The fourth year of the annual Student-Centered Learning Workshop facilitated by Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) staff -- and required for faculty in all 61 academic departments on campus -- introduced an important new partnership.
Well-being champions
The CELT team's efforts to improve student well-being earned it a Champion Award last month at the Health and Wellbeing Symposium. Police officer Natasha Greene received the individual Champion Award.
"We collaborated with the directors from the student health and wellness unit to provide content knowledge and insight. Their expertise was invaluable, and we were grateful to have them co-present with us at each workshop," said CELT's program specialist Laura Bestler.
The workshop, focused on embedding students' well-being in learning environments, evolved from conversations among CELT staff and student health and wellness along with faculty, many of whom observed the same thing in their courses.
"We kept hearing that students faced challenges that impacted their academics," Bestler said.
CELT assessment coordinator Paul Hengesteg said working with associate vice president for student health services Erin Baldwin, student wellness director Brian Vanderheyden, student counseling services director Kristen Sievert and recreation services director Tony Dirth allowed people who work mainly with faculty or students to get a different perspective of the work being done and its impact.
"The general divide between academic affairs and student affairs nationally in higher education is noted in research, so the fact that we are partnering and working together is very important," Hengesteg said. "A collaboration like this will have a big impact campuswide because we all play a role in student well-being."
People in distress may not know there's help nearby unless it's been promoted, Bestler said. So, it's essential to tell faculty, staff and students about Iowa State resources.
"Repetition and hearing it from as many places as possible increases the odds that the person (or peer) who needs it knows about it," she said.
CELT's annual training and its efforts to embed well-being in its work were honored during Iowa State's second annual Health and Wellbeing Symposium held Feb. 2. (see breakout).
Workshop
To develop workshop content, student health and wellness leaders shared recent survey data with CELT staff that offer insight to ISU students' well-being:
- 51.6% screened as lonely
- 42.1% slept less than seven hours/night
- 31.4% screened as food insecure
This year's workshop was presented in the fall and early spring semesters and concentrated on three conditions: Mindfulness, gratitude and purpose.
Faculty were asked to consider how small shifts in their teaching, for example, taking time during class for students to refocus with a quick stretch, can be beneficial over the course of a semester. Before an exam, give students two minutes to write about something they are grateful for in their lives. Hengesteg noted how each change was small but could eventually lead to meaningful change.
The workshop also spotlighted the need to normalize help-seeking for students.
"It really was about affirming that seeking help is OK and important to our well-being," Bestler said. "It shows courage and pride to take care of ourselves."
She said one of the most important ways to help others -- faculty, staff or students -- is to ensure they know about the resources available to them at the university. Two examples are the Therapy Assistance Online self-help tool available 24 hours a day and Cyclone Support, a division of student affairs program to improve help-seeking behaviors among students to connect them with campus resources that assist with issues ranging from mental health to personal finances.
Teaching community
Bestler said the number of faculty who wanted to continue the conversation after the workshop exceeded previous years and led to a teaching community that will continue past this academic year. The well-being teaching community has more than 100 active participants in the inaugural semester. Faculty drive the discussion based on what they see in their learning spaces.
"Faculty see the need, recognize that learning about well-being and talking to others about teaching is one of the most powerful tools they have," Bestler said.
Hengesteg said the community will work together to host conversations and reading circles, provide Cyclone Support training and discuss potential research connections between well-being and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Depending on availability, members may choose to participate in person, online or asynchronously, Bestler said. Faculty interested in joining the community this spring, email celt@iastate.edu.
