MY BEST SELF to
become the type of person who I want to become
The main purpose in senior schooling is to find a sense of purpose. When you find that, you will have the motivation to do what you need to do to inspire your best self to shine through. A healthy state of wellbeing is feeling optimistic and hopeful about today and for your future, because you know that you are working towards inspiring your best self
What is my purpose for being at school this year?
What type of person do I want to become?
What type of life do I want to live?
What is a challenge that will I have to overcome and who can assist me?
What is a determined choice that I will have to make?
Acknowledgement: Sonja Lyubomirsky & Tal Ben Shahar
CHARACTER STRENGTHS WEEKS
There are six Character Strengths Weeks spread throughout this journey. They provide you and your class with opportunities to practise using your strengths to build a resilient state of wellbeing. They are also fun to do at home with your family. The order of these weeks are: Gratitude, Kindness, Bravery, Honesty, Creativity and Teamwork. From the website www.learningcurve.com.au download the Strengths Weeks sheets from Individual Resources/Character Strengths Weeks and the Wellbeing Awards Certificates from Individual Resources/Wellbeing Awards.
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Dr. Seuss
SELF-DETERMINATION = YOUR SELF-MOTIVATION
This Lesson: WHY: for you to understand that your motivation to inspire your best self comes from being self-determined, which is feeling a sense of competence, connectedness and autonomy. HOW: reflect on whether you are an intrinsically motivated senior student who believes that you have what it takes, who feels connected to others, and who is prepared to make determined choices this year towards your purpose.
Your thoughts:
SELF-DETERMINED TO BE SELF-MOTIVATED
Sense of Competence – you feel confident in your learning and thinking capabilities to competently master each of your subjects.
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
When is a time that you felt a strong sense of competence?
Who can you seek help from to develop your sense of competence further?
Sense of Connectedness – you feel that you belong at school and that other people value you for who you are and think that you matter.
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
When is a time that you felt a strong sense of connectedness?
What is a group that you want to feel that you belong to more, and who you can ask to help you achieve this?
Sense of Autonomy – you feel that you have choices in your life and are confident in yourself to make your own decisions.
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
When is a time that you felt a strong sense of autonomy?
What are areas where you want to feel that you have more independence in your choices?
Acknowledgement: Ryan & Deci
“If you have a strong purpose in life, you don’t have to be pushed. Your passion will drive you there.” Roy T. Bennett
PERMAH+ WELLBEING TERM REFLECTION – as a young adult
This Lesson: WHY: for you to reflect on how you are developing each element of PERMAH+ term by term. HOW: it takes courage to leave your known comfort and safety zone to challenge your vision of your best self. Be self-determined to learn and try new, more difficult and intelligent things, and then deliberately practise to embed them as keystone habits. It won’t come easily, nothing good in life does.
Use the following to reflect on the questions below A – usually, B – sometimes, C – not yet. Then set a self-expectation for each question to aim for and a target rating to strive for..
PPOSITIVE EMOTION + gratitude –
self-generating positive emotions to broaden your attention to be grateful for what you have.
What is something that went well for this element that you were grateful for?
Did your positive emotions outweigh the negatives by about 4 to 1 on most days?
Self-expectation
Nightly, did you write down three things that went well you were grateful for?
Self-expectation
How can feeling a sense of Connectedness relate to this element of wellbeing?
What is something that you want to do that will fill you with positive emotions?
EENGAGEMENT + mindfulness
–
connecting consciously and purposefully with yourself to notice your thoughts coming and going.
What is something that went well for this element that you were grateful for?
Did you include the components pattern, repetition and control when studying?
Self-expectation
Were you willing to challenge yourself by practising more difficult tasks?
Self-expectation
How can feeling a sense of Competence relate to this element of wellbeing?
What is something that you want to fully engage with to experience flow?
Acknowledgement: Seligman, Costa, Ericsson, Peterson & Kabat Zinn
“Comfort zones rarely deliver great things.” MW
ACCOMPLISHMENT + OPTIMISM
Anchoring Goals
WHY: by understanding that your goals are your anchors when the inevitable storms of senior schooling occur, you will be motivated to write down three goals every term.
HOW: every day have one thing that you want to achieve, set term goals, apply yourself to learn and deliberately practise new things, delay rewarding yourself till you accomplish them, and make independent decisions about what’s happening in your life. Building your self-determination will assist you to experience personal and academic growth. Goals provide you with the grit to do the boring things needed.
