Embracing New Beginnings: A Roadmap for a Successful Semester

A new semester is always a fresh start with new and exciting opportunities! As instructors, providing a productive and enriching learning experience for your students depends on your course content and creating an environment that fosters growth, collaboration, and innovation.

Here's a roadmap to help navigate this new beginning:

Review the syllabus and class objectives

At the beginning of the semester, review the syllabus and clearly communicate the course objectives and expectations. Understanding the objectives helps students stay focused and motivated throughout the semester. Take advantage of the syllabus work week workshops offered this August by UCATT.

Practice best communication methods

Consider establishing different communication channels suitable for your course and accommodate your student's needs to facilitate seamless interaction for your students. Please encourage them to ask questions, seek clarifications, and share their thoughts through in-person or virtual office hours, email, discussion boards, and online platforms such as MS Teams, Slack, etc. Clearly state what is the best communication channel and schedule to reach out.

Review the Tech being used in the course

Remember to inform your students about the required Tech they will use in the course and where they can find support. Outline the challenges students might encounter with educational technologies and set clear expectations that they're expected to troubleshoot minor issues independently before seeking help. You can include a section in your syllabus with relevant support information listing resources for common technical problems, such as links to FAQs, user guides, and the UITS Contact.

• Get familiar with the digital tools, interactive platforms, and multimedia resources you will use during the semester. Consider including tools such as OpenClass to make your course content and assignments more engaging and dynamic, promoting content mastery by your students.
• Please encourage your students to take advantage of the variety of free software licenses available to students offered by the University of Arizona to enhance their learning experience and equip them with valuable skills beyond the classroom.

Reinforce collaboration and teamwork

Collaborative learning enhances critical thinking and problem-solving skills and encourages students to learn from each other's diverse perspectives. Promote student collaboration by incorporating group projects, discussions, and interactive activities. In the upcoming fall semester, we are introducing two collaborative tools, Kritik and Feedback Fruits, designed to facilitate teamwork and better prepare your students for real-world scenarios where collaboration is indispensable for success! You can leverage the benefits of these tools by participating in UArizona's instructional technology pilot program. Join us to explore the potential of these tools and create an enriching learning experience for your students.

Create a safe and friendly environment

A safe and friendly class environment is essential for effective learning. Strive to create a space where all students feel valued, accepted, and comfortable sharing their ideas. Please encourage them to participate in open class discussions and respect each other's diverse opinions and backgrounds. Ensure that your course content is accessible to all students by including different content formats such as videos with captions, audio, text, images, etc. Check out the Six Tips for Creating Accessible Documents videos for more information on making your course content more accessible.