A Simple Way to Track Student Wellbeing

Student wellbeing is critically important for successful learning and has been receiving a lot of attention in 2020, as COVID-19 throws new challenges at schools, teachers, parents and students.

This article looks at a quick and easy way for teachers and school administrators to keep track of student wellbeing, and take timely action.

The Importance of Checking In

Checking in is a powerful life skill for connecting and building strong relationships, and in the school environment, check ins with students are an intentional, inclusive way to build positive relationships.

Check ins can be done in many ways, from conventional sit-downs to innovative digital approaches. Technology offers much potential as its fast, scalable and much easier to track over time.

iyarn is one such technology that makes check ins quick, easy and regular. These check ins are an incredibly useful extension of a school’s approach to student wellbeing or pastoral care.

A Weekly Check In for Student Wellbeing

We’ve set up a quick, easy check in for students, focusing on five segments:

• Emotions: How are you feeling?
• Learning: Did you make progress this week?
• Health: Are you feeling fit and healthy?
• Connection: Do you feel close to others?
• Stress: How well are you coping with stress?

Scoring these segments via iyarn’s mobile app is quick and provides useful, high-level insight into a student’s experience at school.

Please note this particular check in does not require a login or signup. All data is stored anonymously.

This is a quick example of a check in that has been built using iyarn’s Public Wheel feature. Additional features are available on iyarn once you’ve set up an account, including saving your data and setting up your own check ins.

Leveraging Timely Student Data to Improve Student Wellbeing

Check ins completed on iyarn’s platform are a catalyst for conversation and an opportunity to explore issues that might impact student wellbeing.

Check ins can potentially unlock powerful conversations with students (and parents). They are an important tool for:

• Building a student’s emotional vocabulary and ability to express themselves;
• Identifying the key strengths of a student;
• Helping students to recognise situations where they need help;
• Practicing how to ask for help;
• Assisting students to cope with challenges; and
• Assisting students to manage stress and overcome obstacles

Completing weekly check ins on iyarn creates a routine for students and clearly signals that student wellbeing is an important part of the learning experience at your school.

Perhaps most importantly, information is collected on a timely basis that empowers schools to keep informed and then act at the right time, in the right way.

Keen to Learn More?

We’re very happy to offer demonstrations of the full product for schools in Australia and beyond. Please reach out for more information.