Core Pillars of Resilience and Self-Assessment Questions for Educators

At the first Together in Community conversation series event, the Strong Brain Institute presented the Core Pillars of Resilience and lead a discussion on how these pillars can support our community of students, faculty, and staff through another semester of uncertainty. This document also has suggested syllabus/policy language on Covid, diversity and inclusion, and contact for support offices. Find out more about the conversation series and register for upcoming conversations here. The next conversation, hosted by the Office of Equity and Inclusion is Thursday September 9th at 1PM via Zoom.

The Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning approach focuses on how personal and collective traumas can impact and impair learning in so many ways -- and how teachers can adapt and respond. One way to begin applying insights from this approach may be to consider these self-assessment reflection questions based on the core pillars to promote a culture of resilience at ETSU.

Some classroom specific questions related to the pillars include: Are students provided low stakes opportunities to make and learn from mistakes prior to being evaluated? Does the syllabus provide clear information about what will be done, by whom, by when, under what circumstances, at what cost, and for what purpose? Do you facilitate peer activities that help students connect with their peers and provide mutual support? Do you and your students perceive each other as allies or as adversaries? How much choice does each student have over the content they engage with or how they engage with it? To what extent are you aware of personal and disciplinary biases and how they may impact teaching and learning?

Sign up now for Fall Workshops

New for Fall 2021! Active Learning Academy Series A five-session workshop series that explores practical methods for incorporating more active, student-centered learning in the college classroom. Taxonomies of Learning As instructors we want to ensure that our students leave our classes having learned something. However, how well do we measure what was actually learned?  Specifications Grading Are you tired of trying to decide if a student's work should get an 90% or 94%? In this workshop, we'll explore how to implement a new kind of grading system, Specifications Grading, that keeps failure from being fatal and puts students more into the driver's seat...and with the added benefit that your grading decisions *might* become easier!

May Your Teaching Be Most Excellent