Erin – I would love to collaborate on any idea/concept. At this point, everything is new and we are diving right into it. We are learning from our experiences and will be able to make changes where we see fit. In order to cover stress management and anxiety, I had the students share where they feel their stress and anxiety and what strategies they use to manage their stress and anxiety. Students then share out to the class and we try each strategy and rate its effectiveness. They write a small reflection on their top 3 strategies. This is all done before I introduce yoga next week with a guest instructor. We then have a recently graduated nurse with a speciality in psychoeducation. She is coming in to talk to the students about strategies as well.
Erin – I would love to collaborate on an…
Another idea I use for my students is through a stress jar analogy. I bring a glass jar to class and get students to write out all of the things in life that causes them stress. They one by one come up and drop their slip of paper into the jar. As a class we discuss how the jar is a metaphor for us and how we 'take on,' 'hold,' and sometimes 'wear our stress.' This discussion is powerful as I ask my students what it feels like when stresses pile up. We then read a few of the examples in the jar and discuss. Lastly, in groups we discuss ways we can support ourselves and each other in 'stress management." We talk about what we do to manage tasks that seem overwhelming and/or activities to support us in managing our stress (breathing exercises, breaks, talking it out, exercise etc.)
This is an excellent approach Stephanie! A colleague of mine also starts each of his Health Units with a overview of the course and then asks the students to (anonymously) write any question they have about what they know now about the topics/concepts that will be covered. This is a great way to get students thinking about Health, but also a great way for you to check-in to see what their questions are. My colleague then takes moments throughout the unit to answer each question/or apply to the lesson.