Forging New Paths: Applying Lessons from the Pandemic Period

There are an infinite number of takeaways that the contributors to and editors of this book have gleaned from our experiences as teachers—and as humans—during the pandemic and post-pandemic years of 2020–2024. Yet our three biggest takeaways can be summed up using three words we have referred to again and again throughout this volume: innovation, inclusion, and compassion. There are many directions we can go from here, and much that remains unexplored, but what we believe educators must do as they begin to forge new paths post-pandemic is to prioritize innovative, inclusive, and compassionate pedagogy above all else—particularly when working with historically underserved students and other marginalized and vulnerable groups in higher education. Here, we offer summative conclusions about the value of innovation, inclusion, and compassion in our classrooms, as well as a few more concrete tools and approaches educators can use alongside the dozens of other suggestions provided by contributors throughout this book.