Sunday, October 13, 2019

The GoodWork Toolkit

CLICK HERE to access a full PDF of the GoodWork Toolkit, available for free.
Work occupies much of our lives. Hours spent at the office or at home thinking about work-related tasks and obligations often exceed time away from work. Yet, how many of us find our work meaningful? How many of us feel able to do our best work? And how often do we stop to consider the consequences of our work on others, or its impact on society as a whole?
For individuals at all levels (young students, graduate school students, and new and veteran professionals), opportunities to consider the meaning of work for themselves and others are rare, but imperative. Society needs professionals who care about good work.
The GoodWork Toolkit is an approach to engage individuals and groups in reflection and conversation about good work. The Toolkit consists of flexible set of materials, including vignettes of individuals who struggle to carry out good work, and accompanying questions and activities. Since 2007, educators at all levels—elementary school to graduate school—from around the world have implemented these materials in their coursework in a variety of ways.
The Toolkit is not a prescribed curriculum; it is called a “toolkit,” because it contains a variety of tools” that may be used in a number of combinations. The materials are meant to be adaptable to a variety of contexts; in other words, the Toolkit can be used as part of a retreat, as a year-long theme in a particular class, as the basis of a two or three day seminar. There is no need to follow these chapters, in order, from beginning to end. Facilitators should feel free to pick and choose and adapt these cases and activities as best suits their goals and needs.
The Guidebook is a resource manual to help participants start important conversations and reflection about good work.
The Narratives volume is a separate collection of the same real-life stories included in the Guidebook, but limited to the cases themselves.
The Value Sort Cards encourage participants to think about their personal and professional values.
For 20 sample lesson plans to use concurrently with the GoodWork Toolkit, click here. For a sample rubric that can be used with pre- and post-assessments of concept understandings, click here.

Help students take ownership of their digital lives.

Common Sense digital citizenship topics include media balance, cyberbullying, news and media literacy, online privacy, digital footprint, and communication.
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Ready-to-teach lessons to address your changing needs in the classroom.

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Thursday, October 3, 2019

Ten Keys to Happier Living

The Ten Keys to Happier Living are based on a review of the latest research from psychology and related fields. Everyone's path to happiness is different, but the evidence suggests these Ten Keys consistently tend to have a positive impact on people's happiness and well-being.
The first five keys (GREAT) are about how we interact with the outside world in our daily activities. They are based on the Five Ways to Wellbeing developed by nef as part of the Foresight Project. The second five keys (DREAM) come from inside us and depend on our attitude to life.
Giving icon
Caring about others is fundamental to our happiness. Helping other people is not only good for them and a great thing to do, it also makes us happier and healthier too. Giving also creates stronger connections between people and helps to build a happier society for everyone. And it's not all about money - we can also give our time, ideas and energy. So if you want to feel good, do good! Read more...
Relating icon
Relationships are the most important overall contributor to happiness. People with strong and broad social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationships with family and friends provide love, meaning, support and increase our feelings of self worth. Broader networks bring a sense of belonging. So taking action to strengthen our relationships and create new connections is essential for happiness. Read more...
Exercising icon
Our body and our mind are connected. Being active makes us happier as well as being good for our physical health. It instantly improves our mood and can even lift us out of a depression. We don't all need to run marathons - there are simple things we can all do to be more active each day. We can also boost our well-being by unplugging from technology, getting outside and making sure we get enough sleep! Read more...
Appreciating icon
Ever felt there must be more to life? Well good news, there is! And it's right here in front of us. We just need to stop and take notice. Learning to be more mindful and aware can do wonders for our well-being in all areas of life - like our walk to work, the way we eat or our relationships. It helps us get in tune with our feelings and stops us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future - so we get more out of the day-to-day. Read more...
Trying Out icon
Learning affects our well-being in lots of positive ways. It exposes us to new ideas and helps us stay curious and engaged. It also gives us a sense of accomplishment and helps boost our self-confidence and resilience. There are many ways to learn new things - not just through formal qualifications. We can share a skill with friends, join a club, learn to sing, play a new sport and so much more. Read more...

