Missouri State University’s College of Education (COE) will host the grand opening of the Global Education Lab (GEL) Nov. 13.

The GEL is a collaborative place for teaching and learning about the world and its people.

“Students in the COE have long benefitted from their professors’ global engagement,” said Dr. Jennice McCafferty-Wright, assistant professor in the School of Teaching, Learning and Developmental Sciences and dean’s fellow for global education at MSU.

“Now, the Global Education Lab can be a vibrant place for supporting the global engagement of our students.”

Event details

The grand opening begins with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 3 p.m. followed by an open house until 6 p.m. in Hill Hall, Room 449.

The event is free and open to the community. No registration is required.

MSU President Clif Smart will attend the opening, as well as other university leadership and faculty.

About the GEL

With the GEL, the COE aims to support emerging educators in teaching for global understanding and engagement, foster collaborative work and fuel local and international partnerships, while preparing graduates for the world.

“We’re mainstreaming teacher preparation for global understanding and engagement,” McCafferty-Wright said. “For example, in our elementary education program, this year’s graduates have all had experiences working with families who are newcomers in our community and collaborating with peers in Moroccan teacher training programs.”

The GEL houses several grant-funded projects, including Global Teacher Education Exchange, Removing Barriers, Global Teacher Talks and World Teacher Makerspace.

When the lab opens, it will host events, such as workshops, meetings and student events. It also has a broadcasting corner to host virtual exchanges.

Additionally, the GEL offers materials for future educators and people who work with families and children to use in practicums, including books, globes and maps, games, cultural artifacts and more.

“We’re producing teachers who have experience engaging with complex problems and possibilities that are driving the future of education and our world,” McCafferty-Wright said.

Attend the grand opening

Educator Dr. Amber Howard is dedicated to using fair and effective learning methods for students.    

“The traditional time-based education system requires measuring students using standardized assessments,” said Howard, assistant professor of education at Missouri State University. “But there is no classroom that has all standardized students.”  

When Howard taught elementary school in 2015, she began using elements of an alternative education system called competency-based learning (CBL).  

With the support of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the Success Ready Student Network (SRSN) is advancing the development of CBL. The SRSN is a collaborative initiative that provides support for Missouri public schools using CBL. 

MSU’s College of Education (COE) was the first university to participate in the SRSN’s Collaborative Network Zone, an initiative that helps educators statewide implement CBL.  

What is CBL? 

Competency-based learning is a system that personalizes education for all students.  

“CBL places students at the center of learning,” Howard said. “It humanizes education in ways traditional systems fail to do.” 

Students make decisions about their learning experiences, including how they create and present their knowledge. They move at their own pace, progressing to new material only after they’ve demonstrated mastery of previous material.  

Teachers provide clear and measurable expectations and give timely, specific feedback to each student.  

“CBL focuses on student growth rather than grades and points,” Howard said. “Teachers can focus more on connecting with and helping students rather than measuring them with a standardized assessment.

“Students are more reflective and report that they care more about their learning as a result of CBL and ungrading.”  

The Success-Ready Students Work Group – which COE Dean Dr. Barri Tinkler participated in – developed a framework of eight elements to describe CBL. One element is Real World Learning, which helps prepare students for high school, college and the workplace.  

Learn about the eight elements of CBL 

The future of education 

Howard believes CBL can be used in all grade levels, including higher education. 

“I’ve seen it used in The Bear Cave program in communication, the Springfield Way Internship program in Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities and more,” she said.  

DESE has supported an assessment waiver to bypass the annual Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test for districts with high quality CBL systems.  

“This waiver would replace standardized assessments at the end of the year with alternative reporting measures that center students rather than centering a test,” Howard said.  

“By providing more equitable and just assessment processes, I believe CBL has the potential to transform education.” 

Howard is working with the SRSN and Fremont Elementary to help strengthen CBL practices in the Springfield community and beyond.  

Learn about Howard’s involvement with CBL 

Missouri State University’s Dr. Chloe Bolyard shifted to ungrading in spring 2021, and the change has been positive overall. 

Ungrading is a classroom philosophy that places emphasis on learning and feedback instead of scores and letter grades. 

“Students worry less about their grade and pay more attention to learning the material,” the associate professor of elementary education said. 

Bolyard replaced letter grades with assignment statuses (“complete,” “revise and resubmit” and “not submitted”). She also replaced rubrics with self-assessments, added end-of-semester one-on-one conferences and more.

Some other MSU professors who use ungrading include Drs. Minor Baker, Jennice McCafferty-Wright, Amber Howard and Sarah Baker. 

Learn about ungrading 

Benefits for students and teachers 

Bolyard found that ungrading improved the education experience for everyone in the classroom.  

“Teaching is now far more rewarding,” she said. “Qualitative feedback, revise and resubmits and student reflections really help keep the focus on student learning.” 

Bolyard’s students stated in their end-of-semester reflections that ungrading made them feel freer to take more risks.  

“Students say ungrading takes pressure off of them and allows them to be more creative,” she said. “They also say they feel they can take the time to do work they feel proud of.”  

Missouri State’s involvement with ungrading was recently recognized in an article from National Public Radio (NPR). 

Check out NPR’s article 

A good fit for all classrooms?  

Ungrading may differ across various content areas, grade levels and institutions. 

“I think deemphasizing grades to emphasize learning is always a good idea,” she said. “But I also recognize that in higher education, making major shifts in pedagogy like ungrading can pose challenges.” 

Bolyard said those interested in switching to ungrading can start small with ungrading one assignment. She suggests connecting with others through the hashtag “#ungrading” on social media to find others experimenting with ungrading.  

She also recommends checking out “Ungrading: Why rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead)” by Susan D. Blum and Jesse Stummel’s work.  

Explore education programs 

September is National Deaf Awareness Month. The purpose of this month is to increase public awareness of deaf issues, people and culture.

Many hearing people are not aware of the depth of deaf culture and how they can make language more accessible.

Dr. Karen Engler, clinical professor and graduate program director of special education-education of the deaf and hard of hearing, provides insight on deaf awareness.

September is National Deaf Awareness Month.

Read the full transcript