Teaching a Course Students Don’t Want to Take

There's always a course students don't want to take. Most likely it's a required course, maybe a general education option, probably dealing with content students are convinced they don't like (even though their exposure to it may be minimal) and requiring skills they're certain they can't develop. These can be difficult courses to teach. How these courses get launched plays an important role in determining the direction they take for the rest of the semester. Here's a rundown of some of the challenges and some potential responses that are more effective at the outset than later on.

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