Every educator – no matter the age of their students – should revisit their first day plan before the start of each new school year as it sets the tone for the entire semester. Our students change, our disciplines change and, even if returning to the classroom in September feels like putting on a comfy cardigan, we should approach the start of the semester as a time ripe with new potential and opportunity. Here are some tips for a smooth start to the semester:   Syllabus  Before you even meet your students, you need to refresh the syllabus -- and I don't mean simply changing due dates! It is especially important to check in with your department chair or administrative support staff to ensure that any new requirements set forth by your college or changes in federal law are addressed in your syllabus. ADA accessibility for documents like course syllabi is one area that has changed with updated software. Also, check for outdated web links. My college, for example, moved the web host for student requests to borrow a laptop for the semester. A test-run through the syllabus’s hyperlinks can catch such problems before they cause confusion for students.    Office Hours If possible, post your current office hours before the first week of classes. At my college students schedule appointments through Starfish (a student/faculty support software) and we are expected to physically post our office hours as well. Students are understandably frustrated when they arrive at a faculty member’s office only to find hours listed for the previous semester or a “to be announced” sign. Do your best to post the information in an obvious location and keep it up to date. I include my email address on the office hours information sheet with a note about contacting me outside of regularly scheduled hours.   Respond to Emails Some students will email faculty with questions before the semester starts. I’ve found the best way to handle common questions with relatively little work on my part is to have an autoreply set for the two weeks before school starts with a general message that includes: Date that online course materials will be available Bookstore information A note about requests for “early” access to course materials (Sorry, no!)  Date that office hours begin Think about First Day Introduction Give some thought to what you want students to know about yourself and your discipline. Even at Year 25 of teaching college students I still get super nervous before my first class meetings. A single card of bulleted notes helps to keep me on track and to make sure I provide the same details to each group of students through those busy first meetings.   Finally, engaging students in an informal conversation about how studying history will help them in any academic/career path on the first day is also a great way to underscore the importance of our field. Check out Patryk J. Babiracki’s recent piece in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “A Plan to Rebuild History’s Brand” (12 August 2025) for some timely suggestions.   I would love to hear from historians and other teaching faculty: what topics are on your mind for the 2025-26 school year? Please share!  ... View more

Last year at this time I blogged about my observations of 2023 from my vantage point of a community college history classroom. At the top of my concerns for 2023 were student mental health and a general feeling that my students were disconnected from their peers, which I unscientifically speculated was fallout from the COVID years. A full year has passed and I’m again reflecting on what I observed over the past twelve  months. Here are some of my thoughts:   On one hand, the social disconnect prevalent amongst students that widened in the COVID years is becoming less noticeable in my classes.   The adjustments I made within my classroom to forge social connections at the start of 2023 appear to be catching on. At the conclusion of each semester this calendar year I felt as though many students ended my courses having interacted with several of their classmates. For some students my goal of increasing their in-class-interaction was limited to group work, while others seemed to create genuine bonds of friendship with their classmates that were evident as they came to class each day. In addition, I was particularly encouraged to hear that some students had enrolled in my sections of introductory courses because they knew they would be interactive.    While on the other hand, getting students to participate in campus-wide events remains a huge challenge.    Our campus has so many great events planned each year to engage students in areas outside of academics. Convincing students to attend such events solely for the purpose of expanding their understanding of the world around them remains incredibly challenging. Case in point: our college hosted two successful artists at separate events to showcase their work and talk about their career paths. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I had to beg and bribe students to attend (extra credit anyone?). The same held true for events related to academic success – in-person attendance at information sessions about majors and career paths, for example, were of little interest to students. “Can’t I get this information online?” was the common retort when I started my event-attendance sales pitch. Ultimately, those students who did attend on-campus events not directly related to class content almost unanimously reported positive experiences … getting them into those non-classroom spaces, however, was not easy.   History education is more important than ever before.    The 2024 election cycle proved, once again, that Americans need to be more informed about our national history. The proliferation of online news sources and social media channels have increased the spread of both information and misinformation. Our students need the tools to make informed, educated decisions based on what they read and see, coupled with a solid foundation in historical knowledge. There is no academic space better equipped to prepare them to be informed citizens than their history/civics classes. As we think about content coverage we also need to reflect on what lessons are particularly meaningful to the current times, which feel particularly unstable politically for many students.    One of the most important facets of teaching that was reaffirmed for me this year was that students need to feel comfortable asking questions. Even in the most difficult of political times when our nation is intensely divided ideologically, students must be able to pursue the study of history without fear.    Happy New Year! Looking forward to more collaborative conversations in 2025! ... View more