Acknowledgement: Sheldon & Adams Miller DO: when is a time that you accomplished a term goal and how did you feel?
What is an independent decision that you need to make to move towards achieving your goals?
Which resilience of character quality can help you with Anchoring Goals? (pages 10&11)
“Goals are dreams with time targets.” MW
RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS
When you choose to open your heart to express your feelings, you risk being vulnerable and hurt by others. When you choose not to, you lose close connection to others. When is a time that you were proud of how you opened your heart?
MINDFULNESS MAZE
Enjoy the challenge of finding your way through the maze.
Acknowledgement: 11-12 RRRR, Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne
Fabulous First 5 Minutes:
when is a time that you were thrilled to be asked to participate in something?
MY THOUGHTS
BIG FIVE HEALTH FOCUS
Colour the sections to reflect how well you went.
Exercise daily
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Sleep well
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
Drink water
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Eat healthy
BARELY LITTLE BIT HALF HALF MOSTLY HEAPS
Feel positive
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?
WORD SEARCH
accept accomplish anchor boring challenge connection decision determination express goal grit hurt independent inevitable inspire motivated open term three values
Feedback To Grow
WHY: by understanding that the giving and receiving of feedback enhances both your and others’ perspectives on ideas and experiences, you will be more likely to listen to and share with others.
HOW: feedback from teachers provides you with the expertise you need to fix mistakes and experience learning success. Listen to and consider others’ thoughts about what you are doing to provide opportunities for personal and academic growth. Giving feedback to others provides them new insights also. Use your strengths to actually listen and process others’ ideas, not just think about your ideas.
Acknowledgement: Ericsson & Anderson
DO: when is a time that you learnt new and richer ways to look at things from someone’s feedback?
What do you find is the most difficult part of sharing feedback, and what is a strength that could help you?
Which resilience of character quality can help you with Feedback to Grow? (pages 10&11)
“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” Voltaire
HONESTY WEEK
This week enjoy making a positive difference to other peoples’ lives, by creating activities using the strength HONESTY, to grow relationships with your family, friends and school community.
Honesty Week worksheet and Honesty Wellbeing Award are in Individual Resources on www.learningcurve.com.au
CREATIVE THINKING SKILL
COMPLEXITY: is the ability to develop a logical order from a disorganised or unstructured situation. What is a safe and quick way to evacuate all classrooms at school during classtime?
Acknowledgement: Seligman & Peterson
Fabulous
Acknowledgement: Williams Taxonomy
First 5 Minutes: what is something done for you that you often take for granted, and should say “thank you” for?
MY THOUGHTS
BIG FIVE HEALTH FOCUS
Colour the sections to reflect how well you went.
Exercise daily
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Sleep well
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
Drink water
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Eat healthy
BARELY LITTLE BIT HALF HALF MOSTLY HEAPS
Feel positive
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?
Maya Angelou
RELATIONSHIPS + EMPATHY
Study Buddies
WHY: by understanding that working collaboratively and cooperatively with one or more study buddies, boosts your personal and academic growth, you will be open to taking advantage of this.
HOW: before you begin studying together, establish shared expectations about: mutual effort, active listening, valuing each other’s strengths and input, using more intelligent approaches and processes such as Habits of Mind and Thinking Tools, phones off and avoiding being too social. Studying well together will reward both of you with personal and academic growth and great feelings which come from oxytocin and serotonin.
Acknowledgement: Frankl, Hassed & Sinek DO: when is a time that you studied with a study buddy and did it boost your personal and academic growth?
What could be further shared expectations to work well with a study buddy?
Which resilience of character quality can help you with Study Buddies? (pages 10&11)
“If you can laugh together, you can work together.” Robert Obern
WELLBEING@SCHOOL
Openly expressing your feelings and thoughts takes courage, because you are putting yourself in a position where you may feel vulnerable because of others sometimes not accepting you. When is a time that you felt proud of how you showed the courage to do this?
CHARACTER CHALLENGE
MATTER VIDEOS: every day make a 15 second video of something that matters to you and show it to your family and friends. What are two things that matter to you that you would enjoying videoing?
Acknowledgement: Ryan & Deci
Fabulous First 5 Minutes:
Acknowledgement: Lyubomirsky & Achor
what are two strengths to develop in yourself that will assist you to achieve your goals?
