Connecting Students to Beauty and Wonder | University Teaching and Learning Commons

What and how we teach can seem like a routine, especially at this point in the semester. For students, too, endlessly scrolling through unlimited entertainment can lead to an increased sense of routine and boredom in other arenas. This may seem rather ironic, but you may have sensed glimpses of ‘boredom’ in your classroom from your students.Mays Imad (2025) writes that, “chronic boredom can undermine wellbeing and learning; if this boredom trend continues, we can expect more mental health struggles, general disengagement, and weaker learning outcomes.” This week’s teaching tips by Imad from The Teaching Professor offer guidance on how to transform our students’ ennui into a connection to the beauty and wonder of what we’re teaching. Below are tips she offers:

Name your own sources of beauty. When was the last time a concept, image, or line of code felt beautiful to you? What did that feel like? Jot down two examples and note what they have in common (order, surprise, symmetry, scale, story, etc.)
Link beauty to meaning. Ask your students to reflect on how this beautiful pattern or molecule or theorem connects to a larger story. What role does it play and why does it matter? Add a slide that shows the real-world system, artwork, or social impact that the idea supports.
Model the pause. How might you intentionally share with your students the beauty within your discipline? Stop for a few seconds after showing a key diagram. Share one sentence about “why I love this.”

For a full list, visit the Teaching Professor. For now, remember we’ve reached the mid-semester point, and that is an achievement in itself. This is a great moment to pause, reflect, and contemplate the beauty of what and why we teach.