Positive Psychology In Schools

POSITIVE EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES (PEPs): A FRAMEWORK FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR AND WELLBEING McGrath & Noble, 2006. Developed from Dr Martin Seligman’s Model of Positive Psychology) FOUNDATION ONE: MASTERY AND COMPETENCE FOUNDATION TWO: POSITIVE EMOTIONS Students achieve at a higher level, engage in more positive behaviour, act more confidently and Experiencing positive emotions at school can contribute to higher levels of wellbeing, have higher levels of wellbeing when they have a sense of mastery across many school-related motivation, connectedness and persistence. Positive emotions that can be generated are many & areas. Schools can adopt a skills-based approach that focuses on the development of skills that varied such as: lead to a sense of mastery and competence. For example:  Feeling safe : Ensuring that students feel safe from bullying  Resilience skills (eg optimistic thinking, courage, coping skills, helpful thinking & skills for  Feeling satisfied, affirmed and proud: Establishing opportunities for student success and managing strong feelings.) celebrating student success  Learning-related skills that lead to academic mastery and a sense of success (eg study  Feeling a sense of belonging and connection: Developing positive student-student skills, the use of mnemonics, thinking skills , the use of graphic organisers, metacognitive relationships (eg camps, committees,) and teacher-student relationships skills).  Feeling enjoyment and fun: Maximising enjoyment of school by for example, using  Goal –achievement skills (eg planning, setting time-lines, solving problems and seeking educational games, cooperative learning and humour. assistance or more information).  Feeling optimistic: Modelling a positive approach for students which focuses on things  Social skills that contribute to positive relationships as well as academic outcomes (eg that are going well; using formative assessment to give ongoing feedback cooperative skills, respectful disagreeing skills, negotiation, conversational skills, conflict  Feeling supported and cared for: Developing positive teacher-student relationships and management skills). establishing teacher mentoring structures FOUNDATION THREE: STRENGTHS & ENGAGEMENT FOUNDATION FOUR: MEANING & PURPOSE Wellbeing, positive behaviour and achievement are more likely to occur when students are Students have a sense of ‘Meaning’ when what they do has impact on others beyond themselves. engaged by their school work, have a clear ideas of their own academic and personal character They have a sense of ‘Purpose’ when they pursue worthwhile goals. School can assist students strengths and experience opportunities to develop and showcase those strengths to experience a sense of both meaning and purpose in a range of ways such as:  Helping them to understand the relevance of their school progress to their short-term Schools can adopt a strengths-based approach in which; success and long –term futures  Students are provided with strategies for identifying their strengths  Providing them with opportunities to experience meaningful and authentic learning  Teachers select classroom activities that enable students to use their strengths opportunities that are student-owned and directed (eg SOLAR tasks:Student Owned  There are many opportunities for student choice eg by using the MI/Bloom planning Learning and Research Tasks; Negotiated and integrated curriculum ; negotiated projects matrix to generate a variety of different tasks) and electives ;centres etc)  Providing opportunities for students to engage in challenging learning tasks that match  Increasing participation in cross-age activities (eg school performances & extra- their strengths, develop higher-order thinking skills and help them to discover curricular) ‘psychological flow’.  Providing opportunities for students to become involved in aspects of service learning  Providing opportunities to ‘showcase ’ students’ strengths. both within the school and in the broader community.  Encouraging students to become involved in peer support programs (eg peer mediation, Schools can maximise engagement not only through such a strengths-based approach but buddy systems, mentoring systems) also by:  Finding ways for students to participate in class-wide or school-wide discussion,  Identifying students’ interests and incorporating them into curriculum planning leadership and decision-making (eg circle time, classroom council, classroom committees,  Harnessing student curiosity SRC).  Using technology (eg digital storytelling and reporting, slide presentations, animation,  Arranging for student products and performances to reach a wider audience making DVDs, webquests, e-portfolios)  Directly teaching pro-social values (eg respect, cooperation, compassion, honesty, inclusion  Using relationship-based teaching approaches (eg cooperative learning) and friendliness)  Developing students’ sense of pride in and commitment to their school A POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS AND WELLBEING (McGrath & Noble, 2006. Developed from Dr Martin Seligman’s Model of Positive Psychology)

FOUNDATION ONE: MASTERY AND COMPETENCE FOUNDATION TWO: POSITIVE EMOTIONS

Teachers are more effective and have higher levels of wellbeing when they have a sense of Experiencing positive emotions whilst carrying out professional responsibilities can mastery and competence in the key areas of their professional responsibilities. They can contribute to higher levels of teacher wellbeing and motivation. Teachers can focus on & increase their sense of mastery and competence by: articulate how their work generates positive emotions such as feelings of:  Enjoyment that accrue from positive interactions with students and colleagues, positive  Identifying their current skills and competencies feedback from students & colleagues and having fun.  Undertaking a personal needs analysis to identify professional development priorities  Excitement that can build from the rich variety of activities, people and challenges and  Sharing their competencies with colleagues from innovative experiences  Satisfaction that derive from their own self development, supporting students and Teachers can, through teaching resilience skills and social skills to students, further collegiality develop their own skills e in these areas (eg optimistic thinking, helpful thinking, coping  Feelings of belonging and connection that derive from collegiality and positive teacher- skills, skills for managing strong emotions, conflict management skills, negotiation skills student relationships etc).  Feelings of optimism related to the progress that they are making and what they hope to achieve with specific students, classes or projects

Teachers can also:  Share and celebrate their successes with colleagues  Focus on what is going well and what aspects of their professional practice are effective. They can compile ‘positive incident reports’ on students who also have ‘negative incident reports’.

FOUNDATION THREE: ENGAGEMENT & STRENGTHS FOUNDATION FOUR: MEANING & PURPOSE

ENGAGEMENT & STRENGTHS Teachers have a sense of ‘Meaning’ when what they do has impact on others beyond themselves. They have a sense of purpose” when they pursue worthwhile goals. To increase their sense of meaning & purpose teachers can: Being fully engaged by tasks associated with their professional role can increase teacher wellbeing and effectiveness. Similarly, identifying their personal and professional  Articulate a strong commitment to their work, colleagues, school, students and strengths can increase teacher effectiveness, wellbeing and self-efficacy. There are professional goals. many approaches to increasing engagement and recognition of one’s strengths eg teachers  Regularly remind themselves that teaching is one of the most important responsibilities in can: society.  Use checklists ,reflection and feedback to identify and talk about their strengths.  Find a range of opportunities to articulate to others their sense of accomplishment,  Maximise engagement by more fully engaging their ‘signature ‘strengths ‘ (ie the 3 or 4 meaning and purpose through making a difference to students’ future lives. strengths that really encapsulate who they are) in their work.  Develop meaningful relationships with students and colleagues  More explicitly value and utilise their own and their colleagues’ strengths to maximise  Articulate their sense of belonging to a good school respect and effective collaboration  Acknowledge that their work is more of a vocation than just a job.  Recognise how their communication of wisdom can make a difference to students’ lives.  Set new teaching objectives for specific students or classes that give an additional sense . of purpose and present them with a stimulating challenge