unit
  • The Essential Ed support: essentialed@mtu.edu
  • EA Reporting: Jeannie DeClerck, Assessment Manager
  • HuskyFolio Support: AJ Hamlin, Director of Husky Folio

Thank you for your continued commitment to the Essential Education program. Your time, reflection, and participation are vital to strengthening our courses, supporting student learning, and sustaining meaningful program improvement.

Continue Reading →

Save the Date – Michigan Tech’s 2026 Essential Education Symposium

Published
By

Michigan Tech’s 2nd Annual Essential Education Symposium will take place on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 on campus, the week after Spring Semester Final Exams. The 1st Annual Essential Ed Symposium took place on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. It was highlighted by our special guest Shane Sutherland – Founder/CEO/CMM of PebblePad, an internationally higher education utilized ePortfolio platform. His lunchtime Keynote focused on how other academic institutions around the world are using ePortfolios to maximize student reflection, communicate skill acquisition and application, and documenting their academic accomplishments to future employers and academic programs.

The 2026 Essential Ed Symposium will feature highlights from the launch of each element of Essential Education. More exciting sessions relating to Essential Ed, its impact on students, faculty support resources and best practices, skill needs of future employers, will be announced in early spring. These elements are highlighted in this short video “What is MIchigan Tech’s Essential Education?” 

We encourage you to visit Michigan Tech Essential Ed YouTube channel . This is the home of the videos being created to promote Michigan Tech’s Essential Education program rollout, including outlining the value of this educational experience to current and future students. Videos of Future Symposiums presentations and materials serving as resources for instructors teaching Essential Education program courses will also be available on this channel. 

Here are some quick links to a sample of the 2025 Symposium presentations, beginning with highlights of the full event. 

For more information on the rollout of Michigan Tech’s Tech Forward 1.0 initiative, Essential Education, review Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Newsblog.

Continue Reading →

Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Experiences – Applying the Essential Abilities

Published
By

Essential Education Experiences (E3) are 3-credit, upper-division courses, intended for students in their junior year (at the discretion of the course instructor). In E3 courses, students will actively apply their Essential Abilities through hands-on learning designed to increase their social awareness, global understanding, civic engagement or cultural competencies. E3 projects or activities engage with communities beyond the traditional classroom in the advancement of public good.

E3 courses should include a significant curricular component rooted in the SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts for People and the Environment/Economy) disciplines that connects to the immersive or community engaged activity. Instructors can design their own projects for the course or connect courses to existing student activities (i.e. volunteering, student leadership roles, etc.). Engagement can happen at different locations, including on-campus, in our local community, abroad, or virtually.

Required Course Elements
All Experience courses must have the following course elements:

  • Experiential Learning: The instructor should provide an academic framework, best practices, and space for reflection and discussion to strengthen student hands-on learning. At least half of academic work should be dedicated to a real-world project or activity (i.e. direct service, reflection, research, project work, immersion, etc). 
  • Best Practices and Ethical Standards: Faculty should ensure that best practices and ethical standards for community engagement are upheld throughout the project or activity and teach those standards to students in the course, drawing on disciplinary expertise.
  • Critical Reflection: Assignments connected to the experience should be included regularly throughout the semester. Critical reflection assignments should promote, for example, self-awareness, continuous learning, and the integration of theory and practice.
  • Applied SHAPE Approaches: Academic content should be based in SHAPE disciplines, emphasizing interdisciplinary and integrative approaches to knowledge and problem-solving.
  • Husky Folio: Student work should be showcased in an individual-effort Husky Folio submission (a PebblePad workbook or portfolio). This should include reflection related to how the student applied at least one Essential Ability from the Contribute/Transform learning goal (described below) in their Experience. It might also include examples of student project work (done individually or as a member of a team), connections to previous learning, reflections on community impact, or how they will apply their Essential Abilities going forward.
  • Substantial Support for ONE Essential Ability from the Contribute/Transform Learning Goal 
    – Select one Essential Ability from the Contribute/Transform Learning goal as noted as options in the table below: 

Learning Goals Essential Abilities Essential Ed Experience Courses
Think Critically Question Assumptions
Evaluate Information
Analyze Ethical Implications
Communicate Communicate Quantitatively
Communicate Contextually
Foster Collaboration
Adapt Explore Diverse Perspectives
Reflect
Welcome Challenge
Contribute/Transform Engage in Civic Life 1 required for this goal
Innovate Solutions 1 required for this goal
Create 1 required for this goal
  • For the Essential Ability selected, include the following in the course:
    • Instruction and assignment(s) to help students develop the EA.
    • One assessment task that encourages students to demonstrate EA mastery at a level 3.

Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Experiences includes courses such as:

  • ENG 4070 – Peer Mentoring Practicum
  • FW 3114 – Reading the Forest
  • FW 3760 – Human Dimensions in Natural Resources Stewardship
  • HON 4070 – Leadership Practicum
  • HU 3000 – Humanities Experience: Community-engaged learning
  • HU 3289 – HU Experience: German Abroad
  • HU 3370 – The Documentary Experience
  • MUS 3700 – Visual and Performing Arts Tour
  • PSY 3511 – Teaching Digital Newcomers
  • SS 3541 – The Copper Country
  • SS 3913 – Sustainable Living Practicum
  • SS 4050 – Advanced GIS Methods
  • SS 4700 – Communities and Research
  • SS 4921 – Washington Experience Seminar
  • THEA 4190 – Directing for Theatre
  • UN 3013 – Interdisciplinary Experience

See the full list of Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Experiences here.

To learn more about Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Experience courses, check out our website which will have updates as classes are added when approved in Fall 2025.

Continue Reading →

Building Towards Better Courses: Ongoing Improvement to Strengthen Learning in Essential Education

Published
By

Last week’s article introduced the Essential Abilities (EA) continuous improvement process—a faculty-guided approach to enhance student learning through intentional course planning, EA assessment, and reflection. At its center are two core course-level activities:

  • Completing the Planning Tool at the start of each semester to identify targeted EAs, align assignments, and request support
  • EA Reporting, a reflective process at the semester’s end that documents student outcomes, improvements made, and plans for continued course enhancement

Why This Matters

This is more than a compliance task—it’s a collaborative initiative focused on improving teaching and student learning. By intentionally connecting planning, assessment, and reflection, the process:

  • Creates a sustainable, collaborative improvement cycle
  • Supports meaningful student progress toward Essential Abilities
  • Ensures faculty insight and expertise guide course- and program-level decisions

Looking Ahead: The 3-Year Improvement Cycle (Starting Fall 2026)

Starting in Fall 2026, all Essential Ed instructors will follow a 3-Year Improvement Cycle designed to balance meaningful engagement with manageable workload. 

source — https://mtu.instructure.com/courses/1545959/pages/ace-ongoing-improvement-approach-for-essential-ed-program

The cycle includes:

  • Year 1: Submit Planning Tool for each course at semester start; full EA Reports for 1–2 courses at semester end
  • Year 2: Submit Planning Tool for each course at semester start; either a short update or one full EA Report per semester
  • Year 3: Submit only Planning Tool for each course at semester start; focus on reflection, peer learning, or course improvements without end-of-semester reports

Submitted reports will be reviewed over the summer by compensated peer reviewers, who will:

  • Provide individualized feedback to instructors
  • Identify cross-course themes and support needs
  • Share findings with the Essential Ed Steering Committee to inform program development, faculty support, and recognition initiatives

Ongoing Essential Ed team support helps maintain this balance throughout the cycle, and the feedback loop strengthens both teaching practice and the Essential Ed program.

How This Approach Supports Ongoing Improvement

At the course level, this approach helps instructors by providing clear structures for intentional course design, ongoing adjustments, and reflective teaching. By aligning course goals with Essential Abilities (EAs) from the start, addressing challenges in real time, and reflecting on what worked, instructors can continuously improve their teaching methods. This process not only supports student learning but also fosters a collaborative environment where effective practices are recognized and shared.

