Teaching through COVID-19 and recent political and world events has been challenging, overwhelming, and even exhausting for students and faculty. Many lessons and strategies I implemented during COVID-19 have become a standard part of my courses and syllabi to help ease the stress of students and teaching staff. The point of this lightening talk session would be to discuss some of the tangible changes I've made in recent years to encourage less stress and self-care (including the structure of discussion boards, increased use of technology/Canvas, late policies, collaborative assignment options, clarity in syllabus statements, etc.). While the unexpected has definitely happened in recent years where course pivots needed to happen quickly, this session will focus on syllabus creation and policies to help anticipate potential areas of flexibility and self-care for instructors and students.
