Why student wellbeing is central to learning

Teachers' Voices

In this episode, Nina talks to two experts from International Baccalaureate (IB) in Washington DC. Nicole Bien, Chief Schools Officer at IB, tells Nina that since the start of the pandemic, the IB has ensured wellbeing is at the core of the learning experience in their schools. “Wellbeing is so central to learning. Without it, there’s little space in a student’s mind and body to focus on learning”, Nicole says.

Jennifer Merriman, Global Director of Research, Policy & Design at IB, tells Nina about how the IB worked with Oxford Wellbeing Research Center to come up with a definition and framework for wellbeing. “Where they landed with the definition was student life satisfaction”, Jennifer says, and there are three components within that. One of their biggest insights is that there is “no trade-off to be had between wellbeing and academic performance”.

Nina also speaks to Charlotte Hankin, a teacher based in Bali. Charlotte describes the psychological, cognitive, social and physical components of wellbeing that she sees in the classroom. She believes that wellbeing is complex and dynamic, and that “everyone is part of the student's wellbeing”.

Lastly, Nina speaks to Yvette Larsson who works in an IB school in Sweden. Yvette tells a story about the changes her school made to support wellbeing when the pandemic hit and schools remained open while the rest of the world seemed to be in lockdown.

Join the Teachers' Voices WhatsApp group and read the community guidelines.

Guests and resources
Mamadou Diakhaté
Twitter

Mamadou’s association building new schools, water wells and toilets for schools: Twitter

Ingrid Delange
LinkedIn

Nicole Bien
LinkedIn

Jennifer Merriman
LinkedIn

Charlotte Hankin
LinkedIn

Yvette Larsson
LinkedIn
AHA! Wellbeing

International Baccalaureate
LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook

Festival of Hope: LinkedIn, Community Guide, YouTube trailer

Wellbeing research: What is well-being?, Supporting student well-being in a digital learning environment, Why well-being matters during a time of crisis, Well-being in education in childhood and adolescence, Join our student wellbeing learning journey with schools

Digital Promise
Designing an Intervention for Enhancing Student Wellbeing