Teaching with Care: A Model for Student Wellbeing
The WEL Model, which was originally created in 2013 and redeveloped in 2020, lays out dimensions of wellbeing: health, relationships, security, purpose, community, and environment.
June 23, 2026
Kylie Shafferkoetter
Student mental health and wellbeing is baked into the Bakken Center’s approach to teaching. This commitment is reflected in a comprehensive model the Center designed to support both its own faculty and colleagues across the university.
The Wellbeing Enhances Learning (WEL) Model was born out of focus groups that identified key teaching practices instructors used to support student wellbeing. These practices were then examined and supported with existing research and in relation to principles of transformative learning, contemplative pedagogy, social/emotional learning, and collaborative learning. The WEL Model theorizes that by supporting and promoting student wellbeing, instructors can create conditions that enhance engagement and learning.
The WEL Model, which was originally created in 2013 and redeveloped in 2020, sorts these teaching practices according to the dimensions of wellbeing that they can contribute to: health, relationships, security, purpose, community, and environment. An online toolkit is available to help faculty integrate practices aligned with these dimensions, along with supporting research and resources.
If a faculty member wanted to create a sense of safety and comfort that allows students to take risks and challenge themselves, the toolkit lists out ways to do just that. For example, they can allow students to submit writing assignments multiple times or require drafts for bigger papers, so that these assignments feel less high-stakes or stressful. The strategy can make students feel more secure and allow them to take risks with less stress. It also benefits their learning, giving them an opportunity to incorporate feedback.
“Course content and instructional strategies in our courses support student wellbeing,” says Dr. Asa Olson, director of the Center’s learning resources group, which oversees the WEL Model. “Students’ ability to manage stress and anxiety is reflected in our annual student survey.”
Olson also consults with departments looking to apply the WEL Model in their classrooms or departments.
“We recently consulted at the Carlson School of Management to help instructors in a 1000-level course reflect on their teaching practices,” Olson says.
Now all first-year business students who take Carlson’s Design Your Life course benefit from the instructional practices built into it.
"Since we introduced the Center’s WEL Model to all Design Your Life instructors, we've reinforced a wellbeing mindset across all aspects of the course, including curriculum design, policies, teaching, and the overall student experience,” says Lisa Novack, director of student life and career design at Carlson School of Management. “By grounding our instructional team in a shared, research-based framework, we've been able to integrate wellbeing consistently throughout the course. In Design Your Life, students not only learn about the six dimensions of wellbeing, but also reflect on their own experiences and set personalized goals they can carry forward.”
Word is spreading.
“Faculty are becoming more aware of the [WEL] Model. Its presence has grown significantly since 2020,” Olson says. “When students are thriving, they tend to perform better academically.”
Even something as simple as turning in a paper by 8 p.m. instead of midnight could have a huge effect. “A midnight deadline might inadvertently encourage them to stay up late, affecting their sleep while an earlier time may result in more sleep, better learning retention and improved academic performance,” Olson explains. “Taking a whole person approach to students and considering their wellbeing improves the conditions for learning and helps them get more out of their coursework.”