Core Function What It Does
Promotes Intentional Design Aligns course goals with Essential Abilities from the start
Adjusting in Real-Time Helps instructors address student needs with timely adjustments.
Fosters Reflective Teaching Encourages review of what worked—and what could improve
Supports Recognition Surfaces effective practices through peer feedback
Closes the Loop Links planning to results, enabling meaningful course adjustments

At the program-level, this process highlights effective teaching practices, offering instructors the chance to share successes and be recognized, which leads to improvements in teaching methods, support systems, and the overall structure and effectiveness of program delivery.

This Year’s Soft Launch (Fall 2025 – Spring 2026)

EA Reporting is piloting during 2025–26, focused on first-year courses taught alongside or following the Essential Ed Seminar, where students first encounter the Essential Abilities. Participating courses include:

  • Composition
  • Foundations
  • Lower-level Math and Science List courses

Instructors in these courses will complete an end-of-semester EA Report—using the provided template—to reflect on Essential Abilities integration, student outcomes, and areas for improvement.

If unsure whether your course is included, contact essentialed@mtu.edu.

For full details on the EA Report and preparation guidance, see What’s in the EA Report below or visit the Instructor EA Reporting page in the Canvas Resource Hub.

What’s in the EA Report?

Whether part of the soft launch or preparing for full rollout in 2026, the EA Report offers a structured way to reflect on your course’s support for student learning through Essential Abilities.

Soft launch participants will:

  • Document course learning objectives and their alignment with Essential Abilities
  • Describe assignments and connection to HuskyFolio
  • Explain assessment methods
  • Report student performance (% meeting/exceeding expectations)
  • Reflect on successes and improvement areas
  • Submit two anonymized student work samples (one at Developing level, one at Beginning or Proficient level depending on course level)

Submit all materials via the Canvas upload form.

EA Reporting: What You Can Do Now

Whether you’re submitting this year or preparing for 2026, here’s how to get ready:

  • Review the EA Report template and upload form
  • Revisit your EA plan—are assignments clearly aligned with your selected abilities?
  • Explore the Canvas Resource Hub for sample rubrics, assignments, and performance criteria
  • Evaluate your data plan—will it give you actionable insights?
  • Reach out to your Course List Team for support at any stage

You are Helping Shape This Work

This pilot and the feedback collected will directly influence how EA Reporting evolves into a collaborative, manageable, and student-centered system.

Need Help?

Contact:

  • essentialed@mtu.edu
  • Your Course List Team (specific to your course type) – Refer to Need assistance? in the Canvas Resource Hub 

Thanks for being part of this thoughtful rollout. We’re excited to build this together—one course at a time!

Author: Jeannie DeClerck – Office of Assessment for Curricular Effectiveness

Continue Reading →

Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Steering Committee Guides the function and continuous improvement of the program

Published
By

As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that our students are prepared to enter and succeed in this changing world – to have the skills to become culturally-responsive leaders who are civically engaged. This line of thinking is at the heart of Essential Education, a core component of the Tech Forward vision. 

To make this vision become a reality, Essential Education will be guided by the Essential Education Steering Committee (EESC). The EESC will conduct the following activities:

  • Planning of the annual Essential Education Symposium
  • Review new Essential Education course proposals, suggesting any needed changes, approving changes
  • Provide oversight of assessment and resulting actions to ensure continuous improvement and effectiveness of the Essential Ed curriculum
  • Provide feedback to Essential Ed instructors and units regarding curricular needs and possible modifications

Steering Committee Membership: Representatives from staff and faculty, including 6 course-list leaders:

  • Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education (chair)
  • Essential Ed Project Manager
  • Assessment Manager 
  • Director, Husky Folio
  • Registrar’s Office representative
  • Student Affairs representative 
  • 2-3 at-large members selected to ensure that there is faculty representation from each college of the university
  • 6, course list team leaders (see below)

The Essential Ed oversight structure is intended to encourage and support a community of educators focused on student achievement of programmatic learning outcomes (which for Essential Ed are the Essential Abilities). Since the course-list types serve different functions within the curriculum and have different expectations, support is structured around groupings of course lists: course-list teams and leaders (who also sit on the Essential Ed Steering Committee). Note: This differs from the previous approach structured around undergraduate student learning goals (USLGs).

