Submitted by Jennifer Walsh Marr, Lecturer, Vantage College, Faculty of Applied Science, School of Engineering, UBC Vancouver.
Attribution and Use:
This use case is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
Years ago my New Year’s resolution was to “build in more slack”. At home, that means doubling a recipe to put one in the freezer for those weeks when we’re scheduled within an inch of our lives. In my syllabus, it means purposefully scheduling a “DIY week”. This means that if we get a random snow day and class is cancelled, I’m not frantic to cover that day’s tasks; everything shifts easily because I’ve built in slack. If there isn’t a random cancellation, then I can turn to the class and ask, “What do you need more of? Do we need to review a concept from earlier in the term? Do you need some dedicated writing or working time in class? Do you need some support for productive peer review? Do you need assistance finding library resources?” And for those students who are really stretched, do they need a bit of slack in their schedule to catch up on rest and wellness? Remember that fashion advice when accessorizing an outfit, put everything you planned on, then take one thing off? I think this can apply to syllabi and workload as well.
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