MY THOUGHTS
BIG FIVE HEALTH FOCUS
Colour the sections to reflect how well you went.
Exercise daily
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Sleep well
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
Drink water
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Eat healthy
BARELY LITTLE BIT HALF HALF MOSTLY HEAPS
Feel positive
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?
EFFECTIVE MEMORY HABITS
This Lesson: WHY: for you to understand how your memory remembers what you learn, and how it develops through repetition, pattern, and control by regularly revising. HOW: practise the positive memory habits every day to embed them as Keystone Habits in your study routines and processes.
ABOUT YOUR MEMORY
» what you learn is moved from your short-term to long-term memory when you sleep
» if learned material is not reviewed within 24 hours, your brain forgets 60% to 80% of it
» after a month with no reviews, only 3% to 4% is remembered; why learn it in the first place?
» if 50 minutes of learning is reviewed weekly, it takes 5 minutes to reactivate it in the brain
» if 50 minutes of learning is not reviewed regularly, then it takes 30 to 40 minutes to relearn it.
LEARNED MATERIAL REMEMBERED OVER TIME WHEN NOT REGULARLY REVIEWED/REVISED
Remembered
LEARNED MATERIAL REMEMBERED OVER TIME WHEN REGULARLY REVIEWED/REVISED
Effective memory habits: the following habits will store what you learn in your long-term memory
» sip water often to help your brain’s functioning
» apply what you have learned to new and challenging situations
» rest your brain for 10 minutes every hour of study
» revise what you learned in each subject for 5 minutes nightly
» the next night, spend 3 or 4 minutes revisiting it
» use Thinking Tools to add structure and colour while studying
» on weekends, spend 3 minutes on each day’s learning
» after a fortnight spend 3 minutes revisiting it to embed it.
What are you or could you be doing to develop these effective memory habits?
Which Thinking Tools from the website have you used to improve your memory?
Following are some tried and proven higher order Thinking Tools from the website: Points of the Compass; Connect, Extend, Challenge; Learning Jigsaw; Know, What, How, Learnt; Think, Pair, Share; Six Thinking Hats and Creative Ripples.
Acknowledgement: Guy Claxton
“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” Eleanor Roosevelt
PREPARING FOR EXAMS
This Lesson: WHY: for you to learn an exam preparation process which will optimise your efforts. HOW: by following a tried and proven process to prepare yourself, you will be confident in your ability to do well on your exams. Don’t fall into the trap of not following a process because you think that you have your act together; it won’t work for you.
THE LEAD UP – every exam is an opportunity to reward your self-determined efforts by performing well. Prioritise what’s important to you, use positive family energy to support you, and spend more time with your teachers out of class. Below are some proven lead-up strategies:
» Social life – reduce your social media time, and arrange for friends to call or visit at an agreed time.
» Sleep – sleep for at least 9 hours, and turn off your mobile at 8.30pm.
» Exercise – exercise for an hour daily to clear your mind, create positive emotions, and increase your oxygen intake.
» Diet – eat healthy fresh foods for brain energy; avoid excessive caffeine, sugar, and fats; and drink 1.5 litres of water daily.
» Travel time – listen to study recordings on your phone, and plan what you will focus on when you arrive home.
» Timing – design your revision timetable 8 weeks before exams, and avoid late night studying and cramming.
What are you or could you be doing to use these effective lead-up strategies?
3F’S EXAM PROCESSES
– be self-determined to use this gold standard process to achieve your goals.
» Focus – pay attention to past exams to identify exam terminology and question types – short answer, multiple choice, essay. In your bedroom, put up key points, formulae, and quotes and recite them aloud every morning and night. Which types of exam questions do you need to practise more?
» Feedback – ask your teachers for feedback on your revision approaches, what subject content will be covered, and whether you are answering the questions that are actually being asked, not what you think is being asked. Which revision approaches do you need to improve?
» Fix It – deliberate practice at exam pace builds your exam methods, sharpens your memory, and helps you to identify what you can and can’t do. Seek help from your teachers to fix the gaps, and study in blocks of time equal to the exam. What areas of your content understanding need to be fixed, and what methods do you need to practise? .............................................................................................................................................................................................
Acknowledgement: Ericsson, Anderson, Walsh
“Do not wish to be anything but what you are and try to be that perfectly.” St Francis de Sales