Earlier this year, the APA Council of Representatives approved the Guidelines on Core Learning Goals for Master’s Degree Graduates in Psychology. These guidelines are ground-breaking in many ways:
On the first day of school, my sister walks into her child’s second grade classroom to find that there are no desks. There’s one table with four chairs off to the side. A high-top table with a couple of chairs is near the front of the room, and on the other side is a table with no chairs, perfect for standing and doing projects. The rest of the room is dominated by a comfortable couch, an ottoman that can seat four kids, and padded chairs arranged facing different directions. It feels like an activity room, not a classroom, and the students are thrilled with the arrangement.
In the past couple of months I’ve come across many articles as well as entire magazines dedicated to educator burnout, and rightfully so. Burnout, extreme work-related stress categorized by emotional, psychological, and physical exhaustion, is a modern-day epidemic in the teaching profession (as well as other professions). According to the American Federation of Teachers’ 2017 Educator Quality of Work Life Survey, 61 percent of teachers indicated that their jobs were always or often stressful. Just as alarming, if not more so, 58 percent of respondents cited poor mental health as a result of that stress. Although articles on educator burnout vary in their approach, they tend to focus on the causes of burnout, how to assess the signs of burnout, strategies to prevent burnout, and/or next steps for administrators and teachers. The one key element most, if not all, articles have missed is the true nature of what it means to be burned-out.
Target is rolling out those giant red bins of school supplies, which can only mean one thing…school is coming! I’ll be honest, as much as I love summer vacation, and cling to every last minute of relaxation and freedom, once August hits I start to get excited for the fantastic potential of the new school year.
As I’m heading into my 11th year in the classroom, I’m grateful for the techniques, routines, and rituals that I’ve managed to acquire over the years. From classroom set-up, to opening day activities, I’ve honed down what works best for me and for my students–and figured out ways to do them in a timelier fashion. Saving time is a big deal–teaching is a demanding enough job as it is, any tool or routine you implement should help to reduce or even remove some of those responsibilities. I’m excited to share some of the technology tools that help me to take back some of my time.
As faculty members, most of us “feel” the popularity of the psychology major, whether in an increase in our class sizes, the number of advisees we are assigned or an increase in the number of adjunct faculty hires. We know psychology is one of the most popular undergraduate majors in the U.S.; in the last year the data are available (2014-2015), 117,557 bachelor’s degrees in psychology were awarded (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017).
At its best, teaching is about making connections. Through a shared joke in class or a quick conversation about a concert t-shirt before class, we connect with our students. We also connect with other teachers, at first out of desperate necessity to stay afloat, but eventually – hopefully – as united families do. By taking them on a journey where their efforts are rewarded with mastery, we try our best to connect our students to the curriculum.
What are some core elements of Psychological Science? If you had just a few minutes to summarize why your discipline is important, what would you say? I filtered down the key elements of the entire 15-week course down to the amount of time it takes you to hard boil an egg (a little more than 12 minutes for those of you who have not boiled one recently). I gave a TEDx talk and now, with the help of Rosalyn Stoa, present several fun ways to use the video in classes and to engage students. Students have a fun way to see how much psychology they know and teachers have a ready-made assessment tool (student responses to the quiz provided can be shared).
If you watch young children playing you’ll notice how they “check in” with their parents every so often, as if to make sure that Mom or Dad is still there, and that the world is still safe. A child who has been brought to an unfamiliar room with toys may begin by holding onto his mother’s leg and looking out at the possibilities. In order to encourage her son to leave the safety of her presence, Mom may engage in conversation: “Do you see that boat over there?” Or, “Hey, Jack, look! That’s the same Lightning McQueen car that you have at home!” Eventually, with the implicit blessing that these prompts provide, Jack is likely to walk over to the toys and begin exploring.
Teachers know first-hand how trauma can make learning nearly impossible for a student and they’ve seen how it has become increasingly more common among school-aged American students. As school shootings and gun violence have captured the attention of many, there’s a more significant problem lurking in the classroom. It’s the student chronically exposed to trauma, and it’s often masked by stigma and shame.
Consider this, “On average, only 25 percent of children with mental health needs receive services. Of those receiving care, 70—80 percent receive that care in a school setting.”
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Psychology also shows us that most humans are resilient in the face of trauma and students can flourish with the right support.
But how can teachers help?