Tools for Well-being in the Classroom
In partnership with Transforming Inquiry into Learning (TILT) & Teaching and SFU Health Promotion, Tools for Well-being in the Classroom (TWC) was a Well-being in Learning Environments initiative that built on the work that faculty members and other instructors are already doing to support student learning and well-being.
Faculty members, instructors, and TAs/TMs were invited to try out quick strategies to support well-being in their own classes, tutorials, and learning environments, and have their students participate in a survey to evaluate its impact. An additional goal of this initiative was to expand the network of faculty, instructors, and TAs/TMs interested in exploring strategies that support well-being in learning environments.
Everyone’s well-being has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and incidents on the world stage; each person has and continues to experience this differently. The pandemic has exacerbated mental health stressors. Youth aged 18-30 have been particularly likely to report increased anxiety and stress in 2020 (Samji et al., 2021). Students at post-secondary institutions also reported increased stress as we all navigated the switch from in-person to remote teaching, along with other pandemic-related educational complications (Rashid & Di Genova, 2020). Instructors, faculty, and TAs/TMs play an important role in creating conditions that support student well-being, and with that student learning, engagement, and retention.
For more information about the impact of well-being on student success, and ways that instructors can affect both, see this project rationale.
Participants gained
Resume for advancement/line for CV
Improved classroom environment and student learning
Be part of a support network of faculty, instructors, and TAs
Access resources and learn with and from others on what they are doing to contribute to well-being and student academic success
Opportunities for personal and professional growth
Letter of recognition from Transforming Inquiry into Learning & Teaching (TILT) and SFU Health Promotion
“It was really nice to have a prompt to help get conversations with new people started. It made it feel less intimidating to talk to someone new. I also loved how open the prompt were, allowing us to engage as lightly or deeply as we liked. I feel like we often started out saying pretty standard things like being stressed about exams, but after a while people started sharing more personal and meaningful things about themselves. The activity made me feel like a part of a community.”
- student who was in a class that participated in TWC
Acknowledgements
This initiative is a collaboration between the SFU Health Promotion team and the Institute for the Study of Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines team.
Piloted in Fall 2021, the inaugural program was funded by the Student Experience Initiative, and was guided by the Advisory Committee:
- Hasina Samji
- Mark Pickup
- Sarah Walshaw
- Suzanna Crage
References
Rashid, T. & Di Genova, L. (2020). Campus mental health in times of COVID-19 pandemic: Data-informed challenges and opportunities. Campus Mental Health: Community of Practice (CoP) Canadian Association of Colleges and University Student Services. https://bit.ly/3lbLZQU
Samji, H., Dove, N., Ames, M., Barbic, S., Sones, M., & Leadbeater, B. (2021, July). Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and well-being of young adults in British Columbia. BC Centre for Disease Control. hhttp://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Professionals-Site/Documents/COVID-Impacts/BCCDC_COVID-19_Young_Adult_Health_Well-being_Report.pdfttps://bit.ly/2VkmkdW