The Teaching Table

Overcoming Burnout and Reigniting Your Passion for Teaching: Part Two

• University at Buffalo Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation

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Burnout is a challenge many educators face, but how do you recognize it and navigate through it? In our latest episode of The Teaching Table podcast, we talk with Dr. Aisha O'Mally, a professor at the School of Management, about her experience with burnout. She shares how the demands of teaching and workload took a toll on her well-being and how she found ways to regain balance and reconnect with her passion for education. Tune in to hear her insights and reflections on maintaining well-being in academia.

Join us as we explore the powerful role of self-reflection, empathy, and open communication in overcoming burnout. Dr. O'Mally reveals the game-changing strategies that helped her reconnect with her students and foster an engaging classroom atmosphere. From fostering meaningful dialogues on crucial topics like diversity and integrity to gradually building a supportive learning environment, we uncover actionable insights that are not just about surviving but thriving in the teaching profession. Tune in for a wealth of inspiration and practical advice that aims to help educators manage their workload effectively while preparing students for the broader challenges of life.

This is part two of a two-part series.

Maggie Grady:

Welcome to the CATT Teaching Table podcast, where we dive into the art and science of teaching, learning and technology. Hosted by the University of Buffalo's Office of Curriculum, Assessment, and Teaching Transformation, otherwise known as CATT, and supported by the Gentile's Excellence in Teaching Fund. This podcast is dedicated to highlighting the journeys toward educational excellence. In this episode of the Teaching Table podcast, we are continuing a conversation on avoiding faculty burnout with Dr Aisha O'Malley, a professor from the School of Management, who not only experienced burnout herself at the six-year mark of her teaching journey, but also successfully reinvented her teaching strategy by diving into the world of artificial intelligence. So you said to incorporate a little bit more activities you said more experiential learning. What other things did you do in your course that you switched it around a little bit to make it more engaging?

Aisha O'Malley:

Let me see

Aisha O'Malley:

You know what I kind of do, too, is I put more on them, right? So some people may find this uncomfortable, but it worked for me. I like to joke with my students, and so I tell them. I told them, I said I have a PhD, I all this stuff I'm teaching, I know this and I know it very well. I said but you're working on a bachelor's degree, so you have to do more work. And so I give them more work, but not overwork.

Aisha O'Malley:

And I tell them that I'm not trying to make this more difficult for you. I'm not trying to trick you, I'm not trying to micromanage you. I'm just trying to show you how the world works and how you should think about moving through the world, right? So, I tell them I'm not always going to hold your hand.

Aisha O'Malley:

I will have touch points and I say I am open and I have my office hours, but this is really on you. And because I'm like, I tell them this If I could open your brain and, through osmosis just the words run in and then it just plants I would love that. That's not what it is. So I tell them and I show them that this is a partnership and I explain to them if you don't do your part, my part isn't as an influential and it's not as meaningful and you don't learn as much if you don't do your part. And I think we have to have conversations around that. We have to continually remind them that you're here for a reason and help them. If they don't know what that is, have conversations about it, right? In office hours or whatever, or even in classrooms. Why are you here? I know this is a required class. My class is a required class. Why do you think it's required, right? Because it's a soft skill, while it might not be accounting and finance. If you are the smartest person and have the most innovative ideas, you can't sell that, if you can't communicate your ideas effectively, you're not going to make it, right? And so it really is about having some open dialogue with them and teaching them about work ethic, right? And what that looks like and what you get from it, right? Like, if you do your due diligence and you come to class prepared, you read that study plan, then the assignments that I have, the lecture that I'm talking about, the activities that we do, you're able to be part of the conversation. That's engaging, that's more fun. Don't you want that experience? Or do you want me to talk at you?

Aisha O'Malley:

And you bored. And then, when and then I told him this too I said let me tell you how this works, cause I don't know if you understand that. I said, you are students, I am the instructor, I teach you, you learn. That's your job, right? If you are not doing your part, you get bored in class. When you get bored in class, you're more likely to pick up your phone. Or if you're on your laptop, you're more likely to go on and watch the football game that you missed last night, right? It's easy to do that, right? And I'm talking to them like this, right?

Aisha O'Malley:

And I said what ends up happening is then you're not engaged, you're bored because you didn't do your part, right? Now, what ends up happening is towards the end of semester t hen you come to me and you say why am I not doing better? Why am I not? And I said but I can't, what can I? And so I'll tell you week 14, week 13, There's not much I can do because all the work has been done and assigned. Then what ends up happening is then you get an opportunity to tell the university about how you feel, how this class went, because you were not engaged, because you didn't do your part and you felt you were bored. You will then put that blame on me. When it's hard for me to be engaging with a phone or a laptop, or with you who are choosing to not learn and focus and not being committed to your education. You're choosing to do something else, right? And so then you leave me a negative evaluation and let me tell you how that impacts me as an instructor. That impacts how my supervisor views me, and evaluations are how I get better as a professor, right? So, yeah, it does help me and if I want to grow as far as like professionally, but also, when they I said when you leave evaluations you don't think about how that is being perceived by the instructor. Yeah, I don't know who you are, but are you saying are you saying these things to make me better, or are you saying them because you're disgruntled and you're angry, but are you angry at me or are you really angry at yourself? Because you had an opportunity to do well and you didn't choose that. You chose the easier route, which was to not focus, right? So I I had that long.