Role of Essential Educations Course List Teams

  • 3-6 members who are from units teaching or supporting courses on the associated Essential Ed course lists 
  • Helps compile/disseminate findings and recommendations; develop online resources; help train faculty; make proposed-course recommendations to assist Steering Committee, plan/attend Essential Education Symposium 
  • Provides Essential Ed faculty support for their units — to provide assistance or referral on topics including pedagogy, Essential Ability evidence/assignment design, ePortfolio, as well as Essential Ed checklist completion and assessment reporting
  • Participate in professional development, especially the summer assessment activities (strongly encouraged)hort description: 

Different from previous goal committee structure: 

  • Not applicable to degree program outcome assessment. 
  • Considerable faculty support duties
  • Fewer members but additional faculty can be recruited for specific tasks
  • Reviews course proposals and makes recommendations to Steering Committee

To view who staffs the Essential Education Steering Committee and Course List Teams, visit Michigan Tech’s Essential Education News Blog. Next week, learn about the role of continuous improvement in the ongoing improvement and increased effectiveness of Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Tech Forward initiative.

Michigan Tech Essential Education Steering Committee

Essential Education Steering Committee
Member Department Role Course List Team
Marika Seigel APUE Chair
Steve Patchin APUE – Project Mgr Member
Jean DeClerck APUE – Assessment Mgr Member
AJ Hamlin Eng Fund, Director Husky Folio Member
Darren Bausano Registrars Office Member
Cassandra Reed-Vandam APUE – E3 Manager Member
Anna McClatchy Student Affairs Member
Travis Wakeham BL & APUE Member
Yu Cai College of Computing Member
Valroiee Gagnon CFRES Member
Audra Morse CoE Member
Steven Holloway CoB Member Foundations & SHAPE
Richelle Winkler SS Member Experience & 1 credit minor portfolio Course
Holly Hassel HU Member Composition & Communication Intensive
Crystal McLeod Ctr Student Mental Health & Wellness Member Seminar + Activities for Wellbeing & Success
Mike Maxwell VPA Member Arts & Culture + Intercultural Competencies
Mike Meyer Physics Member Math + Science + STEM

Michigan Tech Essential Education Course List Teams

2025-26 Essential Education Course List Teams
Course List Team Member Dept Role
Foundations & Shape Steven Holloway CoB Lead
Steve Walton SS Co-Lead
Laura Fiss Pavlis/HU Member
Experience + 1-credit minor portfolio course Richelle Winkler SS Lead
Cassandra Reed-VanDam APUE Co-Lead
Laura Rouleau SS Co-Lead
Danielle Meirow SLI Member
Estella Mira Barrenda HU Member
Composition + Communication Intensive Holly Hassel HU Lead
Jennifer Nish HU Co-Lead
Paul Sanders MAT Member
Jonathan Robins SS Member
Nich Radcliffe VPA Member
Seminar + Activities for Wellbeing & Success Crystal McLeod Ctr Student Mental Health/Wellbeing Lead
AJ Hamlin Eng Fund Co-Lead
Veronica Horning SA Member
Melissa Michaelson Career Services Member
Craig Pelizzaro KIP Member
Christopher Plummer VPA Member
Arts & Culture + Intercultural Compentency Mike Maxwell VPA Lead
Destaney Sauls PHF Co-Lead
Matt Seigel HU Member
Math + Science + STEM Mike Meyer Physics Lead
Teresa Woods Math Co-Lead
Brigette Morin BL,CSA Member
Tim VanWagner CC Member
Andrew Galerneau Chem Member
Chad Walber MAE Member
Matt Laird CEGE Member

Continue Reading →

Essential Education important Fall Dates for course proposal submission

Published
By

Reminder of important Fall Essential Ed course proposal dates.

– Oct 15 (Wed): White binder course proposals complete & posted to department summary sheet
– Oct 17 (Fri): Proposals for Essential Ed courses due to Essential Ed Steering Committee via Google form
– Oct 27 (Mon): White binder proposals/changes reviewed by Deans & sent to Registrar’s Office for processing
– Nov 21 (Fri): Degree audit changes due to Registrar’s Office
– Dec 5 (Fri): Essential Education Steering Committee review of proposals complete; list of approved changes forwarded to Registrar.s Office

The Course Proposal Form is live for courses you would like to propose and submit before the deadline. Stay tuned for next Thursdays Tech Today article regarding the role of Essential Educations Steering Committee and Course List Teams. Did you miss a Thursday Michigan Tech Essential Ed Update? Find it at Michigan Techs Essential Ed Newsblog.

