alone in feeling like this ; and it would enable the panel to respond in real-time to students ’ feelings and concerns . Fies and Marshall ( 2006 ) identify this capacity for responsiveness as a key advantage of using SRS . However , as Stuart et al ( 2004 ) caution , the responses may come as a surprise to both the teacher and the students , with the possibility that students may experience stress . This was an important practical and ethical consideration , given the sensitive nature of the discussion , but the team was prepared for it and was individually and collectively experienced in dealing with difficult feelings .
Interestingly , newer students had more positive perceptions of SRS than students of longer standing ( Wulff et al , 1987 ). Draper ( 2002 ) highlighted the essential feature of SRS – the immediate and anonymous display of responses . This suggested that SRS might be the way forward for our audience of first years – combined with an innovative presentation style aimed at fostering in our students a sense that they belonged to a supportive learning community in the Law School .
Why Mentimeter ?
Mentimeter offered several benefits that supported what we were trying to achieve with the session . Its visual style is informal and accessible , which complemented the style and tone that we wanted the session to have . Moreover , Mentimeter had already been used as part of the Welcome to Law induction sessions , so students were already familiar with how it worked . The capacity to create “ word clouds ” was also a considerable bonus ; they have strong visual impact and would highlight effectively which feelings were being experienced most commonly . Again , the session planning had included consideration of the practical and ethical implications of difficult feelings being revealed in the word clouds . The team understood that it was important to let the students know that their feelings were being heard and acknowledged , and that they were in ‘ safe hands ’. The team ’ s focus was on empathy combined with positive messaging and signposting to further practical support ( see Session Delivery - Responses ).
Mentimeter is accessed through the internet , requiring students to have a laptop , tablet or smartphone , and the venue to have a reliable wi-fi connection . Participants sign into the poll using a unique number that is displayed on screen . They can be given the option to vote on a set number of choices , or to add free text . To make sure that students came to the session with the necessary technology , we made it clear , in the flyer and email sent to all first year Law students , that they should bring an internet-enabled device to the session if they wanted to participate in the online polling . 98 % of young people between 16 and 24 own a smartphone ( Statista , 2020 ). While this represents most students , there remains a small minority who risk being excluded through lack of internet-enabled technology ( see Limitations ).
Session Delivery
The team developed four themes for the session :
1 . Life and study – getting the balance right ;
2 . Coping when things go wrong ;
3 . Recognising when you ’ re not OK ; and
4 . Support for your mental health and wellbeing .
The session was designed so that students ’ responses to the Mentimeter questions would be used by the panel as a springboard for discussion . Panel members were chosen who were willing to share their own experiences of challenges to wellbeing : of feeling inadequate ; of coping with setbacks , including failure . The aim was to normalise these experiences : to show students that they need not be ashamed of them ; and to demonstrate that it was possible to survive the experience of such difficult feelings . This would open up the conversation about mental health and wellbeing in a non-judgmental way and would give students an improved sense of belonging and community .
During the session introduction , we spoke about the Why Not Me ? project and the Look After Your Mate programme and explained how this session fitted with them . We also explained that mental health and mental wellbeing are not necessarily the same thing and can instead be understood as an axis or a spectrum . We wanted the students to recognise that it is possible to have mental ill-health and yet to have good mental wellbeing ( and vice versa ) – the key being their self-care and the care they receive
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