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Supporting Your Students

Students can have difficulties in the classroom as the result of academic or personal challenges as well as circumstances at Penn, in Philadelphia or more globally. As teachers, we can help students to better meet those challenges, both by connecting them with Penn resources and though the choices we make in our classes. The pages described here offer suggestions and resources to help instructors provide that support for our students.

Strategies to Help Students Stay on Track When They Must Miss Class

Due to illness or other circumstances in their lives, some students will need to miss classes on occasion. Planning how you will approach missed classes and assignments will make it easier for you to address the unexpected and for students to continue to learn in your course.

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Teaching in Response to Upsetting Events

In the wake of traumatic international, national, or Penn events, students may be angry, saddened, or anxious. Instructor responses to such events often matter deeply to students.

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Resources to Support Your Students

Penn has a wealth of offices to support students in academic and personal difficulties. Letting students know about the appropriate office, or consulting it yourself, can help them with those difficulties.

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Practices for Teaching Students Living with Stress and Trauma

Students experience a wide variety of stresses in their lives, circumstances that may affect them in our classes. Designing our classes to take that stress into account can help our students to learn and thrive in our courses.

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Combining Structure and Flexibility in Your Courses

By giving students clear expectations and steps to take on a regular basis to succeed but also being prepared to provide students other options to continue to learn and demonstrate their learning when circumstances demand it, we can benefit all our students, particularly when life is most complicated.

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