Derived from the ancient mind-body practice and congruent with western scientific studies, the 8-Week Program to Support Undergraduate Academic Aptitude draws specific modalities from the 5,000-year-old Yoga tradition for helping lower undergraduate anxiety, depression, and stress. The program emphasizes use of physical postures, breathing exercises, basic mediation, and philosophy. Selectively chosen, the clinically researched techniques create physiological shifts for offsetting anxiety and depression in undergraduates, two factors known for adversely affecting students’ health and academic readiness. The main goal of the program is to educate a student to use Yogic tools intelligently and effectively for emotional, mental, and physical health to support quality of life and flourishing academically. A student’s health, wellness, and happiness are key contributing factors to staying engaged with an institution and student attainment.

The aim of the present study was to explore teachers’ experiences of student anxiety in the subject of English in Swedish upper secondary schools. Five teachers were interviewed to find out about their experiences of what causes anxiety in their students and what strategies they have found work best in order to decrease speaking anxiety. The results showed that the anxious students are usually those with a high performance level and good English knowledge. All participants agreed that the reason for anxiety is that performing in speech is perceived as embarrassing. Students tend to see all speaking activities as tests of their knowledge and are afraid of what reactions they may receive. The most distinct way to identify anxiety turned out to spot students’ withdrawal from all speaking activities in English. The best strategy to reduce speaking anxiety according to all participants was careful formation of groups, since smaller groups with only the closest friends is the best way to work for these students. Interestingly, while all teachers mentioned the benefits of recordings and podcasts, only one teacher used this method exclusively instead of oral presentations. / Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på lärares erfarenheter av elevers oro inför att tala engelska i svenska gymnasieskolor. Fem lärare intervjuades för att få reda på deras erfarenheter av vad det är som gör eleverna oroliga och vilka strategier som de har märkt fungerar bäst för att minska oron över att tala. Resultaten visade att de oroliga eleverna oftast är de som är högpresterande och har goda engelskakunskaper. Alla deltagare var överens om att anledningen till oron är att det uppfattas som pinsamt att tala. Elever ser alla muntliga övningar som prov på sina kunskaper och är oroliga över hur de andra ska reagera. Tydligaste sättet att identifiera oro visade sig vara att vara uppmärksam på undvikande-strategier från engelskaktiviteter. Den bästa strategin för att minska oron enligt alla lärare var att kontrollera hur grupperna formas, eftersom mindre grupper med bara de närmsta vännerna är det bästa sättet att jobba för dessa elever. Intressant var det även att se att, trots att alla lärare nämnde fördelar med att spela in muntliga diskussioner, var det bara en lärare som valt att använda sig av denna metod istället för muntliga redovisningar.

The implementation of curriculum change, and innovative pedagogical theory, can help educators and administrators in higher education further the learning gains of students in the sciences. But the introduction of new methods of teaching, or curricular restructuring, can be interpreted by students differently, potentially affecting students' emotional states as well as their relationships with peers. To support not only the learning of students, but also their emotional and social well-being, pedagogical and curricular theory should be enacted in ways that take into consideration the full scope of the student experience. In this dissertation, the implementation of curriculum and pedagogical theory, and the effects of the usage of active learning methods, are examined through student learning gains as well as through any reported social and emotional affects. In the first chapter we examine the history and realization of the integration of clinical and biomedical sciences in the field of predoctoral dental education. In the second chapter, the effects of early experiential learning opportunities are examined via students' progression to clinical competence and students’ self-reported confidence in a predoctoral dental program. In the third chapter, we consider and review how curricular change may affect students' emotional states, their relationships with peers, and if the concept of stereotype threat played any role in the complication observed. Lastly, in chapter four we explore how active learning may benefit, or hinder, the learning of students in an undergraduate anatomy course with social anxiety in a virtual learning environment. Throughout this dissertation, we seek to promote student learning through the use of educational best practices and consider how curriculum and pedagogical changes might also affect the feelings and emotional states of students, for the purpose of building a considerate and effective educational environment.