Teaching practices and student wellbeing: It takes a village

Student wellbeing is often deemed a responsibility of student services professionals. However, evidence suggest that subtle shifts within higher education classroom contexts can create a profound impact on student wellbeing.

In particular, emerging research indicates that instructors have important roles to play in fostering student wellbeing through their teaching. Such findings echo the foundational theories and the calls-to-action identified in the Okanagan Charter (2015).

This interactive workshop will share research and innovative projects that creatively engage instructors in enhancing student wellbeing from a large Canadian university. Tools and teaching practices that support student wellbeing will be shared. The audience will be engaged in a series of reflections and web interactions to identify possible strategies for supporting student wellbeing through effective teaching. Videos and testimonies will be shared for participants to ground their thoughts on lived experiences shared by members of the campus community including students, staff and faculty.

By the end of the session, participants will generate ideas on how to apply teaching practices that foster student wellbeing to their campus context.