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The Power of the PositiveMichelle Lis
Assistant Chair Mathematics Department, Kaplan University
Words
The average person uses over 15,000 words a day according to a study done by Matthias R. Mehl, a psychology professor at the University of Arizona.
Our choice of words then is very important!
Moments
According to Tom Rath and Donald Clifton, authors of How Full is Your Bucket, every person has 20,000 moments each day, moments that for the most part are void of any positive words.
Do you remember…?
Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me
Really?
Effects of Negative Words
Scolding, swearing, yelling, blaming, insulting, threatening, ridiculing, demeaning, and criticizing can be as harmful as physical abuse, sexual abuse outside the home, or witnessing physical abuse at home, notes a report in the April issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter
Positive Psychology
• In 1906 William James hinted at the idea of positive psychology
• In the 1950’s Abraham Maslow first mentioned the term “positive psychology”
• In 1998 Martin Seligman introduced it in his Presidential Address to the American Psychological Association.
Effects of Positive Thinking• Barbara Fredrickson is a positive psychology
researcher at the University of North Carolina and proved that positive emotions broaden your sense of possibility and open your mind up to more options
• the biggest benefit that positive emotions provide is an enhanced ability to build skills and develop resources for use later in life, says Fredrickson.
So what does all of this research mean to us as
educators and administrators
The words that we use can have a huge impact on people.
It can encourage someone to move on and succeed or help them decide to give up.
“Words not only affect us temporarily, they change us.”
David Riesman
Marathon• If you were running a race how helpful and
motivating would it be to have people share positive affirmations and encouraging comments with you?
• What if we did this in the classroom: be our students’ biggest fan, notice how hard they work, cheer them on
• What if we did this with our colleagues?
Places where we can concentrate on the words we
choose to use• In the classroom
• In leadership
• With fellow co-workers
• In meetings
• At home
Let’s look at some samples in different areas
As a Virtual Difference Maker
Send out Daily Affirmations:
“Surround yourself with those who make you feel limitless!”
Jacob Salem
“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”
As an Assistant Chair• Weekly uplifting emails:
More than anything else, I believe it's our decisions, not the conditions of our lives, that determine our destiny.
-- Anthony Robbins
Each day that we wake up we can choose how to tackle the day by the choices we make. You choose to take the time and dedicate it to helping people learn. You believe in them and for many of our students you may be the first person to believe in them. You may be the first person cheering them on. You are destined to make a difference in people's lives each and every day. Hold onto that thought when it gets overwhelming and frustrating and you ask yourself "why am I doing this?" You are doing this because you are changing peoples lives for the better!
Monitoring of Instructors
• Chair and Asst Chair did a study to see if positive feedback would improve our instructors success rate. The data showed that the instructors did better in their classes and the students did better in the classes. The positive feedback encouraged our instructors to pay it forward per say to their classes.
As an instructor
• You might be the first person to believe in the students in your class.
• Words of encouragement may light a spark for these people and words of harsh criticism or impatience might deflate them.
• It’s your choice!
DB Feedback basic
• Great job on your post and peer replies this week. Let me know if you have any questions: [email protected]
• You did not complete the assignment. Let me know if you have any questions about your grade: [email protected]
DB Feedback - positiveHi Faye - thank you for your post this week! You did a great job with your post here this week. I'd love to see you more often and more active here in the DB than on just one day.
Remember that you were to respond to 2 other classmates using the guidelines below. By following these guidelines, you really improve the grade you earn for this part of the db, ok? Here are the directions for classmate responses: First Response to a Classmate Choose a classmate’s problem that has not already been checked and check it. Show each step of the multiplication (distributive property or FOIL) as if it were your original post. Keep in mind that Discussion Boards are meant to be constructive exchanges.
Second Response to a Classmate Find and comment on at least one classmate’s multiplication problem finding area. Make sure your comments are substantive and advance the Discussion. If the area is not correct, tactfully identify the error and multiply the polynomials correctly.
If you have any questions - please don't hesitate to ask me, okay? Keep up the good work! [email protected]
MML Feedback - basic
You did not do your MML Assignment. You have a zero.
Michelle
You did well on your MML.
You did not do well on your MML. Do better next time.
