The allure of the copy-and-paste approach to course design is ever present. Many of us, out of what often feels like sheer necessity, have fully embraced the comfort of teaching from muscle memory, recalling with ease the structure and rhythms of a course and therefore cutting our weekly prep time in half, if not more. Who doesn’t appreciate the convenience and stress reduction that comes from reusing previous materials, especially in seasons where life seems to stretch us thin? It can be incredibly difficult to devote our limited time to overhauling a course that seems to be working just fine, especially when research, service, and personal commitments divide our attention. But this approach comes with a cost: Students can sense our lack of instructional investment and responsiveness to feedback. Besides, if we aren’t putting in our best effort to create high-impact courses, why should we expect them to meet us halfway?
