A Well-being-Focused Educational Development Model to Promote Flourishing Learning Environments
Thriving learning environments depend upon the well-being of students and instructors. This presentation offers a programming model from a CTL to prepare and support instructors.
Presented by:
Jacquelyn J. Lee, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Anastasia Kuz-Grady, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Abstract:
The myriad of complexities facing higher education gives rise to conversations about well-being. Mental health, engagement, student success, resilience, and faculty burnout are of concern. How do instructors balance empathy, academic rigor, and ensuring career-readiness skills? How can we create compassionate, trauma-informed classrooms? How can institutions support instructors to thrive? Importantly—how and where do we privilege the time and space needed to answer questions like these? Centers for teaching and learning are well-positioned to design instructor, instructional, and organizational development to meet this moment. This presentation offers a new educational development model (and accompanying pedagogical strategies) from a CTL.
Keywords:
Well-Being, Faculty Development, Resilience
Learning Outcomes:
1. Identify the rationale for the increased need a focus on well-being in higher education and define relevant concepts such as: well-being, resilience, and trauma-informed pedagogy
2. Describe a robust model for educational development (i.e., instructor, instructional, and organizational development) to address well-being
3. Apply relevant aspects of the model in their own contexts
A Well-being-Focused Educational Development Model to Promote Flourishing Learning Environments
Hear it from the author:
Transcript:
The myriad of complexities facing higher education has given rise to conversations about both student AND faculty well-being. Mental health, engagement, student success, resilience, and faculty burnout are of concern. How do instructors balance empathy, academic rigor, and ensuring career-readiness skills? How can we create compassionate, trauma-informed classrooms? How can institutions support instructors to thrive? Importantly—how and where do we privilege the time and space needed to answer questions like these? Centers for teaching and learning are well-positioned to design instructor, instructional, and organizational development to meet this moment. This presentation offers an overview of the conceptual landscape of student and faculty well-being. We describe our own model for educational development designed to institutionalize attention to this area, and we and provide concrete strategies across five areas of our offerings– programming, communities, supports, resources, and recognitions. We conclude with questions for participants to consider for integrating relevant aspects of the model in their own contexts.
References
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Riva, E., Freeman, R., Schrock, L., Jelicic, V., Ozer, C. T., & Caleb, R. (2020). Student wellbeing in the teaching and learning environment: A study exploring student and staff perspectives. Higher Education Studies, 10(4), 103.
Thompson, P., & Carello, J. (2022). Trauma-informed pedagogies. Springer International Publishing. https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-030-92705-9.
Verbeke, K., Santucci, A., & Murcray, T. (2023). Re-energized: Focusing on engagement to promote faculty wellbeing. The Journal of Faculty Development, 37(1), 72-75.
Wilson, S. L., Riva, E., & Lister, K. (2024). Positive Pedagogies: Co-creation partnerships to support social and emotional learning in higher education. Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy, 3, 100035.