Working collaboratively towards creating positive possible selves

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Working collaboratively towards creating positive
possible selves

• Sarah Fletcher
• http//www.TeacherResearch.net

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Positive Possible Selves (PPS)

• Overview
• Whats the big idea of PPS?
• What are the basic techniques?
• What use might this be to my pupils?
• What use might this be to me?
• How do we know it works?

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What are the potential benefits of PPS?

• Combating childhood depression
• Nurturing personal responsibility
• Teaching mutual responsibilities
• Modeling easily transferable skills
• Offering support for life long learning
• Realizing creative, imaginative potential

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What are the potential pitfalls of PPS?

• This is no cure all to solve every ill
• Participants have to want to take part
• Some participants find vizualisation hard
• Vizualisation has a tree huggy image
• If you are naturally cynical it takes longer!
• It cant work - its cost free, everyone can try
  it, it can de-stress teachers and pupils!

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Who is using these PPS techniques?

• Pain clinics
• Business executives
• Human resources providers
• Cancer and chronically sick
• Sports coaches and athletes
• Students in school and university
• Anyone who wants to alleviate stress!

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My PPS Workbook

• My Name
• My Class
• My School
• My Teacher
• My Positive Possible Self

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Step One Introduction

• Who am I now?
• Who do I want to be?
• What are my dreams and targets?

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Step Two Drawing my PPS

• Try drawing a stick figure
• What does your face look like?
• Whats in your thought bubble?
• What are you busy doing?
• Where are your friends?
• How do you feel now?

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Step Three Drawing a map

• Start from you as you are now.
• Draw yourself on a journey to your PPS.
• What happens between now and then?
• How long will your journey take you?
• How will you feel along the way?
• Who will be alongside you?

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Step Four Overcoming problems

• What is that problem on your journey?
• How does it feel when you look at it?
• Who can you discuss problems with?
• How might you get over the problem?
• How do you feel when you do?
• How do others feel now?

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Step Five What am I good at?

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Step Six What do I need to work on?

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Step Seven What can I change in me?

• Who can help me to change for the better?

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Step Nine What am I afraid of?

• How will I overcome my fears?
• Who will help me overcome them?

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Whats my plan to reach my PPS?

• Today
• This week
• This month
• This term
• How will I record what I achieve?
• Who will I share my record with?

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Potential benefits of PPS

• Possible selves are thought to influence the
  motivation process in two ways on the one hand
  providing a clear goal to strive for - and to
  avoid if they are negative - and on the other
  hand by energising an individual to pursue the
  actions necessary for attaining a Positive
  Possible Self.
• Fletcher, S. (2006) Mentoring Adult
  Learners realising possible selves

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Potential Pitfalls of PPS

• Positive selves may not be possible
• Timescale for realising PPS is unrealistic
• There is insufficient support available
• Pursuing the PPS becomes sidetracked
• The teacher does not model PPS well
• The pupils experience failure in PPS

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How do I know PPS works?

• Overcoming severe physical disablement in my 30s
  having been told my teaching career was at an
  end. I went on to get my MA, become a Head of
  Faculty in a new school, take on school-based
  mentoring for five colleagues, get a
  qualification in mentoring, write two books and
  gain a lecturers post at the University of Bath
• (in under ten years from facing retirement)

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How can technology enable PPS?

• KEEP toolkit templates are easy to build
  web-pages for students and teachers. They enable
  multi-media record keeping.
• Do a GOOGLE search - there are many useful sites
  on applying PPS in practice.
• Draw photos from the web to stimulate
  visualisation of PPS (choose with care!)
• Use email to keep in touch with pupils as they
  form their PPS and keep one another informed
  about their progress in attaining their goals.

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Where can I find out more?

• sjfmentor_at_yahoo.com
• http//www.TeacherResearch.net
• Click on Sarahs Publications
• http//www.StudentsResearch.net