Human well-being is a multi-faceted, life-long journey and requires individual persistence and responsibility. The result of being committed to well-being is improving the manageability of stress, richer interpersonal relationships, and improved happiness overall. This course is intended to provide students with scientifically-proven strategies for developing and maintaining emotional resilience and well-being.

The course includes hands-on application of current topics related to human growth, development, and psychological flexibility. Students will gain both intellectual and experiential learning that can be applied to a wide range of life’s challenges. Finally, students will use the concepts and experiences presented and practiced to more fully engage with life and our shared human potential.

While there is no required text, there are assigned and required readings each week throughout the semester. Some of it will be provided for you. Due to copyright laws, I cannot provide journal articles for you. You will be responsible for finding and securing access to the articles that are not provided for you. Because you may have to request some of the articles through interlibrary loan, it is advisable for you to look and plan ahead for the semester’s reading assignments.

There will be weekly quizzes based on the assigned readings which can be found in both Canvas and the syllabus.

Course Objectives

Critical thinking, which requires a degree of self-awareness, is a component of all GE skills. While this course counts as a social sciences GE course (R470 2.5), because of the focus on self-awareness, skills for interacting with others, and the ability to expand one’s comfort zone, all of which combined will inevitably increase one’s ability to practice flexible thinking, this course’s objectives are foundational for all core general education areas.

1. Students will gain the ability to support and care for oneself emotionally and psychologically which will increase one’s ability to participate in the learning process.
2. Students will develop the ability to build and maintain healthy interpersonal relationships.
3. Students will develop the ability to tolerate and negotiate unpleasant, uncomfortable, and/or distressing feelings and behaviors which will increase their ability to observe and understand social patterns.
4. Students will develop the skills and abilities necessary to be able to adapt to new environments.

Social and Behavioral Sciences General Education (GE) Essential Learning Outcomes

The following learning outcomes are outlined by the Utah System of Higher Education as the essential learning outcomes for social and behavioral sciences GE courses, for which this course grants credit for. It is essential for one to be able to practice self-awareness and flexible thinking and to be able to safely and effectively interact with others in order to master these objectives; this course heavily emphasizes these skills. GE Learning Outcomes:

1. Examine: Examine institutions and human behavior through social and behavioral concepts, methods, or theories; USHE Learning Outcome 2.5.1
2. Analyze: Identify diverse perspectives to explore and examine social and behavioral phenomena; and USHE Learning Outcome 2.5.2
3. Apply: Apply discipline-relevant and scientific theories and methods to make inferences about or applications to social and behavioral phenomena at personal, institutional, or cultural levels USHE Learning Outcome 2.5.3

Grading Scale

A 94% - 100% B- 80% - 82% D+ 67% - 69%
A- 90% - 93% C+ 77% - 79% D 63% - 66%
B+ 87% - 89% C 73% - 76% D- 60% - 62%
B 83% - 86% C- 70% - 72% F 59% and below

Assignment Categories Aligned to Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

Course Requirements and Assignments (See Canvas for Grading Rubrics)

1. DISCLAIMER: Please know I want to be a support to you and because I am operating within a system, I am limited in what I can and can’t do to support you. If you are in need of accommodations, please reach out to the Disability Resource Center on campus who can help you access short-term and long-term accommodations. If you have a complaint about any professor or course on campus, please take the following steps:
   1. Talk to the professor
   2. If you feel like you can’t talk to the professor, please go to the chair of the department, contact information for this person can be found on the department’s website.
   3. Other resources include:
      1. Dean of the college where the course is housed
      2. Provost’s office
      3. Dean of Students
   4. Regardless of the steps you take, leaving feedback in your end of semester course evaluations is important. These are anonymous; instructors do not have access to them until after grades are posted.
2. Please pay attention to Canvas Announcements as this instructor uses Canvas Announcements to communicate with students about important information. You will be accountable for information provided through announcements.
3. Emotional Safety - There will be multiple lessons, activities and assignments throughout this course that you may find uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. If you have experienced psychiatric issues such as depression, anxiety, trauma, bipolar disorder, or PTSD in the past or begin to feel emotionally overwhelmed during the course, you are encouraged to share this with the instructor so they can best assist your learning process, safety, and/or well-being throughout the course.

   Due to the emotionally and psychologically vulnerable content that will be discussed throughout this course, it is essential that all participants contribute to an environment of emotional safety. In the event of a student participating in emotionally unsafe comments/behavior, the instructor will provide feedback which will serve as a warning. At that time, the student will be invited to converse with the instructor about what made their comments/behavior emotionally unsafe. If the behavior is repeated, students will be referred to campus services.

