POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY CURRICULUM AT SENIOR SECONDARY LEVEL. Kate Cutts

Transcription

1 POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY CURRICULUM AT SENIOR SECONDARY LEVEL Kate Cutts

2 Adelaide Thinker in Residence Dr Martin Seligman Wellbeing & resilience: Building a flourishing state Inaugural Lecture Feb Images: 2

3 Seligman, Maier & Geer (1968) The alleviation of learned helplessness in dogs. 3

4 Dr Martin Seligman What is the most you can hope for in life? (Seligman, 2012) 4

5 The big issue Beyond Blue figures Around one million Australian adults and 160,000 young people live with depression each year. One in five people experience depression at some stage of their lives. (Beyond Blue, 2012; ABS, 2008) 5

6 Proportion of persons with a mental and behavioural condition 2001 to Males Females (ABS, 2012)

7 Is this also a big issue at our school? 7

8 About USC Joint Venture with University of Adelaide Independent Co-educational Year 11 & 12 Focus on University preparation

9 Is this also a big issue at our school? The students at the bottom of the spreadsheet 9

10 What could USC do? Good question! 1. Measure the well-being of students at key points (i.e. enrolment, transition, exit) 2. Research and collaborate on wellbeing projects 3. Teach Positive Psychology in Year 11 10

11 Dr Anthony Venning School of Psychology Author: South Australian Youth Mental Health Survey (Venning, Eliott, Kettler & Wilson, 2009) Image: 11

12 SA Youth Mental Health Survey 36% 42% 17% 5% The Complete State Model of Mental Health (Keyes & Lopez, 2002) 12

13 Dr Anthony Venning Those who adopt a strength-focused rather than by-default perspective may be better equipped to identify adolescents who with poorer states of mental health and target interventions accordingly to propel them towards a state of flourishing in life. (Venning, Eliott, Kettler & Wilson, 2012) Image: 13

14 Well-being outcomes of a positive psychology curriculum Frances Nettle, Masters candidate 2013

15 A new topic to be written Collaboration with Loreto College, Adelaide Consultation with Dr Anthony Venning Research conducted by Frances Nettle Used the Negotiated Topic format from SACE Stage 1 Used the 4 levels of explanation approach Took one semester to develop 15

16 Key ideas Well-being has measurable elements The elements of well-being are teachable Human strengths underpin the elements of wellbeing The capacity to flourish creates better, stronger and more positive relationships between individuals, families and institutions 16

17 Pedagogy Use PERMA as backbone and provide theories that illustrate each of the 5 elements Simplify theories and relate to 16 y.o. Create (or recreate) hands-on activities 2 movies & a documentary Encourage discussion and group work Homework journal Issues investigation: Does money make you happy? 17

18 Lecture 1: Introduction to positive psychology Image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

19 Discussion: The next slide shows flourishing as measured in different countries around the world. What factors do you think influence flourishing in these different countries? 19

20 ? 20 (Huppert & So, 2009)

21 In European study, Flourishing was associated with: Higher education levels Higher income Being married General health Declines with ages overall, but middle-aged the lowest Only small differences between genders 21

22 Homework Interview someone you live with. Ask them what does happiness mean to them and ask them to list some of the things that make them happy. Create a journal entry on MyUni 22

23 Lecture 2: Character strengths Image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

24 24 specific strengths under 6 broad virtues consistently emerged across history & culture: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence 24 (Peterson& Seligman, 2004)

25 VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire Need to log on to web and create an account Print off 2 copies of your results Give one to your teacher 25

26 Activity: Write your name on 5 post it notes and stick them on the strength posters around the room. Class discussion 26

27 Homework Journal entry 3: My hero s strengths Think of someone who you admire or look up to. Write about the strengths they exhibit. Create a journal entry on MyUni 27

28 Lecture 3: Continuation of character strengths Image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

29 Collect a set of strengths cards Use the cards to create a list of the top 5 character strengths of 2 lead characters Swap the strengths in and out as the movie progresses Discuss at the end of the movie 29

30 Lecture 4: Engagement Positive emotion Image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

31 (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997) 31

32 Think of an activity that you can do for minutes that you think will induce a state of flow for you something you enjoy doing and can do easily tonight. In your journal tonight, write a short reflection. 1. Briefly describe the activity you engaged in. 2. Look back to the 8 characteristics of flow and comment on the top 2-3 characteristics that you felt during the flow experience. 32

