Wellness Centered Pedagogy

What: Create a learning space that values diverse perspectives, ensures accessibility, and promotes fairness. While general equity and inclusion practices are outlined on the Elon University CATL Equity & Inclusion page, here we focus on how these practices support student and faculty well-being.

Why: Designing for equity not only reduces barriers and honors diverse lived experiences but also fosters a deeper sense of safety, connection, and belonging. When students feel seen and supported, their mental, emotional, and academic well-being improves. Pedagogies like culturally responsive teaching, universal design for learning (UDL), and critical pedagogy help shift from a one-size-fits-all model to one where fairness and wellness are intentionally woven into the learning experience.

How:

• Use diverse, representative course materials
• Include accessibility and flexibility policies in your syllabus
• Encourage inclusive participation practices
• Start your course with a welcoming tone (in an intro video or course letter)
• Use transparent, affirming language in assignments and expectations

What: Prioritize emotional safety, trust, and acknowledgment of student life realities while also recognizing that meaningful learning can sometimes be uncomfortable.

Why: When we lead with compassion, we normalize the realities of student (and faculty) life including stress, grief, caregiving, and burnout. This pillar draws on trauma-informed teaching, the pedagogy of care and self-compassion research to support classroom environments that feel safe, humane, and flexible. At the same time, we acknowledge that growth often involves challenges. Compassionate teaching doesn’t remove academic rigor but creates conditions where students feel supported enough to take risks, wrestle with discomfort, and stay engaged in the learning process.

How:

• Offer flexible attendance and participation
• Communicate with empathy
• Acknowledge personal and collective stressors
• Build in grace periods and flexible grading policies
• Make space for difficult questions and emotional responses as part of the learning journey

What: Integrate mindfulness and reflection to support focus, emotion regulation, and deeper learning.

Why: Mindful engagement invites both students and faculty to slow down, be present, and connect more meaningfully with the learning process. Drawing on contemplative pedagogy and social-emotional learning, mindfulness supports well-being by helping build emotional regulation, cognitive clarity, and resilience. As Arthur Zajonc suggests in his work on contemplative practice, reflection isn’t a pause from learning—it’s a vital part of deep and sustainable learning.

How:

• Start or end class with a mindfulness pause
• Incorporate reflective journaling or check-ins
• Build in pause moments to process content
• Use intentional brain breaks during long sessions

What: Address the whole student including academic, emotional, social, and physical well-being.

Why: Students don’t learn in isolation. They carry stress, relationships, health concerns, and identities into the classroom with them. This pillar draws on PERMA and pedagogical wellness that call us to see students as whole people. By promoting support systems, we create spaces where students are more likely to succeed and faculty feel more empowered to help them.

How:

• Add wellness resources directly to your syllabus
• Offer mental health and wellness breaks in class
• Normalize and promote campus support services

What: Prioritize relationships by seeing students as whole people with real lives, needs, and potential. When students know we care, they show up differently, and so do we. Empathy also reduces stress and fosters a greater sense of safety and well-being for both students and faculty.

Why: Empathy-centered teaching emphasizes connection, understanding, and authentic communication. Inspired by the work of Bell Hooks Teaching to Transgress and Parker Palmer’s The Courage to Teach (Courage & Renewal Approach), and relational pedagogy this approach reminds us that student success is deeply rooted in trust and relationship. When students know we care, they show up differently, and so do we. Empathy also reduces stress and fosters a greater sense of safety and well-being for both students and faculty.

How:

• Check in with students individually or as a group
• Offer growth-oriented and compassionate feedback
• Use anonymous midterm feedback to adjust in real time

What: Design with flexibility in mind to accommodate life’s unpredictability and student diversity.

Why: Adaptable teaching doesn’t lower standards, it raises support. Drawing from universal design for learning (UDL) flexible learning models, and the idea of compassionate rigor, this pillar acknowledges that students learn in different ways and under different circumstances. It supports mental and emotional well-being by reducing unnecessary stress and making learning more accessible, especially during times of uncertainty.

How:

• Offer flexible deadlines and extensions
• Provide materials in multiple formats
• Incorporate asynchronous participation tools
• Allow for resubmissions or learning recovery

What: Foster a classroom where students feel connected to each other, the material, and the world beyond.

