{"id":1217,"date":"2018-04-06T11:02:09","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T17:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/sips\/?p=1217"},"modified":"2019-09-10T17:36:41","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T23:36:41","slug":"sip-7-11-sustaining-resilience-in-the-race-to-the-semester-finish-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/sips\/sip-7-11-sustaining-resilience-in-the-race-to-the-semester-finish-line\/","title":{"rendered":"SIP 7.11 Sustaining Resilience in the Race to the Semester Finish Line"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

No matter when the semester break occurs nor the length of the respite, the last weeks of a semester regularly fill with malaise, procrastination, anxiety, and exhaustion. When the weather is inviting, attendance and productivity wane as students (and faculty) prefer to be outdoors more than indoors. You might find yourself pleading with students to \u201cshow up\u201d and \u201cturn something, anything, in\u201d to pass the course. In many courses, the remaining weeks of term include a major project or exam that not only proves student mastery of content but also establishes whether the student passes or fails. Meanwhile, the cycles of life speed up. Soon-to-be-graduates are processing what life will be like after school, planning the next phases of their adult lives. Upperclassmen are rushing from advising appointments to the career center to the financial aid office in hopes ensuring that they\u2019re on-track to graduate. Some students are interviewing for summer jobs. Faculty are counting down class sessions and tallying up grades. We are all balancing full lives with additional seasonal obligations and planning for what\u2019s next.<\/span><\/p>\n

All these stressors produce feelings of resistance. We might imagine giving up. This is the time for persistence. Our students and ourselves will sustain a successful and engaging learning environment by approaching the final push more as the last step. To do so, we often require small reminders that we are capable. Upturn those negative perspectives by taking inventory of the semester’s training and skill building. Remind students and yourself that the majority of the tough work \u2013 the foundational learning – has been accomplished. Time now to muster our academic resiliency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take a SIP of This: Sustaining Resilience in the Race to the Semester Finish Line<\/strong><\/h3>\n