The surprising impact of psychological safety
Background
Psychological safety refers to feelings of trust and belonging, and it enhances an individual’s opportunity to learn and contribute to the community. It manifests, among other things, as the ability and opportunity to express oneself without fear of negative consequences for oneself or one's situation.
Psychological safety has a positive impact on engagement and better learning practices. Large learning groups and remote work undermine psychological safety, while group work and discussions have proven to be practices that support psychological safety.
Making mistakes can be uncomfortable: errors are often accompanied by feelings of shame. Showing vulnerability involves risks, but risks can be taken when the environment feels safe and there’s not need to fear consequences.
Psychological safety creates the conditions for creativity and innovation, improves learning and efficiency, and plays a crucial role in creating a diverse, equal and inclusive community.
Instructions
- Read more aboutpsychological safety in the article below.
- Watch l the short film All of Us - Inclusivity For Everyone and discuss it with a colleague.
- Learn more about the relationship between psychological safety and diversity on the Agreeing on the principles of inclusive and safe interaction page and the Aalto Safer Space cartoon, which you can also share with your team.
- Check out also the First Aid Kit, a support package for diverse teamwork.
How does psychological safety create the foundation for learning, innovation, and creativity?
The feeling of safety is an important part of current discourse on higher education.
A two-minute music video about Veeti, who as a new and enthusiastic student trying to get into the group. Exclusion or inclusion from the group is done with small gestures. Have you noticed something similar?
Watch the video and discuss.
| ⏰ ~5 min. |
Inclusive teaching practices are inseparable from high quality teaching practices, hence inclusive teaching affects all aspects of a course and learning experience in it. One of the inclusive teaching and learning practices is to create an equal and comfortable environment for all students to study. This is one important step towards a respectful, supportive, and productive course learning environment where everyone can feel safe and welcome.
“We consciously chose to approach these topics through fictional characters, and on that notion, the storylines could be connected to anyone and no one specific – simultaneously. Rather than giving harsh structures, we aimed to ignite ideas, open discussions, and broaden perspectives”, describes Eli Saaresto, who led the Aalto Safer Space project from the OASIS of Radical Wellbeing team.
| ⏰ ~10 min and lots of additional material |
Teamwork First-Aid Kit gathers tools that have proved to be useful in supporting diverse teams tackling ill-defined problems and building foundational elements for the successful teamwork. It is a small step toward educating game-changers who can make a team more than a sum of its parts. Undeniably, teamwork skills are among the most pivotal work-life skills that younger generation entering the workforce are expected to master.
More things to consider
| ⏰ 4-week training |
VOICE is a neuroscience-based interactive team training that supports participants to identify their own speech patterns and emotional reactions in interaction situations and supports them to have more constructive conversations. The training lasts four weeks.
Learn more about Workday Learning and contact [email protected] to schedule a training for your team.
The training is in English. For more information, read VOICE course (English).
| ⏰ ~20 min. |
The Code of Conduct is the foundation of the Aalto culture, and we use it to implement our values and the way we do business. The Principles set out the ethical and legal procedures that guide our actions and expectations of each other in all aspects of university life.
Workday Learning has three online courses that Aalto University and ACRE (Aalto University Campus & Real Estate) employees must complete by the beginning of April 2023. The courses cover ethical principles, data protection and cybersecurity. We also recommend completing the courses for visitors working as part of the Aalto community.
Online courses on ethics, data protection and cybersecurity mandatory for all employes.
Continue to the online course on ethical principles at Workday.
| ⏰ ~23 min. |
In an episode of the Future-led Learning podcast series "How to make teaching and learning in higher education safer and more inclusive?" ARTS teacher Kiia Beilinson and Sara Rönkkönen, pedagogical expert at Aalto University, discuss inclusivity and safer spaces in higher education. The episode is from 2021.
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