The university has three 10-week terms, so “everything is really compressed,” says Constance Kassor, an associate professor of religious studies. “Students are sprinting through their classes, trying to get their coursework done,” she says. Some students are pursuing dual degrees in the conservatory and the liberal arts. It’s common to be involved in lots of clubs, too. “There’s this general kind of feeling among the students that if they are not being productive every waking minute of the day — if they’re not working on their courses, working on their music, working on something that’s going to go on their résumé so that they can get a job after they graduate — they really feel like they’re wasting their time.”
So when Kassor, whose field is Buddhist studies, and some of her colleagues wanted to work contemplative practices into the curriculum, they faced a quandary. They didn’t want to load students up with another requirement. But if they didn’t give academic credit, students wouldn’t squeeze it in with all of their other commitments. In the end, the professors settled on a one-credit course (at Lawrence, a standard course is six credits).
Students may well feel they’re supposed to be constantly busy, but deep thought and creative expression require down time. The course is called “Doing Nothing.”
The course was in the planning stages before the pandemic hit, Kassor says, envisioned as a participatory, interdisciplinary effort to help students slow down, get off of their phones, and learn to manage their stress. The need for it has only increased these past few years, she says: “The stress levels among our students are just through the roof.”
“Doing Nothing” covers sleep hygiene, mindfulness, Tai Chi, and more. It’s graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory; to pass, students must come to class on time, participate, and put their phones away, set to silent.
Students are learning skills they’ll be able to lean on throughout their lives, Kassor says. “We could talk about it in terms of, it will make you a more productive worker or whatever,” she says. “We’re interested in more than that at a liberal-arts school.” Ultimately, Kassor says, having these tools can make students better people.
Some colleges already have courses or other programs meant to give students space and time to think and to teach them stress-management skills. But such offerings rarely reach all students, and the heightened student stress Kassor has noticed is not unique to Lawrence. I asked her for advice on what professors might do to support their own students on this front in the context of whatever they’re teaching.
Professors, Kassor says, should remember that “part of our job is to educate the whole student. It’s not just about cramming as much content as possible into their brains.” Sometimes, she says, just giving students a few minutes of meditation in class can make a difference. When she does that, Kassor says, “students tell me that’s the only quiet time that they get in their entire day.”
Have you found a way to encourage students to slow down and de-stress, or explained why they should try? What do you do, and how has it gone over with students? Tell me at beckie.supiano@chronicle.com and your example may appear in a future newsletter.
Engaging Students, at Scale
This semester, the newsletter has focused quite a bit on student engagement. I recently heard from a reader seeking ideas for engaging students in large courses, which, as I’ve reported, come with particular teaching challenges.
“The smallest class I teach has 90 students in it, and this semester, I am teaching five of those sections,” writes John Mercurio, a lecturer in political science at San Diego State University. “So, I was wondering if you could solicit advice on engagement (and frankly any other topic) tailored more towards large, intro-level classes.”
I know a fair number of our readers teach large intro courses. What’s proven effective in connecting with students? Do you have other strategies to share? Send your suggestions my way at beckie.supiano@chronicle.com. If we get some good responses, I’ll compile them in a future newsletter.
More Advice From Former Students
We’ve been hearing from readers who collect advice from their students to share with future classes. Here are a few more examples:
- Molly A. Metz, an assistant teaching professor in psychology at the University of Toronto, collects insights from students during an end-of-term reflection and includes their comments in a syllabus section called “Advice From Former Students,” organized by theme. “If students say something specific about a particular assignment,” Metz adds, “I include it in my slides when I introduce the assignment in class. It’s a nice way to acknowledge that I know what they’re worried about or skeptical of, and that other students have survived it.”
- Clare Forstie, an education program specialist in the Center for Educational Innovation at the University of Minnesota, gathers advice from students during a closure activity, and with their permission, shares them with future students. “For students who’ve given permission (typically all or almost all students), I compile their anonymized responses into a spreadsheet, which I share with students on the first day of the next semester’s class,” Forstie writes. “I also choose a few especially important or representative quotes to share (in slides, and verbally) in that first class.”
- Seth Matthew Fishman, assistant dean of curriculum and assessment in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova University, teaches an internship/practicum course for students pursuing a master’s in higher education. “Some students are anxious about finding a site, navigating a new office culture (while managing other life priorities) and establishing themselves in a new role,” he writes. Fishman collects and compiles advice from departing students. “This is available on the course LMS site and I encourage students to read it before our first class session,” he writes. “They all do and find it comforting, validating, and raising things they have not considered.”
Thanks for reading Teaching. If you have suggestions or ideas, please feel free to email us at beckie.supiano@chronicle.com or beth.mcmurtrie@chronicle.com.
— Beckie
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