Brooke Max, assistant professor of practice in mathematics, Department of Mathematics
To better help students with anxiety in understanding and teaching math, Dr. Max encouraged student self-efficacy by working with Britni Henze, student support specialist in the Office of the Dean of Students, to support students in crafting individual goals. These goals focused on academic, personal and networking themes. Intentional check-ins were conducted throughout the semester to help hold students accountable to reaching their goals. Classroom participants also worked with students further along in the same major on a teaching project assignment.
“Asking my students to work with a partner ahead of them in the program or in the field gave me results that were more authentic in terms of actual activities they may do in the future and gave them an opportunity to develop a network with a potential mentor,” Max says.
The Steps to Leaps pillars of well-being, networks and grit/persistence were woven through the course by helping students progress toward self-made goals while overcoming barriers and obstacles. Students were also given networking opportunities with their peers while working on academic assignments.
Cassandra Ledman, clinical associate professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology
Ledman helped future health care professionals realize the importance of self-growth both in themselves and their clients. With the aid of Dr. Craig Nadelson, a lifestyle medicine doctor at Purdue University Student Health Service (PUSH), students were introduced to Therapy Assistance Online (TAO), an online mental health resource. Students experimented with TAO and completed reflection assignments over how the experience bettered their own well-being and how using TAO with Purdue health coaching clients would positively impact a health coaching session.
The pillars of well-being and impact were used to target both the students’ personal experience with using a campus resource and how the same resource could impact others’ well-being.
Christie Sennott, associate professor, Sociology Department
Dr. Sennott encouraged her class to view the sociology of global development by taking on the perspectives shared by the Native American Educational and Cultural Center (NAECC). Felica Ahasteen-Bryant, director of the NAECC, was an active partner in the course and shared expertise and experiences in class presentations. Students in the class completed reflections over the presentations and their experiences completing online Steps to Leaps modules over impact and well-being. Assignments included reflection about passions, strengths, and impact; the eight dimensions of wellness and how the campus cultural centers foster those dimensions for students; sustained personal wellness; discussions on American culture; the impact of interventions that affect poverty in low-income settings; and how the history of Native and Indigenous people in the U.S. is related to the sociology of global development, well-being and impact. Each of these assignments promoted the Steps to Leaps pillars by bringing well-being and impact to the forefront of students’ minds and encouraging them to attend to their own well-being as well as considering how their actions/impact (or the lack thereof) might contribute to others’ well-being.
“The students took these assignments very seriously and were open in their responses, thus allowing me to get to know each student on a more personal level and fostering greater connection and community in the classroom,” Sennott says.
Michael Johnson, continuing lecturer, Department of English
Dr. Johnson worked alongside Karen Jacobsen, senior assistant director of the Academic Success Center (ASC), to solidify the pillar of grit/persistence in his composition course. Jacobsen presented in the class and shared resources that help students persist and progress in their academic course load. Jacobson encouraged the formation of networks with the ASC by referring students who were showing signs of struggle in the course.
Students engaged in a three-linked project that had them identify a student related issue or topic on campus and use that interest to engage in research. The students performed general and pointed research and then shared their work in the form of a research poster or talk. Their projects were synced with the Office of Undergraduate Research’s Research Expo. The series of projects required time management and persistence and allowed students to make an impact and form networks by presenting at the research expo. Throughout the entire research process, Johnson provided reflective opportunities for students to track their progress and their personal experience preparing, participating, contributing, and progressing through the course.
Rucha Karve, lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences
On students’ first day of class in Dr. Karve’s course, Theresa Nutten from Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) visited the class and gave a presentation about CAPS. She explained various resources at CAPS and other campus resources available for the students. This presentation was made available to students under a “student well-being" Brightspace module Karve created for the course.
After fall break, Crystal Cordes from CAPS visited the class for a 10-minute talk where she talked about how much she and CAPS care about students and that she is there to help them. That same week a two-hour, informal CAPS walk-in session for students was held.
Throughout the semester, Karve provided well-being surveys for her students. The first one was open during the first week of classes and asked students to reflect on how they were feeling. Over 400 students participated in the survey. In the second survey, students completed the “Assessing Your Own Well-Being” and “Manage Your Stress” self-care documents created by Purdue Recreation & Wellness. Students then took a wellness survey reflecting on what are the stressors for individuals and what modes they can choose to combat those stressors. These surveys allowed Karve insight into how her students were doing throughout the semester.
Finally, short, guided meditations were offered at the beginning of the class throughout the semester to give students a chance to ground themselves and reflect on themselves before beginning lab. Students reported liking these short reflective moments and commented on how they made class enjoyable.
Xiaorui Li, lecturer, College of Liberal Arts
Dr. Li partnered with the Purdue Writing Lab to help her students leverage the power of campus resources that can help them enhance their English communication skills. In her course, Li helps prepare international graduate students strengthen their classroom communication skills. The pillars of well-being and networks were incorporated into the class by having students review and practice vocabulary pertaining to mental well-being. Additionally, students practiced expressing emotions and communicating needs to each other using idiomatic phrases. The Writing Lab participated in course activities by hosting a discussion group that centered on the theme of “Wellness and Illness.” After this discussion group students participated in debriefing sessions where they discussed insights on using the writing lab's resources.
A list of instructors and their Perspective Project courses are below.
Beth Hess, assistant professor of engineering practice and assistant head of undergraduate well-being, Department of Mechanical Engineering
ME 290 - Global Engineering Professional Seminar
Brooke Max, assistant professor of practice in mathematics, Department of Mathemetics
MA 139 – Mathematics for Elementary Teachers III
Cassandra Ledman, clinical associate professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology
HK 590 – Health Coaching Fundamentals
Christie Sennott, associate professor, Sociology Department
SOC 339 - Sociology of Global Development
Lindsey Payne, assistant professor of practice, Environmental and Ecological Engineering
EEE 290 - Introduction to Environmental and Ecological Engineering Seminar
Michael Johnson, continuing lecturer, Department of English
ENGL 106 – First-Year Composition (Academic Rhetoric Focus)
Rucha Karve, lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences
BIOL 232- Laboratory III: Cell Structure and Function
Tongxiao Zhang, senior lecturer, White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Xiaorui Li, lecturer, College of Liberal Arts
ENGL620 - Classroom Communication for International Graduate Students