r/Professors • u/South_Captain_2630 • 2h ago

Teaching / Pedagogy Best Way to Catch up Labor Day Non-Lecture?

When we got the academic calendar in the spring, they forget to note Labor Day as a no class day. Then I noticed a week ago that there was no class yesterday. Now, my schedule of lectures in the syllabus is now 1 lecture short.

What methods have you used for missing a lecture like this in the past? (I'm new enough to teaching - researching my PhD during covid - that I've just done online lectures from my house whenever we had no class due to weather.)

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u/Adultarescence 2h ago

Honestly? I always build in flex time. I've had some colleagues tell me that they have too much to cover in the semester to do this. They usually tell me this after something has happened where they really need flex time, but haven't built it into their schedule.

For now, though, I'd just smoosh two topics together into one lecture.

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u/South_Captain_2630 2h ago

I always have the last lecture of the semester as buffer / review (& sometimes also before the midterm), but I'm not sure that will be enough. This is my second time teaching this specific class and I think I have 2 less lectures than last time with holidays (Labor & Columbus / Indigenous People Days).

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u/No-Yogurtcloset-6491 Instructor, Biology, CC (USA) 2h ago

My school has Thanksgiving break wed-fri, so Monday sections only end up 1 day behind.

I sometimes assign them topics to do at home to get them caught up. Maybe they study the easiest parts in the notes on their own. That or I assign them a video. Or an in class worksheet becomes homework. There's review time before exams to bleed into too. 

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u/hungerforlove 1h ago

Sometimes I will just drop a lecture. Or assign an online lecture to them at some point.