Below is a transcript of our conversation with Dr. Michelle Claypool, CMU PhD graduate and current Adjunct Faculty at Saginaw Valley State University
David Nicholas:
I'm David Nicholas and this is Central Focus, a weekly look at research activity and innovative work from Central Michigan University students and faculty. Not every part of the college experience has kept up with the times. Dr. Michelle Claypool, Doctor of Education Technology alum from CMU and now adjunct faculty at Saginaw Valley State University, is back from six weeks at the Fakeeh College for Medical Science in Saudi Arabia. Her work, made possible by a Fulbright Specialist Award, focused on bringing tech into the interaction between faculty and students, transforming traditional advising to more personalized mentoring…
Michelle Claypool:
So, I work with a lot of different types of technology and I'm always looking at the active engagement in the just gamifying elements that aren't normally, you know, so interactive with education.
DN:
It brings us to the recent six week stay that you had in Saudi Arabia at the Fakeeh School. Tell us about the specifics of the Student Academic Advising Certification Program.
MC:
Yeah. So, it's the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and it was to establish that program. It was working with their faculty. They had medical, (medical) students, nursing students and pharmacology students. So, it was working with all of their faculty. So, it was establishing that program to make it more interactive with elements in talking about how advising has changed since the 70s, pretty much since the 1970s, and how it's (how it's) grown throughout the years and to more like morphing into more of a mentoring aspects and just touching on all of those theoretical frameworks all through like the data and getting the student engagement.
DN:
When you refer to the specific area of advising then was that the primary focus or did this involve wider scope as it were, of technological support or shifting to technology for administrative function with and the (the) academic efforts and (and) pursuits there? What kind of breakdown exactly what you were taking from start to finish to bring the students there up to the level that you were seeking?
MC:
Yeah. So, I think they were looking at the gamified elements that I could bring to the table. So, it was a focus advising, was the main focus and I wanted to do all of those like interactive elements, I guess so advising for six weeks wouldn't be as exciting if it didn't have that collaboration and that engagement. And since that was my main focus during my dissertation, I think that and that's what I do at SVSU, you know, I do all of those elements and I think that that's why I appealed so much to them so that I could do those interactive elements and bring those like little snippets of new technology that maybe they haven't seen before into the program.
DN:
What does this take them to? What does this transform in the way that they approach the specifics of their work there?
MC:
So, I think they're kind of morphing into that more of the mentoring role with their students and kind of moving away from the strictly advising role. And I think they're doing that, that I gave them some ideas of working with like just making, making it more digital, making, you know their college more appealing for students, I guess, because they needed more opportunities to meet with their students one-on-one. So, kind of doing more like with like chat bots kind of moving towards that and just if they can answer, you know, if the AI can answer questions for the students rather than taking time away from the advisor, then that would be more appealing for them because they would get that instant answer and so they were trying to, I think, they're trying to facilitate that now that I'm gone. To put that into place for (for) their students so that they don't have to wait for an appointment.
DN:
Well, it's the building of new relationships between faculty and students at the college level, in particular at the Fakeeh College in Saudi Arabia, and Dr. Michelle Claypool on the adjunct faculty at SVSU. The recent recipient of the Fulbright Specialist Award in the six weeks stay in Saudi Arabia to work in the area of educational technology with the faculty there. Congratulations again on that award and best of luck as hopefully it does move to another step in further development in that area with students.
MC:
Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it!
