by Anika Lautenbach and Sarah Norek

This year students have been asked to adapt to myriad changes and uncertainty. Throughout these transitions, students have experienced collective grief and trauma, while also balancing the needs of family, work, school, and other commitments. We know none of this is easy, and we want to share some key ideas about grief and trauma and how they show up in learning contexts.

Grief & Trauma

This summer, Chris and Anika attended a Trauma-Informed Care workshop presented by the Oregon Family Support Network. This workshop emphasized how trauma impacts the brain in many ways—affecting problem-solving, reasoning and learning, and perception of time and the world around us. Trauma can also cause disassociation—feeling separate from self and surroundings—and can trigger fight, flight, and freeze reactions. These are extremely challenging states to learn in, and these are states that our students (and our colleagues and ourselves) are experiencing regularly (Canaga, 2020).

Additionally, Sarah and Clare, partnered with CAPS to design a webinar and Canvas module Learning During Times of Stress. The webinar and module content help students identify and understand feelings of loss, anxiety, fatigue and overwhelm, and provide them with strategies to navigate the experience while taking care of themselves. We learned a lot from our colleagues Emi Brown and Bonnie Hemrick about the symptoms of grief and how these symptoms manifest in our daily lives.

When we experience grief and overwhelm and fatigue, it isn’t uncommon to see changes in our sleeping and eating patterns or to have difficulty with focus or memory. In addition, we may either feel like disengaging or wanting to be even closer to those with whom we find comfort. You may also have heard of anticipatory grief—thinking ahead to loss—in response to something that hadn’t happened yet. Not surprisingly, all of these feelings and experiences can impact a student’s ability to focus and learn.

In a 2020 Healthy Minds Study, 30.5% of students reported that their mental health conditions negatively impacted their academic performance. 31.1% of students reported that anxiety impaired their academics. You can read more about the impact of COVID-19 on college student well-being here.

Even though only 31% of students actively identify the impact of anxiety on academics, many more students may report symptoms associated with anxiety. How students describe their experiences may vary, and students may be experiencing the impact of trauma, grief, or anxiety, even if they use different language when describing their experiences.

Student Experiences

During spring term, students often shared their feelings of frustration, sadness, worry, and fatigue. Students offered that they were feeling overwhelmed by coursework, that things which had previously been easy were now difficult, and that it was difficult to focus and stay motivated. At the same time, they were worried for loved ones, experiencing job losses, and navigating new responsibilities within living spaces. All of these experiences are likely amplified by pandemic’s disparate impacts on marginalized communities, as well as the continued racial injustice and violence.

From the Spring Student Experience Survey and from the Fall Survey conducted in September, we know students continue to experience concerns about mental and physical health and the well-being of their family and friends. In addition, students have expressed concerns about academics, finances, and responsibilities like work and caregiving. If you’d like to learn more about the survey findings, please consider registering for the FYI Friday Session, or contact Clare Creighton for access to the report.

We’ve learned a lot from workshops, collaborations, and  students. While students may find remote and online learning a little more familiar this term, we know that they’re still adapting and facing trauma, grief, and overwhelm that make learning difficult. We’d encourage everyone to keep this in mind while also being active in reaching out to students, checking how they’re doing, and engaging in supportive conversations.

Canaga, S. (2020). OSU Trauma Informed Care [Webinar]. Oregon Family Support Network. https://www.ofsn.org/

The Impact of COVID-19 on College Students’ Well-Being (2020). Healthy Minds Network and American College Health Association. https://healthymindsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Healthy_Minds_NCHA_COVID_Survey_Report_FINAL.pdf

by Sarah Norek and Anika Lautenbach

We know that right now, students are experiencing grief, trauma, and overwhelm that make learning difficult. While some students may voice their feelings and experiences, many with similar experiences may not share them. As our colleagues Sara Caldwell-Kan and Bonnie Hemrick pointed out in a recent workshop, we must assume that our students are not okay right now and respond from a point of connection and support.

When we have conversations with students, we have the opportunity to provide empathy and connection and to help students find resources. Over the past few months, we’ve identified some themes and strategies for supporting students in conversation that we’d like to share with you.

