In early March 2020, the 91±¬ÁÏ became the first four-year U.S. university to transition to online-only classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

severe consequences of these physical distancing measures. To understand how this change affected college students’ mental health, 91±¬ÁÏ researchers surveyed 147 91±¬ÁÏ students over the 2020 spring quarter, which began shortly after the university transitioned to online-only classes. The team compared the students’ responses to a previous survey of 253 students in spring quarter 2019.

The researchers didn’t see much change in average levels of students’ depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress or loneliness between 2019 and 2020 or between the beginning and the end of spring quarter 2020. But these average values were masking large differences in students’ individual pandemic experiences. In general, students who used more problem-focused forms of coping — creating plans, focusing on positive aspects, etc. — experienced fewer mental health symptoms than those who disengaged or ignored a situation that was bothering them.

The researchers June 28 in PLOS ONE.

“During the pandemic, the challenges of online learning were entwined with social isolation, family demands and socioeconomic pressures,” said lead author , an affiliate associate professor in the 91±¬ÁÏ Information School. “There’s not a simple answer to the question of how students were affected: Some experienced intense distress while others were unscathed.”

For the past four years, this team has spent spring quarter studying what factors contribute to undergraduates’ overall mental health and well-being. Students are invited to continue participating in each spring quarter study, and the researchers also recruit new students each time. In a previous paper, the researchers found that experiencing discrimination events altered student behavior, such as the amount of sleep or exercise a student got following the event.

For the 2020 cohort, the team used three different survey methods to monitor student health. First, they sent large surveys at the beginning and end of spring quarter. Then participants received two shorter surveys each week that asked them to reflect on how they felt — in terms of stress, loneliness, depressive symptoms — in the moment.

In general, students who reported more mental health symptoms at the beginning of the pandemic continued to experience elevated symptoms during the pandemic.

“Problem-focused coping protected students from the harmful effects of stress (anxiety and depression, for example), even though students who used more problem-focused strategies reported more stress,” said co-author , a 91±¬ÁÏ doctoral student in clinical psychology.

“What these findings suggest is that students who coped by actively confronting their challenges, rather than avoiding them, still experienced highly stressful events over the course of the pandemic. However, they were protected from the mental health consequences,” Kuehn said. “It may not always feel pleasant or easy to confront the challenges of daily life, particularly during a pandemic, but doing so is likely to be highly beneficial in terms of reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms.”

Finally, at the end of spring quarter, the team conducted 90-minute in-depth interviews over Zoom with a subset of participants to gain deeper insight into their experiences.

The students described a range of challenges that interfered with learning:

• Decreased interaction with faculty and peers — students mentioned that having fewer opportunities to interact with faculty and peers left them feeling less engaged. Some students said they felt like part-time students, even when they had full course loads
• No shared learning environments — students spoke longingly of a table in a dorm or a spot in the library where they used to gather with classmates for impromptu study sessions
• Family needs — family members’ requests or noise often interrupted studying and even test-taking. Family needs, such as caregiving, were a particular challenge to learning for first-generation college students
• Interrupted autonomy — some students felt “trapped” back at home and described difficult “power dynamics” with their parents
• Well-being and mental health — many students described disrupted sleep, decreased motivation, and said that they felt depressed or anxious for periods of time. Students’ feelings of detachment from school sometimes contributed to depression. Similarly, worry about grades sometimes cascaded into anxiety and insomnia that, in turn, made it harder to focus

Students also developed strategies to combat these challenges, including:

• Self-learning — students used independent online research to figure out answers to their questions and made up their own experiments to explore what they were learning in class
• Structuring routines and environments — many students created fixed schedules for studying or used physical calendars to mark timelines and assignments
• Learning with peers — students created remote study groups and held informal remote co-working sessions that combined homework with personal conversations, which helped keep them on task
• Participating more in online spaces — many students found it less daunting to ask questions in online classes than in large lecture halls, others found it easier to participate in online office hours and meetings with advisers
• Using communication platforms for emotional wellbeing — some students used telehealth or meditation apps, but almost all of them used video communication to check in with their friends. Students emphasized that these connections were critical for their mental health

“On an optimistic note, students are emerging with critical skills for learning and maintaining connectedness with peers over a distance,” Morris said. “These active coping skills, which include things such as initiating virtual co-working sessions, leveraging online functions to participate in class and checking in on friends in an emotionally sensitive way, will have continued value as we resume in-person and hybrid models of education.”

