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Teaching can be challenging. Staffroom pressures, difficult parents, and a heavy workload of marking can all feel overwhelming. Not to mention students, who might be disengaged or presenting challenging behaviours. As a teacher, it can be difficult to know where to begin if you want to build your class into a positive learning environment.
Research shows that one of the most powerful ways to build a positive learning environment is through positive psychology. The PERMA model, created by Martin Seligman, is one practical way to explore, explain and practise positive psychology. But what does ‘positive psychology’ mean, and how can you focus on it in the classroom?
You’ve probably already heard of positive psychology. Traditional approaches to psychology focus on fixing life’s problems. But instead of trying to fix specific problems, positive psychology aims to build strengths so that we can cope better with life’s challenges. Some of the strengths that positive psychology focuses on include:
Positive psychology isn’t about feeling happy all the time. It’s about recognising that we all have strengths we can build on.
Students bring all of life’s ups and downs with them into the classroom, and in some cases this can lead to poor focus and disengagement. A learning environment that uses positive psychology focuses on giving all students a chance to build their resilience and learn to cope with and manage challenging situations.
Positive psychology in the classroom can also have practical benefits. Students who feel supported and engaged will be more focused in class, will connect better with their teachers and classmates, and will achieve better academic outcomes.
This varies for each classroom environment, but a positive classroom environment will have the following characteristics:
There are lots of tools and activities you can use to bring positive psychology into the classroom. The PERMA framework is a great place to start, as it looks to the key elements of positive psychology as outlined below:
By focusing on each of these areas, you can build your classroom into a positive learning environment.