We invite personal reflections on what keeps you committed to the work of teaching in the face of both professional and personal challenges and big-picture issues that may leave you questioning the value of that work. Some possible considerations:

• The purpose of a college education at this historical juncture (e.g., in the face of the climate crisis, ongoing wars, rising authoritarianism, political attacks on and declining public support for higher education, the general state of the world)
• Professional purpose—how it’s changed over your career, how you’ve renewed it when it has waned
• Teaching challenges in the wake of the pandemic (e.g., decreased student preparedness and motivation to learn)
• Sources of inspiration, whether familiar or unexpected

August 2024: Preparing to teach

Potential topics

• Crafting an effective syllabus
• Redesigning assignments, assessments, and other components of a course you’ve previously taught
• Building relationships/rapport early in the term
• First-day-of-class activities that set the tone for learning
• Preparing to teach a course that’s new, not your favorite, or outside your comfort zone