What should educators do when one bad grade suddenly feels like the end of the semester? In this episode of The What & Who of EDU, ten instructors share practical teaching strategies for helping students recover from academic setbacks without lowering expectations or erasing accountability.

From calming the initial panic and doing the actual grade math to diagnosing what went wrong, improving study strategies, and designing low-stakes opportunities to recover before the stakes get high, these educators show how a disappointing result can become useful information. You'll also hear why flexibility works best when it is built into the course from the beginning, rather than reserved for the students most comfortable asking for an exception.

Brought to you by Macmillan Learning

Episode Breakdown

[01:32] There Is No Academic Emergency

[3:51] Shrink the Setback

[6:16] Do the Grade Math

[9:32] Ask What Happened

[11:35] Diagnose the Miss

[13:50] Don't Assume They Know How

[16:43] Make It Feel Fixable

[18:43] Design for the Mess-Up

[20:35] Let Them Miss Before It Matters

[23:09] Don't Make Them Ask for Grace

[26:24] What We Learned: From Panic to Progress

Rebecca Matte is a Professor of Education at Landmark College with over 30 years of experience supporting neurodivergent students in college and career transitions.. A champion of strengths-based approaches to learning, she helps students develop meta-cognition, self-awareness and self-advocacy skills so they can harness their natural strengths.

Marissa Dahari, M.Sc., is the Undergraduate Course Coordinator in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph. Her research is focused on genetically altered proteins of the human heart, leading to disease states such as cardiomyopathy.

Dr. Kendra Thomas is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Hope College and co-author of The Developing Person Through the Life Span. She is a mother of two and partners with schools and community development organizations to apply developmental science to improve interventions.

Dr. Sara Lahman is a biologist, educator, and curriculum designer with over a decade of experience in STEM education, program development, and learning design. As a Professor of Biology at the University of Mount Olive, she's created courses that align student learning outcomes with professional and market needs.

Edward Lee, Ph.D., is an Instructional Associate Professor and Director of Service Laboratories at Texas A&M University in the Department of Chemistry. His research is related to synthetic organic chemistry and its application towards biological systems.

Betsy Langness is the Psychology Department Head at Jefferson Community and Technical College, where she has worked for more than 20 years. She teaches general and developmental psychology courses in a virtual, asynchronous environment.

Dr. Christin Monroe is an Educational Research Associate at the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She previously taught Chemistry at Landmark College with a focus on supporting neurodivergent learners through inclusive and innovative teaching practices.

Jennifer Duncan is Associate Professor of English at Georgia State University's Perimeter College. Jennifer has been teaching English literature and composition for twenty-five years and specializing in online teaching for fifteen.

Dr. Jennifer Ripley Stueckle has spent the past 17 years as a Teaching Professor and Non-Majors Biology Program Director at West Virginia University. She has taught introductory biology, immunology and human physiology. She also created biology courses offered through dual enrollment at West Virginia high schools.

Dr. Erika Martinez is a Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida, where she has taught economics for 14 years. She's passionate about making economics accessible and engaging for all students and also teaches at UNC-Kenan Flagler Business School's MBA@UNC online program and Santa Barbara City College.

If this episode gave you a new way to think about the student who just bombed an assignment, follow The What & Who of EDU, leave a quick rating, or send the episode to a colleague who has also watched one bad quiz become a five-year career forecast.

Have a teaching strategy we should hear about? Email TheWhatAndWhoOfEDU@macmillan.com.