The ubiquity and ease with which microbial cells disperse over space is a key concept in microbiology, especially in microbial ecology. The phenomenon prompted Baas Becking's famous "everything is everywhere" statement that now acts as the null hypothesis in studies that test the dispersal limitation of microbial taxa. Despite covering…

In many prekindergarten classes, children begin the day by singing a song as part of their opening routine. In reflecting on opening routines in public prekindergarten classrooms across Michigan, the authors have been struck by how often small changes in teachers' routines or materials could enrich the mathematical engagement of children. The goal…

Because polarization and demonization of the "other" are increasingly prevalent in today's America, there are limited opportunities for deep and informed engagement across lines of difference, particularly on college campuses. "Bridging the Gap: Dialogue across Difference" (BTG) is a 2-3 week January term immersive experience…

The experiences of the Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (KBOCC) and Sitting Bull College (SBC) criminal justice (CJ) programs represent a general shift toward robust remoting in the CJ field. While these institutions offer a small sample size, the complications associated with the emergence into digital technology are amplified at tribal…

This paper provides insights into an initiative that offers graduate and professional students from across the University of Michigan the opportunity to participate in multi-disciplinary, problem-based classes that foster creative thinking, teamwork, and development of transferrable skills. The paper describes how, in order to improve student…

Ph.D. recipients across disciplines pursue careers in a variety of sectors, including academia, for profit, government, not-for-profit, and other areas. Alumni also change career paths, navigating between the sectors and job types over time. While these careers require distinctive disciplinary skills and knowledge, employers also seek to hire…

Assessment and evaluation practices within honors programs have attracted considerable attention within the honors academic community, e.g., the spring/summer 2006 volume of the "Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council." Calls for carefully created and constructed assessment activities within honors programs have met with mixed…

Every day all across America teachers assign their students stories to read and summarize. Unfortunately, many of these students find this to be an exercise in futility. Lacking the skills to effectively analyze the material, these students often struggle to properly summarize what they have read because they have never mastered the correct…

In May 2017, the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) College Access and Success community embarked on a project to compile shared challenges and lessons learned as a resource for fellow i3 College Access and Success grantees, the larger community of i3 grantees, and the broader field of college access. Through this project, the authors discovered…

Students need to develop a variety of critical thinking and interpersonal skills in order to contribute successfully to today's increasingly globalized world. The Office of the Provost at the University of Michigan has implemented a plan known as Transforming Learning for a Third Century (TLTC) as part of its broader Third Century Initiative. This…

Executive skills are the cognitive abilities that make it possible for people to set goals, regulate impulses, and complete the steps necessary to achieve their objectives. Examples of these skills include time management, emotional control, and organization. Richard Guare and Peggy Dawson have developed a coaching strategy based on executive…

Industries in every state are struggling to find qualified applicants for jobs, while job seekers too often find they lack the skills needed to enter or move along a career pathway to a good job. Preparing a workforce that is poised to meet the needs of businesses and ultimately to make the state more economically competitive is a top priority for…

Early childhood interventions can be highly cost effective when positive impacts are sustained into adulthood. Yet while many recent preschool interventions have been found to have short-term effects on young children's language, literacy, mathematics, executive function, and social-emotional development, studies show that impacts on cognitive and…

This article examines two course redesigns undertaken to improve student support, learning, and retention in the basic writing program at Oakland University, a doctoral research university in southeast Michigan, where support for developmental writers has fluctuated dramatically between nurture and neglect over the past fifty years. However,…

This chapter describes consortial efforts within the Great Lakes Colleges Association to share expertise and programming to build research skills throughout the undergraduate curriculum. Strategies to scaffold research skill development are provided from Allegheny College, Kalamazoo College, and The College of Wooster.