Aisha O'Malley:

I had that conversation with them because I need them to understand what your part is in your education. This is not high school, this is college. Independent learning is what college is about, and so I talked to them about getting a planner. If you don't have a planner, you are planning to fail. Right, whether it's a digital or whether it's a handheld, you know, handheld with handwritten.

Aisha O'Malley:

Find what works for you. Figure out what your study habits are. This takes time. You have to be committed to figuring out. Okay, do I work better with flashcards or do I work better in a group setting, right? Like these are all things I can't do for you, right? So I try to talk to them about how to do college better, but I also talk about what their role is, right? Because we take it on as instructors good instructors, right? Instructors that care, professors that care, we take it on, and they're not coming to class. How am I going to get them to come to class, and they got to want to. If your class is engaging and you've done what you've done and you've prepared enough, then that's all you can do.

Maggie Grady:

I love the fact that, because you're getting them out from behind that phone where they can have that voiceless review, if you will, or that critique of you that isn't holding impact, and for them, and they think that they're exactly what you said, they're either are they helping or aren't they helping. Like did they just, like rate you that way, so I'd like that you humanize that yeah and give that. You know your voice actually matters and I need you to

Aisha O'Malley:

absolutely it does, and then I also do checkpoints every five weeks.

Aisha O'Malley:

Okay, this is what the class has been. Are quizzes working for you? Are deadlines working for you? Are deadlines working for you? Are assignments in the way that they're built? Do you like the way the class is running? Would you want more activities? And I tell them. I said I am the final decision maker, of course, but if you don't tell me, this ain't working.

Aisha O'Malley:

How are we going to change it.

Aisha O'Malley:

So I don't wait until course evaluation. I am checking in with them throughout the semester because I can't change your negative view unless I get that feedback Right. And while it may not be anonymous, I do ask them. I'm like this is your time. If you want something to change, tell me now, because I can make those changes now. So I give them feedback, that space to say, yeah, well, I don't like I've changed due dates, like Saturday is a hard due date. Or I remember one class you know they're like well, you know Sunday is a bad day because it's, you know, sunday night football, right. And I'm like, ok, I get it All right, so we'll do it Monday, right, so I'm willing to work with them Right, so this doesn't have to be a miserable experience for both of us.

Maggie Grady:

Right, you should all enjoy it, right?

Aisha O'Malley:

Yeah, we can all enjoy it,

Maggie Grady:

you can enjoy it. So I love all of those strategies. I love that you took the initiative to better yourself so that you could better the students.

Aisha O'Malley:

Yeah, it starts within.

Maggie Grady:

It does

Aisha O'Malley:

it really does?

Aisha O'Malley:

I think we kind of forget that sometimes.

Maggie Grady:

Yeah, it does.

Aisha O'Malley:

You got to look at yourself.

Aisha O'Malley:

It's hard, right, it's hard to look in the mirror, but when I did, oh my god, it transformed me.

Maggie Grady:

Yeah

Aisha O'Malley:

I went through a transformation the last six months and I've been telling everybody, because I feel so good about it, like that's why you knew I was like, let me tell you. I want to talk about how I'm doing this class and I want you to help me. But let me tell you how I've gotten to this point and it really has changed the way that I talk to them, the way that I even, the way that I connect with them, the way that I connect with my colleagues, the way that I listen and the way that I'm more open-minded, the more I am diverse with my perspective and I use inclusive pedagogy and I've researched inclusive pedagogy. I'm researching diverse pedagogy, right, because I know this will make me a better professor and my students want a better experience.

Maggie Grady:

Yeah, yeah, so I do. I think like the underlying overall type of you know comment that we want to make is not to feel that it's a negative reflection on yourself

Maggie Grady:

And I love that you were able to overcome that, because sometimes exactly what you said, it's your own mind that is taking you down. So you know you're a good educator. You just have to get out of whatever it is.

Aisha O'Malley:

Absolutely, as long as you give your space to be prepared for the semester, you give yourself some space to think about not just the content. The objectives, right? My bigger objectives. I want them to be more effective communicators, verbally and written, right? That's the bigger picture. So you got to connect what you're doing in the classroom to the bigger, and you can't forget it. You got to remind yourself about that, because then you get lost in the minutia of it and the timing and it becomes daunting and you get stressful. Make it easy for yourself, right? But as long as you're prepared and you've done your due diligence. No, you are a great educator. Absolutely, give yourself, pat yourself on the back. But if you don't take that time to reflect and you don't take that time to listen to your students' voice and listen to your own self, you won't get better, right? And it'll just get harder and you'll get and you won't stop to address that burnout. And so I'll tell you a few strategies for burnout as well.

