Positive Psychology for Teachers

The following is from  a chapter by Amy Fineburg entitled  "Introducing Positive Psychology to the Introductory Psychology Student" in Positive Psychology in Practice:

Positive psychology principles can give educators insight into the motivational problems inherent in the teaching process. While teachers can take their horses to water, they cannot make them drink. It takes creativity, inspiration, and hard work to prepare lessons that will reach the intellectual level of each student. But even when-teachers prepare outstanding lessons that appeal to a wide variety of students, motivational issues that could prevent students from learning and appreciating what is taught can distract them. If students have pessimistic beliefs about their academic ability, they may not learn. Therefore, teachers need to consider not only content and pedagogy but also motivational issues that may hinder the learning process. Positive psychology provides insight into some questions teachers should be asking about lesson planning in addition to content and pedagogy:

·         How optimistic are our students about their abilities as learners? Pessimistic students are more hostile toward school (Boman &

Yates, 2001). If students could be taught to be more optimistic about school, they would be more likely to succeed.

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What goals have our students set for this class and how realistic are their plans for achieving them? When students set realistic goals about school, develop plans to achieve those goals, and believe their goals can be achieved, they will likely achieve, earning higher grades and scores on achievement tests (Snyder, 2000).

·         How do students' comparisons of their achievement to others in the class affect their learning? Students who receive a higher grade than expected both feel good and praise the teacher, whereas those who receive a lower grade than expected both feel lousy and trash the teacher. Thus, a B grade could mean something quite different to the student who expected an F as compared to a student who expected an A, thus changing levels of satisfaction with the class (Fineburg, 2003; Snyder &

Clair, 1976).

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How can we make learning a flow experience for our students? Flow activities involve freely invested attention, challenge with requisite skill, and lack of worry about failure (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). If students can experience learning as flow, their enjoyment and intellectual stimulation about learning will likely be enhanced.

·         By developing lessons that address these questions, teachers can help make students' experiences under their tutelage more effective, helpful, and encouraging as students realize how to become better learners.