As we were told, stress is everywhere. It lurks in the wings sometimes attacks suddenly, but it also motivates us to harder work, pushes us to reach our goals and sometimes helps us accomplish our tasks efficiently. It is always the matter of the appropriate attitude, ability to manage the pressure and relieve stress when it is necessary. We all need some stress-relieving activities. To make the podcast, students researched for the following information:
Ways to relieve stress and anxiety
Short term stress-relief strategies which can be done anywhere
Long term stress-relief strategies for lasting health
On the whole our schools are not user-friendly places. Regardless of the location, across Europe, we tend to perceive them as hostile and oppressive buildings and places. In order to define what their weakest points are and what demends improvement, students took part in a debate. They listed the shortcomings first:
too crammed classrooms, too much furniture and not enough space to walk and move
tables and chairs in poor condition, not comfortable enough
too much teachers’ rubbish!
decorations are boring and hardly ever updated
poor lightning
narration as the main teaching strategy
not working clocks
too much copying
only one message board in the school
teacher’s-centred lessons prevail over student’s-centred classes
What are the students’ expectations:
less crowded classes
more spacious classrooms
decorations changed frequently, displaying students’ works and projects
designing one classroom for projects and team work
special area for silent relax
more comfortable desks and chairs
doing things and performing rather than copying and listening
some additional information boards, classrooms are better labelled
tablets used on a daily basis
more games, performances, events which would truly engage the students
appreciating their initiativeness
During the mobility the students attended the lecture delivered by Adam Parzyński, the headteacher of Primary School no 27 in Gdansk, the school leading in the city in terms of initiativeness and resourcefulness. He presented us some of the ideas of using the space wisely and effectively, relying on students’ skills and their creativity. Afterwards students made their own projects of ideal classrooms and they recorded the podcast on making a school more favourable place. They researched for the information in the following areas:
How to use the time spent in school more effectively? How to learn how to learn? During the mobility students could learn about new ways of taking notes and presenting them in a clear way and they were also exposed to different forms of teaching and testing such as games. Gamification is defined as a set of activities and processes to solve problems by using or applying the characteristics of game elements. Quizzes and escape rooms increase user emotional engagement, they provide fun, cooperation and rivalry at the same time. Generally it has a positive effect on individuals and for building the team. Another thing which contributes to an academic success is knowing one’s good points, abilities and recognizing one’s own learninng style. To find out what their dominant style is, students solved the simplified test of multiply intelligence and they discovered what their best way for studying is. The test is available here:
Do you want to feel better instantly? Do you want to feel healthier? Think better about yourself? Keep upright. What are the benefits of maintaining a good posture?
it contributes to a good appearance
it decreases the weight of some joint surfaces
it diminishes the stress on the ligaments holding the joints
it prevents the muscular pains and fatigue
it allows you to breathe more deeply, which gives you more oxygen
a good posture can make you look thinner. Poor posture can create the appearance of a pot belly.
To sum up the lecture delivered by Eliza Niedzielska, a specialist in therapeutic reabilitation, students prepared handouts reminding about maintaining the proper posture.
You can download the brochure with the leaflets here:
In order to find more about the negative consequences of long-term stress we invited Łukasz Warchoł, a psychologist and a psychoterapist, who delivered us the lecture about:
the most common causes of stress, which include overworking, low self-esteem, too high expectations, too much responsibility, feeling insecure, lack of support from family and friends and fear and uncertainty
the symptoms of stress, such as chronic headaches, losing or putting on weight, low energy, insomnia, aches, pains, and tense muscles
the long lasting effects of stress, that is mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders, obesity and other eating disorders
preventing stress-related health problems, thinking positively, relieving stress, finding one’s own personal ways for managing stress which is everywhere and, to the point, may be motivating and pushing us forward.
Students enjoyed the lecture and eagerly took part in it, answering the questions and asking them themselves. After the lecture they made sketchnotes about teenage stress and recorded the podcast presenting all the information they learned and found.
