To bridge the gap between the learning goals of the classroom and the overtaxed, returning-from-the-pandemic learner, adapting teaching practices to respond to present-day experiences became a way to facilitate success. Weaving anecdotal experiences with pedagogical scholarship, this discussion explores the impact of practices that approach the learning experience with grace (Su, 2021) and care (Mehrotra, 2021). These practices include the value of putting Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs before Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning (Mutch & Peung, 2021), and adopting a trauma-informed approach to create opportunity for all students' success. This includes: Incorporating opportunities for students to make decisions and exercise choice over aspects of their assignments and facilitating a sense of ownership over their learning (Wolpert-Gawron, 2018), incorporating structured engagement among peers to create a supportive learning community (Lang, 2020), and incorporating practices of instructional care and holistic recognition to build trusting relationships. [Articles in this journal were presented at the University of Calgary Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching.]