33 Lecture 5: Relationships Image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

34 Christopher Peterson Wrote the book Character Strengths and Virtues. Sadly, he passed away in 2012, aged 62. The key to Positive Psychology can be summed up in three words: Other People Matter (Seligman, 2011) 34 thewaytolearntowriteistowriteandtowritewithfeedback_ci

35 Tools to build better relationships 1. Active constructive responding 2. Effective praise 3. Assertive communication (Seligman, 2011) 35

36 Lecture 6: Meaning Image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

37 Ed Diener Leading researcher in worldwide happiness and life satisfaction Wrote the article: Beyond money: Toward an economy of wellbeing. with Seligman. (Diener & Seligman, 2004) 37

38 Life satisfaction in the US has been flat for 50 years even though GDP has tripled 38 Diener & Seligman, 2004)

39 Similar in other countries, eg Japan Depression has increased 10-fold Anxiety of average child in the 1980 s is greater than the average child receiving psychiatric treatment in the 1950s Social connectedness and trust have declined Discussion: Why are these things happening even though we are now much richer? 39 Diener & Seligman, 2004)

40 Issues Investigation: Does money make you happy? Documentary: Happy Diener s article 40

41 Lecture 7: Accomplishment Image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

42 The elements of achievement that have emerged from the theory that: achievement=skill X effort Skill is made up of: 1. Fast vs. Slow thinking 2. Rate of learning Effort is made up of: 1. Time on task 2. Skill practice and retention 42

43 Duckworth and colleagues (2007) combined concepts of persistence and passion into a new construct: GRIT People who are self-disciplined are high in GRIT GRIT is a better predictor of academic performance than IQ or SAT scores (Scholastic Aptitude Test) GRIT increases with age Discuss: Why do you think GRIT is so important? (Compton & Hoffman, 2005) 43

44 Lecture 8 Mindfulness Image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

45 Guided Meditation - Mindfulness Exercise by Williams and Penman CD 2, Track 1 45

46 Lecture 9 Research methods Ethics Image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

47 In-class test, open book Watch movie and take notes Choose scenes/characters for each of the 4 levels 47

48 BIOLOGICAL LEVEL POSITIVE EMOTION BASIC PROCESSES MEANING PERSON LEVEL ENGAGEMENT ACCOMPLISHMENT SOCIOCULTURAL RELATIONSHIPS 48

49 Implications Review & revise in 2013 Journaling polarising for students Random acts of kindness New topic fits new Research Program Refreshing Good to collaborate 49

50 Preliminary results Findings: No significant differences between pre-test and post-test in any group 6 month follow-up still to come 50

51 Possible reasons... Transient stress / time of year Motivation Survey design 51

52 Moving forward Results of 6 month follow-up One of many studies Best method of communicating positive psychology to students Best tools for measuring change in well-being in adolescents 52

53 Moving forward 2013: Baseline measure Why Be Positive? 1 ½ day program for 160 Year 11 students 53

54 Questions and comments For more information and full unit plan: Contact : kate.cutts@adelaide.edu.au 54

55 References Australian Bureau of Statistics National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results (4326.0). Canberra: ABS. Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Health Survey: First Results, Beyond Blue Understanding depression. Information for adults. Peterson, C. & Seligman, M.E.P Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. Oxford University Press: USA. Gillham, J.E., Reivich, K.J., Jaycox, L.H., & Seligman, M.E.P Preventing depressive symptoms in schoolchildren: Two year follow-up. Psychological Science, 6, Keyes, C The Mental Health Continuum: From Languishing to Flourishing in Life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Vol. 43, No. 2,pp Keyes, C. & Lopez, S. (2002) Toward a Science of Mental health. In Handbook of Positive Psychology. Snyder, C. & Lopez, S. (Eds) New York: Oxford University Press. p Positive Psychology Center University of Pennsylvania. Revich, K & Shatte, A (2002). The Resilience Factor. USA: Three Rivers Press. Seligman, M.E.P Pleasure, Meaning & Eudaimonia. Authentic Happiness Newsletter. Seligman, M.E.P Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Australia. William Heinemann. Seligman, M.E.P Adelaide Thinkers in Residence Inaugural Lecture. Positive Psychology for a flourishing state. Seligman, M.E.P., Steen, T., Park, N. & Peterson, C Positive Psychology Progress. Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist. Vol 60, No. 5, Venning, A., Eliott, J., Kettler, L., & Wilson, A. (2009). Normative data for the Hope Scale using Australian adolescents. Australian Journal of Psychology, 61, Venning, A., Eliott, J., Kettler, L., & Wilson, A. Mental Health Promotion: a survey of Flourishing, Languishing, Struggling, and Floundering in South Australian Youth. Australian Psychologist