The first time I ran a marathon it was not a good experience. I tried to follow a generic program designed for someone fitter than me, and thought that putting in the hours meant I was making progress. On race day, after 5 hours and 15 minutes of misery on the streets of London, I was cold and wet, with a knee injury that landed me in several months of physio.
4 years later I tried again in Sydney and after 4 hours and 28 minutes, actually ran to the finish line instead of crawling. I wasn’t breaking any records, but this time I wasn’t breaking myself either. What made the difference? I was fitter, but I had done fewer running miles overall, following a program based on 3 runs a week, backed up with 2 cross-training sessions (not running). Rather than overloading with more and more mileage, the training focussed on just what mattered and was not only more manageable, but kinder on body and mind as well.
There are some parallels to the ‘train smarter, not harder’ approach in learning, too. Completing a degree can feel like a marathon undertaking and without guidance, students can get lost in a sea of content and assignment deadlines, unsure about where to put time and energy when everything looks important.
Junk mileage, burnout, and engagement fatigue
The concept of ‘burnout’ is not new to educational settings, with research highlighting negative impacts on student motivation, engagement and academic success. There are many reasons a student may feel under pressure at university, exacerbated by factors such as financial stress, employment constraints, caring responsibilities and other equity issues.
On top of these external pressures, the curriculum and learning content can quickly become overwhelming for a student juggling a full study load. With the best of intentions, our academic enthusiasm combined with a choice of ever-expanding online resources can translate into an avalanche of content for the learner. Not knowing what to prioritise, students may simply keep working through whatever content they find, unaware of which readings, videos or notes could be set aside for later.
You could think of this as the learning equivalent of ‘junk mileage’ in a training program – plodding through the distance and racking up hours in the hope that success will result. What usually happens, especially in online learning environments, is ‘engagement fatigue’ – reduced enthusiasm and motivation for engaging in course activities.
Designing to alleviate content overload
One way to combat the ‘tyranny of content‘ is to give agency to our students, helping them to make meaningful and informed decisions about what they learn, and why. This strategy was used in the re-design of Practising Inclusion: Working and Teaching for Social Justice, a UTS 6-week micro-credential. Following feedback from learners balancing study with full-time workloads, the design team shifted the focus from dictating learning content to empowering students to choose materials aligned with their interests and career aspirations – a ‘choose your own adventure‘ approach which is proving to be a success with learners.
In other contexts, simple actions such as reminding students of ‘core’ or required readings and content can provide focus and relief for those who may be lost in the detail of their subject. Whilst it can be tempting to share more and more resources, our ‘helpful’ suggestions may only add confusion and stress for those already struggling.
Preventing ‘injury’ and nurturing wellbeing in student experience
Statistics from the 2020-22 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing offer a stark reminder of the increased prevalence of mental health issues among people aged 16-24 years. Orygen’s 2017 report Under the Radar: The mental health of Australian university students also identifies specific risk factors for students, including the stress and demands of the academic environment itself and pressure to ‘perform’.
The UTS Student Experience Framework highlights that wellbeing has a direct impact on students’ ability to learn. Universities can improve wellbeing by taking a holistic and proactive approach, providing access to services, normalising help-seeking and fostering environments of respect and inclusion. Online and face-to-face learning are part of this context, and it’s our shared responsibility to design and teach in ways that support and guide healthy, sustainable learning habits – not desperate sprints to the finish line each time an assessment is due.
Lighten the load with kindness and compassion
Even if you can’t re-design your program right now, there are lots of ways to support more sustainable student learning, including connecting them to sources of help across the university. If you feel like you might be losing your compassionate edge, remember that you don’t have to take on all the load yourself. You are part of an extended community of experts in this space, so take a break and explore what others have shared about cultivating a compassionate university and how care, concern and kindness help create a positive student experience. No more tough love – here’s to a more sustainable learning regime!