Caring for our students has become extremely complex. Some faculty believe caring for the well being of students is not their role and finding a way to balance this view within a pedagogy of care can be challenging. However, reframing the purpose of our teaching towards knowledge-practice learning can help bridge this philosophical divide.
Millennials are the first generation expected to fare worse than their parents in earnings and life expectancy (Maybrey, 2017). With this in mind it is even possible that the students sitting in our classrooms today will not fare as well as we did. The American College Health Association, Ontario Canada Reference Group (2016) illustrated a dramatic increase in health-related issues, including suicide attempts, between 2013 and 2016 even though during this time there has been an significant increase in campus student service programs. Maybrey’s article suggests that support services alone can not improve student wellness. Poor career preparation and students’ lack of awareness for how their learning connects to the economy is a major contributor to anxieties that lead to a cycle of debt and poor health.
To be well students need hope for their futures (Pardy, 2016). Universities do their best with wellness programs and counselling services, but they are addressing the symptoms and not the root causes. Teaching and learning strategies have the ability to help address the root of this growing problem.
This presentation draws on research, and teaching and learnings strategies to illustrate how experiential learning and reframing how career paths are mapped can dramatically improve student engagement in course content, and at the same time improve overall well being.
The objectives of this presentation are to:
- Share findings from “tested” teaching and learning strategies.
- Demonstrate career mapping that expands a student’s opportunities and provides faculty with a better way to illustrate career options from their specific area of study to the economy (including humanities, liberal arts, sciences).
- Provide examples of resources that support faculty workload and increase experiential learning opportunities for students.
- Facilitate small group discussions to exchange ideas, resources, and promising practices.
