Equitable Learning

Faculty team transforms MOVESCI 110

BY DREW MOSER

Four Movement Science faculty members worked tirelessly to transform MOVESCI 110, “Biological and Behavioral Bases of Human Movement,” into a more equitable classroom experience for first-year students.

The challenge was figuring out how to introduce Movement Science as an interdisciplinary field and then explain how each content area—biomechanics, exercise physiology, and motor control—fits holistically within it. The course material also needed to be taught sequentially in a way that allowed students’ teamwork, scientific communication, and real-world problem-solving skills to build over the term.

So in 2019, Movement Science faculty Dr. Pete Bodary, Dr. Melissa Gross, Dr. Mike Vesia, and Dr. Rebecca Hasson began brainstorming. They wanted to transform the foundational course from a content-driven class into a blended learning environment with students and instructors all together in one classroom. They recognized that first-year students come from different backgrounds and academic environments, so they also wanted the class to create more equitable and inclusive learning outcomes for all. Ultimately, the faculty knew they needed to design a holistic strategy that accomplished their goals of equity, preparation, self-efficacy, and a sense of belonging. Bodary, Gross, Vesia, and Hasson formed a collaborative design partnership with U-M Center for Research on Learning & Teaching (CRLT) staff to overhaul the entire MOVESCI 110 structure. Using CRLT’s Foundational Course Initiative, the team developed a weekly cadence that structured the course, made the learning process explicit, and provided multiple ways for students to demonstrate their understanding. The week would start with students completing pre-work opportunities before class that introduced information on what would be discussed in class the next day.

“We made sure these pre-work assignments leveled the playing field and gave them many opportunities to practice,” Vesia said.

The goal is for students to come to class starting at the same knowledge point. Then, the faculty instructor teaches a short lecture before having the students start team assignments.

Gross added that students are assessed through weekly consolidation assignments instead of exams. “This provides a more accurate assessment

and authentic reflection of the students’ skills and knowledge,” she said. “Offering multiple modes for students to demonstrate their learning is a core principle of equitable teaching.”

Four units make up MOVESCI 110. The first three answer questions about body and movement: How is movement described and quantified? How is it generated and controlled? How does the body adapt to exercise? The fourth unit examines how socio-environmental and personal factors shape physical activity.

The team planned on implementing the new curriculum in Fall 2020 but had to make significant changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and university protocols.

The first semester was spent lecturing over Zoom and trying to navigate entering and exiting breakout rooms. “It was difficult going in and out of Zoom rooms, and trying to manage seven, eight groups was quite the challenge, to say the least,” Vesia said. Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far. 94% of students who took MOVESCI 110 said the new course structure helped them stay on task, and 87% rated it better than other classes at creating a sense of belonging. One student wrote, “The class is very accessible and has lots of different ways to learn the content and get help, if needed.”

MOVESCI 110 students get creative while measuring different types of gait. Emily Mathews/Michigan Kinesiology. Additionally, students reported that being with the same team the entire semester was helpful. “They had a chance to get to know some people, which as a first-year student coming to campus or a transfer student who’s at the sophomore level, it’s important,” Gross said.

Vesia and Bodary agreed this format has been beneficial for both the students and the instructors.

The class now meets in-person twice a week with 120 students, three faculty, and three learning assistants Michael Stack(former MOVESCI 110 students) in the classroom together. Following a 20-minute lecture at the beginning of class, students break into teams of five or six, with whom they stay for the entire semester, and complete daily learning activities. They use shared Google Suite products to interact with the data they collect and to engage with team members both in the classroom and remotely.

Mingming Cui (MVS ’22) took MOVESCI 110 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said the hardest part was switching back and forth from a shared document to a Zoom window. However, she created bonds with her teammates that lasted throughout her time in Movement Science.

When Cui became a MOVESCI 110 learning assistant during the winter 2022 semester, she used her own experience to help the new students. “I remember the learning assistants were committed to helping [my class] learn the material,” she said. “When I would review the worksheets for the next class, I went back to my worksheets to remember where I had trouble so I could help [the new students] grasp the concept.”

“It’s valuable to have multiple instructors in that space. It helps us learn from each other and appreciate what assumptions we might make as experts in our content area that will be confusing for the students,” Bodary said. “We feed off each other,” Vesia said. “Sometimes, in the middle of class, Pete, Melissa, or I might bring something up, and we say, ‘What do you think would happen here?’ We push each other, and I think the students gain from that.”

Gross added that this project challenged the team to reimagine what it means to get a Michigan education.

“We’re looking into the future and looking at these students and asking, ‘How can we support them in being successful in their desired pursuits? How can we set them up for success going forward?’ That is a different way to approach a class,” she said. n