Transcript Instilling Hope - California State University, Northridge

STRENGTHS & HOPE
Nyla Jolly Dalferes, California State University Northridge
July 23, 2013
“People with a growth mindset…think
of talents and abilities as things they
can develop—as potentials that come
to fruition through effort, practice, and
instruction.” Carol S. Dweck
Pandora received a box that she
was forbidden to open. The box
contained all human blessings and
all human curses. Temptation
overcame restraint, and Pandora
opened the box. In a moment, all
the curses were released into the
world, and all the blessings
escaped and were lost – except
one – hope. Without hope,
mortals can not endure.
Our Discussion
• Positive Psychology & Strengths
• A look at Hope Theory
• Ideas & Activities for UNIV 100
Do you get the opportunity
to do what you do best
every day?
Positive Psychology
Positive Psychology is the scientific
study of the strengths and virtues that
enable individuals and communities to
thrive. It is founded on the belief that
people want to lead meaningful and
fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best
within themselves, and to enhance their
experiences of love, work, and play.
Martin Seligman
Strengths
A strength is a naturally occurring talent
multiplied by knowledge and skill.
• Knowledge is that which is learned.
• Skill is knowledge put to practice.
• Knowledge and skill increase with experience,
education, and use.
• Talent is inborn. It is a natural propensity. It
cannot be learned.
• Talent alone is not enough. A person may have a
natural propensity towards music (or art, or
sports) but without practice and education, the
talent goes to waste.
Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0
Where are we with this whole “Strengths”
thing?
• Over 1000 first year students are being
introduced to the concepts of positive psychology
and natural talents each year.
• Responses to our surveys show that students feel
more confident about their abilities to make
career and academic decisions because they
know their strengths.
• But we are only introducing this concept…
Strengths Development
Framework
Introduction
Awareness
Reflection
Application
Integration
What about Hope?
What is hope?
http://hopemonger.com/
(Shane Lopez video)
Hope vs. Wishing
Hopeful students
• Hopeful students believe that the future will be better than
the present and that they have the power to make it so
• Hope fuels problem-solving and it helps faculty
understand how to work with students to develop their
own strengths.
• Hopeful students…
• are excited about the future
• go to school
• are engaged
• are resilient
• are happy
12% bump in
letter grades for
hopeful students
Hope Defined
“the belief that the future will be better than the
present, along with the belief that you have the power
to make it so.”
“…not only is hope good for your wellbeing, but it’s a
measurable quality that can be increased with
practice”
“…the ability to clearly and consistently articulate
goals (goals thinking), develop step-by-step plans to
reach those goals (pathways thinking), and persevere
in spite of obstacles (agency thinking).”
(Lopez, et al., 2009)
“…a human strength manifested in
capacities to: (a) clearly conceptualize goals
(goals thinking), (b) develop the specific
strategies to reach those goals (pathways
thinking), and (c) initiate and sustain the
motivation for using those strategies
(agency thinking).”
(Snyder, 1996)
How hopeful are you?
Do you think your future will be better than your
present?
What do you believe?
• I have the power to make my future better
• I am excited about at least one thing in my
future
• I see paths to my goals
• The paths to my goals are not free of obstacles
• My past and present life circumstances are not
the only determinants of my future
www.hopemonger.com
Why Talk About Hope?
The basic tenants of
Hope Theory can help our
students positively relate
to most of the core values
of UNIV 100:
• Goal setting
• Utilizing campus
•
•
•
•
resources
Life-long learning
Career planning
Positive relationships
Physical and mental wellbeing
“… a freshman seminar
can support the
identification,
development, and use of
strengths, while
simultaneously
contributing to gains in
hope, motivation, wellbeing, and academic
achievement.”
Bender & Clark
Hope Theory
“High hope” individuals regularly operationalize
three types of thinking and behavior:
• Goals Thinking (Optimism):
consistent
emphasis on focused goals for the future
• Pathways Thinking:
belief in one’s capacity
to generate routes toward a goal
• Agency Thinking:
belief in one’s capacity to
initiate and sustain actions
(Snyder, 1991)
How does it all relate to
what we do as faculty?
Instilling Lasting Hope
Caine’s
Arcade:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIFNkd
q96U
• What are Caine’s talents and strengths?
• What role did Caine’s father and others play in
nourishing Caine’s talents and strengths?
• What do you think would’ve happened if Caine’s
father/others wouldn’t have been so supportive?
• How did his father/others nourish his
hopefulness?
Suggestions for Building Hope
• Think about what really excites you
• Invest time in the things that you have a
passion for and the things that you are
good at
• Think about forming strong relationships
around the things that you are interested in
• Create paths and opportunities to spend
time doing what excites you
Building Hope
Reflection opportunities:
• Who am I?
•
Strengths, Personality (StrengthsQuest Resources)
• Interests, Hobbies, Values
• What excites me? - GOALS
• Where do I want to go in life?
• Goals developed into -- PATHWAYS/ROUTES
• What is my motivation? How will my strengths be
instrumental in my success? – AGENCY
Formal Goal Setting:
• Information Integration Activity on U100 Instructor’s Manual
• SMART Goals on Pathways at www.csun.edu/pathways
Building Hope
Get students thinking about the future!
• Have them go around and take pictures of
Hope.
• Have them think about what a good job
and a happy future will look like.
Example:
Bender & Lake, 2012, University of Alabama
• Students completed Gallup’s StrengthsQuest inventory and
accompanying activities. Additionally, students engaged in
reflective writing and discussion to describe progressive gains
in understanding of their own developing strengths and the
process of refining plans and goals. The culminating student
artifact—a personalized Action Plan for personal and
professional development, then becomes a living document
detailing anticipated steps and timelines for the attainment of
goals; strategies for ongoing refinement of signature strengths;
and awareness of resources and sources of support needed to
sustain motivation in their personal and professional
endeavors.
How can you use some
of your existing activities
to instill lasting hope?
Goal Setting & Hope Building Activities
• www.csun.edu/pathways
• http:hopemonger.com
• http://www.strengthsquest.com/content/143792/Strengths-
Educators.aspx
“Strengths help us find our fit, and
then become a vehicle for the
attainment of goals.” Bender & Clark
References
Bender, D. & Lake, C. Using Hope Theory to Transform a Strengths-Based Freshman
Seminar. Poster Presentation, 2012 National Conference for the First-Year Experience.
www.sc.edu/fye/events/presentation/annual/2012/files/PR-124.ppt
Komarraju, M., Musulkin, S. & Bhattacharya, G. (2010). Role of student–faculty
interactions in developing college students’ academic self-concept, motivation, and
achievement. Journal of College Student Development 51(3), 332-342.
Lopez, S. J., Rose, S., Robinson, C., Margues, S., and Pais-Ribeiro, J., (2009).
Measuring and Promoting Hope in School Children. Handbook of Positive Psychology in
Schools (pp.35-51). New York, NY: Routledge.
Seligman, Martin E. P.; Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Positive psychology: An introduction.
American Psychologist, Vol 55(1), Jan 2000, 5-14.
Snyder, C. R., Sympson, S. C., Ybasco, F. C., Borders, T. F., Babyak, M. A., Higgins, R.
L. (1996). Development and validation of the state hope scale. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 70(2), 321-335.