Episode Details

Fit to Teach 2027 Episode 1: Understanding Teacher Burnout and How to Respond

Kyle Pfaffenbach (EOU associate professor and LEAP director) and LEAP intern Abby Atkins introduce the 2027 Fit to Teach series, which weekly summarizes research and offers an achievable wellness action for teachers and school staff. They outline EOU’s partnership with La Grande School District, including lab-based wellness assessments and a wearable checkout program (e.g., continuous glucose monitors, Oura Rings, HRV monitors, continuous EKG/HRV, core temperature and sweat sensors). The featured paper is a 2022 systematic review of longitudinal studies on teacher burnout, defined as inability and unwillingness to expend necessary work effort, with dimensions of physical exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy. They discuss how determinants can be environmental or personal, the value of reflection, social support, and job satisfaction, and Kyle shares burnout experiences from a demanding prior job and coping tools like therapy, sleep, exercise, perspective, and breaking tasks into small steps. They invite topic requests via humanperformancelab@eou.edu.

00:00 Welcome to Fit to Teach

01:00 This Week Burnout Study

02:10 LEAP Wellness Program

06:21 Why Burnout Matters

09:12 Defining Teacher Burnout

12:23 Abby Burnout Check In

15:16 Kyle Burnout Story

24:06 Control Versus Environment

33:21 Determinants Table Breakdown

37:42 Preventing Burnout Steps

47:54 Reflective Wrap Up

50:14 Next Week And Topics