   The use of derogatory language/terms when referring to people (individuals and groups) is an emotionally unsafe behavior - even if there is nobody the term references represented in the room. I will follow the same procedures for use of derogatory language as I will for any other emotionally unsafe behavior. If you are unsure about whether or not a term is derogatory, avoiding slang terms and practicing the use of professional and politically correct language is a safe way to avoid inadvertent use of derogatory language.

   If you find you are emotionally overwhelmed by content in this or any other course, the University Counseling and Psychological Services Center (CAPS) is a resource available to you. The phone number for CAPS is: 435.865.8621.

4. As a student in this course, you are responsible for the content presented in this course and for your own learning. If you need help, please ask. If you have questions about the material that you are interested in or curious about that is not addressed in the course, please ask. If you do not understand a concept being taught/discussed, please ask. The instructor is a resource to you; however, if you do not communicate that you need help, the instructor cannot help you. Waiting until the last week of the semester to communicate about issues happening throughout the semester does not count as communicating with the instructor.
5. This is an action-based course. You will not likely pass if you are not actively involved in applying the concepts we are learning. Every single assignment for this course is focused on application of what we are learning and building habits to support emotional resilience and well-being.
6. For better or worse, AI is here to stay. We must learn to work with AI without allowing it to overtake human processes such as critical thinking or human connection. In this course, using AI is acceptable as long as you use it as a resource and not to replace your own cognitions or emotions. Some examples of acceptable use of AI in this course are to: help you organize your own thoughts, help you edit your assignments that are your own writing, or help guide you in your research in the way a teacher or librarian might help. It is unacceptable to to use AI to complete your assignments which means it is unacceptable to ask AI to write your assignments for you.

   If you use AI, the expectation for this course is that you use it as a resource. You must properly cite it if you use it. If it is discovered that you are using AI without properly citing it or you use AI to generate work that you turn in as your own, SUU Policy 6.33 for Academic Integrity will be followed.

7. All assignments are due at midnight on the due date unless otherwise noted.
8. Assignments may be turned in early. You may turn in up to 3 assignments up to 3 days late without questions or penalty. Any late work beyond this will only be accepted if you have formal accommodations in place through the Disability Resource Center or support through the Office of Student Outreach and Support. This applies to all assignments that will receive a grade. Please do not rely on Canvas to remind you of when assignments are due; please be proactive and know when assignments are due. All assignments for the semester are already entered into Canvas; labs and quizzes have intentionally not been published yet and will only become visible to you when it is time to complete them.
9. All papers must be typed in either Arial or Times New Roman with a 12 point font, 1 inch margins and double-spaced.
10. Following instructions matters! Your grade will be affected if you do not!
11. Grading: Because the purpose of this class is to practice and learn emotional resilience and well-being, the grading in this class is intended to be reflective of that. Your participation, effort, and learning are more important than your skill at earning a specific grade.

    All assignments turned in on time, or within 3 days of the due date (maximum of 3 assignments), and completed according to the assignment instructions as outlined in both the assignment instructions in Canvas and the grading rubric will receive full credit. All assignments turned in on time, or within 3 days of the due date (maximum of 3 assignments), for which all or part of the assignment is insufficient for meeting assignment expectations as outlined in both Canvas and the grading rubric will receive ½ credit.

    If you earn ½ credit on an assignment, you may revise and resubmit for full credit as long as you do so within 7 days of when the assignment is graded and your revisions are highlighted. You may revise and resubmit as many times as you want/need to in order to earn the grade you want on each assignment. The instructor will not regrade any assignments that do not have revisions clearly highlighted. Any assignments due the last two weeks of the semester will not have this flexibility; while you will be given the opportunity to revise and resubmit these assignments, it must be done within the time frame outlined in comments left by the instructor/grader at the time it is graded.

