Tracking student well-being with SMC-SMILE (School-based Monitoring of Internal Learning Effects)

Abstract

Due to the abrupt shift to online modalities, teachers and management must be more perceptive to the needs of students as conventional support systems are inaccessible online. This paper documents SMC-SMILE (School-based Monitoring of Internal Learning Effects), an action research implemented from January to April 2021. During the program, advisers deployed a short-form survey that measured academic anxiety and noted the perceived subject with most negative feelings during weekly homeroom/SCALE sessions. Weekly reports were forwarded to batch teachers, and monthly institutional reports were prepared for administrators and teachers. While academic anxiety scores did not decrease over time because of the program, several notable findings were generated. Academic anxiety scores increased throughout a quarter, peaking during exam weeks; scores reset after a mental health break at the end of a quarter. Several teachers noted results in weekly reports and altered instructional design or implemented interventions such as batch consultations. The survey and the reports appeared to have served as a reflective tool for teaching. Overall, while the program itself may not have decreased academic anxiety scores on its own, it may prove as a good model for future concerted efforts in improving student well-being within the campus or beyond.

Le Dolino

Co-Chair of the AI, Digital Learning & Digital Transformation Working Group, UNESCO SDG4 Youth & Student Network

My research interests include the history, philosophy, and social studies of science education, and actual science education practice.