Students are more tired than ever before and it’s impacting their well-being. In 2020, we suffered through a pandemic, social unrest, and a lot of uncertainty. We are now four months into 2021 and there is no clear end in sight. Although the prospect of vaccines and social justice accountability gives us hope, we can not discredit that students are still struggling and may continue to struggle for months to come. Not to mention it is the end of the academic semester, where motivation and energy are lacking for students and instructors alike.
Energy is fueled by what you eat, by moving your body, and getting an adequate amount of rest. From a biological perspective, these basic needs are fundamental to your students’ energy and are imperative in energy management. If you want students to be productive, they need to know that you care about their well-being. Promoting resources for better sleep, nutrition, and exercise can be the first step in helping your students better manage their energy. You may even consider incorporating these aspects into your class. For instance, taking a break during your class to allow students to stretch or otherwise replenish their physical energy may model energy management.
Post-Author:
Christy Jersin Woods an Instructional Designer Associate for the School of Life Sciences at ASU. She leverages technology and inclusive teaching pedagogy to assist faculty in curriculum and design of their courses. Currently, Christy is earning her Master’s in Educational Leadership and Graduate Certificate in Educational Technology from Northern Arizona University, both of which she will complete this year. She has several years of experience teaching and in curriculum design in higher education and continues to stay up to date in literature and best practices.
Students are hard at work studying for finals and putting the finishing touches on culminating projects. Many students respond to these increasing demands in classes by putting in longer hours (i.e, all-nighters), which in turn takes a toll on students’ overall wellbeing. What we know from Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab’s Hope Center and the #RealCollege movement is that basic needs have a significant impact on student success. When students aren’t doing well in their personal lives, their academic performance suffers. To faculty and instructors, we see a student who is unmotivated or simply checked out. But, we know from Dr. Goldrick-Rab’s SABER/ASU RISE Webinar, that what happens outside the classroom impacts what happens in it. Knowing that students are fatigued, how can faculty and instructors help students? The answer may be energy management.
Time Management vs. Energy Management
Take a look at any intro-to-college course and you’ll find that we often talk to students about time management. At ASU, we even have Success Coaches who work with our online students to discuss time management and other strategies for success. Time management is managing your time as it relates to organization and planning, with time at the center of everything you do. There is a focus on helping students build effective time management skills in hopes that students will manage their time wisely, and therefore be successful in class. Time management strategies that we typically share with students may include:- Using a planner
- Breaking up large projects over time
- Starting with your most important tasks first
- Taking short breaks
Unlike time, energy is a renewable resource and can be systematically expanded over time. Instead of just fostering your students’ time management skills, it is good practice to also discuss energy management with your students. Energy management is the idea of managing your work and your life around your energy levels. Time management is only effective if there is energy to back up the plans. If instructors want students to do well in their course, students need to know that their basic needs are important. By bringing awareness to energy management, instructors can convey a sense of support and community around student success.
Help Your Students Manage Their Energy
Here are some useful strategies that you can recommend to students for energy management:Nutrition, exercise, and sleep.
Run an energy audit.
An energy audit is a great way for students to build awareness of what gives them energy and what depletes their energy. Energy naturally fluctuates based on the time of day, day of the week, month, year, etc. Students can observe which part of the day they are most productive and why. By encouraging students to do an energy audit, students can discover what drains their energy and what energizes them and then use that information to their benefit. Check out the video below on one way to run an energy audit.
Intersperse energizing activities throughout the day.
Once students have an idea of what gives them energy and what depletes their energy by completing an energy audit, they can organize their day in a way that promotes energy. For instance, if they know that writing a paper depletes their energy, they can surround writing with their energy-building activities, such as going for a walk or reading a good book. What energizes one student may not energize the other, so it is important that this is specific to the student. Students can arrange their schedule to fit their energy levels and by doing so, complete tasks in a much more productive and efficient manner.
Reduce distractions.
Help students recognize their distractions and work to eliminate them in their own study time and in the classroom. Reducing distractions can be simple tasks like cleaning off your desk or silencing notifications for a set period of time. The SOLS Teaching Innovation Center has a reading group on James Lang’s book, “Distracted: Why Students Can’t focus and What You Can Do About It.” Join the group on May 7th from 1-2 pm AZ time to discuss Lang’s book further (RSVP by emailing here). James Lang has also contributed many articles around reducing distractions and increasing energy in the classroom.
Are you interested in implementing the idea of energy management into your course? Email tic@asu.edu to work with an Instructional Designer on the Teaching Innovation Center (TIC) team to incorporate this concept into your course.
Summary
Energy management allows students to understand what replenishes and depletes their energy supply in order to more effectively plan their time. While the principle of time management is sound, energy management will help your students be more successful in and out of class.Are you interested in implementing the idea of energy management into your course? Email tic@asu.edu to work with an Instructional Designer on the Teaching Innovation Center (TIC) team to incorporate this concept into your course.
References:
- Forman, T. (2017, September 13). Time Management Is a Waste of Time -- Manage Your Energy Instead. Forbes [Blog Post]. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tamiforman/2017/09/13/time-management-is-a-waste-of-time-manage-your-energy-instead/?sh=76f3826f2e7d
- Goldrick-Rab, S. (2021, February 4). Addressing students’ basic needs with a culture of caring during the pandemic. Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) [Webinar]. https://www.dropbox.com/s/w85hety4534131v/Sara%20Goldrick-Rab.mov?dl=0
- Lang, J. (2021, January 15). Distracted minds: Your classroom can be a retreat in dark times. The Chronicle of Higher Education [Blog Post]. https://www-chronicle-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/article/distracted-minds-your-classroom-can-be-a-retreat-in-dark-times
- Meyer, B. (2021, April 7). How pandemic fatigue impacts student wellness through a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cavalier Daily [Blog Post]. https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2021/04/how-pandemic-fatigue-impacts-student-wellness-through-a-year-of-the-covid-19-pandemic
- Schwartz, T. & McCarthy, C. (2007, October). Manage your energy, not your time. Harvard Business Review [Magazine Article]. https://hbr.org/2007/10/manage-your-energy-not-your-time
- Soporan, R. (2016). Time management and energy management in testing. Today Software Magazine [Magazine Article, Vol 47]. https://www.todaysoftmag.com/article/1952/time-management-and-energy-management-in-testing#:~:text=Time%20management%20relates%20to%20organization,productive%20hours%20within%20the%20day.
- Work Brighter. (2021, February 22). Energy Management vs. Time Management: Why Energy Management Must Come First. [Blog Post]. https://workbrighter.co/energy-management-vs-time-management/
Post-Author:
Comments
Post a Comment