I have a tendency to over-estimate how much I’ll be able to get done during the break between semesters. After 12 years of teaching, I’m just now starting to figure out to keep my list of goals small and recognize the importance of rest and renewal during non-teaching seasons.
That being said, I do revel in the ability we have to focus on one big accomplishment during that time. Below are 10 ideas of ways we can develop professionally over the break.
- Consider ways to implement public sphere pedagogy in our teaching (starting small with poster sessions or professional online portfolios)
- Plan opportunities for metacognition in next semester’s classes
- Determine ways to grow our students’ information literacy
- Commit to using Canvas to support at-risk students in knowing where their grades stand in our classes and having a centralized calendar of class assignments
- Use Small Teaching approaches as a means to improve student learning (small changes that produce big results)
- Increase empathy for our students by learning more about their context (via episode 01 of the life101 podcast)
- Boost our creativity on class assignments and rethink grading
- Leverage checklists to make semester preparation easier
- Get inspiration for our Canvas course development by watching the Show Us Your Course video series
- Plan your professional development activities for Spring and Summer 2017 and submit an application for faculty development funds (which are due January 27, 2017)
Please send me an email with what you’re planning on doing for your own development over the break and I’ll put together a second post with everyone’s consolidated ideas.