Improving Learning and Mental Health in the College Classroom

by Robert Eaton, Steven V. Hunsaker, Bonnie Moon

How teachers can help combat higher education’s mental health crisis.

Mental health challenges on college campuses were a huge problem before COVID-19, and now they are even more pronounced. But while much has been written about higher education’s mental health crisis, very little research focuses on the role played by those on campus whose influence on student well-being may well be teachers. Drawing from interviews with students and the scholarship of teaching and learning, this book helps correct the oversight, examining how faculty can—instead of adding to their own significant workloads or duplicating counselors’ efforts—combat student stress through adjustments to the work they already do as teachers. Improving Learning and Mental Health in the College Classroom provides practical tips that reduce unnecessary discouragement. It demonstrates how small improvements in teaching can have great impacts in the lives of students with mental health challenges, while simultaneously boosting learning for all students.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Academic

346 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2023

Reviews

[Matt Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at a number of different aspects of teaching in the college classroom and identifies specific strategies that college faculty can consider incorporating into their courses that support both learning and mental health. While each chapter focuses on a particular aspect of the collegiate learning environment, there is a bit of a "scatter-shot" feel to some of the chapters.

Overall I recommend the book to college faculty, but be prepared to spend some time "sorting out" what suggestions and strategies will work for your course(s). Unlike books on a topic like course design, this one doesn't provide a single overall process that allows the reader to work through and identify what suggestions are best for a particular course.d

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a helpful book with a lot of practical applications and tips, not just theory. A lot of the practices are simply just good teaching practices (e.g. don't cold call), and it makes complete sense that practicing good pedagogy is good for students mental health.

I was disappointed to see a lengthy discussion on building grit and growth mindset -- if you also side eye those concepts, just know this book will not examine critiques of them. There was also a suggestion in the wellness chapter about a nutrition class assigning students to eat nutritiously every week, which from an eating disorder recovery standpoint was pretty surprising to see here in a book on improving mental health.

[Katherine Lavelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of pedagogy books and I gotta say, this is one of the best ones I've read in the past 5 years. Really tackling the questions of how to improve mental health and learning in the classroom are issues that are important to me as an instructor and administrator. This book does a fantastic job of providing clear evidence and suggestions for ways to address these issues in the classroom.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of this book’s main strength is the authors’ careful curation of resources, a major plus given the wide range of quality in books about teaching. This book didn’t really break new ground, but the writing was clear and interesting, making it a worthwhile read.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific text with a lot of good research and practical ideas to improve mental health and well-being for higher ed students.

[SLello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book with a lot of usable information for educators. It will be one that I will refer back to I'm sure.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas for the classroom.