Institutes Best Practice

Objectives of the Practice:

• To understand the post-pandemic changes in behavioral patterns among the students.
• To examine the impact of behavior changes on the learning abilities of students.
• To address the challenges faced by students by understanding their emotional and psychological needs.
• To suggest effective interventions with the help of experts in the field of mental wellbeing for the students.

The Context:
Post-pandemic scenario, the college has witnessed a drastic change in the teaching and learning process. Students in their formative years of socialization, academic progress, and identity formation have experienced disruption in learning. The sudden switch to physical distancing norms, isolation, online learning, and the absence of extracurricular activities cause long-term implications on their emotional and mental well-being.

The Practice:
The college has effectively addressed this challenge in association with the Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy by initiating an intervention called `Connect` that signifies reaching out to students and staff to ensure their mental well-being and to provide them with post-trauma consultation.
As part of mitigation measures, our institution has organized workshops and orientation programs under ‘MMCC Connect.’ Students have received counseling and moral support from professional experts, teachers, and fellow students. Additionally, some students have been trained as volunteers to achieve positive outcomes through effective intervention. These volunteers are tasked with identifying students who may be experiencing psychological issues that could lead to suicidal thoughts. Proper training has been provided to these selected volunteers to connect with mentally distressed students and understand their emotional needs.
Along with the students, the college has identified the role of the teacher as a facilitator of this flagship program. Hence, the college has organized workshops and training for the teachers through which they learned about handling sensitive, emotional, psychological, and mental health-related situations among the students. Activities such as Sources of Joy, Art of Living, and Environmental Concerns for Healthy Mind have been conducted under the MMCC ‘Connect Initiative’ to improve the social quotient of students.

Evidence of Success:
We have witnessed that the Interventions for positive behavior change among the students without affecting his/her natural behavioral settings through various activities lead to their holistic development by inculcating among them various learning skills, life skills, and literacy skills. Students who benefited from the initiative saw a positive change in attitudes.

Problems Encountered and Resources Required :
Lack of personal communication with students due to COVID-related restrictions is a major constraint in dealing with mental health issues.
To address the above issue we required organizations and experts in the field of mental well-being who can provide effective interventions for the issue.

Notes:
[We have observed that post-COVID, students are increasingly facing issues related to mental stress, depression, loneliness, and short attention spans. It is reflected profoundly in their learning abilities. Hence, the institution makes this activity its flagship program to take care of the mental well-being of students]