The Strength of Strengths Perspective
Let’s start by identifying what strengths perspective ISN’T. It’s not toxic positivity. It’s not cheerleading. And it’s not a free pass on growth and development. It’s an approach that identifies the unique qualities each individual brings to the table. Rather than trying to identify the deficits of an individual, which can be daunting and demoralizing, it focuses on the areas in which that individual can add value to a situation. For anyone interested in the source material, Dennis Saleebey has many publications on the application of strengths perspective in social work. One thing that struck me as I read his work was the application of these principles. While I understand, we are not social workers, the approach to recovery is learning in a different context. The parallels to the classroom and observations that I have made with my striving learners were eye-opening.
Imagine a student that has always found school challenging. It’s the start of a new year. Maybe they are repeating a class they failed previously. Maybe they are moving to the next course in a sequence that they barely received credit in or had to work twice as hard as the entire class to get half the grade. They are entering that classroom already thinking of everything they can’t do and don’t know. They have been told, “This is why you lost points here.” “You didn’t do this, so I couldn’t give you credit.” “This is wrong.” This deficit thinking highlights everything they can’t do and tells them they’re not good enough to do well in the class. So our challenge becomes, how can we keep our expectations high without demoralizing these students? One way to address this concern is to adapt strengths perspective for the classroom. Let’s explore some principles that could have a lasting impact in your classroom.
- Every student has something they are good at. Regardless of the level of academic success, based on interests, experiences or other factors, every student has inherent strengths. Use these talents as the starting point of student interactions.
- Students are the directors of their learning efforts. Students communicate what challenges they are encountering. We act as coaches in the classroom, providing guidance in acquiring the skills they identify as areas of opportunity.
- All students have the ability to learn. Students should be given opportunities to try, succeed, and experiences learning that comes from falling short of a goal.
- The learning relationship is a collaboration. Students and teachers share power in the class room.
Like any change, these shifts may make some teachers uncomfortable. Giving up power and changing the dynamic of a setting that many have been accustom to since they were students themselves is unsettling. However, if you look at the effect size (.92) of self-efficacy, there is a strong argument for the need to instill a sense of confidence in all students. This belief that they can have an authentic win in the classroom is crucial to their participation. If students don’t try in earnest to complete the tasks they are given, we don’t have the information necessary to provide appropriate feedback. This, in turn, will lead to further disparity between student abilities and classroom expectations.
How can we implement this in the classroom?
The first thing I did was eliminate the words right and wrong from my classroom. In place of those words, we use the word reasonable. There are many reasons an answer can be wrong, but depending on the path to those wrong answers, the response can be reasonable. With this approach, students get in the habit of explaining why they answered the way they did, which gives us more insight into their thought process. It also allows us to find some value in their answer. I never respond to a student with “no” or “that’s incorrect.” Instead, I try to find the connection between their response and the content, using comments like, “I can see why you would think that but we may want to try …” or “That’s important because …, but here we’re looking at …” As long as I could find a pathway back to the concept we were studying, their response was reasonable. As the year progresses and students become more proficient in the skills and content, the window for reasonable answers narrows. However, there is still a discussion around their response. By implementing this simple shift, students that are not confident in their responses will be more likely to participate because they no longer have the fear of being shut down. They are part of a discussion.
Formative assessments are another important tool in this approach. Low-stakes, feedback-oriented assessments provide students the opportunity to gain proficiency and confidence in the skills and content that will later be assessed for a grade. It’s during these times that students can identify and communicate their areas of strength and their areas of opportunity. Once those areas of opportunity are self-identified, we provide coaching and tips to develop those skills. We cycle through practice, formative assessment, and feedback until students are prepared for the summative assessment. While this is a good habit for any student, it is extremely valuable for striving learners. Trust is established and the classroom becomes a collaborative space to enhance their knowledge base. Combine that with eliminating the pressure of a lasting negative impact of a summative assessment, and they are more willing to try, have a discussion and try again.
What and how you choose to grade also sends a clear message to students. When I first started to implement a strengths-based approach to my daily classroom interactions, my assessments were still aligned with a deficit model. If I had a 10-point problem, I would take 2 points off for a wrong answer, 2 points off if they didn’t provide an illustration, 2 points off for not showing the equation they used, etc. All of the energy I spent and goodwill that I had established prior to administering the assessment was for naught, because in that moment, I had just communicated to them that all I cared about was being right. Once I realized this, I switch my approach from removing points to giving points. Now, if they had the illustration, I added 2 points, 2 points for the givens, 2 points for the equation, etc. This switched the conversation to their strengths and what they did well to receive points, but ultimately sent the same message from the opposite angle. “The things you did well weren’t enough for this class.” This didn’t allow students to learn from their missed goals. It was a punishment for not achieving. While there were minimal improvements in the overall experience of my students, it definitely wasn’t as impactful as I had hoped. It was at this point that I had seriously considered eliminating points all together. It wasn’t until the shift to a gradeless classroom was fully implemented that I could truly see the strength of strengths perspective. The positive interactions and focus on growth and development have transformed my classroom atmosphere and enhanced the learning of my most successful and striving learners.
Final Thoughts
Student choice is a major buzz word in education today and receives a significant amount of backlash. What I have come to understand as the result of implementing strengths perspective is that the choice is not so much in the activity that the student wants to participate in as much as the skill they desire to develop. The differentiation in the classroom is now based on support of an activity not the activity itself. Providing students with opportunities to practice, identify their strengths, meet with success, and expand from there has led to increased enjoyment, engagement and achievement. It is not just the power of being positive. It is finding a starting point for their educational journey.
