Carsten Henningsen

Comment on Roberta Pennington's post: Thanks Roberta. My feelings exactly! I will wait longer after asking more open questions and then wait until I feel I'll pop before responding to student replies. Perhaps, for me at least, if I consider that, with their level of experience, they may enlighten me ... as opposed to having the "right" answer already in my head.

Again, some great suggestions for identifying and building character strengths.

I made a table of the 6 Virtues and 24 Strengths for ease of recall. I might even post this on my mirror so I can focus on 1-2 as I start my day.

Outstanding reflective exercises for Flow, Grattitude, & defining Meaningful Work - for individuals as well as in group or team settings.

I gained a greater appreciation for the value of "Fake it til you make it" by completing purposeful mind-focusing exercises like these in positive thinking.

I like the daily reflection exercise. We "find" what we look for, so a clear focus of positive things to look for daily is a win-win.

I wonder if there is any positive application of "old-school" thinking like 'knuckle down and try,' or 'suck it up, buttercup' that might also motivate learners to develop their own "Grit" or a "Growth Mindset." We know that part of teaching is to expand participants to explore tasks or even philosopies outside their comfort zone. I'm NOT talking about public shaming or anything like that, but will be looking in future lessons how to… >>>

What stands out for me is that I must find creative ways to allow my learners to be a part of their own goal forming and strategy to get them there. Autonomy and Mastery are the key motivators that can continue to provide meaningful reward when more basic needs have been met or are found to have diminishing impact. Giving the course goals and providing the information for learners to reach them might be enough. Of course, my experience indicates that each learner will require a different amount of "reminding," given that the semester has outside time constraints and each… >>>

For me, the learning point is to "Walk the Talk." If I routinely practice self-awareness, ask myself how my current situation makes me feel, and can relate that to some past experience, then I will automatically approach my coaching, encouraging, and can ultimately help in motivating others do the same by example.

Especially in stressful times, like changes in how we associate with others to prevent spread of COVID-19 through 'social distancing,' it is critical to deliberately practice awareness of our own feelings and reach out - by whatever means available - to understand signals in others about how they might be dealing with the situation. We can help shape our own response by taking time to understand, to reflect on positive outcomes, and to help others shape logical paths to their own positive outcomes. It sounds like manipulation, but it's as simple as smiling at people, a positive response on our… >>>

I pondered that I am doing much well in the reflective journaling exercises, but still lack the engagement I would like.

Here's my Outline for action thus far, where triple "???" means "yet to discover:"

Topic: Social Media usage during transition to 100% online vs classroom due to COVID-19:

Done Well - Class Contact List shared, Assigned all participants to Small Groups, Content online & easy to navigate, conducted interactive VC meetings & recorded for later review

Not so Well Done - Very fre Results of group work into lockers for member sharing, only 60% assignments completed on time… >>>