Adopting a Supportive Mindset as You Enter the Conversation

• Be a point of connection. Ask how they’re doing and validate their response. Acknowledge you may not have all the answers, but you want to listen.
• Focus on the person in front of you. Whenever possible, eliminate distractions and give your full attention.
• Meet students on their terms. Invite students to engage in ways that feel safe. Don’t insist on video. Keep in mind not everyone is looking for advice. Ask questions to understand how you can support the student.
• Ask questions and come up with solutions together. If students want to explore solutions and strategies, work together to figure out what will work for them.
• Be open and transparent in communication. There is uncertainty in so many parts of life. Be concrete and specific in communication so students don’t need to decipher the message or next steps.

Helping Students Adopt Strategies That Support Their Needs

• Share the Learning during Times of Stress module. The ASC partnered with CAPS to create this Canvas module that helps students learn about and manage stress.
• Help students understand the rhythm of their day. Ask when they are most productive and when they might be able to complete tasks. Help students think about their individual context.
• Talk about the benefits of starting early. Things may take longer than normal right now. Starting early allows students to break tasks into smaller steps to complete over time.
• Support basic needs. Be available to talk about basic needs like food and housing and connect students with resources like the HSRC.
• Normalize self-care. Let students know it’s important to take breaks and it’s ok to need more breaks or longer breaks—especially from the screen. Normalize decisions made on well-being rather than “powering through.” Encourage students to take time for what nourishes them—sleep, connecting with friends, journaling, walking, meditating, etc.

Starting with a Framework

With big topics that impact students’ well-being, it can feel overwhelming at times to plan for or anticipate conversation. We’ve trained on the Supportive Conversations design for exactly that reason, as it can be helpful to have a sample conversation flow. Click the link or visual for the full-size version. Of course, the conversation needs to be nuanced and adapted to your own style and to the student in front of you, but it offers a starting point for thinking about the flow of a conversation and your role in it.

Chris Gasser, Coordinator of Supplemental Instruction, notes that “There are multiple pieces of this structure that I appreciate: It is simple, it checks my gut reaction to talk and find solutions, it attends to both the affective and the practical, it gives me a role to play: confidante and thought-partner, and it allows the conversation to continue.”

The strategies in this post and handout aren’t the only ones you can use; we hope these ideas spark new ones for how you can support students you connect with. Our colleagues Sara Caldwell-Kan and Bonnie Hemrick recently offered a webinar on “Centering Care during Uncertainty” and their handout on supporting student employees and leaders provides some great strategies and ideas as well.

In closing, we want to acknowledge that, like our students, many of us are also experiencing grief, trauma, and associated challenges. It’s difficult to offer support if we’re not taking care of ourselves. Please consider how the strategies we’ve shared might also apply to you. And check out Beyond Benefits for employee resources relating to wellness, mental health, finances, and more.

Take care. We’re wishing you well and we’re ready to help you support students in fall term.

I coordinate the Academic Success Center’s ALS 116: Academic Success course. In making course updates for fall term, I’ve tried to learn from spring and summer and to continue or prioritize updates that center students’ needs and demonstrate support.

I’ve made changes in large part based on what I’ve heard from students in class and what we’ve learned from OSU’s spring and fall student surveys—indicating that now more than ever, students need us to be mindful of workloads, policies, and personal needs. We can do this best from a point of connection and empathy.

Here are a few changes I’ve made to better support students in the sections I teach or coordinate.

Reference basic needs in multiple places.

Many students do not have access to basic needs like groceries, housing, and health care. Acknowledging this reality and responding can demonstrate you’re aware of what students are experiencing and are interested in supporting them. You can acknowledge basic needs in a syllabus statement, Canvas resource page, or announcements during/outside of class.

Incorporate a Where Do I Go for Help? page into the Canvas site.

This page from the Center for Teaching and Learning’s Remote and Blended Teaching Canvas template lists a variety of resources available to support students this term.

Create flexible policies.

Students value—and need—flexibility and understanding right now. I’ve removed all penalties for late work and emphasize communication when possible. I also note that I trust students to decide if they need more time on assignments; no justification or explanation is ever needed/required.

Offer sample language for asking for help.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to say! Sample language can take stress off students who may be struggling to figure out how to reach out. By posting brief sample language in announcements, it’s easier for students to start an email and communicate what they need.

Make it easy to connect outside of office hours.

