COPING WITH MAJOR STRESSORS IN GRADUATE SCHOOL 27

PART TWO: TRAINER-TO-TRAINER NOTES

Given that stress is a topic that can induce negative affect, it is of essence for the
facilitators to iterate that the participants are in a safe and warm environment and that if they
want to take a deep breathe and recollect themselves at any point, they can feel free to do so.
Since the causes of stress vary from person to person and many of such causes can be too private
for the participants to share publicly, the facilitators also need to make it explicit that the
participants do not need to disclose any information if they do not want to. First and foremost,
such group norms ensured that the participants felt mentally and physically ready for the
training, free of distractions and disturbances resulting from depressive or anxious feelings
associated with stress. Secondly, by establishing such group norms, we were able to create a
friendly and intimate space where the participants were willing to share their thoughts and
personal experience. These personal data, in turn, provided us with a concrete focal point to refer
back to throughout the training, which ended up giving context and meaning to the theoretical
aspects of stress and coping and deepening the participants understanding of these aspects.
Another set of measures that helped us run the workshop smoothly were taken to make
sure that the professional knowledge of stress and coping we provide is clear, accessible and easy
to follow. We selected what materials to include in the lecturette with the understanding that the
majority of our participants do not possess much background knowledge in health psychology.
Thus we screened out the theoretical models that are too complicated for a layperson to
adequately comprehend and opted for a concise demonstration of only the core processes
involved in a stress response. We utilized many graphics to provide the participants with the
appropriate visual aids and we stood in front of the illustrations and pointed to the specific parts
as we explained so that the participants knew where to pay attention. While many participants
found this way useful, it was also mentioned that the presenter blocked the image for participants
who were sitting in a certain direction. To resolve this conflict, we recommend that future
trainers be aware of their location in regards to their audience. They can either find a spot that
allows them to use their body language for demonstration without blocking the screen or use a
laser pointer pen to help the participants know what to focus on. Since some biological
terminologies were inevitably used, we provided an index handout of the terms mentioned with
their respective definitions and pictures for the participants to get some clarifications when they
feel lost during the lecturette. Many participants appreciated such materials especially those
whose first language is not English. However, it should be noted that for some participants, it
was difficult to search for the terms on the handout and read their definitions while following the
lecturette. Thus we think in the future, the trainers can let the participants know in advance that
the index handout has been alphabetized which saves them time in searching and give them more
time to process and absorb the information when going over the terminologies and the related
principles, such as setting aside 15 seconds for the participants to read the handout each time a
new term is introduced.
Another effective way that made the abstract concepts easier to follow for the participants
was to pair them with real-life examples that the participants can relate to. If we only provided
the theoretical differences between acute stress and chronic stress, the chunk of conceptual
information might quickly bore the participants. Instead, we associated acute stress with finals
week and chronic stress with having an annoying mother-in-law, and as a result, our participants
were able to engage in the training more fully and concretely.
Since we as facilitators are not professional health psychologists, it is also important to
establish credibility of what is included in the training so that our participants feel confident
COPING WITH MAJOR STRESSORS IN GRADUATE SCHOOL 28

