Fall semester is upon us and like many folks in higher education, the Teaching Innovation Center (TIC) is preparing to return to the classroom. Uncertainty follows us as we transition into the classroom and many are feeling the anxiety of how to return to normal. In the last few weeks, I have felt the pressure of everyone trying to go back to the way things were, and what we really ought to focus on is reimagining education to what it could be. In reimagining education, students and educators are reflecting on what worked during remote learning  and what could be improved in a (sort of) post-pandemic world. As you find yourself bracing for the fall semester, here are three tips that you might not think of: 1. Edit your syllabus language.  Updating your syllabus language is crucial between each rendition of a course, and especially important as we return to the classroom. Faculty and instructors in the School of Life Sciences  (SOLS) at ASU need to edit syllabi language r...

Students are more tired than ever before and it’s impacting their well-being . In 2020, we suffered through a pandemic, social unrest, and a lot of uncertainty. We are now four months into 2021 and there is no clear end in sight. Although the prospect of vaccines and social justice accountability gives us hope, we can not discredit that students are still struggling and may continue to struggle for months to come. Not to mention it is the end of the academic semester, where motivation and energy are lacking for students and instructors alike. Students are hard at work studying for finals and putting the finishing touches on culminating projects. Many students respond to these increasing demands in classes by putting in longer hours (i.e, all-nighters), which in turn takes a toll on students’ overall wellbeing. What we know from Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab’s Hope Center and the #RealCollege movement is that basic needs have a significant impact on student success. When students aren’t doing w...