A part of 3.2: Lightning Talk session.

Promoting Wellness and Resiliency for Forensic Science Students
Karen Woodall, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Anthropology/Forensic Science, UTM
Andrea Carter, Assistant Dean, Student Wellness, Support & Success, UTM

Students face many diverse stresses and mental health challenges during university and introducing a way to reflect and increase awareness of this topic can help students develop healthy coping skills and habits, increasing their wellness. This presentation showcases a “nifty assignment” that aims to educate undergraduate students about stress, wellness and resiliency. The assignment was introduced into a third-year course and involved students reflecting on their experiences and various tools they learnt about during course lectures regarding mental wellbeing. They were asked to use their own experiences and create online resources designed to help new students in the program. Students had the choice of creating podcasts, videos or written materials that describe stressful events encountered during their time at university and/or different coping mechanisms. By creating these tools, the aim of this assignment was to destigmatize mental health challenges and to provide useful resiliency resources for other undergraduates. Students had the option of posting their materials on the Forensic Science Community Hub (an online resource accessible for students enrolled in the forensic science program). How students evaluate and cope with stress may be a useful topic in many different courses and competitive disciplines. Instructors can also benefit from this type of assignment as we gain insight into the stresses our students face, and we can reflect on the various coping mechanisms discussed and help to build resiliency in our students.