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Exploring Well-being in Learning Environments: An Integrated Seminar Series + Grants Programs

2019 - 2021

Positive well-being is a key predictor for learning and student success. Research indicates that well-being is associated with deep learning, and that teaching practices contribute to experiences of well-being (Adler, 2016; Fernandez et al, 2016, Harward, 2016; Stanton, Zandvliet, Dhaliwal & Black, 2016). In partnership with the Â鶹ÊÓƵTeaching and Learning Centre, Â鶹ÊÓƵHealth Promotion worked with instructional staff and faculty to create conditions for well-being within learning environments. Â鶹ÊÓƵHealth Promotion explanded this network by partnering with TILT to pilot a seminar series and grants program. This program intended to:

• Provide support for Â鶹ÊÓƵfaculty to investigate strategies that create conditions of well-being in learning environments.
• Increase knowledge of ways faculty can create well-being in learning environments.
• Provide the opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration through a well-being lens.
• Facilitate knowledge and ideas exchange that contribute to identifying effective practices that enhance student well-being.

The program participants:

• Gained knowledge about the importance of and how to create conditions of well-being in learning environments that positively affect student academic success.
• Developed a project proposal to implement and evaluate changes made to a learning environment in order to foster learning and well-being.
• Provided input to and receive feedback from fellow program participants and facilitators.
• Received up to $5000 of funding to support the design and/or implementation and evaluation of their work.
• Submited a final report and share the outcomes of the project by connecting with other faculty members and colleagues within and outside of the Â鶹ÊÓƵcommunity.

Facilitation Team

Sessions were facilitated by members of SFU’s Health Promotion team in collaboration with TILT. Faculty members engaged in SFU's Well-being in Learning Environments project may also facilitate some components of the program.

REFERENCES

Adler, A. (2016). Teaching well-being increases academic performance: Evidence from Bhutan, Mexico and Peru. Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1572.

Harward, D. (2016). Well-being and higher education. A Strategy for change and the revitalization of education’s greater purpose. Washington, DC: Bringing Theory to Practice.

Fernandez, A., Howse, E., Rubio-Valera, M., Thorncraft, K., Noone, J., Luu, X., Veness, B., Leech, M., Llewellyn, G. & Salvador-Carulla, L. (2016). Setting-based interventions to promote mental health at the university: a systematic review. International Journal of Public Health, 61(7): 797-807.

Stanton, A., Zandvliet, D.B., Black, T. & Dhaliwal, R. (2016). Understanding students’ experiences of well-being in learning environments. Higher Education Studies, 6(3), 90-99.