Positive Psychology in Education

Strengths First Approach

I am passionate about what positive psychology can do for students and educators in and out of the classroom.

Link to: VIA Character Strengths Inventory

By first focusing on what is right, before examining what is wrong, students are motivated to move beyond, and in some cases, be transformed by their current limitations, history, and circumstances.

Balance is key

Positive psychology is not about being happy and successful all the time.

Instead, happiness is aspirational like a delicious meal at a 5 star restaurant.

Wonderful but not to be expected, at every meal, all the time.

Otherwise, we set ourselves up for disappointment on the Kraft Dinner days.

Instead, the field of positive psychology helps bring out the best in us.

In a balanced way.

The ebb and flow of life. 

Negativity is to be expected.

The question is – how long do you stay there?

Safe uplifting atmosphere

As a professor, I believe it is paramount to create a safe and uplifting atmosphere in the classroom.

A secure and consistent milieu where students know what to expect class to class, week to week, semester to semester.

A place where students are encouraged to build upon their existing strengths, while feeling supported enough to share their current struggles.

Link to: 
Broaden & Build Theory

As I teach mostly nursing students, it is critical that I practice what I teach in and out of the classroom.

Nursing students will also be responsible for creating an encouraging and safe space for their clients one day.

The yellow t-shirts are from the Yellow Umbrella Project, an Ontario wide college campaign for battling the stigma of mental illness on campus.

Positive psychology and student empowerment

My highest goal is to work with youth in a way that empowers and encourages them to become the best version of themselves.

Cultivating success in a way that is unique to them. I believe that interactive lectures combined with warmth and real-life stories is the best approach for achieving this goal.

Link to: Optimism Bootcamp

Celebrating students every chance I get!

The photo below is from a leadership conference for college students where I discussed the connection between optimism and student success.

MISSION AND VISION

Ultimately, I hope to remind students of their gifts.

While encouraging them to embrace their challenges.

For we are the sum total of all that is powerful and vulnerable – within and around us.

And it’s this extraordinary combination of strong and weak, good and bad, light and dark, that makes our world and our classrooms such a fascinating place to live and thrive.

Together we thrive!