Self-Care for Teachers: Transform Your “Self” and Classroom, Day, Spring 2020

Course Number:	EDU 5515 C24
Instructor:	Rebecca Day
Location:	Online using Google Classroom and Zoom Videoconferencing
Dates and Times:	February 10 - May 15, 2020
Credits:	3 graduate credits
Tuition:	$975

Note: Course payment by check or purchase order, payable to Castleton University, is due at the time of registration. A purchase order number can be entered into the online registration form and the purchase order can be uploaded to the registration form. If paying by check, please mail the check to: Financial & Registration Services, Castleton University, 62 Alumni Drive, Castleton, VT 05753. To help us ensure that your payment is applied to the correct course, PLEASE WRITE “CFS” IN THE CHECK MEMO LINE. Thank you.

Course Description

The stress of teaching has reached an all-time high in the United States. Teachers are asked to fill many roles for a school: be a teacher of content area, provide social emotional support to students, ensure all learners reach high levels of proficiency in their work, as well- being guardians to the community as stellar role models. Teachers are caring and supportive by nature and they give energy every day to others. Their own personal stress often goes unnoticed, by themselves and others. This course is specifically designed to provide educators with practical self-care strategies that can be implemented immediately.

The participants in this course will develop a thorough plan for personal self care that will focus on balancing their daily work and personal lives. The course is designed so learners can create their own learning outcomes within the realm of self care. They will be coached by the instructor in the areas of nutrition, sleep habits, movement, communication, mindfulness, habit change and stress reduction.

The course will discuss the physiology of stress and its impact on the body; help educators identify their own beliefs that can exacerbate daily stress and most importantly help them to establish habits for change that will help diminish stress.

Participants through their own self growth will bring a renewed energy to their profession and their personal lives.

Audience: All teachers and administrators

Course Goals:

Understand the correlation between self-care and the capacity to improve their practice as educators
Understand the physiology behind stress and the impact it has on the human body
Understand how to design a plan for self-care that can be used daily
Understand how habit change can impact their personal and professional growth
Understand contemporary research as it relates to the importance of self care for all professionals and job satisfaction

Required Texts

Required texts are not included in the course tuition.

Duhigg, Charles. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014.

Suggested Text:

Raley, John J. M. D., with Hagerman, Eric. Spark: The revolutionary New science of exercise and The Brain. New York, Boston, London: Little, Brown and Company, 2013.

Walker, PHD., Matthew. Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. New York: Scribner, 2017.

Ratey, John J. M.D., with Hagerman, Eric. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and The Brain. New York, Boston, London: Little, Brown and Company, 2013.

Required Articles:

Mitrovic I. et al. Rewiring the Stress Response: A New Paradigm for Health Care, Hypothesis 2011, 9(1): e4.

Eve Van Cauter, PhD.; Kristin Knutson, PhD.; Rachel Leproult, PhD.; Karine Spiegel, PhD.

“The Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Hormones and Metabolism.”

https://www.medscape.org, Medscape Neurology,

www.medscape.org/viewarticle/502825. Accessed August 2019

(News and Perspective Link)