Course Fee: $270
Course Numbers: EED x701, SED x701
Standard Course Time: 45 hours
Semester Credits: Three (3) academic credits at the post-baccalaureate level (available for an additional fee)
Credit Issued by: Cal Poly Humboldt (refer to our University Credit page for credit pricing and details)
Subject Area: Special Topics
This course has been developed and optimized for online delivery using the licensed title Teacher Well-Being - Looking after yourself and your career in the classroom, published by Routledge and authored by Elizabeth Holmes.
There can be few teachers who do not have a solid understanding of what negative stress means, born of genuine felt experience. If it is not the pressures of the job while at school, it is the perpetual need to take work home that eats into our sense of control and overall job satisfaction. Clearly, there is a delicate balance to be found between the buzz of the opportunities that the teaching profession can offer, through new initiatives and ideas such as teacher creativity and citizenship, and negative stress and burnout.
The inherent tension between the individual and institutional approaches to teacher well-being is ever present in the profession. Who should accept full responsibility? Teacher Well-being does not seek to provide an answer to this question; nor does it lay out a stress management policy that can slot on to the shelf among other school policies. Neither does it present a specific and limited goal for you to pursue. It does, however, seek to engage teachers in committing to an investment in what could ultimately ease any negative stress and promote a sustainable sense of well-being. This is surely an investment paying the highest dividends.
Learning Objectives
Students will learn the definition of:
Project 1: Growing your WELL-BEING
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.
Learning Objectives
Students will explore:
Project 2: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.
Learning Objectives
Students will examine:
Project 3: Digging Deeper into Your Awareness of Stress
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.
Learning Objectives
Students will examine:
Project 4: Digging EVEN DEEPER into Your Awareness of Stress
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.
Learning Objectives
Students will reflect on:
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.
Learning Objectives
Students will investigate:
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.
Learning Objectives
Students will gain an understanding of:
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.
Learning Objectives
Students will explore:
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.
Learning Objectives
Students will become familiar with:
Project 5: Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.
Multiple choice questions taken from each module
Learning statements should be in a narrative format – as opposed to an outline format. Depending on individual writing styles Learning statements should be 2-3 pages. The learning statement can vary according to individual style. Your learning statement should answer the broad question of "what did you learn?". To help get you thinking, here are some suggested questions:
In Module 2, we learned that stress leads to physiological responses in your body. These responses are clear evidence that your body is seeking to maintain homeostasis (or equilibrium), and without them your body would have no mechanisms with which to counteract the varying degrees of stress that each day throws at it. We also became familiar with the effects of stress and how to recognize the signs of stress.
Several thinkers on stress and stress management have categorized the concept of stress, splitting it typically as follows:
Think of yourself and the impact of stress in your life, both personal and professional. Then take a moment to answer these questions:
After taking some time to analyze your sources of stress by answering the questions outlined above for this project, reflect on your findings using the following bullet points as a guide:
Visit the Module Projects section located within the Course Dashboard, and take a moment to share your findings by submitting your written project reflection.
If you are not currently teaching (ie. Summer break, you are a substitute teacher, etc.), each class offers you the ability to complete coursework independent of a classroom assignment.