Mary O’ Rawe introduces wellbeing promoting practices into the delivery of Law lectures and during tutorials. Using Menti Mary begins her delivery by inviting students to provide her with information on ‘How they are feeling’? Consulting students in this way teaches them to become more self-aware and self-reflect.
Students replies generate immediate feedback on factors in the physical setting or learning environment in additional to their own mindset, which could be potential barriers to learning. Wherever possible Mary actively responds to positively influence any environmental conditions and maximise learning. Feedback from students on their thoughts and feelings, develops their self- awareness and creates an opportunity for them to reflect on what they can do to self-regulate, as well as raising their awareness of the range of thoughts and feelings of others in the group.
This is central to developing students emotional intelligence (EQ) and resilience (Goleman and Gardiner). Mary reflects these back appropriately and uses this information to inform and influence her delivery, proactively integrating appropriate wellbeing practices to maximise students ‘availability to learn’. These include ‘thinking breaks’ during which students focus their thinking, before making summary notes, breathe to relax, practice mindfulness and learn guided meditation, learning skills to self-regulate. Mary says she teaches and models wellbeing practices and mindful focused awareness to develop sharp, clear legal minds and that she believes education needs to underscore and facilitate the importance of getting to know yourself and your potential in the world, and the belief that awareness, self-regulation and compassion isn't secondary to core curriculum but needs to be mainstreamed into the educational process.