Democratic Pedagogy and Integrated Wellness and Well-being in an Undergraduate Education Course

By: Kat Naish and Christopher Robbins

During the 2023-2024 school year, Dr. Christopher Robbins received a Faculty Development Center Wellness Mini-Grant to incorporate wellness in his Schools for a Diverse and Democratic Society course. The mini-grant funded the coordination of wellness programming with Dr. Kat Naish, a doctoral mentee of Chris’, who focused on wellness programs in her dissertation research and is also a practicing teacher. On a bi-weekly basis Kat conducted wellness exercises with the class, along with integrating individual- and group-level wellness work and readings into course assignments. Our course was unique in that it combined a democratic, co-constructed approach to curriculum between Chris and the students, with the co-facilitation across the semester conducted by Kat and Chris. We designed a study to explore the possible effects of an integrated approach to wellness, coupled with student course co-construction, on students' experiences of the course.

Schools for a Diverse and Democratic Society offers pedagogical and curricular latitude given the organizing themes and core concepts that inform the course. For Chris, the “democratic” part of the course title has always challenged him. Is the course “democratic” if it covers material on democracy and the relationships between schools, civic engagement, and governance? Is the course “democratic” if the professor privileges student voice by primarily conducting class within a critical dialogical format? These were just a few of the questions that Chris had about facilitating this course. Chris’ answers to these questions became evident when there was an abrupt shift in the course delivery model (from in-person to online) during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was at this point that Chris learned that a democratic classroom, and an experience in democratic community, requires much more than nods to elements of democratic-like practices (e.g., dialogue, episodic choice and decision-making, etc.). It requires regularized practices and purposefully structured relationships that value mutuality, respect, trust, a lively negotiation between personal interests and common good, and active, inclusive participation by all members of the classroom community. During this transition from the in-person classroom to the digital space, it became apparent that students were experiencing increased and seemingly unremitting stress/anxiety and difficulty navigating friendship/belonging. 

Belonging matters, and wellness matters. Belonging is a part of overall wellness and well-being. In response to these observations Chris had been utilizing a time capsule assignment throughout this course to support student well-being. This assignment provided students with an open space for them to process their thoughts–any thoughts–without judgment. The hope for this assignment was that it  could play a small role in helping them recognize, manage, and possibly address some of their mental health concerns. When the FDC wellness mini-grants became available, Chris asked Kat to help integrate additional wellness practices into the course. Along with being a special education teacher, Kat is also a certified yoga teacher and social emotional learning facilitator. Similar to Chris’ efforts to build wellness into his classroom, Kat was also looking for something to sustain her ability to support and work with her students and colleagues that also acknowledged societal inequities and traumas.  

Kat’s wellness sections were spread across eight sessions and covered wellness topics addressing educator burnout, secondary trauma, traumas within the schoolhouse, and the mass exodus of educators from public education. The well-being series also discussed the positives of being an educator and ended on reflective, silly, and encouraging truths of teaching and the strides to be more inclusive. With wellness presentations taking place approximately every other week throughout the semester, students had the opportunity and choice to take part in different meditative, movement, gratitude, and journaling practices inclusive of two, two-hour wellness workshops - the second of which was requested by, co-created, and presented with the classroom community. 

Thirteen students from the class of 22 students participated in an IRB-approved  study that Chris and Kat designed.  Drawing on the students’ time capsule writings and a post-course survey, we worked separately from a grounded theory approach, looking for repetition in terms and ideas expressed within individual time capsules and surveys, and then across students’ time capsules and surveys. Three primary themes with underlying sub-themes emerged: teaching through relationships (democratic pedagogy, relational teaching, care, and community), stress, and positive interactions with and responses to Kat’s wellness work.

This study showed that the unique combination of a democratic, co-constructed approach to curriculum between Chris and the students, with co-facilitation conducted by Kat and Chris, proved effective and beneficial in addressing and supporting student need. The students who participated in this study were unanimous in believing that the guided wellness components of the course added value that supported them as a student at the institution and that these components helped prepare them in navigating their role as a future educator. One student stated, “I wish I had more classes that included these practices,” while another wrote, “These are tools I’ll need to be successful that I don’t find emphasized anywhere else. I appreciated the balance in this class between deep class discussions about teaching/trauma, etc. and checking in with ourselves. This is my calmest class.” Ultimately, the findings suggest the need to support faculty in creating a more democratic and caring space for their students to better support their well-being. 

If curious about more details of the study, please contact Kat or Chris for the full report.