Making Work Better

Show 23 - Wellbeing in Education - How can we help schools coordinate and evaluate the work they are doing on wellbeing?

In this interview, Lea Waters explains how her work has culminated in a model that helps school do just that. She outlines the progress she has seen in wellbeing in education and stresses the importance of taking a big picture view of our wellbeing work – what we’re doing and how it’s working. Listen to this interview to learn more about the SEARCH model of wellbeing and how you can use it in your school or organisation.

Broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin www.oar.org.nz

Show 22 - Cultural responsiveness and cultural diversity with Ara Simmons - How can we help teachers build connection with their students and their whānau?

In this interview, Ara Simmons shares her own multi-cultural background and experience as a teacher in a multi-cultural setting. She explains how standard practice in some school systems supports getting to know students and building a whānau or family feeling with your class of students. Ara shares some of the practices she has successfully used to learn about her students and their family stories. Listen to why a simple open question may be the important tool in our kete to build culturally responsive practice.

Broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin www.oar.org.nz

Show 22 - Cultural responsiveness and cultural diversity with Ara Simmons - How can we help teachers build connection with their students and their whānau?

In this interview, Ara Simmons shares her own multi-cultural background and experience as a teacher in a multi-cultural setting. She explains how standard practice in some school systems supports getting to know students and building a whānau or family feeling with your class of students. Ara shares some of the practices she has successfully used to learn about her students and their family stories. Listen to why a simple open question may be the important tool in our kete to build culturally responsive practice.

Broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin www.oar.org.nz

How Coaching can Support Wellbeing - Why should we value and endorse a coaching culture in schools?

In this interview, Clive and Denise discuss the overlap of organizational coaching and positive psychology. A growing body of research demonstrates that coaching conversations can support performance and wellbeing. Clive believes that giving people are opportunity to consider a preferred future is a power tool for behaviour change. School leaders will be interested to hear how individual tailored coaching programs can help people identify improvement strategies and move forward.

Broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin www.oar.org.nz

S2 - Show 20 - Indigenous wellbeing model - How can we support wellbeing for Māori students and staff?

In this episode Wiremu shares his school experiences both as a Māori student and as a school counsellor. He describes a sense of not belonging – that this wasn’t meant for him even though he is tangata whenua, a person of this land. To help young people overcome this alienation and to develop a strong sense of connection to Māori cultural identity, he has developed a model of wellbeing which he calls Te Whare Mauri Ora. Listen to Wiremu describe how this model, based on Te Whare Tapa Whā and incorporating positive psychology practices, is being used to help Māori and Pakeha youth.

Broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin www.oar.org.nz

S2 - Show 19 - Strengths Based Resilience - Dr Tayyab Rashid, developer of the Strengths-Based Resilience program for school and university students, and author of the Positive Psychotherapy Clinical Handbook talks to Denise about implementing wellbeing work in schools. He emphasises the importance of schools adapting programmes to their context – of adapting and interpreting the work for their students. His respect for the teachers and students that work with his programmes means that he always encourages people to try out elements of the programme, and to keep using them if they find them helpful. Listen to why Tayyab believes loneliness is one of our most pernicious problems, and why connection to self in nature will help.

Broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin www.oar.org.nz

Show 18 - Why does paying attention to culture matter to Wellbeing? - In this episode Denise and Brenda discuss how families and schools can work together to build a resilient context for community members. Internal resources are only part of the equation for strengthening wellbeing and resilience. According to Brenda, indigenous cultural adaptation requires mainstream narrative to be story. Shifting wellbeing using a contextual model is crucial for trauma-informed practice. Learn how Brenda adap\ted middle class, white American psychology research to work an aboriginal context.

Broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin www.oar.org.nz

Show 17 - Where has PodEd been and where are we going? - In this epsoode, Denise speaks to Mathew White who has been involved in PosEd since its inceptions. Mathew was a teacher at Geelong Grammar was first trained in Positive Psychology by Martin Seligman and his team (including Denise) and now teaches teachers. Mathew suggest the first wave of PosEd was characterized zest and enthusiasm. Engagement of students and families in the science of wellbeing in pertiment, according to Matthew. Listen to the journey of this ground-breaking field and learn about how the experts suggest we move forward.

Broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin www.oar.org.nz

Show 16 - What does PsychCap look like in schools? - In this episode, Denise and Mike discuss the value of using the Psychological Capital framework in an educational environment. The acronym H.E.R.O. represents the four pillars of this model: Hope, Self-Efficacy, Resilience, Optimism. Mike believes HERO overlaps significantly with John Hattie’s work, particularly in regards to teacher and student efficacy. Academic self-efficacy predicts engagement and achievement. Mike’s school views Psychological Capital is a resource to be grown to help weather challenges.

Broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin www.oar.org.nz

Show 15 - What can schools do to help staff and students engage with learning about wellbeing? - Rhiannon McGee is charged with overseeing how wellbeing is supported throughout Geelong Grammar School and how it is taught to students from early years to high school. She explains the range of strategies they use to work with staff and students including a 3-day initial training for staff followed by optional ‘top ups’ and ‘deep dives’. This learning is augmented and supported by a school-wide coaching approach for both staff and students.

Broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin www.oar.org.nz