Applying positive psychology to foster student engagement and classroom community amid the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Abstract

Positive psychology is the study of well-being, which includes 5 essential elementspositive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA). Applying positive psychology teaching strategies can therefore foster student engagement and classroom community, especially in an online modality and during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in which social connections are more important and yet harder to establish than ever. The aims of this teacher-ready theory review are to (a) briefly review the PERMA model and its research and application in education, (b) describe my implementation of three positive psychology teaching strategies-strengths identification and application, growth mindset, and gratitude exercises-during the pandemic, as well as their effects based on my observation and student feedback, and (c) offer practical considerations, including some caveats, for instructors to attend to when implementing these strategies in any courses at any time albeit particularly helpful in the face of adversity. Finally, I conclude this article with some tips of being a positive teacher and some of my reflections teaching during the pandemic in the hope of "flattening the emotional distress curve."

Online student engagement and place attachment to campus in the new service marketplace: an exploratory study

“…For an e-servicescape to become a new (virtual) service marketplace, at the micro level, e-learners’ collaborative learning and instructors’ online teaching strategies should be promoted and trained to reinforce individualised ways of online interacting (Paulsen and McCormick, 2020). These can result in better study outcomes and well-being by strengthening student engagement in online lectures (Chu, 2020), and individual psychological benefits by enhancing campus attachment (Scannell and Gifford, 2017). At the meso level, educational service providers should pay more attention to integrating the e-servicescape for online teaching and learning with the physical campus servicescape to improve the student experience.…”

“…Regarding the dramatic change in the education sector, student engagement in online lectures has also attracted extensive attention, as it has significant impact on a university’s service ecosystem consisting of students, instructors, administrative and other staff as well as available resources (Carter and Yeo, 2016; Finsterwalder and Kuppelwieser, 2020). Enhanced student engagement can contribute to highly valued educational outcomes, such as students’ improved academic achievement, enhanced teaching practice for instructors and better managed and developed services for educational institutions (Chu, 2020; Ogunmokun et al , 2021).…”

“…A transition to online-only course delivery during pandemics calls for a better understanding of student–campus psychology in such environment, which may further shed light on e-servicescape requirements provided by educational institutions (Ballantyne and Nilsson, 2017; Dassanayake and Senevirathne, 2018) and the design of university service ecosystems (Akaka and Vargo, 2015). Research shows that students’ individual and collective well-being fundamentally depends on effective student engagement on campus (Chu, 2020), which may be via the development of attachment to campus in a physical and social realm (Bolton et al , 2018; Ramkissoon, 2020). Therefore, the swift shift from physical engagement on campus to online learning because of the pandemic provides a suitable scenario to investigate the service ecosystem of university education and potential influence on student attachment to place.…”

Adapting and Enduring: Lessons Learned from International School Educators During COVID-19

“…Providing psychological and emotional support to K-12 online-learning students is crucial for student learning and wellbeing (Chu, 2020;COL, 2020). Simpson (2013) illustrates that caring human support at a distance facilitates self-directed learning, reduces student isolation and creates an environment for student engagement in learning.…”

Psychological Well-Being in Teachers During and Post-Covid-19: Positive Psychology Interventions

“…After discarding duplicate works, a total of three studies were identified. The analysis of each of them resulted in: (a) a qualitative research about the trauma approach in conjunction with applied positive psychology for elementary school teachers (Brunzell et al, 2021 ); (b) a study focused on coping strategies in relation to well-being, stress and negative emotions in language teachers at different teaching levels (MacIntyre et al, 2020 ); and (c) a theoretical proposal focused on methods and teaching strategies based on well-being and positive psychology for teachers but focused on student well-being (Chu, 2020 ).…”