A shout out this week to peer tutors!   Last spring I was part of a pilot embedded peer tutor program at my college. My seven-week intensive US History II section had a student tutor employed by the college, chosen by me, at each class meeting. The tutor would participate in group activities, be present for lecture, and available for one on one appointments with students at the college’s Tutoring Center. In contrast to previous semesters when I often found students reluctant to seek help at the Tutoring Center, their willingness to work with our embedded tutor was far more positive.    This fall I’ve welcomed another fabulous peer tutor into my classroom. Here are some strategies I’ve adopted to help the students connect with our tutor:   Introductions  I’ve blogged before about my love of table tents (folded index cards with a student’s preferred name and pronouns). On the first day of class I bring markers, cards, and stickers. After going over the course syllabus and answering questions, I use the remaining class time for my tutor to introduce herself before we make our table tents as a group. This exercise allows the students to have a relaxed first interaction with both myself and the tutor. We have light conversation as we create our tents, the goal being to create a comfortable classroom environment from day one.   Encourage Engagement When I introduce the embedded tutor I ask her to say a few words about the courses she has taken with me, her experience as a student at our college, and her goals for the future. I want the students to recognize their own lives in her experiences. In past semesters students have been surprised to arrive at the Tutoring Center and find that they would be working with a student, which is less intimidating for some than the idea of one-on-one time with their professor. Having an embedded tutor takes away the feeling of uncertainty students may have before their first visit to the Tutoring Center: they know who they are meeting with and that first meeting feeling of apprehension is alleviated by their classroom interaction. At each meeting throughout the semester I include our class tutor in my pre-class announcements. I remind the students of her availability and give them the opportunity to ask her scheduling questions before we get started.    Ask for Feedback I meet with my peer tutor at least once a week.  She provides me with valuable feedback from her experiences working with my students, much of which is general – for example, if there is a common thread to the questions that students are asking at tutoring sessions I know that I need to review material that might not have made sense to students the first time through. Often, the kinds of questions students have for the tutor are specific to her previous experience in my classes. My peer tutor has successfully completed two introductory-level research papers under my instruction. She has the experience to answer students’ questions and to help them with drafts in a way that I’ve found even more effective than our college writing tutors. If my tutor tells a student that their research project needs the help of a librarian they take her advice!    Have you had a positive experience with peer tutoring? Please share!  ... View more

The 2024 Presidential Election will undoubtedly be debated and analyzed by political scientists and historians for the foreseeable future. In the days immediately following November 5th when students asked me for my thoughts on the election results I resorted to humor: it hadn’t been long enough for me to comment on the election results. As a historian I will need at least twenty to thirty years to mull it over, examine the sources, and draw conclusions. And while I do believe that it will be decades until historians have a better understanding of how the election played out, the truth is that I did not want to engage in conversation with my students about the election results so close to the end of a volatile campaign.   Remaining neutral and unbiased when discussing difficult topics is a constant challenge in history education. I’ve addressed this topic in previous blogs and have encouraged faculty to keep the focus on civil discourse, which many public observers argue has significantly decreased in 21st-century presidential campaigns. As historians the presentation of information through evidence in the form of primary and secondary sources are critical to our field’s credibility and our ability to connect today’s students to the challenging lessons of our national past. But what if things are happening so fast that we don’t have time to be reflective? In other words, what do we do when we, the educator, feel overwhelmed by current events?    Election-related issues have inevitably leaked into our class discussions, especially as nominations for cabinet positions headline many news outlets. I’ve found that the best way to incorporate discussion of current events is to suggest that students do their own deep dives into issues of interest using the skills they are developing in class. Speculation about mass deportations of foreign-born workers, for example, leads to questions about historical immigration policies, detainment, and the use of the US military in World War II-era internment of Japanese-Americans. Discussions of rights for LGBTQ+ people opens avenues for discussion of the historical origins of civil rights. My advice to students is to engage in the research themselves so that they can develop their own educated opinions: in other words, rather than doom-scrolling, use the same library resources we are utilizing for our in-class research projects to examine the issues of personal concern.   As educators we have to constantly remind ourselves that our students come from a myriad of socio-economic backgrounds. We will never be in a classroom in which every student shares our political beliefs and it’s not our role to convince them that our perspective is the “right” one. The best we can do is to offer them the limitless tools of education: critical thinking, research, and reading skills so that they can continuously question the information that they are bombarded by each day and look for sources that provide them with the kind of evidence we use in history classes. Remind them that they have the ability to be knowledgeable voters rather than passive bystanders.    How are you talking with students about the 2024 Presidential Election? Please share!  ... View more

