Start-of-Semester Intention Setting (Flex #30183)

Start-of-Semester Intention Setting

This activity is designed to help you begin the semester with purpose and clarity. By pausing to set a teaching/service intention now, you’re laying the groundwork for thoughtful, student-centered decisions in the weeks ahead.

What to Do

1. Set aside 45–60 minutes of uninterrupted time. Choose a space that supports reflection—quiet, comfortable, and free of distractions.
2. Think about your teaching/service goals, values, or challenges you’d like to grow through this semester.
3. Use the guiding prompts below to support your thinking, and then submit your intention using one of the submission options listed.
4. Be sure to include a specific plan for how you will revisit your intention during the semester. This could be a recurring calendar reminder, a note posted near your workspace, or a check-in journal entry.

Guiding Prompts

You do not need to answer every question. Choose 2–3 that resonate with you:

• What kind of learning environment do you want to create for your students?
• What do you hope your students will experience, feel, or accomplish this semester?
• What part of your teaching/service practice do you want to grow, challenge, or reimagine?
• How will you know your intention is taking root? How might this show up in your learners’ behaviors, engagement, or feedback?
• What might get in the way, and how will you return to your intention if you feel off-track?

Submission Format (Choose One)

• A brief written reflection of a few sentences.

Examples

Here are a few example intentions. Notice that the scope is well-defined in each of these.

• Student Voice & Low-Stakes Feedback: This semester, I will center student voice by building in low-stakes feedback opportunities each week. I’ve noticed students participate more when the pressure is lower. I’ll know this is working if more students speak up and engage with peer work. I’ve set a recurring Friday reminder to check whether I’ve done this and how it went.
• Building Connection Early: I intend to build stronger connections by learning every student’s name by Week 3 and sending personalized welcome messages. My goal is to foster trust and a sense of belonging. I’ll track this in a simple spreadsheet and reflect on progress during my weekly prep.
• Experimenting with Engagement: My intention is to try one new engagement strategy each month and reflect on how students respond. I want to move beyond my same old Canvas tools and challenge myself to try new stuff. I’ll track results in a shared doc and revisit the goal every few weeks during lesson planning.

Completion Criteria

This activity is marked Complete/Incomplete. Submissions should:

• Clearly express one specific teaching/service intention
• Include supporting thoughts, examples, or reasoning
• Include a plan for revisiting your intention during the semester

Flex Credit Information

• Time: About 1 hour
• Flex Credit: 1 hour
• Flex #: 30183

Completion Criteria

To be marked complete (and receive Flex credit), your submission must meet the following requirement:

• Reflection Submission: A thoughtful reflection is submitted using one of the prompt options and an accepted format (text, audio, video, or upload). The response should show sincere engagement with the reflection process.