In 2025, Concordia College will be activating our 'Learning Well' framework. This framework positions our current Instructional Model alongside our new Wellbeing Model to support us in connecting, empowering and challenging our learners.

The new Wellbeing Model describes wellbeing as “the equilibrium between the challenges an individual is facing, and the resources they have to face them”. This can be visualised as a ‘see-saw’, with challenges on one side and resources on the other. When we encounter a challenge in our life (whether it be academic, physical, psychological, social or spiritual), our system of resources and challenges come into a state of imbalance, and we are forced to adapt our resources (whether they be academic, physical, psychological, social or spiritual) to meet the challenge. Our wellbeing ‘dips’ if we are unable to correct the balance, which occurs when we do not have sufficient resources to meet a challenge or when we have insufficient challenge to meet our resources.

This definition and model, adapted from Dodge et al. (2012), has been chosen because it is:

• Simple – it can be easily understood and communicated
• Universal – it applies to all individuals, regardless of age, gender or race
• Agentic – it empowers individuals to take responsibility for their own wellbeing and be active in responding to imbalances
• Useful – it can be used proactively and reactively
• Individualised – it does not present ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions or approaches
• Inclusive of (and normalises) challenge – it does not discourage challenge or promote avoidance of challenge; it is not healthy to always sit in our comfort zone or avoid discomfort.

The 'Learning Well' framework is designed to help Concordia be a community where individuals are encouraged to be agents of their own learning and wellbeing, rather than leaving it up to a ‘default’ state or assuming it is the responsibility of another party.

The 'Learning Well' framework is shown below. It is built for use in our classrooms and acknowledges the importance that both learning and wellbeing play in producing extraordinary outcomes – during school, and after it.

Mathew Disher
Director of Learning & Wellbeing ELC-12

Reference:

Dodge, R., Daly, A., Huyton, J., & Sanders, L. (2012). The challenge of defining wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 2(3), 222-235