Continue Reading →

Michigan Tech Essential Education Seminars prepare students for Success

Published
By

Starting college is a pivotal moment, and at Michigan Tech, we’ve designed a first-semester experience to help new students navigate it successfully. The Michigan Tech Seminar in Essential Education, offered through a wide variety of introductory courses, helps students not only get acclimated but also chart their academic journey, practice reflection, and build a sense of community. This isn’t just another class; it’s an integrated experience with core modules that are adapted by instructors to fit the unique needs of different majors.

The seminar is built on three key pillars:

Essential Education: these modules help students understand the “why” behind their education. By introducing Michigan Tech’s Essential Abilities, students are prompted to reflect on our key learning outcomes and their own strengths and areas for growth. This self-assessment is more than an exercise; it’s a tool for creating a unique academic plan. Students are encouraged to explore a wide range of opportunities early on, including Essential Ed minors, undergraduate research opportunities, study away programs, and student organizations, helping them set concrete goals and map out a pathway to achieve them.

Husky Folio: Michigan Tech’s pedagogical approach to helping students recognize, reflect on, and collect evidence of their learning, is a powerful tool for career readiness. The Husky Folio modules introduce students to the practice of documenting and reflecting on their learning. Through a series of assignments, students learn how to use our Husky Folio platform to tell the story of their academic and personal growth. This is valuable practice not only for future classes but also for preparing them to articulate their skills and experiences in a job interview.

Husky Life: The Husky Life modules focus on crucial aspects of student success: academics, community, and wellbeing. These modules connect students with vital campus resources and encourage them to build relationships with peers, faculty, and staff. Instructors can tailor assignments to fit specific professional development needs, with many sections focusing on resume building and departmental networking. The modules also address key life skills, with instructors able to choose topics like time management, stress reduction, and coping with loneliness, ensuring a holistic approach to student wellness.

Because we recognize that transfer students have unique needs, a seminar specifically designed for these students was also developed. Evidence suggests that a significant number of our transfer students may face academic challenges, with nearly half having a GPA of 2.5 or lower (about 33% of our total Michigan Tech undergraduate student population have a GPA below 2.5). We know that having a sense of belonging on campus contributes to academic success for students. (https://www.ihep.org/publication/student-experience-and-belonging-strong-outcomes/) Through the Michigan Transfer Seminar, we are working to build community among new transfer students while also helping them learn about campus resources and plan for their future, ensuring they have the support they need to succeed.

The success of the seminar is a testament to strong cross-unit collaboration. Developed by faculty from diverse academic disciplines as well as student affairs staff, this partnership has created a seamless introduction to campus life, beginning with summer orientation and continuing through the fall semester. This collaborative effort also resulted in a $650,000 State of Michigan MiLEAP College Success grant, which will support continued development of the modules and innovative teaching practices over the next three years.

The seminar also serves as an incubator for new ideas in curriculum design. The shared modules are designed to be both structured and flexible, allowing them to be effective in courses ranging from small seminars to large lectures and in subjects as varied as Engineering Analysis, First Year Arts Seminar, Explorations in Computing, and Natural Resource Professional. This adaptability ensures that students across all disciplines receive a high-quality, relevant experience.

You can learn more about the shared seminar modules and other seminar-related programming through the “Essential Education Resource Hub for Instructors” in Canvas <Essential Ed Resource Hub for Instructors> Courses that serve as seminar courses can be found on our Michigan Tech Essential Education website <Program Requirements | Essential Education | Michigan Tech>.




Continue Reading →

What’s New with the Essential Education Minors?

Published
By

Our new Essential Education minors, launching this fall, are built directly into the Essential Education curriculum. They offer a unique opportunity to explore a specific theme through a variety of disciplinary perspectives. By design, they are a seamless addition to a student’s degree, allowing them to broaden their perspective and complement their major without adding to their credit load. 

