Strengths Based Teaching and Learning

1. Strengths Based Teaching and Learning Presented By Twyler Earl Strategic, INDIVIDUALIZATION, BELIEF, RELATOR, Responsibility

2. Session Objectives Understand how to utilize strengths-based leadership principles and practices to further develop in the following domains: • Leading self – understand and become more aware of your personal strengths • Leading with others - create awareness of the strengths of others, enhance interpersonal relationships, supervision and teams • Leading the organization - discuss the skills, systems, and cultural dimensions needed in a strengths-based organization

3. Our Deepest FearBy Marianne Williamson Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darknessThat most frightens us. We ask ourselvesWho am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?Actually, who are you not to be?   . . . as we let our own light shine, We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, Our presence automatically liberates others.

4. Before we jump in… • In pairs… • Spend a few minutes each describing: • What do you love about the work you do?

5. Just Think About… • What if every student could experience that same feeling on our campuses? • What if students experienced the same fulfillment of being at their best while learning? • What if a goal of learning in high school and beyond was to help students become all that they were created to be?

7. What Makes a Leader?History of Leadership Theories Behavior Contingency Great Man Trait Match the leadership style to the situation. Men destined by birth to lead; no women. Identify leadership traits and find people with these. Make leaders by teaching “leader-like” behaviors.

8. Culture Shifts in Leadership(adapted from Catalyst Project (http://collectiveliberation.org/culture-shifts-2/)

9. Students

10. Programming ApproachesPresented at Noel Strengths Academy, Azusa Pacific University • Survival of the fittest • Deficit-based remediation • Strengths-based development and application

11. Dominant ParadigmPresented at Noel Strengths Academy, Azusa Pacific University There are certain skills required to be successful in post-secondary classrooms At entrance, we need to measure students’ abilities in their key areas Students need to spend most of their time in their areas of weakness, in order to achieve • The Problem? Spending most of your time in your area of weakness – while it will improve your skills, perhaps to a level of “average” – will not produce excellence This approach does NOT tap into student motivation or lead to student engagement The biggest challenge facing us as educators; how to engage the hearts, minds, and souls of our students

12. Building leaders… … that are engaged • Connects to what students already have inside them • Builds on their prior experiences and successes • Generates positive emotions • Emphasized a relational context and interdependence • Fosters a sense of competence and confidence

13. Focus Problems Possibilities Attendance Engagement Preparation Motivation Putting into the Student Drawing out from the student Average Excellence

14. Self-Efficacy from Kung Fu Panda • https://youtu.be/LB7eC0f1TXU

15. Now, let’s talk about YOU!!!

16. Key Findings from 50 Years of Gallup Research (Rath & Conchie, 2008) “All too often, leaders are blind to the obvious when it comes to something of critical importance to them – their own personality.” Rath & Conchie, 2008, p. 11 The most effective leaders: Are always investing in strengths Surround themselves with the right people and then maximize their team Understand their followers needs

17. Tip #5 Leave Work Problems at Work - Resist the temptation to take work home, on a mental level. Tip #4: Take Care of Your Emotional and Physical Health - You cannot be all things to all people. Tip #3: Keep Your Emotional Pantry Stocked With Empathy and Compassion Tip #2: Create A Nourishing Environment for Yourself - When you arrive, the "culture" is usually in place. There may be forces that might be beyond your control and hold the potential for negatively impacting on your ability to do your job. Identify these forces quickly and develop a game plan. Tip #1: Define Your Own Identity. Lead with your strengths. Source: Bright Hub Education

18. What is a Strength? A strength is composed of: Talents – how we naturally think, feel, and behave. … a naturally recurring pattern of thought, feeling or behavior that can be productively applied. -- Clifton & Harter, 2003 Knowledge– what you know, does not naturally exist; Skills– abilities, do not naturally exist within us. Talent x (Knowledge + Skill) = Strength

19. Focusing on Talents & Strengths Confidence Engagement in work Productivity Individual growth Career satisfaction Staff retention Organizational growth

20. Clifton StrengthFinders Gallup Organization - Identifies 5 signature themes of talent that can be developed into strengths; 34 possible themes Capitalizing on Strengths – higher levels of motivation, greater engagement in the task at hand, personal satisfaction, greater productivity and higher levels of performance

22. “A leader needs to know their strengths as a carpenter knows their tools, or as a physician knows the instruments at her disposal. What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows their strengths – and can call on the right strength at the right time. This explains why there is no definitive list of characteristics that describes all leaders.” Donald O. CliftoN Gallup Researcher and Founder of Strengths Psychology