Rewarding the whole journey: What learning designers can learn from positive psychologyLPi Webinar July 2015

A QUICK QUESTION (Thanks to Martin Seligman)

What do you want for your

children?

A QUICK QUESTION (Thanks to Martin Seligman)

What do schools teach?

A QUICK QUESTION

How is your success

measured?

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Work-related stress caused workers in Great Britain to lose 11.3 million working days in 2013/14

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

What were the causes?

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

the amount of control individuals have at work or how much say they have over the way they do their work

the support employees receive in the workplace, in terms of encouragement and resources, from their employer, their line manager and their colleagues

how well relationships are functioning in the workplace, including prevention of bullying and harassment, managing conflict and ensuring positive relationships

how clear people are about their role and whether they have conflicting roles

how well change is managed and communicated in the workplace, including both large and small changes.

A QUICK INTRODUCTION TO POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

WHODUNNIT?

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY – A DEFINITION

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of human flourishing, and an applied approach to optimal functioning.

It has also been defined as the study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals, communities and organisations to thrive.

Positive psychology institute

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY – KEY CONCEPTS

1. Positive resonance2. Broaden and build3. Flourishing – life satisfaction; learning, growing, and

making contributions to society 4. Resilience – positive psychology isn’t the pursuit of

happiness, its about building resilience to flourish in all circumstances

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND LEARNING

Creating a complete learning environment

LEARNING VIRTUES

Cognitive learningAffective learning

Product Purpose

Emotional and academic learningTHE NEW BLENDED LEARNING

Positive psychology promotes full integration of cognitive and affective learning

Are we rewarding completion or contribution?

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: BADGES

Mitigative Meliorism-Focused on getting less of what we don’t want.-e.g. appendicitis

Constructive Meliorism-Focused on getting more of what we do want.-e.g. physical fitness

WHAT DOES YOUR LEARNING FOCUS ON?

Rather than creating a diadactic ‘right way’, they provide a scaffold

USING LEARNING PATHS

POSITIVE RESONANCEInsight 1

POSITIVITY RESONANCE

Small positive moments

Traditional learning intervention are one big act of motivation – online, we can help facilitate many small positive moments

COMMUNITIES

• Give meaning to an individuals contribution

• Exist for the value of their members

• Value participation and building collective value

• Provide an accessible way for people to make meaning from their talents

COMMUNITIES

“Online social learning communities are changing the value of employer brands”

Forbes 2012

L&D as the facilitator, not the gatekeeperUNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF L&D

The desire to control and measure can suffocate learning and innovation

Communities need facilitators, not managers

POSITIVITY RESONANCE

Small positive moments

Portable learning enables you to break down key learning points into accessible moments that build habits

BROADEN AND BUILDInsight 2

POSITIVE COURSE DESIGN

Instead of solving problems of immediate survival, positive emotions solve problems concerning personal growth and development.

Barbara L. Fredrickson, The Value of Positive Emotions, American Scientist (2003)

WHODUNNIT?

Broaden and Build

Really successful, high-performing teams had about a six-to-one ratio of positive to negative statements, whereas the low-performing teams had ratios of less than one to one, meaning that more than half of what was said was negative.

THE IMPACT ON PERFORMANCE

Physicians who felt good were faster to integrate case information and less likely to become anchored on initial thoughts or come to premature closure in their diagnosis.

POSITIVE COURSE DESIGN

How can you build in opportunities to apply broaden and build?

BROADEN AND BUILD

• Communities of practice – widens the discussion and viewpoint

BROADEN AND BUILD

• Collaborative assignments – gives the opportunity to ‘exercise a signature strength’

BROADEN AND BUILD

• Reward curation, sharing and feedback

 

FLOURISHINGInsight 3

BUILDING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

TELL THEIR STORIES

• Learning portals provide a home for the stories, showcasing work and highlighting excellence

HELP YOUR PEOPLE FLOURISH

• Your people directory could be the key to maximising your organisations value, through helping people add value

The 2020 workforceTHE RISE OF ‘SOFT SKILLS’

RESILENCE

The ideal mindset isn’t needless of risk, but it does give priority to the good

Shawn Achor, The happiness advantage

RESILENCE

Wellbeing programmes that focus on resilience could be the most valuable investment you make

CHANGE IS HERE TO STAY

• David Brooks, The Learning Virtues, New York Times Feb 28, 2013• Health and Safety Executive• CIPD, Building the business case for managing stress in the

workplace, 2011• James O. Pawelski, Director of Education and Senior Scholar,

Positive Psychology Center, University of Pennsylvania Theory for Practice: Positive Psychology and Leadership, 2006

• Shawn Achor, The happiness advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work , Virgin 2011

• Bridget Grenville-Cleave, Introducing Positive Psychology: A Practical Guide, Icon Books 2012

• Barbara Fredrickson, Positivity, Oneworld, 2012• Martin Seligman et al, Positive education: positive psychology and

classroom interventions Oxford Review of Education 2009

READING LIST

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