Teacher Trails

What is Positive Psychology? Positive Psychology is one of the newest  branches of psychology  to emerge. This particular area of psychology focuses on how to help human beings prosper and lead healthy, happy lives. While many other branches of psychology tend to focus on dysfunction and abnormal behavior, positive psychology is centered on helping people become happier. Martin Seligman  and  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi  describe positive psychology in the following way: "We believe that a psychology of positive human functioning will arise that achieves a scientific understanding and effective interventions to build thriving in individuals, families, and communities." Source  http://psychology.about.com/od/branchesofpsycholog1/a/positive-psychology.htm In this excellent presentation, psychologist Shawn Achor argues that happiness can inspire us to be more productive.  Watch the video below to learn about what you can do to become a happie...

What´s the topic today? Can you guess? If you could give a name to this image what would it be? Do you know who this person is ? Do you know what EI is? What is Emotional Intelligence? Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. Some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn characteristic. Source: http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydevelopment/a/emotionalintell.htm Let´s read an  analyze  the following article: 12 Elements of Emotional Intelligence   By Marcia Sirota MD Would you like to read some more? Here´s an article written in 1998 regarding Leaders and Emotional Intelligence What Makes a Leader?    by Daniel Goleman http://www.undp.org/content/dam/samoa/docs/UNDP_WS_TLDP2_Whatmakesaleader.pdf Sources:  OM Times:  http://omtimes.com/2010/08/12-elements-of-emoti...

High expectations on the part of the teacher, regular feeedback, praise for work and effective classroom discipline have been shown to be associated with students’ positive attitudes towards school and education. Most educationalists are aware of the importance of these factors. Research shows that many teachers are not lavish with praise. It seems clear that there is a need for action which will encourage and enable teachers to make more use of these strategies. High expectations, regular feedback, and praise for good work, have shown to be associated with students’ positive attitudes towards school. Research has shown students like lessons where they can make things, and many prefer lessons where they have discusions, to lessons where they have to work on their own. Activities which promote students involved in their own learning, building upon their preferences for co-opearative and practical work and discussions help remotivate bored and disaffected students. Teaching is a compl...