Category Archives: VIA

IB Learner Profile meet the VIA Character Strengths

Posted on by

In a course I taught this summer, someone mentioned that they had seen a document comparing the IB Learner Profile with the VIA Character Strengths. An IB coordinator identifed that many character strengths are embeed in the IB Learning profiel but only provided a list of the traights, not explicitly linking it to any of the 8 profile statements: “Creativity, Ingenuity, Originality, Curiosity, Judgement and Critical Thinking, Love of Learning, Perspective, Valour and Bravery, Diligence/ Perseverance, Integrity, Honesty Vitality, Zest, Enthusiasm Kindness and Generosity Loving and being Loved, Social/Emotional Intelligence, Citizenship, Duty, Equity, Fairness Leadership, Self Control, Forgiveness, Modesty, Prudence, Caution, Appreciation of Beauty, Gratitude, Hope, Optimism, Playfulness, Sense of Purpose” 

Having not been able to find a more specific document, I created my own; mine looks specifically for primary connections as opposed to secondary one. Certainly, for example, you could argue leadership is present when working indepeendently as stated in the inquires bullet, but it is not specific enough to 

 

The IB Learner Profile

IB learners strive to be:

Inquirers

They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and  show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.

Knowledgeable

They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire indepth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.

Thinkers

They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.

Communicators

They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language  and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.

Principled

They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.

Open-minded

They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.

Caring

They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.

Risk-takers

They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.

Balanced

They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal wellbeing for themselves and others.

Reflective

They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.

Training in positive psychology coming to Shanghai

Posted on by

Want training in positive psychology training? I will be doing some training in Shanghai in January 2016. 

Date: Jan 16-17
School: Shanghai American School
Title: Flourishing in Schools: Utilizing groundbreaking research and tools from positive psychology to improve student’s wellbeing.
Consultant: Shaun McElroy
Coordinator: Janet Claassen, janet.claassen@saschina.org
» Download Flyer
» Registration

Developing Point-i-ness in your child

Posted on by

Many people have heard the mantra: “follow your passions.” Aside from being completely wrong as career advice, it leaves out how to even cultivate a passion that lends itself to what the world needs. This article goes into mor depth than the one published in Shanghai Daily.

Start with reviewing the VIA character results of your teen. Even better take your own so you can better understand it. It is free. You can get a foundational understanding in this movie:

Research shows that people who use their signature strengths regularly are less stressed, more fufilled, happier, more energized, report higher levels of well-being etc. 

As you examine your teen’s interests, skills, passions etc, always come back to which character strengths is this feeding. Ken Robbinson calls this your element:

RSA Shorts – How to Find Your Element from The RSA on Vimeo.

His two books are well worth the read. You can learn more in this much more in-depth video. Another way of thinking about finding your element is asking what is your purpose.  Conceptually, helping your teen find their purpose looks like this:

The world needs it

What does the world need? According to Fortune, here is the list of jobs with the greatest outlook in 2015. 

1.       Registered Nurses 2.       Truck Drivers 3.       Customer Service Representatives 4.       Sales managers 5.       Sales Representatives 6.       First- line supervisors or managers of retail sales workers 7.       Software quality assurance engineers and testers 8.       General and operations manager 9.       Managers (all other) 10.   Accountants and auditors – 

Forbes has a list of jobs requiring college degrees  The problem of course is what if you do not like any of these jobs? You could look where the jobs are

Source: WalletHub

Oddly you can check a different source and come up with a different list. 

You are paid for it

If you got to work, you may as well get paid for it. So which jobs pay the best? Payscale has an answer that a lot of literature majors are not going to like. Of the top 30, 28 are STEM degrees with a heavy emphasis on Engineering. 

You are good at it

The theory goes that if you are good at it, it must come easy to you and you must enjoy it. While this idea does not hold up under scrutinity (many people are good at stuff they work hard at and you can be good at thing you do not enjoy), it does suggest the idea of getting good at stuff. And some stuff is actually wanted by employers. According to National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), employers desperately want college gradautes to 

1. Ability to work in a team structure

2. Ability to make decisions and solve problems (tie)

3. Ability to communicate verbally with people inside and outside an organization

4. Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work

5. Ability to obtain and process information

6. Ability to analyze quantitative data

7. Technical knowledge related to the job

8. Proficiency with computer software programs

9. Ability to create and/or edit written reports

10. Ability to sell and influence others

You can start helping your teen developing these transferable skills through school work and particpation in clubs, activities and itnernships. Binghamton has a worksheet to self evaluate which skills you are developing. 