Whether this is email, Canvas chat, meetings, or another option, students benefit from having multiple ways to connect. One tool I’m trying is Bookings which is great for setting up meetings without the back-and-forth of finding a time via email. You can set meeting types and durations, sync with Outlook, and hold blocks of times for students to schedule.

These are just a few ways to support students. There are so many others! If you’re considering a course change or want to think about outreach or messaging to support your students this term, please reach out! I’m happy to connect via Zoom or Teams. You can also visit the ASC’s Campus Partners page or our Fall 2020 Toolbox for more strategies and resources to share with students.

compiled by Chris Ervin

In this Staff Picks, we share what we’ve been reading lately. Our selections cover a range of topics and genres, each showing how we were compelled and engaged by the authors’ treatment of the desire to belong, to feel part of a communal experience, and to be valued for our unique contributions. We’re reading scholarly books, research reports, blogs, and novels—all of which are informing our work during this very difficult time.

We invite you, our readers of The Success Kitchen, to share what you’re reading with us. Fill out this survey with your own reading selection and your submission might be featured in the next issue of The Success Kitchen!

Sarah Norek

These days I’m reading Sara Pennypacker’s Pax with my kids. It’s about a boy, Peter, and his fox, Pax, and explores the themes of uncertainty, loss, trauma, connection, and what we hold inside ourselves. So many of our students (our colleagues, ourselves) are holding a lot inside. And we may know so little from the outside. “He could offer only withness, and nothing else.” This from a moment when Pax lies down with another fox to be with him through a life transition. While I’m not saying we can’t offer more than withness, this line struck me in its closeness to witness—in being with another individual in a moment, a series of moments, an experience. I keep thinking about how I can be with students this term, even as we’re apart.

Clare Creighton

In the last month, Sarah Norek and I partnered with CAPS colleagues to create a webinar and a self-guided Canvas module on “Learning During Times of Stress,” (shameless plug: you can find it here). In the process of that work, I read the Impact of COVID-19 on College Student Well-Being report. I appreciated the report highlighting how concerned students feel about mental health. These results will impact how I approach student communication and student staff training on empathy, support, and self-care as they deliver services. I’m also mindful of how student experiences are impacted by current national events and am looking forward to learning how OSU students are doing based on our September student survey.

Chris Gasser

I’ve recently finished reading Discrimination and Disparities (2018) by Thomas Sowell. In his book, Sowell provides an economist’s interpretation of socioeconomic disparities and the relationship between discrimination and disparity by presenting research and questioning some of our most basic assumptions. In our work with students, we might find use of Sowell’s nuanced categorization of discrimination to understand disparities that exist within higher ed. As we seek to make the university a more equitable place, Sowell’s book challenges us to think about how our policies may or may not respond to different types of discrimination that exist within our current educational environment.

Marjorie Coffey

Jesse Stommel’s website—which highlights his work on critical digital pedagogies and building inclusive online learning communities—has helped me think more intentionally about course design, community, student needs, and assessment as I plan for fall. As examples, recent posts “Becoming a Student Ready Teacher” by Eddy Conroy and Jesse Stommel and “Designing for Care: Inclusive Pedagogies for Online Learning” encourage us to learn about our students—their everyday experiences, needs, and challenges—and to ask ourselves tough questions that can lead to pedagogical and policy changes that demonstrate care and compassion in our work.

Anika Lautenbach

For years I have been reading The Sun, and this magazine continues to provide a bit of solace and much needed breaks from the screen. Sometimes I only have time for the Readers Write section, which includes personal stories that give me greater perspective on the unique experience of each person. When supporting students, I find that empathy needs to be part of every conversation. It starts with listening, and I found The Power of Story to be especially compelling right now. It helps me remember that we must approach each other with compassion and find a way to connect.

Chris Ervin

I recently re-read Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel—a novel following a troupe of actors and their orchestra through hardships before and after an apocalypse that erases most trappings of society that define modern life. Unlike other post-apocalyptic novels which often emphasize our ability to find common ground in the face of hardship, Station Eleven explores the relationship between humans and art, embracing the idea that creating, appreciating, and celebrating art is an integral part of the human experience, even in desperate times. Throughout 2020, we’ve faced a pandemic, advanced resistance movements to end systemic racism, and suffered egregious loss of life and of social connectedness, but we continue to celebrate the beauty and complexity of the human condition. Station Eleven tells us that’s okay, even when facing life-and-death decisions on a daily basis.