Professor Carmen Basanta proposes pedagogical creativity to prevent burnout professor

Can pedagogical creativity prevent professor burnout? The professor and researcher of the School of Education and Psychology, Carmen Basanta, gave, in the framework a new edition of the conference of educational centers organized by the School, a session about the use of creativity for the design of educational programs able to promote the professor well-being and avoid the burnout teacher syndrome .

Professor Basanta is a member of the research group VOICESand her main line of research focuses on the design of creative schools through teacher training , heritage Education in intercultural society, staff and social identity in artistic narratives, and meaningful experiences of life and artistic expression.

In these conference, Professor Basanta acknowledged that " teaching is a profession that is both rewarding and inspiring, as well as complex and demanding, where we are constantly thinking about how to better connect with the student body and how to make learning meaningful," and adds that "this status undoubtedly means that the faculty member "arrives home with a mixture, not always balanced, of exhaustion and satisfaction, because we are often required to keep aside our negative emotions in the service of quality: "this status, undoubtedly, makes the faculty "go home with a mixture, not always balanced, of exhaustion and satisfaction, because many times we are required to keep aside our negative emotions in the service of the quality of learning and relationships with our students, and other times we strive to maintain attitudes of constant motivation and inspiration."

In view of this demand, professor Basanta raised three questions during the session: How does a professor take care of himself/herself? Who takes care of a professor? How much time does a professor dedicate to his/her staff growth? She stressed the importance of giving an adequate response to these aspects, since their neglect can trigger the burnout syndrome. "In this syndrome there is a high demand or load of work demands, and the person has low emotional and management resources to assume that load," he said, and continued: "There are three symptoms: emotional fatigue, demotivation and depersonalization. The consequences of this syndrome have a significant impact on the faculty 's well-being and lack of professional fulfillment. One of the objectives of the session focused on "recognizing creativity, because there is always something creative in us, which can help prevent this syndrome," says Professor Basanta.

To conclude the workshop, she explained which creativity resources linked to art, contemplation, mindfulness or creative writing can be used by teachers in their educational internship to avoid situations of demotivation and emotional fatigue that can lead to burnout.