ways-to-help-students-prep-for-fall-courses – The Cengage Blog

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From building your courses to crafting your lesson plans to finalizing every last detail on your syllabus, you’ve been putting in the extra hours to ensure a smooth start to the fall term. And as you prepare to welcome new and returning students in the coming weeks, we’ve gathered a few student success strategies for fall courses to help them thrive from day one.

1.    Share a course prep checklist

The first week of fall courses can often feel overwhelming for students. Juggling multiple classes, managing new expectations and getting to know new faces can cause even the most confident learners to get the jitters and overlook key details in the shuffle. Sharing a targeted course-prep checklist before or on the first day is one of the most effective student success strategies for fall courses that can can help them prioritize, stay organized and start the term with peace of mind.

These course-prep checklists don’t have to be complicated. In fact, simple steps like reviewing your syllabus can make a big difference in helping students feel ready and focused from the very beginning. Here are a just a few examples:

• Review your course syllabus
• Register for our online discussion forum
• Write down three goals you have for the term

2.    Set them up for tech success

While we often think of students as tech-savvy, some may still experience hiccups when navigating a new online learning platform. Providing brief tutorials or support guides helps ease that transition and empowers students to focus on learning instead of clearing tech hurdles. If your course uses Cengage platforms, here are a few helpful student resources you can share as examples:

3.    Remind them to prioritize mental health

Remember those jitters we mentioned? Between academic demands, social adjustments and financial pressures, today’s students face a complex web of challenges. The hectic pace of the first few weeks can push mental health to the back burner. In addition to highlighting campus resources, here are some additional tools you can reference as students deal with back-to-school stressors:

Resources for you:

• Our eBook “Navigating Mental Health Issues on Campus” offers many helpful tips for supporting students’ mental wellbeing, such as including a mental health statement in your course syllabus.
• Insights and strategies from fellow instructors like:

Resources for students:

• Share student perspectives during the first week of class, like these:

 

Clear, actionable tools like a course-prep checklist can be a helpful way to support students in navigating the busy start of fall courses. These simple student success strategies for fall courses align with ones you already use, providing students with a straightforward reference to stay organized and focused during those first critical weeks.

Here’s to a successful and engaging fall term.

Interested in more ways to support your students this fall? Check out these innovative teaching strategies from your faculty peers.