TEACHING TIPS
This section is full of timely and evidence-based practices to apply in your teaching
As the semester draws to a close while faculty are consumed by assignments, exams, submitting final grades, summer courses and even prepping for fall courses it is easy to forget about our own well-being without which everything else becomes less enjoyable, more of a struggle and sometimes unsatisfactory. In our last newsletter for this semester we would like to share some suggestions for prioritizing your self-care over the next few weeks.
We all know self-care is important and that it is more than just “getting enough sleep and exercising” - we need practical ways to sustainably implement self-care strategies. Sustainable being the key word for most faculty as once the semester resumes good intentions fly out of the window with renewed workload commitments and stress. We need to break the cycle. University of Michigan suggests:
Reframe self-care. The self-care rhetoric can sometimes fall flat and feel like just one more item on our to-do list, so consider being:
- Proactive: What can I realistically manage every day/week that supports my well-being?
- Reactive: What can I do in the moment when I’m feeling anxiety or panic? (A 5 second rule is suggested, don’t go with your first answer, reflect for 5 seconds then make a decision)
- Individual: What can I do myself?
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Communal: When do I need to ask for help? When is connection what I really need? Who is one person I can reach out to?
Re-evaluate your modus operandi:
- Prioritize rest and do not feel guilty for taking time for yourself
- Review boundaries by re-establishing personal limits and saying no sometimes
- Build healthy habits over the summer for the academic year to come.
The Resilient Educator suggests ways to “relax, recover and prepare for fall” including: “filling your intellectual well,” participating in professional development, and unplugging and rebooting. They also have a very simple to-do list. Below are details of an ACUE webinar on faculty self care that you can also register for.
For those of you who were unable (because of work pressure!) to attend the literary circle this semester try and read Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal by Rebecca Pope-Ruark. The book blends narrative, evidence-based research, professional advice, and reflection opportunities to help faculty overcome burnout and prevent it and is available, online from the UNCG library
If you don’t have time to read any of the above (and that might tell you something) maybe listen to this podcast from Harvard in the car for suggestions from a licensed psychologist who works with educators on integrating self-care and well-being into their professional lives.
Lastly, faculty are of course concerned about the health and well-being of their students so here is a video you can share with your students about the eight dimensions of well-being for them to cultivate on their summer break.
