We like starting a new semester with a high-interest or accessible (or both!) unit to work on engaging our students from the start and capitalize on their “new year, new me” energy and desire to start the semester strong.
Grades. Pressure. Anxiety. For us, these three words were inextricably linked with the end of the semester, and the months…
Sometimes it’s helpful to stop and think about another group who often doesn’t get the thanks they deserve: the students who quietly hang in there, day after day, not giving up despite the constant pull telling them they can and should, and that there are minimal consequences for doing so.
The calendar doesn’t lie: you’re not going to finish the book before finals. Whether things took longer than you expected, your school administrators threw unanticipated schedule changes your way, or you just miscounted (it’s happened to us all), you’re stuck wondering what to do.
There are meaningful activities you can do with your students in those last weeks that will help make things feel a little bit more manageable for everyone and, perhaps, buy you a few more minutes to work through your to-do list.
An essential foundation for any successful strategy addressing academic honesty is a direct discussion with students about cheating in your classroom. You might be tempted to assume we all have the same working definition of cheating. We do not.