Direction icon
Feeling good about the future is important for our happiness. We all need goals to motivate us and these need to be challenging enough to excite us, but also achievable. If we try to attempt the impossible this brings unnecessary stress. Choosing ambitious but realistic goals gives our lives direction and brings a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when we achieve them. Read more...
Resilience icon
All of us have times of stress, loss, failure or trauma in our lives. But how we respond to these has a big impact on our well-being. We often cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose our own attitude to what happens. In practice it's not always easy, but one of the most exciting findings from recent research is that resilience, like many other life skills, can be learned. Read more...
Emotion icon
Positive emotions - like joy, gratitude, contentment, inspiration, and pride - are not just great at the time. Recent research shows that regularly experiencing them creates an 'upward spiral', helping to build our resources. So although we need to be realistic about life's ups and downs, it helps to focus on the good aspects of any situation - the glass half full rather than the glass half empty. Read more...
Acceptance icon
No-one's perfect. But so often we compare our insides to other people's outsides. Dwelling on our flaws - what we're not rather than what we've got - makes it much harder to be happy. Learning to accept ourselves, warts and all, and being kinder to ourselves when things go wrong, increases our enjoyment of life, our resilience and our well-being. It also helps us accept others as they are. Read more...
Meaning icon
People who have meaning and purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control and get more out of what they do. They also experience less stress, anxiety and depression. But where do we find 'meaning and purpose'? It might be our religious faith, being a parent or doing a job that makes a difference. The answers vary for each of us but they all involve being connected to something bigger than ourselves. Read more...
About the Ten Keys
The Ten Keys to Happier Living framework was jointly developed by Vanessa King and the Action for Happiness team in 2010, based on an extensive review of the latest research evidence relating to psychological/mental wellbeing.
Ten Keys Questions for Discussion
Ten Keys Action Ideas
  • Do three extra acts of kindness today. Offer to help, give away your change, pay a compliment, or make someone smile.
  • Reach out to help someone who's struggling. Give them a call or offer your support. Let them know you care.
  • Make more time for the people who matter. Chat with a loved one or friend, call your parents or play with the kids.
  • Make three extra connections today. Stop to chat in the shop, wave at a neighbour, learn the name of someone new.
  • Be more active today. Get off a bus a stop early, take the stairs, turn off the TV, go for a walk - anything that gets you moving.
  • Eat nutritious food, drink more water, catch up on sleep. Notice which healthy actions lift your mood and do more of them.
  • Give yourself a bit of head space. At least once a day, stop and take 5 minutes to just breathe and be in the moment.
  • Notice and appreciate good things around you every day, big or small. Trees, bird song, the smell of coffee, laughter perhaps? 
  • Do something for the first time today. Sample sushi, try a new route, read a different newspaper or visit a local place of interest.
  • Learn a new skill, however small. A first aid technique or a new feature on your phone. Cook a new meal or use a new word. 
  • Take the first step. Think of a goal you're aiming for and do one thing to get started. Make a call, fill in that form, tell others. 
  • Share your dreams. Tell 3 people about an aspiration that is really important to you this year and listen to theirs too.
  • Ask for help today. Confide in a friend, talk to an expert, reach out to a colleague, ask a neighbour to lend a hand. 
  • When something is troubling you, do something you really enjoy. Shift your mood and bring a new perspective on the problem.
  • Do something that you know will make you feel good. Listen to music, watch something funny, get outside or call an old friend.
  • Try to smile and say something positive every time you walk into a room. Notice the reaction you get. 
  • Ask a trusted friend or colleague to tell you what they think your real strengths are. Try to make more use of these.
  • Be as kind to yourself as you are to others. See your mistakes as opportunities to learn. Notice things you do well, however small.
  • Feel part of something bigger. Spend time with children, visit an inspiring location, gaze at the stars or join a club.
  • Be more charitable. Give others your time, offer to help neighbours or friends, consider giving blood or volunteering.