New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Always Have to be Just Personal

As we are nearing the end of January, many who have made New Year’s Resolutions are beginning to lose commitment to those resolutions. Each year, many of us make at least one or perhaps many New Year’s resolutions. Many of the common resolutions are personal, such as lose weight, eat healthier, save money, find a new job, or learn a new skill.

These are all so very personal as resolutions typically are. What about making a New Year’s resolution that is not so personal? For 2019, consider making a New Year resolution to better serve your students. It’s not too late to make a resolution and commit to it. Consider making a resolution to be a better educator or facilitator of learning. Here are a couple of ideas for a resolution that is not just personal and can benefit your students as well:

  • I will make a concentrated effort to make my course accessible to all different learners.

This may sound overwhelming, but simply start with one course and work your way through all the courses you teach. Set a goal of taking a year to work through your courses to make them accessible to different types of learners. Whether they have a physical disability, learning disability, are visual, auditory or kinesthetic type of learners, there are universal ways you can teach your content to a diverse group of students.

  • I will try a new teaching method/activity that will engage my students in their learning.

Rather than being the “sage on the stage”, become a facilitator of learning. Prep your students ahead of classroom time with their learning material/content so that when they are in the classroom, they are actively applying or engaging the material they are learning before coming to the classroom. There are some simple learning activities you can engage your students with, such as Think-Pair-Share, Quick Write, or Four Corners.

  • I will strengthen my tech skills.

This can become a lot of things. Perhaps a tech skill can be to improve Blackboard skills (or whatever learning management system you are using for the course) in order to efficiently and methodically organize the course to better teach my content to students. Or, perhaps learning new software such as Screencast-O-Matic or Powtoon to create engaging content for students.

Rather than thinking of making resolutions, think of it as making teaching goals. To begin your path in making these types of resolutions, consider enrolling in the Online Teaching and Course Design class taught all online at Rush by Dr. Angela Solic, Director at CTEI.

You can make your goals as simple or extended as you want…just be sure that you create realistic goals that fit your schedule or level of guarantee that will find you to a complete resolution at the end of the year.

Statistically, less than 25% of people who make a New Year’s resolution stay committed after 30 days. Only 8% will actually achieve their resolution at the end of the year. [i] So, what can you do to not be part of the 25% who lose commitment? Reach out to an Instructional Designer at CTEI@rush.edu and we will be happy to help you reach those resolutions…or goals.

~Branka Manojlovic

Instructional Designer, Rush CTEI