THEwellbeing

Enhancing higher education teachers’ teaching processes and well-being

Project information

Name	“After teaching, I just sat on the floor and gasped.” – Enhancing higher education teachers’ teaching processes and well-being (THEwellbeing)
Duration	01.09.2022 – 31.08.2026
Partners	Coordinated by Häme University of Applied Sciences (Liisa Postareff), consortium partners University of Helsinki (Anna Parpala) and Tampere University (Petri Nokelainen)
Funder	Research Council of Finland (funding decision numbers: 350826, 350827, 350828)

The project explores the connections between university teachers’ teaching processes and well-being.

Teaching processes are examined from the perspective of learning-centred teaching, while well-being is examined in terms of stress, burnout and job satisfaction. The study will also provide knowledge about the emotions experienced in teaching.

Using a diverse range of data (self-assessment data, physiological measurements, video observations), the findings will help us to understand the pedagogical and psychological aspects of well-being in higher education in general.

During the project, an intervention was developed and implemented to support learning-centred teaching and teacher well-being. The intervention included mindfulness-based practices and guided reflection based on teachers’ own video recordings of their teaching.

The aim of the research and intervention is to produce concrete means to support the pedagogy and well-being of higher education teachers.

Project in a nutshell

In this project, a wide range of longitudinal data was collected from higher education teachers, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Teachers responded to an online questionnaire three times during the study (before the intervention and twice after the intervention). In the questionnaire, teachers were asked about their approaches to teaching, self-efficacy, job satisfaction, stress, and teaching-related emotions, among other things.

In addition, we collected video data, psychophysiological data, and longitudinal experience sampling data from teaching sessions in week-long measurement periods in autumn 2023 and spring 2024. During the measurement periods, teachers recorded approximately one hour of their teaching, used the Moodmetric smart ring to measure psychophysiological arousal, and reported on their teaching-related emotions and experiences in the LearningTracker smartphone app.

As part of the intervention, we held individual guided reflection sessions with the teachers at the start and the end of the intervention period. For these sessions, we combined the teachers’ video and smart ring data and discussed the recorded teaching situation and teaching-related themes in the meeting.

Teachers participated in THEwellbeing intervention in autumn 2023 and spring 2024. The intervention started in the autumn with teachers recording their teaching situation. Teachers recorded about an hour of their own teaching while wearing a smart ring that measured their level of psychophysiological arousal.

After the recorded teaching session, teachers participated in an online guided reflection session with a researcher from our team. In this reflection session, teachers were asked follow-up questions related to the videoed ed teaching situation and their teaching experiences. In addition, specific situations from the videoed session where the teacher’s level of physiological arousal had been high/low were shown to the teachers and were discussed during the reflection session.

After the guided reflection, the teachers participated in four online group meetings. In these group meetings, teachers were provided with information on topics such as mindfulness, guided reflection, and learner-centered teaching, and received peer support by participating in small-group discussions. In between the meetings, teachers were instructed to carry out guided mindfulness exercises and familiarize themselves with self-study materials.

After the group meetings, the teachers recorded another teaching session, completed a smart ring measurement, and participated in a guided reflection session in a similar manner as in the autumn.

Postareff, L., Parpala, A., Nokelainen, P., Rintala, H., Räisänen, R., Wallin, A., & Kosenkranius, M. (2024, September 25–27). The relations between higher education teachers approaches to teaching, emotions and arousal [Conference presentation]. EARLI SIG 4 2024 Conference, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Parpala, A., Nokelainen, P., & Pylväs, L. (2024, August 21–23). Understanding the associations between teaching processes and physiological arousal to support higher education teachers’ professional development [Conference presentation]. EARLI SIG 14 2024 Conference, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Rintala, H., Pylväs, L., Räisänen, M., Wallin, A., Postareff, L., Parpala, A., Hailikari, T., & Nokelainen P. (2024, August 21–23). Guided reflection as a tool to support higher education teachers’ professional learning and well-being [Conference presentation]. EARLI SIG 14 2024 Conference, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Postareff, L., Parpala, A., Nokelainen, P., Kosenkranius, M., Puhakka, I., Pylväs, L., Rintala, H., Räisänen, M., & Wallin, A., (2024, June 5–6). The relations between teaching and wellbeing – Understanding variation of arousal during teaching [Conference presentation]. Pedaforum 2024, Hämeenlinna, Finland.
Postareff, L., Parpala, A., Nokelainen, P., Kosenkranius, M., Puhakka, I., Pylväs, L., Rintala, H., Räisänen, M., & Wallin, A., (2024, February 8–9). The relations between teaching and wellbeing – Understanding variation of arousal during teaching [Conference presentation]. Aikuiskasvatuksen tutkimuspäivät 2024, Helsinki, Finland.

Postareff, L., Parpala, A., Nokelainen, P., Puhakka, I., Pylväs, L., Rintala, H., Räisänen, M., & Wallin, A., (2023, November 23–24). The relations between teaching and wellbeing – Understanding variation of arousal during teaching [Conference presentation]. Kasvatustieteen päivät 2023, Vaasa, Finland.
Postareff, L., Rintala, H., Parpala, A., Nokelainen, P., Räisänen, M., Wallin, A., & Puhakka, I. (2023, August 22–26). Analysis of high-arousal teaching episodes through video-recorded data [Conference presentation]. EARLI 2023 Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Postareff, L., Parpala, A., & Nokelainen, P. (2023, August 22–26). Promoting wellbeing of higher education teachers [Conference presentation]. EARLI 2023 Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Postareff, L., Parpala, A., Nokelainen, P., Rintala, H., Räisänen, M., Pylväs, L., Wallin, A., & Puhakka, I. (2023, June 6–8). Korkeakouluopettajien opetuksen ja hyvinvoinnin välisiä yhteyksiä etsimässä [Conference presentation]. Pedaforum 2023, Tampere, Finland.