12. Attendance: Being in class matters and your attendance will significantly impact your grade. There are many concepts discussed in class that will be challenging to effectively learn outside of class. The practice and application of concepts is an essential learning element for this course. Attendance tracking is built into your quiz and journaling/lab assignments. As missing class sometimes is inevitable, your 2 lowest grades for quizzes will be dropped. The syllabus quiz may not be dropped. Additionally, you may miss 2 labs and 2 journals without any penalty to your grade. Quizzes, journals, and labs may NOT be made up if you miss class, unless you have formal accommodations through the DRC, support through the office of Student Outreach and Support, or a school-excused absence. You are responsible for providing/facilitating documentation for school excused absences. Please use your free absences wisely. If you have extenuating circumstances that arise such as emergency surgery, a long term illness, or a death in the family, please be aware you may be eligible for temporary accommodations through the Office of Student Outreach and Support. If you communicate with me about such circumstances, I am happy to help you access these resources.
13. Quizzes: There will be 13 quizzes throughout the semester worth 10 - 25 points each that will primarily cover the syllabus and reading. Occasionally, there will be a question about something from class on your weekly quiz. The syllabus quiz may not be dropped. All quizzes are open-note and open-book. You will have limited time for each quiz, except the syllabus quiz. You will not do well if you are reviewing the reading during the quiz. Quiz passwords will be provided in class each Tuesday and you must be in class to get the quiz password. The quiz password during the week of Spring Break will be provided in class on Thursday October 22. Either receiving the quiz password if you were not in class or providing the quiz password to someone who was not in class is considered academic dishonesty and SUU’s Academic Integrity Policy, 6.33 will be followed. If you miss class, you will miss the quiz. Because life happens, the 2 lowest quiz scores will be dropped, with the exception of the syllabus quiz which may not be dropped.
14. Getting Outside of Your Comfort Zone (140 points total). Each week, you will be expected to do something to get outside of your comfort zone. In the correlating assignment shells, please tell me about what you did and how it contributed to your personal growth within the context of emotional resilience and well-being. There is no page minimum; please keep it under the equivalent of ½ page. While you can repeat activities throughout the semester, you can’t do the same thing every week, and your activities should be progressively more challenging. Photos of your activity are not required but are welcome; I appreciate being able to celebrate your hard work with you! Due each week by Friday.
15. PLEASE Master Skills (140 points total) - Each week, you will be expected to intentionally practice one aspect of PLEASE Master skills or participate in a creative activity. PLEASE Master skills will be taught the first week of class. For this assignment each week, please tell me about what you did to practice PLEASE Master skills or a creative activity. Some things you do will be obvious. If it is not obvious, please tell me how you are thinking that it relates to PLEASE Master skills. This will make more sense to you once we have learned the skills in class. Due each week by Friday at midnight.
16. Lab (approximately 280 points total) - Each week, there will be at leastg one lab assignment; some weeks, there will be two. Most labs will be done during class time beginning the second week of class, in which you will be working with a small group of peers in the class to discuss and practice applying concepts learned in class each week. Your grades for the lab assignments are dependent upon your participation in the weekly assigned lab/activity and will be assessed by feedback from you and/or your peers and instructor observation. You must be in class and participate in order to earn full credit on these assignments; labs cannot be made up. Your 2 lowest lab grades will be dropped; the SUU Outdoors Lab cannot be dropped. Please choose your absences wisely. Due Friday of each week beginning with Week 2.

    SUU Outdoors Lab: Please choose any 1 activity to participate in with SUU Outdoors at some time during the semester. During and/or after the activity, connect it to a minimum of 2 specific concepts/topics that are addressed in the course. Then, discuss the relevance of the activity to emotional resilience and well-being with someone who understands this topic. If you are physically unable to participate with SUU Outdoors, please email me about an alternate assignment. This assignment will be due at the end of the semester; you may complete it at any time throughout the semester. I recommend visiting SUU Outdoors early in the semester so that you have time to make a plan to complete this activity. This lab may not be dropped. You will not be excused from completing it due to your lack of planning/preparation.