The team plans to follow students through all four years of their time at the 91±¬ÁÏ. The first study cohort graduated this year, and the second cohort will graduate in spring 2022.

Additional co-authors are Jennifer Brown, an alumnus of the 91±¬ÁÏ school of public health who is the research coordinator for this project; , a professor in the 91±¬ÁÏ School of Social Work; and , 91±¬ÁÏ doctoral students in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering; , a doctoral student in the Information School; , a 91±¬ÁÏ professor of electrical and computer engineering; , professor and dean of the 91±¬ÁÏ Information School; , a researcher at Google; and , a professor in the Allen School. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, Google, the Allen School, 91±¬ÁÏ Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, the 91±¬ÁÏ College of Engineering and the 91±¬ÁÏ Population Health Initiative.

For more information, contact Morris at margiemm@uw.edu.

Grant numbers: EDA-2009977, CHS-2016365, CHS-1941537, F31MH117827

Recent notable books by 91±¬ÁÏ faculty members explore the importance of Hebrew to modern America, remember the 1919 Seattle General Strike and look at issues in education, among other topics.

Practical advice for healthy travel, near or far

A new book by offers simple, practical recommendations for those traveling near or far, short or long term, for work or recreation, to “destinations ranging from rural areas to large cities, in both developing and industrialized nations.”

“” was published in December by 91±¬ÁÏ Press. Sanford is an associate professor of family medicine and global health with the 91±¬ÁÏ School of Medicine.

In the book, Sanford gives common-sense advice on how to prevent communicable diseases and mosquito-borne illnesses, travelers’ diarrhea and other maladies, and how to evaluate post-trip symptoms. He focuses on ailments and injuries that travelers are most likely to encounter, noting that “if something occurs less frequently than one-in-a-million, it probably isn’t going to happen to you.” The work also covers concerns unique to women, men, children, LGBTQ individuals and travelers with chronic illnesses.

As Sanford said in a , “The more you travel, the less you fear, and the folks who are the most afraid are those who have never traveled.”

To learn more, contact Sanford at casanfo@uw.edu.

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91±¬ÁÏ-edited book explores value of Hebrew to contemporary America

, 91±¬ÁÏ professor of Hebrew and comparative literature, has edited a volume of scholars, writers and translators discussing the changing status of Hebrew in the United States.

“ edited by Sokoloff with of Washington University, was published in late summer by 91±¬ÁÏ Press.

The book, publishers notes state, asks how the status of Hebrew is affected by current Jewish identities and shifting attitudes toward Israel and Zionism. “Will Hebrew programs survive the current crisis in the humanities on university campuses? How can the vibrancy of Hebrew language be conveyed to a larger audience?”

The volume features essays “that give fellow Americans a glimpse into the richness of an exceptional language.” Contributors include , a former staff member with the 91±¬ÁÏ’s ; and the late Alan Mintz, who was a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary and author of “,” published by 91±¬ÁÏ Press in 2011.

“What We Talk About When We Talk About Hebrew” (which borrows part of its title from a famous 1981 by ) “addresses the challenges and joys of being a Hebraist in America in the 21^st century … focusing not just on what Hebrew means — as a global phenomenon and long-lived tradition — but on what it can mean to Americans.”

Sokoloff is the co-editor (with 91±¬ÁÏ history professor ) of “,” published in 2010 by 91±¬ÁÏ Press, and author of “,” published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 1992.

