Tips for Using Strengths in Class
- As part of an ice-breaker or first-week activity, ask students to write briefly about their own Strengths and how they fit with the syllabus and assignments. Ask them to identify how their Strengths might help them with particular elements of the course as well as challenges they may face in your class.
- Share your own Strengths with students and explain how they are reflected in your teaching style, approach to the course, and your own research or professional activities. Advise students on ways to best approach you and interpret characteristic qualities in your approach to the course.
- As an introduction to team-based projects, share with students the 34 Strengths, and ask project groups to share Strengths within the group and reflect on how the mix of Strengths may serve them well in the project as well as possible struggles. Students might also designate roles within the group based on the most suited qualities (communicator, time worrier, etc.).
- Gather the students’ Strengths in your class (either by asking students to submit them or by pulling a class roster from Argos). Share with the class the dominant Strengths and brainstorm ways that they can be used to best help them. You can put the class and/or groups into a team map.
Additional Resources
Creating Moments That Matter: 60 Seconds or 60 Minutes!
A collection of teaching and learning strategies with Strengths that can be done in
60 seconds or 60 minutes.
The Clifton StrengthsFinder and Student Strengths Development
A summary and critique of existing strengths-based educational research using the
Clifton StrengthsFinder.
StrengthsQuest Activity Workbook
Find and share more resources about using strengths with students and colleagues.