Speaking from personal experience, I find that coming back from spring break can often feel a little challenging. It was nice having the break and time to do what I needed to do, whether that was traveling, getting caught up on reading, or planning for the rest of the semester. Since I am having some trouble getting back into the swing of the semester, I thought other faculty (and maybe even students) might feel the same way. To pump up for the rest of the semester, I suggest some of the following activities:
Move the furniture: The classroom where I teach has two square tables and two moon-shaped tables that come together to form an oval. Typically, we have class all sitting around the oval, but I decided to shake things up a bit for my activity. One day I arrived to my classroom a little earlier, and I decided to move the tables. I split out the two square tables and then joined the two moon-tables to make a circle, so I had three table locations around the room. It was amazing the impact this had on the behavior in class. At first, it threw the students for a loop, especially those who are creatures of habit and always sit in the same seat. After students got over the initial shock, I could tell they were more engaged and productive being in a new location.
New groups/partners: At this point in the semester, students and faculty know each other fairly well and feel comfortable with one another. What that means is students are more likely to continue to pick the same groups or partners and have the same type of discussions. Encourage or even assign new partners to allow students to gain new or different perspectives.
Syllabus check-in: I am fairly certain that students have not read my syllabus since the beginning of the semester, and I’m not sure they will read it again before the end of the semester. However, I plan to take time to refer them back to my syllabus so we can see where we’ve gone and where we are headed for the remainder of the course. This will encourage students to reflect on what we’ve covered, what they’ve learned, and where we’re headed.
Expectation freewrite: Since there are not many weeks left in the semester, take time to check in with the students about the course. Encourage them to freewrite about their expectations of the course. Have they met their expectations? What else would they like to know? How will they use what they’re learning in this course in other courses or their personal lives?
Balance activities: For many students, the end of the semester builds into many projects, papers, and heavy assignments. The time in class can be used to help support these assignments or it can also be used to provide activities where students collaborate about the content or simply discuss their findings. By changing the structure of the lessons, we’re providing opportunities for the students to use various thinking, communication, and learning skills.
If you have any suggestions or recommendations of other activities or strategies, please comment below!