145 144 Chapter Seven: What Faculty and Staff Can Do Chapter Seven: What Faculty and Staff Can Do EVALUATING STUDENTS WITHOUT CAUSING UNNECESSARY DISTRESS Despite extreme competitiveness, it is very frustrating to get a C even when students obtain a score of 90%. It is psychologically threatening to have a mean score of 30% on the other hand. Try to design your course assessments in a way that reflects where students stand academically with an optimal level of difficulty and smaller weighting, so that it would be less stressful even if students did not perform well in any particular one. Create a classroom culture where students learn from each other and cooperate with each other, but not excel only by comparatively better than others where only rivalry among peers is present and every classmate is a potential enemy but not friends who could offer support. PREVENTION, EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT You may wish to closely watch the stress level of students as it is often the trigger of mental problems. Please also talk to them before symptoms deteriorate, and get yourself familiar with common mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal inclination, and early psychosis. Knowing the symptoms helps to identify early if a student is suffering from mental problems and if professional intervention is needed. You may also equip yourself with such knowledge by enrolling the 12-hour Standard Mental Health First Aid course offered to all staff by Counseling and Wellness Center every year, mostly during the term breaks. “Create a classroom culture where students learn from each other and cooperate with each other.”
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