Practical ideas and strategies for embedding positive education PERMA GOLD Practical ideas and strategies for embedding positive education www.PESA.edu.au © PESA 2017

Some context

Our aim with positive PERMA? Embed the tools Habitualise practices

Why is important to make these practices habitual? “Educational research reminds us that teaching is not merely a cognitive or technical procedure but a complex, personal, social, often elusive, set of embedded processes and practices that concern the whole person.” (Olsen 2008) Any habit that we can employ to improve wellbeing in students and in teachers will contribute to our longevity and productivity.

Relationships For schools to flourish there is a need for us to establish a learning community “where work place relationships based on collegiality and trust rather than hierarchy […] Relational work that supports, invigorates, connects and encourages positive emotions is foundational in establishing and sustaining flourishing.” (Acton and Glasgow 2015)

Priming your meeting environments Insert images… Share our experience: TLW Sharon – planning with Maria Mindfulness – Pos Ed WWW – year 7 pastoral team

The blob tree – positive emotions An antidote to our natural negativity bias, positive emotions are key to our ability to not only be well but to flourish. Barbara Fredrickson’s broaden and build theory, tells us that positive emotions lead to more expansive and creative thoughts over time. While we acknowledge that this does not mean we need to dismiss, ignore, or fail to acknowledge negative emotions, we need to be conscious of the notion that we find what we look for – if we are look for negatives, we find them. This habit also has neurological implications; under stress, our brain will revert to its familiar neurological pathways. And so any activity that focus on what is going well and what is good will strengthen a mental discipline that helps us achieve a greater sense of wellbeing. To flourish, we should aim for 3:1 ratio of positive to negative emotions. Felicia Huppert’s research supports this notion that positive emotions and focusing on the good helps to promote an upward spiral of happiness, engagement, accomplishment and satisfaction.

Drawing - relationships What animal are you ? Relationships Christopher Peterson, one of Positive Psychology’s founders, described it’s essence as “other people”. Indeed, Seligman reinforces the need for positive relationships suggesting that, “other people are the best antidote to the downs in life and the single most reliable up.” (Saligman 2011) For schools to flourish there is a need for us to establish a learning community “where work place relationships based on collegiality and trust rather than hierarchy […] Relational work that supports, invigorates, connects and encourages positive emotions is foundational in establishing and sustaining flourishing.” (Acton and Glasgow 2015) Relationships are central to what we are about not just as teachers, but as humans. The quality of our relationships – both personal and professional - will have a profound effect on our mindset, our mood, our capacity to be creative and solve complex issues as well as on our physical health.

And our students Collating best practice from your colleagues

Sharon Eg

Brady EG Character strengths – meaning Meaning Baumeister and Vohs (2005) associate the quest for meaning in life with four main needs: purpose, present events draw meaning from their connection to future outcomes — objective goals and subjective fulfilment; values, which can justify certain courses of action; efficacy, the belief that one can make a difference; self-worth, reasons for believing that one is a good and worthy person.   Understanding why we choose to be teachers, what we are working towards and how the many day to day “tasks” fit into a larger picture of what our life’s purpose is essential to staying motivated and engaged in our practice. Taking a moment to look at the bigger picture, so to speak, can be a motivating practice. To understand the greater impact of your work and why you chose to pursue that work, will help us engage more meaningfully in our practice, become more satisfied and ultimately, happier. Similarly, for our students, when they can see a greater purpose and meaning for their school work and activities, their engagement, motivation and positive emotions will be enhanced. Meaning and Character Strengths Martin Seligman defines the meaningful life as “using your signature strengths and virtues in the service of something much larger than you are.”  Character strength use at work is connected with not only job satisfaction but also productivity and organizational citizenship behavior. These connections are explained by high positive emotions and engagement (Lavy & Littman-Ovadia). Character strengths were connected with improved coping with work stress and decrease the negative effects of stress (Harzer & Ruch, 2015) Following are a few ideas around how you could focus or look to harness a particular strength for a particular meeting. Exercise 1: Signature strengths Using your character strength cards, select one of your signature strengths and turn to the person sitting next to you and explain how you have used this strength in your personal or school/professional life today.

Dashboard – accomplishment Accomplishment is about the ability to set goals and persevere over a longer period of time to reach them. It’s about living the growth mindset we look to encourage in our students. For real accomplishment, we need to demonstrate what Angela Duckworth describes as grit, “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality.” (Duckworth 2013) “The ability to sustain perseverance also adds to the sense of achievement, something that can be savoured and recalled for motivation when facing a new challenge.” (Thackery 2017)

Sharing – what has worked for you?

Thank you! www.PESA.edu.au © PESA 2017