Navigating Faculty & Student Wellbeing in Challenging Times
Resources for supporting our students and attending to our own wellbeing.
As we navigate this week, and the weeks to come, I want to acknowledge the immense pressure and stress we are all experiencing. The current climate, both within some (many?) of our institutions and in the broader world, has created a collective strain that continues to compound. As faculty, we play a critical role in supporting our students, even as we grapple with our own concerns and uncertainties.
In light of these challenges, I want to emphasize the importance of self-care and wellbeing. These are not luxuries, but essential components for our survival and effectiveness as educators and mentors. I encourage you to prioritize activities that nurture your mental and physical health - whether that’s spending time in nature, engaging in physical movement, practicing mindfulness, or simply allowing yourself moments of rest and recovery. Remember, taking care of yourself is not selfish; it’s necessary to sustain the important work you do.
While we cannot single-handedly solve all the problems facing our institutions or society, we can make a significant impact through our individual interactions and relationships. Each time you deeply listen to a student or colleague, you are making a difference. These one-on-one connections are powerful and meaningful, even if they seem small in the face of larger challenges.
There are a lot of wonderful resources about having challenging conversations - I’ll offer a few of my past newsletters, and some additional resources below.
More reading about managing challenging conversations from…
Georgetown University's Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship
University of Connecticut’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
The College of William & Mary’s Studio for Teaching and Learning Innovation
Teaching on Days After: Educating for Equity in the Wake of Injustice, by Alyssa Hadley Dunn
If you’re in faculty development, you might be headed to the POD conference next week - I would love to meet you IRL, as the kids say, if you are. I’ll be in these three presentations next week…
POD talk: “Uniting for Impact: Strategies for the Formation of MegaSoTL Collaborations”
Workshop-in-a-box: “The Power of Feedback: Equipping Developers with Feedback Literacy Strategies”
SoTL SIG presentation: “Frameworks for Elevating SoTL Programming through Fostering Relationships”
Very best wishes for navigating the next few weeks and finishing the semester as strong as possible.
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