Learning takes place in the context of a student’s life. Students have indicated that instructors who acknowledge, respect and support these other aspects of their lives promote wellbeing. The instructors we interviewed – all of whom students nominated as promoting student wellbeing – seemed to be well aware of student stressors, which can range from every-day stresses (i.e. commuting, working, adjusting to life away from home, making new friends) to coping with extreme circumstances such as a severe illness or a death in the family. Several instructors commented that students are coming of age in an increasingly complex world: Instructor 1 (Arts) noted that “the worlds of students today are much more complicated and stressed and demanding.” Students experience high levels of competition in all aspects of their lives. A generation ago, a university degree basically guaranteed a good job. Today, “You have to have a university degree that is in a major that is in demand and you have to have extracurricular activities and you have to have volunteered in four different countries” (Instructor 10, Arts).
With so much going on in their lives, students described the importance of knowing key dates (exams and assignment due dates) and the instructors’ grading practices (i.e. do they offer extensions) at the start of term so that they can plan. Students also described the importance of having reasonable workloads and expressed appreciation for instructors who made efforts to accommodate student schedules when setting office hours.
Students also discussed how instructors respond to unexpected situations. As one Arts student put it, “Everybody experiences crisis at some point in their time”. Students expressed appreciation for instructors who invited students to approach them if they were having a hard time or were stressed out by something that was happening in their life. This appears to be particularly important for situations where students may not be able to get “proof” of their situation (e.g. breakups). In some situations, getting proof of a crisis (in order to obtain accommodations) can become a “whole other crisis on its own” (Arts student).
Teaching Practices that Recognize students have lives outside academics
- Engaging in conversation not directly related to the course
- Accommodate students’ busy schedules when setting office hours (i.e. class input, by appointment, online office hours)
- Ensuring that the workload is reasonable
- Reducing costs or offering lower-cost options
- Not requiring proof from students who are experiencing a crisis
- Offering deadline extensions
- Incorporating flexibility into the grading scheme
- Clearly communicating grading and assessment policies
- Setting deadlines to encourage work-life balance
- Reminding students that their marks do not determine their worth
Thinking back to the time when you were a student, did you appreciate if your instructor employed the above strategies? Do you have other strategies that you use? We’d love to hear your feedback on this topic!