Brief run with students at Sheffield Hallam University as part of the second year module, Graphic Design in Context.

Drawing on research into the efficacy of embedded curriculum approaches as a way to support student mental health (see Embedding mental wellbeing in the curriculum: a collaborative definition and suite of examples in practice by Kate Lister and Zoe Allman) I developed a week long brief for second year students, delivered at the start of the new academic year. 

Second year, in my experience, is a bit of a fallow year: there isn’t the same steep learning curve of first year, which is characterised by independent living and studying in a new place. And it doesn’t hold the weight of final year – the year that, for many students, is ‘the one that matters’ (whether this is true or not!) There can be a bit of a lull in momentum, and so it is also the time when any challenges that were just about held off in first year become unavoidable. This is the point where students who struggle with their mental health often  need additional support and structures in place, but is also the time that – again, in my experience – are more likely to become withdrawn from the course and community they are part of. Or: students may, at this time, over-rely on academic staff for complex pastoral support that needs to be offered by trained professionals, and not by lecturers who are ultimately involved in determining outcomes and awarding. 

In this brief, the client was the Student Support team. At the beginning of the semester, the department’s Student Support Advisor spoke about the support available to students, reminding students how to access this. Students were then asked to design a poster (using any means) that helped students in the department to be aware of and access these support services.

After a long summer, students often report feeling a bit rusty and are reluctant or fearful of making again, and this brief worked as a nice opportunity to get back into the habit of things. But it also helped students be engaged and independent in support around their studies. Having felt the weight of a gradual uptick in inappropriate disclosures to academic staff (even prior to the pandemic) this brief set an immediate boundary. Students knew who to turn to for additional support around mental health and, having met their Student Support Advisor face-to-face, felt comfortable to do so. Ultimately, this lead to a dramatic reduction in disclosures to staff, and an increase in support being put in place in a timely manner, and helped students continue with their studies.