Benefit MindsetSchools GuideStudents using Wellbeing as a Force for Good
“Try not to become a person
of success, but rather try to
become a person of value”
- Albert Einstein
About the Author
Cohere is a social and environmental innovation agency located in
Melbourne, Australia. We catalyse the purposeful potential of people,
organisations and developments. Visit us at cohere.com.au
Paper by Ash Buchanan and Jack Greig. Special thanks to Michelle
Kovacevic, Novi Sutanto, Andrea Downie, Nell Golden, Peggy Kern
and unsplash.com for generously supporting the development of this
paper.
Contents
Introduction
What is a Benefit Mindset?
Why it matters
The Natural Pattern of Wellbeing
Unleashing Student-Led Innovation
Shifting Awareness: From Me to We
Developmental Pathways
Virtual Crash Course
#BenefitMindset Challenge
Everyday Leadership Labs
Case Studies
Final Thoughts
Revised 6th November 2016 | © 2016 by Ash Buchanan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Anyone may read this article or use it for
their own personal or academic purposes.
Introduction
There is a global movement taking place
in education.
In Australia, students are learning how to strengthen their
relationships, enhance personal resilience and explore what it
means to be a global citizen. In Germany, schools run subjects
specifically on happiness and social skills. In Bhutan, young
people learn mindfulness, and how they can best contribute to
their country’s Gross National Happiness.
Around the world, a growing community of teachers and
students are fundamentally rethinking the purpose of education.
At the core of this movement is a simple question: what does
it really mean to be successful in life? Rather than promoting
‘accomplishment for accomplishment’s sake’, this community is
finding there is real value, in being of value - to themselves, to
others, to nature and to the future.
It is a new mindset that is redefining success; from being the
best in the world, to being the best for the world. It is the Benefit
Mindset.
The Benefit Mindset describes society’s everyday leaders who promote
wellbeing on both an individual and a collective level. It builds on Carol
Dweck’s pioneering research, on how beliefs about the nature of intelligence
can profoundly shape our ability to learn and grow. This framework takes her
Fixed and Growth Mindset to the next level - towards a richer definition of
success in school and in life.
What sets everyday leaders apart from their fixed and growth mindset
counterparts is how they aspire to discover their strengths, in order to
meaningfully contribute to causes that are greater than the self. They question
‘why’ they do what they do, and believe in making a meaningful difference.
This evolution in thinking is not to suggest that concepts like the Growth
Mindset are less important. On the contrary, learning how to grow and
differentiate ourselves through deliberate practice is integral to every person’s
development. The difference is, students operating with a Benefit Mindset
direct their growth towards contribution, and in doing so, they use their
learning to lead.
Everyday experts who seek
perfection and avoid failure
Focus on reproducing
what they know
Believes their abilities are fixed
traits and tend to achieve less
than their full potential
Everyday learners who seek
growth and development
Focus on improving
how they do what they do
Believes their abilities can be
developed, reaching higher
levels of ability and success
Everyday leaders who seek
to ‘be well’ and ‘do good’
Focus purposefully on
why they do what they do
Discovers their strengths
and meaningfully contributes
to a future of greater possibility
MINDSET MINDSET MINDSET
What is a Benefit Mindset?
WHY IT MATTERS
The Natural Pattern of Wellbeing
Contribution is the natural rule – the
natural pattern - that makes the entire
web of life thrive.
When we look deeply into the way nature works, either
at these amazing vistas – or zoom right in to the smallest
particles – it’s clear to see that wellbeing and flourishing cannot
be understood in isolation. Systems don’t thrive because
everything tries to grow and reach its potential independently of
each other. That would end in disaster and ecosystem collapse.
Rather, wellbeing and flourishing are better thought of as
an interrelated systemic property, the result of a rich web of
contributive relationships. Contribution unites and elevates
everything within an ecosystem. Flourishing occurs when there
is rich diversity performing in concert – where each element
can play a unique and valuable role in the healthy functioning of
another.
This pattern is at the heart of the Benefit Mindset. What lights up
the hearts and minds of our everyday leaders is being of value.
