A recent TED conversation (2023) with motivation researcher Ayelet Fischbach on overcoming procrastination got me thinking about the ebbs and flows of each semester and taking advantage of the key moments during the term to help with student success. This came to life for me during the pandemic when at times I felt like a voice crying from the chaos that we could get through it. What Fishbach (2022) found is what most of us already know instinctively but don’t always think about: that students’ motivation at the beginning and end of a class is high, but the dreaded middle—as she calls it, “the middle problem”—can be really hard for them. The middle of a semester can be hard on us professors as well as we juggle all the balls and divide our time between teaching research and service. I get excited about every new semester and meeting new students, and my motivation peaks near the end of the term as I focus on wrapping up my classes well, but that middle. It’s tough.
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