A short video to introduce/reintroduce myself to the Macmillan Community. I would love to hear from readers about topics of interests. What would you like to discuss with fellow historians and teachers? Respond here by commenting on this blog or email me: suzannekmccormack@gmail.com   Click here! https://youtu.be/VasAgXcpICw?si=SKt7joeVbp5W-5wl     ... View more

In “Facing My Fears of AI” (June 2024) I blogged about my desire to find ways to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into my classroom assignments in a way that will enable students to learn to use new technological innovations, while also respecting academic integrity. While still a work-in-progress, I plan to share the ups and downs of my experiences as they develop.   In my summer courses I assigned research projects that required the use of library-based databases and materials. Knowing that students are increasingly likely to use AI, even when discouraged or even prohibited, my assignment instructions included the following statement: “Students should submit their own original work and cite all sources using MLA format. While use of AI is discouraged, any use of artificial intelligence should be cited as a source.”     We discussed as a class what it meant to submit original work and the importance of using each assignment in our introductory-level history course as a stepping stone to the challenges that will come later in their college careers. The vast majority of students followed my instructions and submitted work that was consistent with that of typical first-year students at my college. Several students came to me for help or consulted our college librarian outside of class for additional assistance.    Unfortunately, 10% of the students submitted work that was AI-generated and none of those submissions cited any AI-tool as a source per my instructions. I ran all student submissions through an AI and plagiarism detector and in each case it was determined that the work was 90% or more AI-written.    I reached out to each of the students to discuss the use of unattributed material as an academic integrity issue. Approximately half of the students did not respond to my email and accepted a zero for the assignment with no discussion. The other half denied any use of AI. When confronted with a detailed report from the detection tool, however, they changed their stories. They admitted to having used AI tools such as Grammarly and Brainly, they said, but not software that “created content.”    I learned a valuable, if not confusing, lesson from this experience: my students see a marked difference between tools such as Grammarly and Brainly, versus Chat GPT and the like. And so here is my quandary: is there harm in allowing the use of grammar-checking AI versus content-producing? Or, do they both create a product that is not the student’s original work?    My initial feeling was that grammar-checking tools can be helpful in “cleaning up” student work. In speaking with students, however, I realized that in a 3-4 page short essay they were accepting, without much thought, upwards of 30-40 suggested changes by Grammarly or Brainly. In other words: they were changing their entire paper based on suggestions from the AI tool.   As such, I’ve realized that either my instructions are going to need to be more specific or I need to re-evaluate my comfort level with grammar-corrective AI.    Some faculty reading this blog might ask: “I use Grammarly … why can’t my students?” This question is certainly valid. The difference for me, however, is that many of my students struggle with grammar. A tool that corrects their errors without requiring them to understand the fundamentals behind the mistakes is, in my view, unlikely to progress their writing skills.   I’d love to hear from others in the Macmillan Community about AI policies: how are yours evolving with new technology and new challenges? Please share.   ... View more

Last week I participated in the "Back to School with Achieve" webinar to learn about new tools available for students and faculty through Achieve as well as share my experience using the Achieve "Goal Setting & Reflection Surveys." The webinar, linked above, includes suggestions about how to start the semester off strong by gauging students' concerns about their academic performance, particularly the challenges they anticipate as they start a new semester. Learning more about the students through the Achieve surveys can help faculty to better plan for student support throughout the semester.  Please watch the webinar and share questions/thoughts/concerns for the new academic year here in Macmillan Community!  ... View more

This week I'm sharing a presentation by Professor Erika Martinez about using artificial intelligence (AI) in the economic classroom, which has practical applications for history classes as well.   Recently I blogged about my need to come to terms with concerns about AI (see “Facing My Fears about AI”). Previously my worries about academic dishonesty have guided nearly all of my decision-making about AI. Professor Martinez’s presentation at Macmillan's TechEd has helped me to open my thinking to some new angles of consideration.   Tell me what you think!  AI for Educators_ Practical AI Applications (macmillanlearning.com) ... View more