MML Feedback - positive
Is everything ok? I saw that you did not attempt the MML Graded Practice. This area is a great opportunity for you to practice concepts an unlimited number of times so you can master them.
There are so many resources that are available to help you such as: doing each problem an unlimited number of times and using the Similar Exercise, View an Example, Help Me Solve This and Ask My Instructor buttons in the MML. The KU Math Center also offers you live tutoring and a Q&A service as well as other services.
Please contact me ASAP at [email protected] so we can work out a plan for you to get back on track. This is a really important time for you to reach out and refocus on your goals.
Michelle
Quiz Feedback - basic
• You did well. Keep up the good work.
• You did not complete your quiz. You got a zero.
Quiz Feedback - positive
You almost had a perfect score – Excellent work! You have demonstrated your mastery of these past two week’s concepts involving Sets and Venn Diagrams.
Don’t forget that you have 3 attempts at the quiz and the highest of the 3 scores will be used – go for 100%!
If you have any questions about the exercises you missed, please contact me at [email protected] and we can go over them together. Keep up the hard work!
Michelle
Quiz Feedback - positive
I noticed that you did not complete the Quiz, so I am entering a zero in the Gradebook.
Did you have technical difficulties with the MML site or did you experience problems involving Sets or Venn Diagrams? If so, please let me know so that we can figure out a solution.
It is important to complete all assignments. I look forward to hearing from you to discuss this assignment.
Please email me at [email protected]. Together we can go over this unit's concepts and set up a plan to make up the quiz.
Michelle
Email Day 1 of UnitWelcome to Unit 2!
I am writing this to you as I want to help you be as successful in this course as you can.
Here is a list of things you need to do this week:
1. Attend seminar - several options that you can choose and if none of them work for you then the option 2 quiz
2. Discussion Board - You need to make an initial post and 2 substantial posts to classmates. Posting early and often seems to help quite a bit!
3. MML Graded Practice - I would start this as early as Wednesday and use the tools that are provided to you such as Solve a Similar Problem, Help me Solve This, Ask My Instructor. You can do these an unlimited number of times to strive for the 100%
4. Unit 2 Quiz -It's best to do this after you complete your Unit 2 MML Graded Practice. Make sure you use all 3 tries as it only takes the best of the three scores!
If you are feeling overwhelmed, email me immediately and we will work out a plan for you!
You have wonderful FREE resources available to you such as the Live Binders and the KUMC and their services such as live tutoring, Q&A service and Request a Video Example
Mid Unit MML Quiz email
Good Morning!
It looks like you haven’t had a chance to tackle this week’s quiz yet. The deadline is tomorrow, Tuesday at 11:59 PM ET. Please allow yourself some time to take advantage of all three attempts and to review your answers in between. The KU Math Center’s live tutoring service can be a big help in reviewing those answers efficiently. Let me know if you have any questions!
Regards,
http://k-3teacherresources.com/resource/theme-vocabulary-words/positive-words-and-phrases/
Focus on the positive
• Try a weekly email or journal where you ask your class what was the best thing that happened in class this week for you?
Take a minute:
Take out a piece of paper and write down one thing that you
are grateful for
How did that make you feel?
Robert Emmons, who wrote “Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier” says that those who practice grateful thinking "reap emotional, physical and interpersonal benefits.”
“People who regularly keep a gratitude journal report fewer illness symptoms, feel better about their lives as a whole, and are more optimistic about the future.”
http://happierhuman.com/benefits-of-gratitude/
A five-minute a day gratitude journal can increase your long-term well-being by more than 10 percent. That’s the same impact as
doubling your income!
http://happierhuman.com/benefits-of-gratitude/
Recommendations to Read
• Gratitude Diaries – Janice Kaplan• 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of
Daily Gratitude Changed My Life – John Kralik
• The Happiness Project – Gretchen Rubin• How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids – Tom
Rath• Have You Filled Your Bucket Today? –
Carol McCloud
Resources:
• Responsiveclassroom.org
• Clifton, Donald, How Full Is Your Bucket. Gallup Press, August 2004.
• Emmons, Robert, Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier , Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
"A careless word may kindle strife,
A cruel word may wreck a life,
A timely word may lessen stress,
A loving word may heal and bless."- Author Unknown
Questions?
Michelle Lis [email protected]
