Keynote 6

 10.05am Saturday 13 April

Strength-Based Teaching: Bringing out the Best in Students and Teachers

ABSTRACT:  Every teacher wants to bring out the best in their students, yet in the day to day rush of schools and with pressures to get through curriculum, strengths can sometimes get left behind. We now have a decade of research showing the advantages of taking a strength-based approach for students including: greater levels of happiness at school, higher student engagement, smoother transitions from kindergarten to primary school, more successful adjustment from primary to high school, and higher levels of academic achievement. Research also shows benefits for teachers who learn how to identify and utilize their own strengths - benefits to themselves and benefits that flow on to their students. Professor Lea Waters (PhD) will weave together the science of strengths with best practice examples she has seen in her work with schools across the world to inspire the PESA audience to take on a strength-based approach in their school.