For more information, contact Sokoloff at 206-543-7145 or naosok@uw.edu.

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Principals support teachers in ‘Leading for Professional Learning’

How can principals better support and encourage professional development among teachers? A new book written by faculty members in the 91±¬ÁÏ provides practical tools and guidance.

“” was published in October by Wiley/Jossey-Bass. The book was written by , and . Markholt is the educational leadership center’s associate director and Michelson is its director of teacher leadership and learning. Fink, a 91±¬ÁÏ affiliate professor of education, is the center’s founder and was executive director from 2001 until 2018. All are affiliated with the 91±¬ÁÏ .

“Leadership is crucial to professional learning, providing the necessary systems and structures that enable teachers to improve their own practice and in turn, improve student learning,” say publisher’s notes for the book. Because each school has different strengths and needs, the book shows school and district leaders ways to create support plans tailored to their own context.

Empowering teachers to improve their craft is more than merely offering opportunity, the book advises — “it requires collaboration with teachers every step of the way, a deep understanding of how best to support professional learning, a clear set of goals for both individual sessions and an overarching mission, and the necessary technical and relational support required to see these opportunities through.”

Listen to an at Principal Center Radio. To learn more, contact Markholt at 206-221-6881 or markholt@uw.edu; or Michelson at 206-715-2833 or jlm32@uw.edu.

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Unexpected uses of technology the focus of ‘Left to Our Own Devices’

A father uses a smart speaker to gently enforce time limits. A couple uses smart lights to work through conflict. People find unexpected ways to adapt technology to fit their lives, as explores in her book, “.”

Morris is an affiliate faculty member in the 91±¬ÁÏ’s as well as a psychologist and app creator. Her book was published in December by MIT Press.

We are warned of the perils of technology, Morris states, “but our devices and data are woven into our lives. We can’t simply reject them.” Instead, she suggests, “we need to adapt technology creatively to our needs and values.”

In the book, Morris examines how such personalized “life hacks … cast technology not just as a temptation that we struggle to resist but as a potential ally as we try to take care of ourselves and others.”

To learn more, contact Morris at margiemm@uw.edu.

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College of Education instructor pens field guide to inquiry-based teaching

, a teaching associate in the 91±¬ÁÏ College of Education, explores through five key strategies in “,”

“One part practical guide, one part interactive journal, this book provides the opportunity to do inquiry as you read about it,” publishers notes state. Readers can see what inquiry-based instruction looks like in practice through five key strategies that can be implemented in any learning environment.

The book offers 50 practical inquiry experiences that can be used with students or with fellow teachers. One online reviewer said Mitchell “has translated the latest terminology — pedagogical jargon — into lively language and useful advice.”

“Experience Inquiry” was published in September by Sage as part of its Corwin Teaching Essentials series. Mitchell is also founder of , a professional learning organization dedicated to promoting inquiry-based teaching strategies.

To learn more, contact Mitchell at 206-434-8274 or klasher@uw.edu

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Other book notes:

• 91±¬ÁÏ history professor wrote a new introduction and afterword — and contributed a photo essay — to the November republication by 91±¬ÁÏ Press of Robert L. Friedheim’s popular 1964 book, “.” 91±¬ÁÏ Tacoma historian Michael Honey praised the republication, saying the account of the 1919 work stoppage “takes us back to when labor solidarity seemed to make all things possible.” .
• “” by Margaret Willson has been published in paperback by 91±¬ÁÏ Press. Willson is a 91±¬ÁÏ affiliate professor of anthropology and a faculty member in the Canadian Studies Center. The book was first published, by 91±¬ÁÏ Press, in April 2016.
• “” by , published as an e-book in 2013, has been updated and brought out in paperback by Island Press. Wolfe is an affiliate associate professor of urban design and planning in the 91±¬ÁÏ College of Built Environments, where he teaches land use law at the graduate level.