Being a pulse of hope in their communities and for their local
ecosystems. They acknowledge that humans can’t thrive in
isolation, but rather, thriving is something we must do together.
WHY IT MATTERS
Unleashing Student-Led Innovation
“It’s more important than ever to look
deep inside yourself to fathom the sort of
life you really want to lead and the talents
and passions that can make that possible”
— Ken Robinson
Young people are well aware, and deeply concerned about
what is going on in the world today. They are concerned about
issues like climate change and inequality. They want to go out
into the world to do meaningful work - and be a genuine force
for good.
The Benefit Mindset framework helps these students think
about how they can be the change they seek. This means
addressing the big issues, like sustainability and social justice.
But it also means practicing the things that make an everyday
difference in our lives, like kindness and compassion.
This way of thinking helps to create a culture of everyone
making an everyday difference. A whole school of students,
discovering what they stand for - unleashing social, ecological
and technological innovations and acting to co-create the
world they want to live in.
WHY IT MATTERS
Shifting Awareness: From Me to We
“The purpose of life is to discover your
gifts; and the meaning of life is to give
your gifts away” — David Viscott
Perhaps one of the greatest strengths of the Benefit Mindset is
the role it can play in shifting our awareness. From me to we.
From individual to collective.
The key question our everyday leaders ask isn’t how they can
flourish in isolation, but rather, how everyone in their school
and community can come together and become partners in
each other’s flourishing. How can we come together in a way
that draws on everyone’s unique strengths and talents – and
make the world a better place?
This is where we think much of our work as educators is
headed. Creating the conditions for students and teachers alike
to become themselves so they can make valuable contributions
to society and local ecosystems.
Developmental Pathways
What is the best way to learn more about the Benefit Mindset?
Well here is the thing; shaping mindsets is not straight forward –
its rather complex and context specific. To create the conditions
for everyday leadership – careful consideration needs to be
given to the process of learning itself.
In this section, we offer three specially designed exercises that
teachers, students and principals can use to develop a culture
of everyday leadership. This includes our:
- Virtual Crash Course
- #BenefitMindset Challenge
- Everyday Leadership Lab
The first two activities are introductory and are suitable in most
school environments. The Lab is our recommended approach
for embedding an Everyday Leadership culture within schools
and is suitable for schools with a desire to be a leader in
wellbeing and student-led innovation.
“Buchanan’s insight has significant implications for
the way schools integrate teaching around fixed and
growth mindset... I am excited about the Benefit Mindset
and how it can strengthen the application of positive
education more broadly in schools.”
Matthew A. White, A/Professor, Melbourne Graduate School of
Education, Director of Wellbeing at St Peter’s College, Adelaide.
Virtual Crash Course
Our Virtual Crash Course is a 1 hour, freely available, video
facilitated learning activity for introducing the Benefit Mindset.
It’s suitable for primary, secondary, public and private schools.
How does it work?
Over the course of an hour we introduce the Benefit Mindset,
and guide participants to envision how they can use this
mindset to shape a better future. This activity creates a rich
learning experience on multiple levels:
- For students — explore what it means to make an
everyday difference in their school and community.
- For teachers — gain a richer appreciation of each
student’s hopes and dreams for a better future.
- For principals — gain a student-led appreciation of your
school’s higher purpose.
The course is playful and thought provoking — creating student-
led pulses of hope within your school.
How do I take part?
The virtual crash course will be available in early 2017. Head
to www.benefitmindset.com to download and print out
participant handouts, and access the online course.
Prefer to have this course facilitated in person? If located within
Australia, we also come to your school to run this course. Write
to us at [email protected] to find out more.
This activity is relevant to the following Australian Professional Standards
for Teachers: 1.1, 3.6, 4.1 and 7.3. It can be linked to the Personal and
Social and Ethical Capability areas of the Victorian F-10 Curriculum.
This challenge gives students and teachers the opportunity to create and share
a Benefit Mindset learning resource. It’s suitable for primary, secondary, public
and private schools.
How does it work?
That’s completely up to you but as a guide we say - make something that gets
you excited. Some examples we’ve seen are posters, videos, graphics, cartoons
and mind maps, like the one’s you see here.