While you can focus on developing these skills, these skills show up in the most unqiue places, often unexpectedly. Rita J. King advocated the value of serendipity in career development:

This suggests pushing your kids for unique exeriences. 

“You need to be exposed to many things. You should expose yourself even though you might not know if you’ll be interested.” Linda Caldwell

You love to do it

Steve Jobs’s famous commencement speech offered the following advice:

I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.

A lot of people took this to mean “follow your passion!” Only that is not what Steve meant. He talked about finding what you love. Moreover he ends with this:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Passion is wonderfully energizing, but also complicated as Robert Vallerand explains:


“Passion comes from a special fit between an activity and a person. You can’t force that fit; it has to be found.” Geneviève Mageau, psychology professor at the University of Montreal.

 

Peter Benson, president of the Search Institute provides a path for parents to follow in coaching their children in the book Sparks:

In addition, I suggest you need to help your kids adopt and use a growth mindset:

You can learn more about Carol Dweck’s work at her website and this video. 

With summer on the horizon, there is a great opportunity to explore new horizons:

For parents of introverts, I strongly recommend reading Susain Cain’s great book Quiet:

Possibly the best book I have seen for teens is Cal Newport’s “how to be a high school superstar.”

Cal Newport offers great advice on his blog, Studyhacks. You can get a flavour of his insights at his talk at Google in which he makes the case to cultivate your passion. As Cal Newport states, “Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it.”

As your teen explores their world, feeding their strengths and fanning the sparks of what may become a great passion, one that has transferable skills or gives them insight to their purpose on the planet, help them develop an attitude of gratitude. Martin Seligman offersa very simply, but powerful activity:

 

“It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.” 

e. e. cummings


Books recommended (kindle format)


 

Developing Point-i-ness in your child

Posted on by

Many people have heard the mantra: “follow your passions.” Aside from being completely wrong as career advice, it leaves out how to even cultivate a passion that lends itself to what the world needs. This article goes into mor depth than the one published in Shanghai Daily.

Start with reviewing the VIA character results of your teen. Even better take your own so you can better understand it. It is free. You can get a foundational understanding in this movie:

Research shows that people who use their signature strengths regularly are less stressed, more fufilled, happier, more energized, report higher levels of well-being etc. 

As you examine your teen’s interests, skills, passions etc, always come back to which character strengths is this feeding. Ken Robbinson calls this your element:

RSA Shorts – How to Find Your Element from The RSA on Vimeo.

His two books are well worth the read. You can learn more in this much more in-depth video. Another way of thinking about finding your element is asking what is your purpose.  Conceptually, helping your teen find their purpose looks like this:

The world needs it

What does the world need? According to Fortune, here is the list of jobs with the greatest outlook in 2015. 

1.       Registered Nurses 2.       Truck Drivers 3.       Customer Service Representatives 4.       Sales managers 5.       Sales Representatives 6.       First- line supervisors or managers of retail sales workers 7.       Software quality assurance engineers and testers 8.       General and operations manager 9.       Managers (all other) 10.   Accountants and auditors – 

Forbes has a list of jobs requiring college degrees  The problem of course is what if you do not like any of these jobs? You could look where the jobs are

Source: WalletHub

Oddly you can check a different source and come up with a different list. 

You are paid for it

If you got to work, you may as well get paid for it. So which jobs pay the best? Payscale has an answer that a lot of literature majors are not going to like. Of the top 30, 28 are STEM degrees with a heavy emphasis on Engineering. 

You are good at it

The theory goes that if you are good at it, it must come easy to you and you must enjoy it. While this idea does not hold up under scrutinity (many people are good at stuff they work hard at and you can be good at thing you do not enjoy), it does suggest the idea of getting good at stuff. And some stuff is actually wanted by employers. According to National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), employers desperately want college gradautes to 

1. Ability to work in a team structure

2. Ability to make decisions and solve problems (tie)

3. Ability to communicate verbally with people inside and outside an organization

4. Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work

5. Ability to obtain and process information

6. Ability to analyze quantitative data

7. Technical knowledge related to the job

8. Proficiency with computer software programs

9. Ability to create and/or edit written reports

10. Ability to sell and influence others

You can start helping your teen developing these transferable skills through school work and particpation in clubs, activities and itnernships. Binghamton has a worksheet to self evaluate which skills you are developing. 

