​Knowing our student's strengths is a powerful tool for promoting growth, celebrating success and finding ways to work effectively and positively with young people. All students  in all my subjects and year levels were invited to complete the VIA character strengths profile and to share their top 3 with me as their teacher. I also completed the survey along with my colleagues and we shared this data with each other and the students. You can see my top 5 character strengths to the right. 

Included below are 3 snapshots of when using strength data has improved students connection and growth. 

1. Building resilience

Working in the VCE for over 14 years has meant I often see students hit roadblocks that prevent them from moving forwards with design and art based tasks. Whether they are creative blocks, fatigue or feeling overwhelmed I have rarely had success providing suggestions of what they could do related to their actual projects. Instead I use character strengths data to inform a teachable moment. If I build the resilience of the learner to build the ladder to get past the roadblock rather then proving the ladder I have seen the students show greater resilience when the next roadblock comes along. 

Together we look at their strengths and break down steps they could take (rungs of the ladder) and supports they can access (the ladder side rails) that build on the skills they already have (their character strengths). See an example below of this in action with a Year 12 VCD student who was feeling overwhelmed by the Idea Generation phase of his work., 

2. Difficult Conversations

As a Positive Education mentor I often have conversations with learners as concerns about their wellbeing and/or learning progress arise.  Going into these conversations knowing and acknowledging the strengths the young person has has been key in framing my approach, ways forwards and has meant students can see that despite things not travelling along to well at the moment, they can use their strengths to their advantage to get back on track. 

3. Teamwork in 7 Makerspace

Students are often required to work collaboratively in Makerspace, yet often we do not explicitly teach the skills inherent in this 21st century skill. In 7 Makerspace we use character strengths to help establish group strengths. Students share their top 2 strengths and pitch to their group what this looks/sounds/feels like to contribute using these. For example a student with the top strength of humility noted;

"... I feel best when you don't make a big deal of what I may have done that's good."