This past term, students in the Thriving @ Dartmouth (T@D) course experienced an enhanced curriculum that included Emotional Intelligence (EI) content and skill-building, and Koru, an evidence-based mindfulness training program specifically designed for college students and emerging adults. EI and Koru mindfulness lessons complement each other by providing students with the space and the tools to observe, track, and manage emotions while practicing effective strategies for self-awareness and shifting of mindset.
In collaboration with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, the Student Wellness Center developed a series of six class sessions using Yale’s RULER Framework, which develops the skills of Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating emotions. The classes were embedded into T@D to allow students experiential opportunities to practice RULER skills. One exciting feature of the pilot was testing the use of the Mood Meter app in a college population. In fact, the T@D course is one of the first times the Mood Meter app and the RULER Framework have been tested on college students!
Formal and informal student feedback highlighted the powerful, sometimes transformative, impact of the EI curriculum. The Student Wellness Center is excited to take what we learned from the winter T@D pilot and test the delivery of the Mood Meter app and RULER skills this Spring term with a larger, broader cross-section of the student population.