Aisha O'Malley:

Is I give my space, I give my time myself, space away from teaching, right? On the weekends, even if it's just for like three or four hours I go for a walk, or I'll go out for lunch with a girlfriend, or I Netflix and binge. I make sure I take some time to decompress from the week and then it's not until I've done that that I really try to dig in. Now, don't get me wrong, this is not easy and it's gonna take practice. But you can't come from a space of judgement and how you're moving through this. You got to give yourself grace and you got to offer the way that you offer others empathy. You got to offer it to yourself.

Aisha O'Malley:

So don't beat yourself up. Just give yourself that space to grow, right? It's really important. And give your mind other ways, like read Outside of reading for class, right? Like pick up a book and just read for pleasure, right? Those things are really. And get a massage Listen, once a month I get a massage, right? Because I carry my stress up here and if I'm walking around like this, I'm like, oh yeah, it's time.

Maggie Grady:

Yeah

Aisha O'Malley:

right?

Maggie Grady:

I love all of that. I love that the strategy, and give yourself a little bit of leeway.

Maggie Grady:

It's, it's

Aisha O'Malley:

give yourself some grace, because nobody else will

Maggie Grady:

no

Maggie Grady:

do you have any final thoughts that you want to share with our listeners?

Aisha O'Malley:

Figure out what support you need, right? And what support can your department provide, right? Professional development was key, but also, I think what also was key was I had a very supportive team and I have a very supportive supervisor. She allowed us to incorporate a new platform. She introduced us to Lumen One, because we have books textbooks, and we know the struggle with textbooks Costs a lot of money. Students don't have a lot of money and so this was a free, open access, right? And I was like oh, and then I looked at it and it was so comprehensive and it was diverse, like the pictures that they use, the names that they use. It was very inclusive. It included daily lecture affirmations and I was like, oh yeah, this is all me and I took it on and I incorporated it and I'm using it currently and I love it and it's helping me again to be that professor that I want to be, right?

Aisha O'Malley:

I love the affirmations because I think, also, being teaching for so long, I realized that students they lack that self-confidence. Of course they do. They've only been on this earth for two decades at the most, right? So they need that, they need that guidance. You have value. Even though it's been two decades, that's still a long time. You have value. You have value Even though it's been two decades. That's still a long time. You have value. You have experiences, especially our students today, who are going through a lot more than I would say maybe I did when I was growing up. And so these differences and these things that you bring to the table add value to the classroom and any space that you're in.

Aisha O'Malley:

So the affirmations like today I can work hard, right? I am getting smarter, right, these things, and you take it for granted, but I make them say them with me. I say them first and then I say I tell them, say it out loud, and if they come to me and they sound, I am smart, I'm like uh-uh, this is not the 7.30, I just woke up. Voice, this is the gusto, I believe it. That's why it's affirmations. I believe it, I know it and I want to hear each and every voice and they go and they say it with me and I see them smiling and I see them connecting with me.

Aisha O'Malley:

And so when you are able to give yourself that time to figure out the support that you need, then you can go to your department chair, right, supervisor, and say I need some more support, right? And you won't know what they'll be able to provide unless you tell them. So don't be fearful of saying I need a little bit more. I need, I need a little bit of space. And you know I was able to get a couple course releases because I took on a couple different projects, so that allowed me that space to not teach.

Aisha O'Malley:

You know four and five classes. I was able to find some space for one semester. I'm not teaching so much, right, and you know our teaching faculty. We have a heavy load that we teach and so I'm talking to them figure out what support you need, because there's so many different opportunities and resources that are out there. But you don't know if you don't, if you don't seek out help and you don't say what it is you need. And that was super important for my journey.

Maggie Grady:

For me it would be. I don't want to be embarrassed.

Maggie Grady:

It would be an embarrassment and I think that you got to get over that and once you do that,

Aisha O'Malley:

that is holding you back from having a stress-free, more enjoyable experience in teaching, right? It's not embarrassment, like we all. I think we all have to come from this human perspective. One of the things that I like is I'm perfectly imperfect.

Maggie Grady:

Yeah, I love that.

Aisha O'Malley:

Right Like I have a T-shirt. I live by it. Right, like we all are.

Maggie Grady:

Sure

Aisha O'Malley:

we all are, so give yourself that space.

Maggie Grady:

Yeah, yeah, thank you again for joining us. Thanks for sharing your journey, your insights, your story is incredible. I love that. It is a powerful reminder and with the right approach, burnout can be managed. It can be, overcome, and the opportunity for growth is the key there

Aisha O'Malley:

yeah

Maggie Grady:

so, that kind of wraps up this episode.

Maggie Grady:

So thank you to our listeners and thank you to Dr O'Malley for joining us on this episode of the Teaching Table podcast. If you enjoyed today's discussion, be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. We'll be back soon with more conversation on teaching, learning technology, all of the good pedagogical stuff and until then, keep exploring new ways to reach and inspire your students. I love this story and, as always, be sure to connect with us online at buffalo. edu/ catt that's C-A-T-T, or email us at ubcatt@ buffalo. edu Thank you again.

Aisha O'Malley:

Thank you.