Curriculum design for ensuring well-being and mental health

6. Examples of curriculum design elements for promoting well-being and mental health

Increase student flexibility in setting deadlines and selecting tasks

Providing choice allows students to feel control over their own learning, which ultimately acts to reduce the likelihood of anxiety appearing.

The possibility of allowing students to choose seminar paper topics and task formats (for example, an essay or a presentation) and opening the possibility of increasing flexibility in task submission deadlines (at least for those of lesser importance) helps students in ensuring well-being.

Example:

Universities, as well as teachers, can introduce the possibility of delaying minor tasks without the need for a medical certificate. In this way, pressure on students is reduced.

Ensure clarity during task assignment and familiarize students with their obligations

Anxiety is often caused by uncertainty, and by clearly assigning tasks and familiarizing students with their obligations, the likelihood of its occurrence is reduced.

Examples:

Detailed syllabi: A clear overview of the entire semester, including all deadlines, monitoring methods, assessment methods, and expectations (without changes during the academic year).

Transparent grading: Using detailed rubrics that clearly show students how they will be graded, based on which criteria and points.

Apply constructive alignment in curriculum design

Curriculum design focused on student well-being actively uses the principles of constructive alignment to ensure that teaching, learning, and assessment methods are mutually aligned. In this way, the student experience is optimized and unnecessary stress is reduced.

Quality assessment based on constructive alignment ensures that assessment methods:

• test key knowledge and skills that are explicitly defined by learning outcomes
• encourage deep learning instead of surface learning focused solely on passing.

Example:

It is recommended to replace one extensive exam with several smaller formative checks. Using portfolio-type evaluation is particularly useful because it shifts the focus from the end result to the learning process and skill development throughout the entire semester.

Raise the level of transfer of knowledge and skills needed for life

The curriculum should include disciplinary knowledge, but also skills crucial for student life and the future of their professional and private lives.

It is necessary to embed into the curriculum the teaching of topics that are crucial for a quality student life, and later for private and professional life.

Examples:

Teaching students metacognitive skills, such as how to learn, how to plan time, and how to manage workload.

Teaching students about topics such as digital well-being and integrating into teaching topics about the critical use of digital technologies and the impact of the online environment on mental health.

As academic staff, you have the opportunity to positively influence student well-being and learning, and you can achieve this by using your role in teaching to increase confidence, self-efficacy, deep learning, and students' love for their studies and subjects. However, you do not have to become their counselor because maintaining your own boundaries and effectively referring to support services is the correct path.