about the content we provide and can continue their participation without doubts. We did
extensive research beforehand and decided on the information with the most robust empirical
evidence or from the most credible sources. On the PowerPoint, with each piece of such
information, we listed their references to signal their legitimacy. We also used phrases such as
according to the American Psychological Association, or decades of research have suggested
to keep our audience convinced and reassured.
Our participants also indicated that appropriate tone of voice, pitch and speaking rate that
matched the different contents of the training were helpful for them to stay focused, which we
definitely recommend for future use. The different techniques and activities we had designed for
the workshop have their specific purposes, and we adjusted the way we talk throughout the
workshop to better fulfill these purposes. The energizer, for example, was meant for the
participants to experience stress, so Jenny talked fast and spiritedly with a high pitch to promote
competitiveness among the participants. When Jenny was leading the meditation, she read the
meditation scripts in a slow, peaceful and soothing manner so that the participants can enjoy their
relaxation.
We also utilized several non-textual materials to maximize the participants engagement
in the training, which were well received by our participants. We played smooth jazz music in
the coloring activity and lighted scented candles during the meditation exercise. Tapping into the
visual, aural and olfactory sensations of the participants, we were able to create a truly
multimodal learning experience for our audience.
What differentiates experiential learning from traditional learning the most is that
experiential learning fosters involvement and responsibility on the part of learners instead of a
unilateral mode of knowledge transmission (Pfeiffer, 1994). However, our training did not fully
achieve this purpose in its execution.
While part of the problem stems from the design of our workshop, the larger part of the
problem is caused by the communication between the facilitators and the participants during the
workshop. We hope to provide future trainers with some insights from both these aspects on how
to convey the purposes, goals and objectives of the training in the most effective way possible.
Admittedly, we did not provide enough opportunities for the participants experience
issues as well as identify them intellectually. As pointed out in the participants feedbacks, the
processing and generalizing stages of the experiential learning cycle were not sufficient in our
workshop. To give the participants a more balanced experiential learning experience, we
recommend adding more interactive components into the workshop. When the participants
shared their own go-to stress-coping strategies, we did not ask them to reflect back on the
theories introduced earlier and use the information to make their own judgement of whether their
strategies are likely to lead to positive or negative results. Instead of feeding the participants with
what is good and what is bad, the facilitators can give the participants a chance to report the
correlations and effects they have noted and make their own decisions, and then synthesize the
participants answers and draw a final conclusion at the end of that part.
With the same line of thinking, a similar piece can also be incorporated in the debriefing
stage after the three scenarios. After the participants actively experiment with the recommended
strategies, the facilitators can ask the participants to think about why a certain strategy is
recommended for that specific scenario and then provide the scientific evidence based on what
the participants say. If the participants are able to correctly point out the theoretical support for
the coping strategies, the facilitators can build on their answers and provide more details. If the
participants offer new information that is different from what the facilitators have prepared, the
COPING WITH MAJOR STRESSORS IN GRADUATE SCHOOL 29

facilitators can acknowledge their input and then add the prepared materials to the conversation
as additional evidence. More importantly, the facilitators can ask the students to think creatively
of other strategies, which may be a combination or a modification of the previously introduced
positive strategies.
Another area of communication that can be worked on in the future is explicit stating the
purpose of each phase of our training design so that the participants have a clear understanding
of why the technique or activity is designed and executed in that way. We believe that with more
priming in place, the reactions of the participants will be more in line with the expectations of the
facilitators and are less likely to feel confused along the way.
Some participants mentioned that the three scenarios we gave were a little arbitrary while
in fact the three scenarios were developed based on the three major stressors that the participants
had indicated on the previous needs assessment. By making a stronger connection between the
needs assessment results and the workshop design, the future facilitators may be able to
showcase that the workshop is designed in that way to cater to the specific requirements of the
participants and make them feel confident that their needs have taken into consideration.
It was also noted that for some participants who had never heard of GBTC, it was
challenging for them to keep up with the choreography. Our goal for this activity was not to
teach the participants to do GBTC correctly step by step, but to give them a chance to experience
an indoor physical exercise that helps graduate students regain their energy after long hours of
studying. However, we failed to communicate that message to the participants and as a result, the
participants focused more on the forms of the movements instead of how their minds and bodies
felt during the process. We recommend that future trainers make this message clear to the
participants before they get to try GBTC. They might also want to consider using a video-editing
software that can adjust the video to a slower speed rate so that all the participants can follow
the choreography.
A self-assessment was developed for the facilitators to gather evaluative feedbacks from
the participants about the workshop experience, but was not administered in our actual training
due to the time concern. For future trainers, it will be of great value to administer the evaluation
because it can provide the trainers with insights on what went well and what went wrong in the
training.


















COPING WITH MAJOR STRESSORS IN GRADUATE SCHOOL 30

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