It’s time to confront my fear of student use of artificial intelligence (AI). I realized this reality the first week of June while attending Macmillan’s 2024 TechEd where I heard from fellow Peer Advocates about their experiences bringing AI into the college classroom.   I have been admittedly reluctant to allow any student use of AI for the obvious reason: cheating. At the same time, I’ve avoided a zero-tolerance policy by reasoning that if students are going to use AI I want them to know how to properly cite it. My approach to AI has been to create assignments that require so many variants that AI use is exceedingly complicated and therefore, I reason, less attractive to students. As a result I’ve had only one case (that I’m sure of) in the last year where a student used AI instead of submitting their own original work.    Listening to my Peer Advocate colleagues at TechEd, however, made me question whether my approach has been short-sighted. If, for example, I am trying to help my students to be work-force ready, am I doing them a disservice by not allowing them some use of AI so that in an academic environment we can grapple with questions about appropriate and ethical uses? The history classroom, after all, is one of the best academic spaces in which to talk about sources. Do I need to start looking at AI as simply one more media source for consideration?    Part of my struggle with the use of AI in student writing has been my concern that a large percentage of my students do not have a strong grasp on basic grammar and writing skills. This reality is painfully obvious to me at the start of each semester when I ask students to introduce themselves in our class discussion board. Asking the students to write about themselves not only provides me information such as preferred pronouns, majors, and career goals, but also a sample of their skill level in regards to writing. I’ve had several students come across as articulate in class only to present significant academic deficits in their writing assignments. These no-stakes introductions alert me to students who require extra support for their writing assignments during the semester.    So what comes next? I have two plans for the summer to help move me from a place of fear and loathing of AI to one in which I better understand the role that the new technology may have in higher education.   First, along with more than 100 faculty at my college I will be participating in a summer read of Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024). My college’s Center for Teaching Excellence supplied copies of the book at no charge to faculty interested in engaging in discussion of AI-related education during the 2024-25 academic year and I’m excited to hear my colleagues’ perspectives on the ideas presented by the authors when we return to campus in the fall.   Second, I plan to develop one low stakes AI-based assignment for my upper-level history students who undertake research projects during the semester. What that project will look like remains to be seen. Suggestions welcome! Drop a comment below or email me at: suzannekmccormack@gmail.com ... View more

Tagging on to my Macmillan Community colleague’s post “Recommendations for Black History Month” I’d like to share two web sites that I find particularly pertinent for educators in all disciplines as we continue to watch state legislatures and local school boards mercilessly target history education. No matter our politics, as educators we have a responsibility to our students to encourage critical thinking about both current events and historical topics. Here are two additional links for those who are seeking ideas, discussion, and resources. Both of these sites go beyond the scope of Black History Month to maintain up to date information year round:   Teaching History with Integrity – part of the American Historical Association’s multi-faceted efforts to counter-balance efforts against teaching all aspects of our national history. The site includes videos featuring historians describing the challenges educators are currently facing and why we as a society need to be honest with students even when the narrative is uncomfortable.   The Zinn Education Project provides lesson plans on topics not commonly found in textbooks, including this month’s focus on environmental racism. If you’re looking for resources to supplement discussions on race, gender, climate justice, imperialism and many other areas, this website is regularly updated and full of ideas for expanding conversation in your classrooms.   Other suggestions, please share!  ... View more

What was it really like to travel as a Black American during the era of Jim Crow laws and segregation? Award-winning journalist Alvin Hall and social justice trainer Janée Woods Weber hit the road to find out on Driving the Green Book, a living history podcast from Macmillan Podcasts. Over the course of 12 days and 2,021 miles, the two drove from Detroit to New Orleans collecting personal stories from Black Americans who used the historic Negro Motorist Green Book travel guide to navigate trips safely and with dignity, patronize Black-owned businesses, and come together in the face of institutionalized racism. Driving the Green Book sheds light on what has (and hasn't) changed for Black travelers since segregation and honors the stories of those who lived through the era, supported and uplifted each other, and fought for equality.  Listeners can also gain a deeper appreciation of the historic, but often forgotten, locations that helped Black Americans to travel safely across the United States with Driving the Green Book's custom Apple Maps Guide. They can also enjoy a playlist on Apple Music highlighting the songs that came out of the era, many of which were written in response to the injustices faced by Black Americans all over the country.  Educators can use the podcast and additional resources as supplemental tools in a variety of history courses to explain how the Negro Motorist Green Book was a seminal publication in the ongoing fight for racial and social justice. ... View more