Why: Belonging isn’t just a feeling, it’s a condition for learning. Grounded in experiential learning theory, collaborative pedagogy, and Bell Hooks’ work on community and hope, this pillar centers connection, relevance, and purpose. When students feel a sense of belonging, they’re more likely to engage, take academic risks, and persist. Belonging also supports mental health, motivation, and overall well-being, creating a foundation for both academic and personal growth.

How:

• Create space for peer mentorship or connection
• Facilitate group discussions that invite all voices
• Relate content to real-world and lived experiences

What you’ll experience:
Our workshops are designed to be reflective, practical, and community driven. Participants engage in structured dialogue, small-group collaboration, and activities that model wellness-centered strategies in real time. Workshops often explore topics like building inclusive classroom climates, trauma-informed syllabus design, and practices for supporting both student and faculty well-being.

How it helps:
These sessions offer a low-stakes, high-impact opportunity to explore teaching practices through a new lens. Faculty walk away with actionable tools including flexible policies, in-class activities and more that can be adapted to any discipline. You’ll also be part of a community of educators thinking intentionally about wellness in higher education.

What you’ll find:
The wellness-centered pedagogy framework is built on key pillars such as Equity & Inclusion, Compassionate Practices, Mindful Engagement, Integrated Support Systems, Flexibility, and Community & Belonging. Each pillar is grounded in evidence-based pedagogical theory (e.g., Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning, Contemplative Pedagogy, etc.) and offers a roadmap for practical integration into curriculum and classroom culture.

Check out the Wellness & Well-being at Elon LibGuide

How it helps:
By understanding the theory behind the practices, you gain clarity and confidence in your pedagogical choices. This approach moves beyond quick fixes or one-time adjustments, it invites you to align your teaching with values like empathy, equity, and well-being in sustainable, meaningful ways.

What you’ll experience:
This semester-long faculty development opportunity offers space, structure, and support to deeply engage with wellness pedagogy. Participants meet regularly for guided sessions, collaborate with interdisciplinary colleagues, and work on personalized deliverables such as a redesigned course, revised assessments, or a SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching & Learning) project focused on wellness.

How it helps:
The program offers a rare chance to step back and reflect on how your teaching aligns with your values and how it impacts student and faculty well-being. You’ll be supported in designing (or redesigning) course elements with intentional wellness touchpoints, such as inclusive policies, low-stakes assessments, and built-in reflection. Faculty also receive a stipend and join a supportive learning community that often continues long after the program ends.

What you’ll reflect on:
This tool is designed to help you evaluate how your current teaching practices align with wellness-centered principles. It includes reflective prompts around course design, classroom culture, communication tone, flexibility, community building, and support systems. The goal is not perfection but awareness.

Try the Faculty Wellness-Centered Pedagogy Self-Assessment!

How it helps:
The self-assessment allows you to identify both strengths and opportunities for growth. It can also help guide your next steps, whether that’s rethinking your late policy, building more feedback loops with students, or carving out more space for your own well-being as an educator.

What you’ll receive:
This is a 1:1 conversation focused on your classroom, students, and goals. Consultations are collaborative and solution-focused. We’ll explore where wellness can be woven into your course in ways that support academic success and human flourishing.

How it helps:
Sometimes all it takes is a sounding board or fresh perspective to shift how a class feels for both students and faculty. Consultations are a space to brainstorm, reflect, or troubleshoot specific teaching challenges (e.g., disengagement, emotional fatigue, community-building). You’ll leave with tailored ideas and resources that align with your teaching style, values, and student needs.

What you’ll experience:
ThriveU is a summer faculty coaching program designed to support your growth, clarity, and well-being as a scholar, educator, and leader. Through structured reflection, one-on-one coaching, and peer dialogue, you’ll have the opportunity to step back, refocus your goals, and align your work with your values. Together, we’ll explore strategies for advancing your research agenda, navigating tenure and promotion, strengthening your leadership capacity, and sustaining a meaningful academic career.

How it helps:
Faculty life often requires juggling scholarship, teaching, service, and leadership all while trying to maintain your own well-being. ThriveU offers space to reset, gain perspective, and make intentional progress toward your professional and personal goals. Whether you’re mapping out your next publication, preparing for a leadership role, or simply seeking a more sustainable rhythm, this program offers individualized support, accountability, and encouragement grounded in your values and aspirations.