How Can I Intentionally Create a Course that Boosts Learning and Decreases Student Stress?

Teachers can unintentionally impact their students’ ability to learn or even graduate, just in the way their courses are designed. But small changes to course design can make a big difference to students struggling with stress and other mental health concerns, and also improve learning and retention.

This 20-Minute Mentor highlights how faculty can craft courses that simultaneously decrease student stress (especially for those with high anxiety) and boost learning for all our students. Several concrete examples will help faculty realize that with evidence-backed course design approaches, they can boost learning and improve wellness for all their students.

Learning Goals

After viewing this Magna 20-Minute Mentor, participants will be able to:

• Understand how mental health challenges can interfere with learning
• Gain strategies for designing courses in ways that reduce unnecessary stress and discouragement for students with mental health challenges, while boosting learning for all students
• Take away an analytical framework to use to examine any aspect of course design or classroom teaching—a cost-benefit analysis that will lead to a more inclusive teaching approach for students with mental health challenges

Topics Covered

• Mental health challenges
• Intentionality
• High-stakes tests
• Timed tests
• Spaced and mastery learning
• Simplicity, clarity, and flexibility in assignment structures

Audience

This program will benefit:

• Faculty
• Administrators

Product Code: PM23DA