Just before Valentine's Day, 1965, the Supremes released the breakaway-hit "Stop! In the Name of Love" after recording it a month prior. The song skyrocketed on the charts hitting Number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100 and was also a Top 10 hit in the U.K. The Supremes consisted of Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard. Both the artists and the song's notoriety is often associated with the famous "traffic cop" dance style where the ladies sang the chorus and made the "stop" sign gesture with their hands in tune with the music. The Supremes went on to become one of Motown's leading female groups. ... View more

Over the past year many publications have explored the COVID 19 pandemic-related “gaps” that educators are seeing in elementary school-aged children who missed out on important opportunities for social and emotional growth as part of in-person classes. As we move forward in the post-COVID era, here are some (unscientific) observations of what I have witnessed with my students during 2023. I’m sharing my experiences in hopes of inspiring us all to think about what we can do with future classes to close the social/emotional gaps among the 18+ year-olds that we teach at America’s colleges:   Students feel overwhelmed. Many students feel alone in their educational journeys in spite of available safety nets and support systems.   Example: my students can meet with an advisor in person or complete the advising process on their own by following carefully written directions and utilizing a virtual assistant. After the enrollment period for 2024 opened I asked one of my classes if anyone was taking the second half of the US history survey with me during the spring semester. Silence. Then I asked if anyone had met with their advisor or utilized the advising app. Fewer than a handful of hands were raised in a class of 20-plus students. When I expressed concern about how many were unprepared for the course selection process a student shared that she was completely overwhelmed by the process. Several students nodded in agreement. Later that day a student from the class stopped by my office to discuss her concern that she is in the wrong major.   Students are isolating themselves from their peers. On any given day, walk into a college-level lecture and the majority of students will be scrolling their social feeds or texting with people who are not in the same room. Especially at commuter-colleges but no doubt also at places with active dorm cultures, students often make little to no effort to get to know their classmates unless we engage them in that practice.    It has been reaffirmed for me this year numerous times that student resistance to even general conversation with peers in an academic setting is evidence of how much they need that interaction. Case in point: my US history students in a medium-size lecture hall. After splitting them randomly into groups to begin discussion, many sat with their backs to their group members until I told them to face one another for their discussion.   Students are in desperate need of all kinds of support. No doubt there is nothing surprising to anyone about this observation, and the reality is that college-aged students have historically struggled with stress, anxiety and depression in addition to academic challenges. The COVID-19 Pandemic only exacerbated a problem that already existed. Encouraging students to take advantage of on-campus counseling support is critical, but I would further suggest that bringing academic support measures into the classroom from the first day of school can help alleviate some of the stress before it builds to a breaking point. I’m excited to be part of a pilot program at my college in which we will embed a peer tutor into my US history classes. I look forward to writing more about this experience in future blogs.   What challenges are you anticipating as we begin a new calendar year? How can we, the Macmillan Community, best support our colleagues through these and other challenges? Please share by commenting below or email me at suzannekmccormack@gmail.com   Happy New Year!    ... View more

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a Macmillan webinar titled “Working with Divided Student Attention: Engaging Learners in A World Full of Distractions.” Professor Christin Monroe (Landmark College) and I shared some of our experiences working with diverse student populations in our respective fields, chemistry and history. We heard from lots of faculty participants from all over the country during the webinar who asked questions and shared experiences from their own classrooms. Most helpful for me was our discussion of what it means to be “distracted” and how to tell if a student truly is not paying attention. As we seek a better understanding of how the brain works and how much information we can process at one time, these kinds of conversations are critical for faculty seeking to make the most of the in-person time they have with students.    I’m happy to share a recording of the webinar below and welcome the opportunity to continue this conversation in a future blog. Comments are welcome through the comment box below or to me via email at suzannekmccormack@gmail.com   Working With Divided Student Attention: Engaging Learners In A World Full of Distractions (macmillanlearning.com) ... View more

This week's Quick Watch provides a demonstration of the Primary Source assignments available in Achieve, which are some of my favorite items to use for discussion and low-stakes quizzing. Questions? Please ask!    ... View more