It’s no secret that the severity and prevalence of anxiety and depression among college students has reached an all-time high. Students are grappling with fear, stress, isolation, lack of focus, decreased happiness, and learning difficulties. This workshop, facilitated by skilled educators and experienced practitioners, equips participants with the tools to counter this growing trend. It offers proven strategies that are suitable for all types of institutions, fostering engaging educational methods for resilience and stress management. Participants will gain tangible tools and practical exercises that they can apply immediately in their teaching, advising, and mentoring roles.
Learning Objectives & Outline:
- Participants will be able to discuss the mental health challenges (increased anxiety, stress, and depression) particular to today’s college students and use this knowledge to develop effective curricular and other interventions to increase resilience, mindfulness, and personal leadership.
- Participants will be able to discuss the concept of resilience and apply stress management strategies in their teaching, advising, and other work with first-year students.
- Participants will practice active learning strategies relevant to resilience and stress management and be able to assess their usefulness in their specific context.
Participants will benefit from diverse institutional perspectives to learn personal leadership and stress management strategies that can be immediately applied in their institutional roles. Our active learning workshop will immerse participants in wellness strategies, focusing on resilience and mindfulness. Current research, theory, and best practices will be presented. We will cover coping strategies, resilience skills, relaxation techniques, communication, self-care, positive thinking, and mindfulness. Each activity and strategy is designed to model a curricular component that participants can apply in their personal lives, advising, mentoring, and teaching. After each activity, we will debrief and directly teach the relevant concept or strategy and provide additional resources. At intervals, participants will be invited to engage in a brief, structured process to discern how a particular activity or strategy could be integrated into their classrooms, student advising and mentoring, or other roles. Participants will be guided in setting goals for implementation and will leave with tangible skills and access to a digital repository. This repository includes our conceptual framework, learning modules, and application exercises that participants can use immediately.
Presenter(s) & Institution:
Marinda Ashman: Marinda Ashman, an educator with over 30 years of experience, is an Associate Professor at Utah Valley University. She specializes in First Year studies, stress management, personal leadership, internships, resilience, and peer mentoring. Her research includes power and social dynamics. Marinda serves on committees for mentoring, innovation, accreditation, student retention, and Rank, Tenure, and Promotion. She has received awards for teaching and student advocacy. Skilled in curriculum development, educational technology integration, and faculty development, Marinda fosters a supportive and inclusive environment, making her an inspiring pre-conference presenter.
Sandi Bennett: For nearly 20 years, Sandi Bennett has supported student success through one-on-one advising and teaching student development courses such as learning strategies, stress management, and Freshman Seminar at Utah Valley University. She is the co-founder and faculty editor of The Journal of Student Leadership, promoting student scholarship and leadership. At Brigham Young University, she designs and leads training for 175+ peer mentors who support first-year students. In addition to supervising mentors, she provides ongoing training and guidance. With an M.Ed. in Instructional Technology and an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction, Sandi brings expertise and dedication to student growth and achievement.
Benjamin A. Johnson, Ph.D.: Dr. Benjamin A. Johnson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Student Leadership and Success Studies at Utah Valley University. He earned his Ph.D. in Educational Philosophy and Psychology, with an emphasis on Educational Policy & Leadership, from The Ohio State University. He is an advocate for students and promotes efforts focused on student retention. Benjamin has mentored numerous students on independent research projects and co-founded The Journal of Student Leadership, a peer-reviewed journal addressing leadership issues. His service-learning efforts support underrepresented students during their first year of college, and his research spans educational design, metacognition, and student success.
Stacy Waddoups: Stacy Waddoups, an Associate Professor at Utah Valley University, has over 30 years of experience in education. She has taught all grade levels except kindergarten and works with diverse students. Stacy holds degrees in History, Economics, Political Science, and Adult Literacy, plus a post-graduate certificate in ESL. She values relationships, fairness, and fun, and develops curriculum for courses like Student Success, Internships, Stress Management, and Power Learning Strategies. Passionate about student success, Stacy is committed to helping students build strong academic foundations and grow in self-awareness.
For nearly 40 years, we have worked on that very pragmatic question, “What do I need to do to pass this course?” We began this journey in developmental education, and we ended up working with graduate students. In essence, we needed to build a universal yet flexible approach to coursework that would make sense to students, particularly those students who weren’t finding intuitive solutions to challenging coursework. The result is a model that has a great deal of face validity for our students and has become the backbone of our Supplemental Instruction (SI) initiatives. This workshop will be a condensed version of the student seminar we have presented hundreds of times to thousands of students at all educational levels (i.e. from high school to graduate studies). The workshop will be very interactive, focusing on practical strategies to learn material at the appropriate level, to manage that material in your memory, and finally, to prove that you have learned the material. Many faculty have found valuable insight into their own teaching by observing how students conceptualize these responsibilities. The first segment in this very popular student workshop – Just how stupid are tests?
Learning Objectives:
Outcomes:
- Participants will be challenged to identify exactly which of the three responsibilities they invoke when they give directions to students (e.g. when we say “learn this” we really mean “learn this at the appropriate level, carry it with you, and be prepared to produce it, upon demand, in any fashion required”)
- Participants will learn contextualized strategies related to each of the three responsibilities to share with students. They will also develop their own subject-specific strategies.
- Participants will learn how to help students differentiate the problems they face in the classroom, i.e. to understand if those problems are related to learning, memory, or proving what they have learned.
- Participants will operationalize many of the directives they give in class in order to help struggling students. Directives such as “read this”, “learn this”, “remember this”, “take notes”, and “study this.”
Presenter(s) & Institution:
Michael Morsches – Michael is a trained teacher, and holds a Master's degree in Multicultural Education. He has taught in public and private colleges and universities, and has served as an administrator in several institutions. Michael has extensive experience in the Third World serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica and Yemen, and supervising Peace Corps volunteers in Tanzania. He has worked with literacy, healthcare, girls' empowerment, and refugee initiatives in the Middle East and Africa. Michael’s primary interests lie in teacher education and cognition. Currently, Michael serves as the Dean of Learning Enrichment and College Readiness at Moraine Valley Community College in Chicago, Illinois.
Grant Matthews – Grant is the Associate Vice President for Career Technical Education and Workforce Development at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. In this role, he oversees the School of Professional Technical Careers which includes allied health education, business, technology, trades, the Lane Aviation Academy, high school connection initiatives, integrated education and training initiatives, small business development support, cooperative education, internships, and Carl D. Perkins funding. Grant has also held the position of Dean for Health Profession, Health, and Physical Education, Career Pathways, Adult Basic Education, and Academic Learning Skills at LCC. Prior to LCC, he served as an Assistant Dean at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Illinois and various roles at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon, including Diversity and Equity Officer. Grant is an experienced educator and education leader with a deep passion for students and the potential they bring for their own future. His passion for student success translates to dedication in his work and research. He holds an MPA in Higher Education Leadership from Portland State University and doctoral coursework in Community College Leadership at Oregon State University.
Mary Luz Contreras – Mary is a holistic nurse practicing in the Chicago area. She is a registered nurse with 25 years of experience in teaching and supervising nurses, nursing students, and other medical personnel. Mary also educates patients about self-care, empowering them to actively participate in their own health and wellness. Her B.A. is in Nursing from the University of Cartegena, Colombia and her M.S. is in Health and Nursing Management from National University of Colombia.