Supporting student well-being from afar

Advice on supporting student well-being through your online teaching practices

Spotlight offering advice on supporting student well-being when teaching online

A quality digital education is not just about teaching but must take a more holistic view of the student experience – and central to this is well-being. The toll that Covid-19 has taken on many students’ mental health is well documented, so this collection of resources looks at what can academics do to support well-being online and ensure students feel connected and supported from a distance.

By miranda.prynne, 20 May, 2021

Designing online courses for better learning and well-being outcomes

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Guidance on designing online courses for learning and well-being

Matthew Barr describes how to design and deliver online teaching to support better learning and well-being for students who might otherwise feel isolated and disconnected

Putting well-being at the core of teaching

Resources

By miranda.prynne, 18 May, 2021

Expectation and compassion: two sides of the coin for successful learning outcomes

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Balancing compassion with high expectations for better learning outcomes

Celia Ann Evans explains how instructors can balance compassion with high expectations to guide students to better learning gains

By miranda.prynne, 20 May, 2021

Supporting students’ emotional needs in distance learning

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Designing and delivering courses to meet students emotional needs

Yanfang Si shares simple online teaching methods to make students feel connected and supported and so help meet their emotional needs from a distance

By miranda.prynne, 20 May, 2021

Using online coaching to support student well-being

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Taking a human approach to providing support for student well-being online

Helen Duff explains how a human approach to providing support online, in the form of coaching sessions, can have a powerful impact on student well-being

Putting well-being at the core of teaching

Resources offering insight on embedding well-being practices into online teaching

By miranda.prynne, 5 May, 2021

Online teaching tips to support student well-being

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Advice on online teaching techniques that promote student well-being

Natalie Kopytko provides practical tips to address student well-being via online teaching practices that can also benefit faculty

By miranda.prynne, 25 February, 2021

Well-being pedagogies: activities and practices to improve the student experience online

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Wellbeing pedagogies to boost the student experience online

With many concerned about the mental health effects of learning remotely, Elena Riva shares helpful practices that can boost student well-being in the online teaching and learning environment

Reading time

3minutes

Advice on incorporating humour into your online teaching to keep students engaged

By miranda.prynne, 19 March, 2021

Leading with humanity in your online classroom: Tips beyond tech

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Advice on ensuring the human side of teaching is not lost in the move to online education

How to ensure the human side of teaching is not lost and that pedagogical practices promoting care drive decisions when instructing online, from research by Mary Candace Raygoza, Aaminah Norris and Raina León

By miranda.prynne, 27 April, 2021

Embracing a compassionate approach in higher education

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A guide to introducing compassionate communication into your online teaching

Caroline Harvey and Frances Maratos explain how to embed compassionate communication into higher education when teaching online

Creating community in and out of the classroom

Resources

By miranda.prynne, 28 April, 2021

Building community in the classroom whatever your teaching modality

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Three tips for building community in the classroom

Nancy Gleason offers three tips for building community among students whatever your teaching modality

By miranda.prynne, 4 November, 2020

Creating a welcoming and inclusive online learning community

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Create a welcoming online learning community

Creating a sense of community among students is vital for effective online teaching. Here, Miral Gibson explains how fostering this welcoming online learning environment should be pedagogy-led

By miranda.prynne, 11 January, 2021

Do unto students as they would have done to them

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Practical advice on building equitable communities when teaching online

Maha Bali offers practical advice on building equitable learning communities online no matter what students’ bandwidth or synchronicity of the class

Reading time

3minutes

Communicating support and care

Resources

By miranda.prynne, 10 December, 2020

Pastoral care for students in the digital classroom

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Providing the pastoral care students need can be difficult when teaching remotely. Here, Chris Headleand offers tips on looking out for students’ general well-being when limited to online communication

By miranda.prynne, 7 January, 2021

How to create human connection when teaching online

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Instructors teaching online must take steps to connect with their students via digital channels and compensate for the loss of natural face-to-face cues and communication. Flower Darby explains how

By miranda.prynne, 17 November, 2020

Developing students’ confidence and sense of belonging online

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Fostering a sense of belonging among remote students to aid learning

With most students new to online learning, many may lack the confidence to actively participate in group classes. Georgina Blakeley offers her tips on fostering a sense of belonging that aids interaction among students

Combatting isolation

Resources

By miranda.prynne, 4 May, 2021

Online teaching insights, part one: social connection and listening

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Insights on tools and techniques to improve online teaching from dozens of faculty at the American University in Cairo

Insights and lessons on effective tools and techniques to improve online teaching, put together by faculty spanning dozens of disciplines at the American University in Cairo

By miranda.prynne, 4 November, 2020

The power of peer to peer: how and why to encourage your students to learn from each other

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How to encourage peer to peer learning when teaching online courses

Peer-to-peer learning brings major benefits for students and instructors. Here, Zachary Walker explains how to encourage your students to learn from each other and why this can be so effective when teaching online

By miranda.prynne, 14 April, 2021

Using coaching circles to beat isolation and spur reflexive work

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An explanation of how student coaching circles can help improve course learning outcomes

Glen Cousquer explains how coaching circles run by students with their peers can help beat feelings of isolation and guide students to overcome personal or course-related challenges

Teaching resilience

How to train students to be more resilient

By miranda.prynne, 31 March, 2021

Using the art of storytelling to help students build resilience when learning online

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Using storytelling to boost student resilience and sense of connection online

Judith Francois describes how she facilitates storytelling via online channels to help students build resilience and feel more connected

By miranda.prynne, 4 December, 2020

Socio-emotional learning online: boosting student resilience and well-being

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How the Open University of Hong Kong is offering socio-emotional learning to protect student well-being

The Covid-19 crisis has led to worsening mental health and increased stress among students. Kathleen Chim talks about how the Open University of Hong Kong has tried to build students’ mental resilience through socio-emotional learning