Once you’ve created your masterpiece it’s time to share it with the world! This
is your unique opportunity to inspire others. We all know, learning works best
when shared.
Make sure to hashtag #BenefitMindset when sharing on your preferred social
media channel. Send a link of your creation to [email protected] if
you’d like us to share it too.
This activity is relevant to the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: 2.6,
4.1 and 7.3. It can be linked to the Personal and Social and Creative and Critical Thinking
capability areas of the Victorian F-10 Curriculum.
#BenefitMindset Challenge
Everyday Leadership Lab
Our in-school Everyday Leadership Lab is our term-long, year-
long or multi-year approach for infusing a culture of everyday
leadership within schools.
Who is it for?
This approach challenges traditional education ideals and is
best suited for secondary schools with a desire to be a leader in
wellbeing and student-led innovation.
How does it work?
For the lab’s duration, students and teachers use tools such
as Appreciative Inquiry, storytelling, prototyping and Adaptive
Leadership to co-create projects that promote wellbeing on
both an individual and a collective level.
This typically includes addressing the big challenges faced by
our schools and communities, as well as exploring the everyday
things students can do to be a force for good.
Presently, our labs are created and facilitated by trained
practitioners who partner with schools. In time, we hope to be
able to release an ‘Everyday Leadership Lab Guide’ to share our
experiences so that schools can create their own.
How do I take part?
Write to us at [email protected] to find out more and
explore your suitability with us.
CASE STUDY
Fitzroy Community School
Fitzroy Community School is located in Victoria, Australia. They
are a wonderful example of a school that has embedded a
Benefit Mindset into everything they do. Teacher Nick Berryman
who is a recent graduate of the Master of Applied Positive
Psychology explains:
“One of the daily questions everyone at our
school asks themselves is: how have you made
the world a better place?”
“This way of thinking is infused into the fabric of
our school. You can see it in the way we teach,
how we look out for each other, and how the
school looks out for the broader community.”
Students actively fundraise for the Asylum Seekers Resource
Centre, as well as an underprivileged school in Kunming, China.
They also focus on the everyday things each student can do to
make school better for each other.
“Everyone in our community is empowered to
contribute in their own unique way. It feels great
to be teaching in a school that has a culture of
contribution.”
CASE STUDY
Evangelische Schule Berlin Zentrum (ESBZ)
ESBZ is a school located in Berlin, Germany. They are another
example of a school that cultivates the Benefit Mindset. In
grades 8, 9 and 10, students have a class called “Challenge”.
They are invited to explore their inner potential.
“One group of four students prepared for a three
week survival camp deep in the woods, where
they lived in a shelter they built and on food they
gathered.”
At all levels students spend a period of the day working on
individual and collective projects with real-world implications.
“Some students redesign a part of their school
building and then coordinate the actual
renovations. Others might try to get the
city council to adopt higher environmental
standards.... Students are encouraged to find out
what matters to them, to aim high, to fail, to try
again and to celebrate their accomplishments.”
They learn that they can make a difference, and that others
need them and that they need others.
*Case study quoted and adapted from Reinventing Organizations by
Frederic Laloux (2014)
Final Thoughts
“You cannot get through a single day
without having an impact on the world
around you. What you do makes a
difference, and you have to decide what
kind of difference you want to make.”
- Jane Goodall
If we truly want young people to live meaningful lives in an
interconnected global society – they need to learn how they can
best contribute to each other’s flourishing.
Imagine what would be possible if we had generations of
students finishing school with a richer appreciation of how
their unique strengths could make the world a better place.
Imagine the ripples of change that would be possible with whole
generations living their lives with purpose. Imagine everyone
in your school flourishing in concert with each other and their
community.
It’s time to boldly reimagine what’s possible in education – and
prepare young people for a flourishing future.
Want to find out more?
Get in touch. We’d love to chat. You can reach us at
[email protected] or visit us at benefitmindset.com
6/120 Cambridge St, Collingwood VIC 3066
+61 3 9036 0426 | cohere.com.au
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