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Around this time of the semester, everything can feel like it's accelerating. Small changes now can help students stay engaged and make the final weeks smoother for everyone.

Clarify the path forward
A clear reminder of upcoming assignments and how they connect to learning goals helps students focus their effort and reduce confusion as the semester speeds up for them too.

Check in on missing work
Reaching out to students with missing work now, early in these final weeks, gives them time to catch up and prevents a last‑minute rush.

Encourage reflection and connection
As the semester progresses, short reflection activities can help students see their own learning. For example, try a minute paper: “What is one concept you now understand better than when this class began?” 

Add low‑stakes review or practice opportunities
Short, low‑stakes activities, like quick practice quizzes, brief practice problems, or informal writing tasks, give students regular chances to apply what they’re learning and check their understanding without adding grading pressure for you. These kinds of review opportunities help students reinforce key ideas and stay engaged through the final stretch.

**If you’d like to talk through strategies for late work, pacing, or student outreach in your course, the Hub offers 30‑ and 60‑minute consultation slots.

Deadline to apply for priority consideration: Monday, April 13th

Faculty will receive $1000 upon completion of 4 deliverables. A portion of the support for this program is coming from one-time faculty development funds managed by the Provost Office.

The expected participation is about 25-40 hours over two weeks. This include both sync sessions and also asynchronous work time. See the schedule in the program description.

If spots remain, applications will be accepted until Monday, April 27th but the priority deadline is Monday, April 13th. 

The following is a special message from Jessica Riviere, instructional designer in The Hub:

We're excited to try a new kind of group for teachers this semester! 

Grateful Gatherings are monthly conversations with purpose, designed by Grateful Living and hosted by people like me (Jessica) who have completed their host training program. Each month we’ll be exploring the transformative practice of living gratefully, using the resources provided by Grateful Living. Our monthly topics will include things like: Say Yes to Joy, Welcome Imperfection, Navigate Grief, Reimagine Rest, Awaken to Awe, and Act with Courage.

You can learn more about Grateful Gatherings on their website 

Something that appealed to me about Grateful Living is that it rejects the toxic positivity that can come up with a hint of "Well you should just be grateful that..." My desire is to have a space where we can name what is hard about being in this moment, and also name things we are grateful for. As Belen's excellent blog post described, practicing gratitude is a recurring theme in stress management advice. I hope you'll consider joining me for a conversation on zoom where we follow the suggested topics from the Grateful Gatherings curriculum. 

If you know you are interested, go ahead and register for my group here with Grateful Living. (You will be giving Grateful Living, a non-profit not affiliated with the university, your email address so that you can receive the materials for each month's topic. There is no cost to participate.) 

Need to think about it? No problem. The first two meetings you can attend without fully "enrolling" to see what it's all about and whether you want to continue.  Questions? Concerns? Drop Jessica an email at rivierej@umich.edu 

Thursday April 9, 10:00 AM : "Living Gratefully is a Daily Practice."

Our contact page includes multiple ways to reach out to us, including videoconferences, email consultations, and even a form to request support if you aren't sure who to work with. 

Questions or comments? Contact Carla Vecchiola at cvecchio@umich.edu

Credits:
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