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 HAPPINESS 101: POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY IN THE CURRICULUM | Description: 15 hours, 1 credit | During the last two years, public interest in Positive Psychology, the so-called “Science of Happiness,” has mushroomed. According to the nation’s founders, the “Pursuit of Happiness” is an essential human right, and yet students are provided with few intellectual tools to explore the question seriously. If we consider recent statistics on depression among secondary school students, and the direct impact this has on academic performance, the issue takes on still more relevancy.
During this course we will examine the insights of leading authorities on human happiness from Asia and the West, survey the content of the most informative web resources on positive psychology, and discuss various options on how to integrate these insights into curricula as well as counseling and career/life coaching. Supports NYS standards. Suitable grades K-12
| Reading materials: | Benjamin Hoffman. The Tao of Pooh. Penguin. (Paperback)
Martin Seligman. Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. Reprint Edition. Free Press, 2004. (Paperback)
| Course Outline: | | Day 1 | Topic | Readings | | AM | Introduction: the Rise of Positive Psychology
History of happiness I: Philosophical perspectives
Mencius: the sprouts of virtue
Zhuangzi and the Tao of Pooh
Aristotle: the conditions of happiness
| Mencius: Handout
Hoff: Chapter 3
| | PM | History of happiness II: Psychological perspectives
Abraham Maslow: The hierarchy of needs
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: “Flow”
Martin Seligman: Discovering strengths and virtues
| Maslow: Handout
Csikszentmihalyi: Handout
Seligman: 246-260
| | Day 2 | | | | AM | Positive psychology resources
Resources on the web
Primary sources, secondary sources, and articles
Round table: Positive Psychology in the classroom
Presentations: Based on 3-page reflections on choice of three topics:
1. Positive Psychology in the curriculum
2. Positive Psychology and counseling
3. Positive Psychology and student achievement
| | | PM | Positive Psychology in career and life coaching
What is Coaching?
Strength-Based Coaching
Setting Positive Goals
Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivation
Creating a Purposeful Life
| Margaret Greenberg: “What Coaches Must Do, Know & Be.” |
| References: | Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. (Paperback)
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. HarperCollins Publishers, 1990.
Benjamin Hoffman. The Tao of Pooh. Penguin. (Paperback)
Abraham Maslow. Motivation and Personality. 3rd edition. Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 1987.
Martin Seligman. Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. Reprint Edition. Free Press, 2004. (Paperback)
B.Watson. Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. (Paperback)
P.J. Ivanhoe, "Zhuangzi on Skepticism, Skill, and the Ineffable Dao," Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 61:4 (1993), pp. 639-654.
Dean, B., Biswas-Diener, R. Positive Psychology Coaching: Putting the Science of Happiness to Work for Your Clients. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, 2007.
Sara L. Orem, Jacqueline Binkert, and Ann L. Clancy. “Appreciative Coaching: A Positive Process for Change.” Jossey-Bass Business & Management, 2007.
Margaret Greenberg. “What Coaches Must Do, Know & Be.” Positive Psychology News Daily, NY. May 14, 2007.
| | New York State Standards | The following New York State standards are met by this course:
English language: Standard 1
Career Development and Occupational Studies: Standards 2 and 3a
Social Studies: Standards 2 and 5
Mathematics, Science and Technology: Standard 2
| | Learning outcomes | 1) Participants will become acquainted with leading philosophical and psychological theories of happiness.
2) Participants will learn how to use this material to teach students to think critically about personal fulfillment and mental well-being.
3) Participants will become familiar with various options vis-a-vis integrating positive psychology into curricula, as well as to relate and apply these perspectives to their own professions as educators and counselors.
4) Participants will learn how to stimulate student interest in psychology and philosophy.
| | Culminating Activity | | Students will be asked to make a brief presentation for a round table discussion on “integrating positive psychology in the curriculum.” | | Instructor bio | | Mark Setton, D.Phil., has studied and published works on East Asian philosophy for the past 30 years. He earned his B.A. and M.A. at Sungkyunkwan University, the only Confucian university in Asia. He has taught at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, the University of California at Berkeley, and Oxford University, where he earned his doctorate. He is presently teaching East Asian philosophy and world religions, as well as his favorite course "Perspectives on Happiness," at the University of Bridgeport. | Co-instructor bio | Allison Aboud, MFA, MAT & CPCC (anticipated completion, December 2007) is a practicing career and life coach working with teens, young adults and postgraduates on career development and life transition. She has worked as a certified teacher in the secondary education setting, designing creative curriculums for multiple learning styles, and uses teaching strategies alongside coaching skills to motivate her clients and deepen their learning. She worked for two years at the American Institutes for Research designing education products for state and local school districts |
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