On Episode 609 of Teaching in Higher Ed, I welcome Theresa Duong, Pedagogical Wellness Specialist at the University of California, Irvine, to the show. We delve into pedagogical wellness, examining its role at the intersection of teaching, learning, and well-being in higher education. Theresa Duong shares her personal and professional journey, highlighting how meaningful instructor-student relationships and supportive institutional cultures enable both students and faculty to thrive.

Theresa helps us explore the art and science of pedagogy, the importance of small and systemic changes in classroom practice, and ways to create more humane and sustainable learning environments. The conversation includes tangible classroom strategies—like flexible policies, wellness days, and fun activities—and broader systems-level efforts such as UC Irvine’s Okanagan Charter initiative. Together, they emphasize that fostering a culture of care and well-being benefits the whole academic community and that wellness starts with self-awareness and small, manageable changes.

Resources from the episode:

• Pedagogical Wellness | UCI Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation
• Pedagogical Wellness: A New Direction in Educational Development by Theresa Huong (Theresa) Duong, Andrea Aebersold, + Matthew Mahavongtrakul
• Okanagan Charter
• UCI Health Promoting University
• Pedagogical Wellness Day- Interest Form
• Artmakers Club with Lisa Bardow
• Calm Strips
• Forest App

Episode topics:

• Defining Wellness: Thriving and Flourishing in Academia
• The Role of Mentorship in Student Success
• Navigating Challenges as a First-Generation Graduate Student
• Wellness and Unwellness in Academic Culture
• Intersecting Wellness and Pedagogy in Higher Education
• Small Changes for Fostering Well-being in the Classroom
• Systemic Barriers and Flexible Approaches for Student Support
• Promoting Faculty and Instructor Wellness
• Systems-Level Initiatives for Campus-Wide Well-being
• Building Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Wellness Programs

Discussion questions:

1. How does Theresa Duong define wellness, and what role did her mentors play in her experience of thriving in academia?
2. In what ways does pedagogical wellness go beyond individual teaching strategies to consider institutional structures and cultures?
3. What are some small, practical actions instructors can take to enhance wellness in the classroom, based on examples shared by Theresa Duong?
4. How does Theresa Duong's interdisciplinary background inform her approach to fostering a culture of care in higher education?
5. What systemic barriers to wellness exist for both students and instructors, and what are some proposed solutions or supports mentioned in the episode?
6. What is the significance of instructors starting with their own wellness practices, and how might this impact their students and classrooms?
7. Which strategies or initiatives from UC Irvine’s pedagogical wellness efforts could be adapted in your own educational context to foster flourishing for both instructors and students?

Related Episodes

The work of Rashida Crutchfield has impacted my perspectives and approaches greatly. She is “a professor in the School of Social Work at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and Executive Director of the Center for Equitable Higher Education, which is a research center dedicated to studying and promoting economic, food, and housing justice.” On Episode 237, she shared about ways to meet the needs of students. She returned to Teaching in Higher Ed for Episode 281 with her collaborator Jennifer Maguire.

Isis Artze-Vega discussed on Episode 482 the importance of relationships as an aspect of wellbeing and the impact of our wellbeing on our teaching. She urged us to remember that:

If it's not working for you and you can't maintain a certain level of wellness, then it's not working. No matter what you're seeing happen in your students, it is not working because it cannot happen at the cost of your wellness.

Zainab Okolo shared about mental health and well being in higher education on Episode 454 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast. She recently shared findings from the American Psychological Association regarding the toll racism takes on people’s mental heath. The APA reveals:

The science is clear: racism causes real harm to mental health and community well-being.

More about the research may be found on the APA’s Racism, Bias, and Discrimination section of their website.

Recommended

I wrote about a single question that Brennan Barnard suggests every college applicant should ask (and I would argue, we should ask ourselves, about our classes):

How easy is it for a student to be known here?

Read Being Known: Conditions for Flourishing in Teaching and Learning for more of my reflections and related resources.

Next Week’s Episode

On the upcoming episode of Teaching in Higher Ed, I get to catch up with Mike Cross and hear about his big and small experiments in teaching and learning.

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Affiliate income disclosure: Books that are recommended on the podcast link to the Teaching in Higher Ed bookstore on Bookshop.org. All affiliate income gets donated to the LibroMobile Arts Cooperative (LMAC), established in 2016 by Sara Rafael Garcia.”

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