CIT Teaching & Learning Unit

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently published a report identifying: “a major role for the arts in the prevention of ill health, promotion of health, and management and treatment of illness across the lifespan.” 

There is the clear potential between the power of imagination and the aesthetic experience and the capacity to change behaviours. It can open new ways of thinking, allow other possibilities to be imagined and motivate and enable action towards change.

Much evidence points towards increasing mental health challenges in our society and amount our students. Mental health has a huge impact on our ability to learn. Anxiety and worry operate in the same part of the brain as learning happens. Too much of any feeling and the learning can't happen. In order for students to be successful positive mental health is important.

An open-source creative well-being journal will have been co designed, published and shared as a first edition.

There will be an increased sense of belonging for those who were involved in creating the journal and those who engage with it.

There will be evidence gathered to review the impact of the journal on student well-being.

• The project is linking with Rhonda Schaller from the Pratt institute who has expertise well-being pedagogies. She will be visiting, MTU CCAD early in 2022 when she will engage with and share expertise with  the project team.
• Three of the students who engaged in an early stage of this project in creating a well-being resource for facilitators practitioners https://trello.com/b/uEIwSznG/well-being-creative-toolkit   are now continuing their learning in a new MA in Arts and Engagement in the Department of Arts in Health and education. This supports their learning in the co-creation process of the journal.