While you can focus on developing these skills, these skills show up in the most unqiue places, often unexpectedly. Rita J. King advocated the value of serendipity in career development:

This suggests pushing your kids for unique exeriences. 

“You need to be exposed to many things. You should expose yourself even though you might not know if you’ll be interested.” Linda Caldwell

You love to do it

Steve Jobs’s famous commencement speech offered the following advice:

I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.

A lot of people took this to mean “follow your passion!” Only that is not what Steve meant. He talked about finding what you love. Moreover he ends with this:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Passion is wonderfully energizing, but also complicated as Robert Vallerand explains:


“Passion comes from a special fit between an activity and a person. You can’t force that fit; it has to be found.” Geneviève Mageau, psychology professor at the University of Montreal.

 

Peter Benson, president of the Search Institute provides a path for parents to follow in coaching their children in the book Sparks:

In addition, I suggest you need to help your kids adopt and use a growth mindset:

You can learn more about Carol Dweck’s work at her website and this video. 

For parents of introverts, I strongly recommend reading Susain Cain’s great book Quiet:

Possibly the best book I have seen for teens is Cal Newport’s “how to be a high school superstar.”

Cal Newport offers great advice on his blog, Studyhacks. You can get a flavour of his insights at his talk at Google in which he makes the case to cultivate your passion. As Cal Newport states, “Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it.”

Posted on by

Empathy is one of Gallup’s Strengths:

Operationally, it seems connected with Social Intelligence in the VIA schema. 

Greater Good Describes it as  “a wide range of experiences. Emotion researchers generally define empathy as the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.”

How does it work?


Want to understand the science behind empathy? This quick video explains why and when we care.

 

Communicating Science Through Visual Media – Empathy from RISD FAV on Vimeo.

 

Want to Cultivate it? The Greater Good Society has outlined the Habits you need to engage in:

Habit 1: Cultivate curiosity about strangers

Habit 2: Challenge prejudices and discover commonalities

Habit 3: Try another person’s life

Habit 4: Listen hard—and open up

Habit 5: Inspire mass action and social change

Habit 6: Develop an ambitious imagination

 

 

 

Inspiring wonder

Posted on by

While she was denied at not one art school but six, she never let it discourage her as she spent the next 10 years painting. Janet Echelman has an extraordinary career:

Echelman first set out to be an artist after graduating college. She moved to Hong Kong in 1987 to study Chinese calligraphy and brush-painting. Later she moved to Bali, Indonesia, where she collaborated with artisans to combine traditional textile methods with contemporary painting.

When she lost her bamboo house in Bali to a fire, Echelman returned to the United States and began teaching at Harvard. After seven years as an Artist-in-Residence, she returned to Asia, embarking on a Fulbright lectureship in India.

Her Ted talk installs a sense of wonder:

You can her Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence call out as she leverages her Creativity, perseverance and Curiosity.

Getting strengths training

Posted on by

Now that you have taken the VIA and have a sense of the power using it can havve on students and clients, consider taking some training:

VIA Character Institute offers online webinar-based training. Not to be missed are their free Pioneer speaker series. 

Coursera offers a free four week course entitled Teaching Character and Creating Positive Classrooms led by David Levine, founder of KIPP schools and leading proponent of Strengths based education. His course includes interviews with some big names from positive pscyhology. 

Gallup offers a variety of training options for their strengthsquest program. 

I teach a course for the Couneling training center (CTC) called Counseling Accross Cultures which embeds positive psychology into practice. 

Character Day coming March 20th

Posted on by

Get involved: Let it Ripple Productions invite syou to join 750 like minded groups in premiering their 8 minute science of character. In addition to free customized versions of the film, Let it Ripple and partners like Common Sense Media will offer a list of films,games, and apps to strength particular character strengths, a free curriculum, a character strengths survey, and resource guide.

This film was inspired by the work of: Martin Seligman, Christopher Peterson, Carol Dweck, Angela Duckworth, David Levin, Paul Tough, Dominic Randolph, Neal Mayerson, Adele Diamond, Clifford Nass, The Bezos Family Foundation, The Character Lab, The VIA Institute on Character, and many more. – See more at: http://letitripple.org/character/#sthash.k4saP05c.dpuf