Each Essential Ed minor allows students to engage with a variety of perspectives and disciplines, incorporating courses from specific categories in the curriculum. These include a communication-intensive course, an intercultural competency course, and a selection of courses from the humanities, arts, social sciences, and business (SHAPE). A key feature is the flexibility for students to customize their coursework within the minor’s theme, allowing them to align their learning with their personal and career goals. The Essential Education Curriculum page <https://www.mtu.edu/essential-ed/overview/curriculum/> includes more specific information about the requirements each minor must meet. As part of their minor pathway, students will create an ePortfolio through Husky Folio, allowing them to reflect on and integrate their learning journey. 

We are excited to announce that the following Essential Ed minors are in the final stages of approval: 

  • AI Ethics
  • Creativity & Expression
  • Economics & Society
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Human-Centered Design
  • Leadership
  • Population Health
  • Public Policy & Law
  • Sustainability Studies

Stay tuned for a deeper dive into each of these themes in the coming weeks. In the meantime, get a sneak peek into the vision behind these minors by watching this video:  <Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Minors – Launch 2025>. 

Continue Reading →

Essential Education is here! Your guide to the new curriculum

Published
By

This fall marks the official launch of Essential Education, a new general education program that began as a part of Tech Forward 1.0 conversations seven years ago. Essential Ed represents a strategic evolution of our curriculum, and we’re dedicated to helping you navigate it.

Every Thursday this academic year, we’ll use Tech Today to highlight the many components of Essential Education. You’ll get a closer look at the key elements, and we’ll share the accompanying programs and resources designed to assist instructors, community partners, and in navigating this new curriculum.

For a deeper dive into any topic, visit the Essential Education News Blog . We’ve already developed a number of resources to get you started:

  • What is Michigan Tech’s Essential Education? The Essential Ed website provides a comprehensive overview of the program’s core elements.
  • Introducing HuskyFolio powered by PebblePad. Learn about the value of Folio Thinking and how the new HuskyFolio platform will be gradually integrated into the curriculum at the HuskyFolio website .
  • Essential Education Minors – Find the current list of minors. Degree audits will be linked here once they are finalized.
  • Essential Education Experiences – Get all the details on the new Essential Education Experiences website.
  • Essential Education Resource Hub for Instructors – If you are teaching an Essential Ed course, this Resource Hub is your one-stop-shop in Canvas. It offers step-by-step guidance—including a Course Setup Guide, instructions for Instructor EA reporting and HuskyFolio—as well as specialized tools and support for course lists, Essential Abilities, large-class teaching, and more.
  • Essential Education YouTube Channel – Our new channel features videos you can use in the classroom or just to learn more about Essential Ed, featuring corporate partners discussing the value of Essential Abilities, highlights from our first symposium, and more. We’ll be adding new content all year to showcase how Essential – Education prepares our students for success.

If you ever miss a Thursday Update, just check the Essential Education News Blog to catch up and continue exploring this signature program.

Continue Reading →

CTL and Essential Education Lunch and Learn

Published
By

Make plans to attend a Lunch and Learn hosted by the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and Essential Education at Michigan Tech.

The Lunch and Learn is titled “Building an Essential Ed Experience: (Re)Designing Your Course to Become an E3.”

When: Tuesday, March 4, from 12-1 p.m.
Where: MUB Ballroom A
Registration: Register to Attend the Lunch and Learn (registration is required).
Interested in designing and teaching an Essential Education Experience (E3)? Join E3 leadership and fellow instructors for a course redesign workshop. E3 courses should prepare students for an ever-changing, dynamic and diverse world by increasing social awareness, global understandings and/or cultural competencies through hands-on learning. Students will apply their learning toward a project or activity that engages with community beyond the traditional classroom.

This workshop will cover the basics of E3 requirements and provide participants time to workshop with others an existing or proposed Essential Education Experience course, while learning more about practical tools for transforming their own courses into E3s. Faculty who are interested in E3 courses but don’t have a specific course in mind yet are welcome to attend and can expect to gain insights that will aid in future course development.

Lunch will be provided to those who register.

For questions or to request accommodations, including dietary, please feel free to contact the CTL at ctl@mtu.edu or 906-487-3000.

Continue Reading →