In our more video, Don Saucier describes the busy, overwhelming time at the end of the semester. Students and instructors alike have a lot to do and are under pressure to get everything done. This is often the case at the end of the school year, too, when teachers and students are worn out and stressed out. Saucier dissuades instructors from allowing outside pressures to influence the class sessions, except perhaps to acknowledge briefly that everyone is dealing with a lot of stress. Instead he encourages teachers to continue to show enthusiasm and engagement with the course content. He emphasizes that “if we’re engaged, they [our students] are engaged. And if they’re engaged, they’re more likely to learn.” 

Don Saucier also notes that one source of anxiety for teachers can be the worry that they won’t meet all of the course objectives they’ve set. But in many courses, it’s more important to help students gain the skills they need instead of covering a set amount of content. In addition, students’ goals may be different from instructors’ goals, and Saucier urges teachers to use the end of the semester as an opportunity to think about what the most important skills and content students should acquire before the course ends. He recommends teachers focus on broader course outcomes, such as critical thinking, and give students opportunities to apply what they’ve learned in the course.

What this means is that teachers should reflect on the purpose of the final class sessions in a course. Once we have figured out the purpose, then we can choose class activities to fit that purpose for those final sessions. This is precisely the same principle we would follow when planning a graduation celebration, the end of any class session, or any other gathering. Concerning the very last class session, Todd Zakrajsek (2025) observes that it provides an opportunity to reinforce learning, remarking that a “well-designed final session can help students articulate their growth—and see how the course fits into a broader academic and professional journey.” 

Todd Zakrajsek (2025) adds that students in a class have grown into a community of learners by the end of the course. To prevent students from experiencing the last session as “emotionally jarring,” Zakrajsek advises teachers to provide closure to learners by intentionally building in activities on “reflection, gratitude, or shared acknowledgment.” His recommendations fit really well with Priya Parker’s approach to ending a gathering by first looking inward and then looking outward. Activities that allow students to look inward include reflections on what they’ve learned in a course. Activities that encourage learners to look outward include thinking about their future selves and how they will use what they’ve learned from the course.