Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First

Dear colleagues,

You made it! Your resilience got you to the finish line after one of the most difficult and unpredictable semesters of all time. To enjoy a healthy, happy, and restful summer, here are four evidence-based wellness suggestions from a recent book on “Lifestyle Medicine.”

• Eat Well (eat a whole food plant-based diet low in sugar and fat)
• Move More (exercise moderately everyday)
• Love More (embrace intimacy for healing)
• Stress Less (meditate and live mindfully)

These four strategies emerged from decades of research on wellness, which suggest that caring for your mind and body is the key to a happy and productive life. Unfortunately, our busy schedules often turn us into anxious human-doings rather than fulfilled human-beings. Prioritizing wellness, however, can lead to less anxiety, more energy, and a healthier body.

Much the way flight attendants tell us to put on our own oxygen mask first before helping others, we need to cultivate our own wellness so that we are healthy enough to serve our families, our campus, and our communities. Sharing the gift of health is my passion so if you would like to discuss wellness ideas for you or your department, reply back and let’s chat about it.

Best wishes to you all!

Reflection on the Past 2 Months

Congratulations to you for persevering through this extraordinarily challenging semester! If you’d like to reflect on your experiences both in and out of the classroom with your fellow colleagues, join the Virtual FLC this Thursday at 10 a.m. (https://csuchico.zoom.us/j/5308985778). We’ll share lessons learned that will make us stronger as teachers and scholars in the fall and beyond. Take a break from grading and join the discussion at any point!

Given the uncertainty of the challenges ahead, I encourage you to tune in to the Board of Trustees live virtual meeting today to hear about the future plans for the CSU.  This includes Chancellor White’s report on COVID-19 implications for the CSU at 10 a.m. and the CSU fiscal status report at 1 p.m. (full agenda here).

As we look ahead, FDEV will be supporting TLP this summer to offer the GoVirtual Summer Institute. As such, FDEV will not offer development programs this summer. Applications for fall FLCs will emailed to faculty later in the summer.

Final Exam Strategies

If you’re interested in learning creative methods (some might call them “professor hacks”) to administer and assess final exams, tune in to the Virtual FLC this Thursday at 10 a.m. We will ask faculty to share their own innovative techniques for remote final exam and projects. As always, TLP staff will be in the room to help us bring ideas to life. Below are a few strategies to consider to help you and your students thrive during the next couple weeks.

• Use Kaltura Mashups, Turnitin, or VoiceTyping in Google Docs to offer audio or video feedback
• Give options for the final exam (e.g. 5-page essay on takeaways from the course, online test, complete a project).
• When grading papers, do not spend time offering written feedback unless you expect a revision.
  • or ask students if they want your feedback and offer it only to those individuals
  • or offer feedback and recommendations to the class as a whole rather than to every student
• Be clear with students about due dates and timelines for final projects and exams
• Offer longer-than-normal durations to take an exam and be less rigid with deadlines (this gives you more flexibility with grading too)