Strengths BasedTeaching and
LearningPresented by
Carlene Cassidy, Assoc. Professor, Anne Arundel Community College&
Diane Sabato, Assoc. Professor, Springfield Technical Community College
Overview: to learn about personal strengths assessment tools and how to leverage strengths in
academics, career and beyond.
Agenda:Why use this approach?What are the tools?Where can I use them?How can I use them?
What is a strength?
A strength is a "capacity for feeling, thinking, and behaving in a way that
allows optimal functioning in the pursuit of outcomes".
Snyder & Lopez 2007
Why?• Changing focus from deficit thinking to achievement
mindset• Play to our strengths, set meaningful goals• Build confidence in face of entrepreneurial adversity• Create well rounded teams• Personal, interpersonal and social well-being
What are the tools?• Gallup StrengthsFinder 2.0 - measures situational themes of talent,
strengths of competence.• VIA Character Strengths Survey - measures positive pychological traits,
or strengths of character.• Myers Briggs - identifies the ways individuals prefer to use their
perception and judgement. Preferences allow us to have different interests, different ways of behaving, and different ways of seeing the world. Knowing these personality strengths and challenges for yourself and others can help you understand and appreciate how everyone contributes to a situation, a task, or the solution to a problem.
StrengthsFinder
Goal - for students to:DiscoverDevelop and Apply Strengths
StrengthsFinder 5 Themes
How they relate to: Academics Relationships Career Choices
Sample Themes
• Activator - makes things happen• Arranger - can organize for maximum productivity• Command - take control and make things happen• Connectedness - faith in links between things• Woo - love the challenge of meeting new people and
winning them over
VIA - The Six VirtuesWisdom and Knowledge: cognitive strengths that entail the acquisition and use of knowledgeCourage: emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of opposition, external or internalHumanity: interpersonal strengths that involve tending and befriending othersJustice: civic strengths that underlie healthy community lifeTemperance: strengths that protect against excessTranscendence: strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning
VIA - The 24 StrengthsWisdom and Knowledge: Creativity, Curiosity, Open-mindedness, Love of learning; PerspectiveCourage: Bravery, Persistence, Integrity, Vitality Humanity: Love, Kindness, Social intelligence Justice: Citizenship, Fairness, LeadershipTemperance: Forgiveness and Mercy, Humility/Modesty, Prudence, Self-regulationTranscendence: Appreciation for beauty and excellence, Gratitude, Hope, Humor, Spirituality
VIA Character Strengths
Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory
Where can I use them?
• Classrooms • Professional Development Programs• Workforce Development Trainings
How can I use them?Student examples Tent cards, mid-semester check-ins, setting up teams,"getting to know you" exercises, career counseling
Professional development examples Teaching samples, group strength chart, management and leadership
Workforce development examples Motivation, team building and communication trainings
Details
• Details, handouts, links• Giveaways!!
The power of strengths…
Contact Information
• Carlene Cassidy, [email protected]• Diane Sabato, [email protected]
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