This section is full of timely and evidence-based practices to apply in your teaching.
End of semester preparations. Given the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, this week’s tips are a short and sweet way to begin thinking about the end of the semester:
- Thanks and Gratitude. As we move into this semester of giving thanks, we want to share our gratitude and recognize your ongoing efforts to serve our students and support each other during these times. While there have been many challenges to overcome this semester, finding a moment to share our gratitude can actually have a positive impact on our mental health. We encourage you to pause and reflect on the moments – both big and small – that have brought joy and thanks through teaching. The UTLC is also promoting our Thank an Instructor program so students can send a quick virtual thank you note to their instructors. Please consider sharing your gratitude and thanks with your students and colleagues!
- Capturing Student Reflections. As the semester draws to a close, it is a good time to ask students to reflect and share their advice for future classes on how to be successful. Consider asking students to contribute to a wisdom wall or similar activity that you can share with future classes via Canvas and/or email. You can facilitate this type of activity using technology like Google Jamboard (save as a .png or .pdf file to share a non-editable version with future classes), a Canvas discussion board with video or text reflections, or even a simple Google Doc. You can also have students write their reflections on notecards and hand them in at the end of class. There are many ways to facilitate this type of activity, so choose a method that works best for you!
- Rest and Recuperation. Not so much a tip as a reminder, but your ability to meet the challenges and possibilities of the next semester will depend on allowing yourself to recover from this one. It has been a difficult time for so many reasons, and we at the UTLC hope that you find time for self-care and enjoy the upcoming holidays. As you make any notes or plans as the semester ends, you can also visit the On-Demand Teaching Support or reach out for a consultation. We are always happy to help with reflection on your semester experiences and briefly generate ideas for the future.