Using Positive Psychology to Bolster Student Success at GateWay Community College

Supported by a situational analysis and review of positive psychological literature, this paper outlines an application plan to support GateWay Community College’s ‘experiential learning with a purpose\u27 vision which focuses on infusing meaning into students’ career development and learning. This vision was articulated by Kerry Sanderson, Director of Career Services, and Jessica Brosilo, Service Learning Center Coordinator, in the form of three guiding principles for our work: 1) accessing large student populations, 2) developing students\u27 personal meaning and understanding of purpose through career goals, and 3) cultivating a broader view of success beyond career goals. Future-mindedness and self-efficacy emerged as key pillars in an integrative system for building meaning, along with the importance of persistence which surfaced through our discussions with Sanderson and Brosilo and our review of the Maricopa County Community College District and GateWay Community College’s joint strategic direction on student support goals. Our application plan rests on these three pillars: future-mindedness, self-efficacy, and meaning – with persistence running as a key thread throughout. The plan resides on three key processes: 1) administering a foundational, future-oriented writing exercise for incoming students that also cultivates foundations for self-efficacy and goal setting; 2) administering a growth mindset, belonging and self-efficacy intervention focused on messaging and environmental for incoming students, and 3) ongoing programming for students that supports purpose and meaning as well as student persistence

Intellectual Development for Flourishing: Advancing Positive Education Through Constructive Poetry Practice

As it stands, our educational systems across the globe are underemphasizing well-being and increasingly adopting utilitarian approaches to learning. The field of positive education has emerged to incorporate well-being into our education. My mission takes us one step further: incorporating our education into our well-being . The skills we learn in the classroom, if cultivated and applied appropriately, can help us to lead more satisfying and fulfilling lives, through increased self-efficacy, engagement, meaning, and character strengths. In this capstone, I will introduce my concept of Intellectual Development for Flourishing (IDF), which emphasizes cognitive flexibility in applying intellectual skills outside the classroom. Then, I will provide an exemplary model of IDF to serve as a model for other disciplines. This initial model is titled Constructive Poetry Practice, created to highlight poetry education’s global application to building awareness — of self and others, and the language to shape those understandings — as well as critical thinking skills and cognitive flexibility. This initial IDF model is designed specifically for students at the high school and college level due to the concentrated development of both the self and higher-level intellectual skills at these ages

Intellectual Development for Flourishing: Advancing Positive Education Through Constructive Poetry Practice

As it stands, our educational systems across the globe are underemphasizing well-being and increasingly adopting utilitarian approaches to learning. The field of positive education has emerged to incorporate well-being into our education. My mission takes us one step further: incorporating our education into our well-being . The skills we learn in the classroom, if cultivated and applied appropriately, can help us to lead more satisfying and fulfilling lives, through increased self-efficacy, engagement, meaning, and character strengths. In this capstone, I will introduce my concept of Intellectual Development for Flourishing (IDF), which emphasizes cognitive flexibility in applying intellectual skills outside the classroom. Then, I will provide an exemplary model of IDF to serve as a model for other disciplines. This initial model is titled Constructive Poetry Practice, created to highlight poetry education’s global application to building awareness — of self and others, and the language to shape those understandings — as well as critical thinking skills and cognitive flexibility. This initial IDF model is designed specifically for students at the high school and college level due to the concentrated development of both the self and higher-level intellectual skills at these ages