17. Journaling (130 points total) - Please keep a weekly journal in which you are writing about and reflecting upon what you are learning in class and applying it to you and your life. There is no right or wrong way to do this as long as you do it. In order for meaningful reflection to happen, please plan on writing a minimum of 1 page (8.5 X 11) per week. If you do not have at least 1 full page, you will earn ½ credit. If this happens, you may add to your journal for full credit. It will be up to you to get it re-graded if this happens. If you receive ½ credit for this, it is because you did not write the equivalence of 1 full page (8.5 X 11). Please keep in mind that this assignment can be an important part of your learning experience in this class or busy work - the difference is up to you and how you complete the assignment. The instructor will not read your reflections but will check to make sure you have completed this assignment each Tuesday. You must be in class on Tuesdays in order to receive credit for this assignment. It cannot be made up. The only exceptions to this are school or DRC/SOS excused absences. Your two lowest journal scores will be dropped from your final grade. It is your responsibility to make sure your journal is graded each Tuesday.
    Please note: during the week of Fall Break, journal checks will be done on Thursday instead of Tuesday.
18. Mindfulness Log (25 points). During the week we discuss mindfulness in class, you will be expected to intentionally practice mindfulness at least 3 times. At the end of the week, please submit a log of what you did, when you did it, and any observations you make about the process as you are completing it. Please see Canvas for the due date.
19. Values Exercise (25 points) - Please complete the values exercise that can be found in both the assigned reading module and Values Exercise assignment shell in Canvas. Once you have completed the assignment, upload the completed assignment to Canvas along with a 1 - 2 page summary of your experience in completing the assignment. Please see Canvas for the due date.
20. Balanced Living Log (25 points). During the week we discuss balanced living in class, you will be expected to intentionally practice balanced living at least 5 times. At the end of the week, please submit a log of what you did, when you did it, and any observations you make about the process as you are completing it. Because balanced living is very subjective to the individual practicing it, the way you practice it will be very individual. Be prepared to justify your examples of intentional balanced living to the instructor. Please see Canvas for the due date.
21. Coping Strategies Plan (25 points). Everyone experiences times of being emotionally and/or psychologically overwhelmed at times. For this assignment, you will complete a detailed plan for what you are willing to do both preemptively and during times of feeling overwhelmed to safely and effectively manage your emotions and/or emotional distress. Because this should be something that is useful to you, you can format it however will be useful to you - there are many, many, many possibilities. Please see Canvas for the due date.
22. Gratitude Letter (25 points). The expression of gratitude may be particularly effective when done directly face-to-face with another person. Choose someone you would like to express gratitude to. Perhaps it’s your mom, favorite uncle, or an old friend; perhaps it's an old coach, teacher, or supervisor. Write them a letter now, and visit (most effective) or call and read the letter out loud. For the purpose of this assignment, please choose someone whom you can read the letter to either in person or over the phone. Describe in detail what they did for you and exactly how it affected your life; mention how you often remember their efforts. Then, write a one-page reflection of how the experience went for you and attach your gratitude letter. You’ll need to upload 2 things to get full points on this assignment: 1) The letter you wrote and 2) Your one page reflection. Please see Canvas for the due date.
23. Reflection Paper (50 points). Think about the version of you that began this semester. You might use your assignments and notes from throughout the semester to refresh your memory. Please write a 3 - 5 page paper reflecting on what you have learned, how you have grown, and your understanding and ability to practice emotional resilience and well-being throughout your life. Please specifically address the learning objectives outlined in the syllabus. Please see Canvas for due date.

Course Schedule

Course Schedule Disclaimer: While content scheduled to be covered that is outlined in this course schedule will not likely change, the timing of which week it is presented may change based on factors unavailable to address at the time this syllabus was written. If there is a discrepancy between the due date on the course schedule and Canvas, please follow the due date in Canvas.

All assignments are due at midnight on the due date unless otherwise noted.

Assignments may be turned in early. You may turn in up to 3 assignments up to 3 days late without questions or penalty. Any late work beyond this will only be accepted if you have formal accommodations in place through the Disability Resource Center or support through the Office of Student Outreach and Support. This applies to all assignments that will receive a grade. Please do not rely on Canvas to remind you of when assignments are due; please be proactive and know when assignments are due. All assignments for the semester are already entered into Canvas; labs and quizzes have intentionally not been published yet and will only become visible to you when it is time to complete them.

Electronic Device Use (Cell phones, laptops, tablets)

Please keep your cell phones on vibrate or silent and do not allow them to become a distraction in class. If you need to use your cell phone, please practice professionalism and step out to do so. I, and other faculty on campus, have noticed a trend of laptops becoming a distraction in class. Please practice professionalism while in class and keep your focus on class. Please do not work on assignments for this or any other class during this class, unless that assignment is the current focus of class (such as labs).

Contacting the Instructor

Contacting Maren: Email (using an email application) is the best way to reach me. Please do not rely on communication through assignments in Canvas for communicating with me. While I try to keep track of that communication, I have never been 100% successful at this.

Being in class matters and your attendance will significantly impact your grade. There are many concepts discussed in class that will be challenging to effectively learn outside of class. The practice and application of concepts is an essential learning element for this course. Attendance tracking is built into your quiz and journaling/lab assignments. As missing class sometimes is inevitable, your 2 lowest grades for quizzes will be dropped. The syllabus quiz may not be dropped. Additionally, you may miss 2 labs and 2 journals without any penalty to your grade. Quizzes, journals, and labs may NOT be made up if you miss class, unless you have formal accommodations through the DRC, support through the office of Student Outreach and Support, or a school-excused absence. You are responsible for providing/facilitating documentation for school excused absences. Please use your free absences wisely. If you have extenuating circumstances that arise such as emergency surgery, a long term illness, or a death in the family, please be aware you may be eligible for temporary accommodations through the Office of Student Outreach and Support. If you communicate with me about such circumstances, I am happy to help you access these resources.