Cultivating Resilient and Engaged Students - Role of Happiness In Academic Success

Let's warm up with a few scenarios.

IN SCENARIO 1

You attend two different classes with the same teacher. In classroom A, the students are friendly, warm and happy. In the other classroom B, the students are mean, unhappy and disengaged. Which classroom promotes learning? Would there be a difference in measurable academic success?

IN SCENARIO II

You have the same class but with two different teachers, both equally skilled at teaching the subject - but one teacher promotes happiness and a growth mindset and the other teacher is hypercritical or indifferent. How would academic success differ under different teachers?

AND A NEEDLESS SCENARIO

You attend course A in a happy frame of mind. You attend course B in a different time period in an unhappy state of mind. Should I even ask about the difference in the results?

The positive correlation between happiness and academic success is undisputable. And yet, rarely is happiness taught in the classroom.

Teaching happiness in higher education is essential yet complex. The difficulty lies in defining happiness, measuring it effectively, and creating engaging, impactful assignments. Despite these challenges, integrating happiness into the curriculum can significantly enhance academic outcomes and overall student well-being.

AND HERE IS HOW I HAVE DONE IT

Measuring Happiness To Maximise It

Up until 2000, we only thought about mental pathology and illness - depression, anxiety, but thanks to the work of Martin Seligman we finally had insights into what made us lead a happier meaningful life.

His happiness equation is central to all work I do - and the first person I tested it on, was myself.

H = S + C + V ( H is happiness, S is your genetic happiness set range, C is circumstances and V is voluntary control)

S accounts for 50%, C 10% and V is 40%

This means that even if life dealt you a terrible hand, 40% of your happiness is still very much within your control.

So How Does That Help Increase Happiness In Student Groups?

Once assigned the task of improving wellbeing of a student community - I begin by reaching out to the students to identify their specific challenges. This includes personal interviews, group discussions etc.

Preliminary Research On Student Wellbeing

This dipstick data (a handy tool from my Market Research Days) helped define the problem and thus customise course objectives based on the unique needs of each cohort. In the same management institute, while one batch needed tools to improve confidence, a subsequent batch needed tools to regulate difficult emotions. Meanwhile, another management institute student cohort needed to work on their physical health domain.

Designing The Course - Student Wellbeing Interventions

And it shouldn't come as a surprise that there is often a dichotomy between the needs of the students as expressed by the students vis a vis the faculty of the institute. So with a well-intentioned balancing act, the intervention and the course outline would be prepared.

Based on these insights, I designed engaging sessions covering topics like stress resilience, purpose and meaning, intrinsic motivation, happiness, confidence, mindfulness, sleep, kindness and self-care, self-discovery, focus, and work-life balance.

Assignments often involve fun group activities targeting various aspects of student life, from promoting empathy and kindness to encouraging healthier dietary choices.

And now its time to measure...

A Few Tips While Designing The Course

A. Be more engaging than their smartphone. Add some challenge. Gamify.

B. Storytelling works. Add humour.

C. Include group activities that promote connection and reflection.

D. My course is lighthearted so whenever necessary discipline comes with physical challenges that I do along with them.

E. Practicing breathwork, gratitude, and kindness stories before the session sets the tone.

F. Be ready to say "I do not know - Let's find out". Be ready to be challenged, after all what makes one person happy could make another miserable, our data from happiness research is evolving.

How To Measure Happiness/ Wellbeing

I often prefer WHO's validated QOL tool, which assesses physical, mental, social, and environmental domains of well-being. I am also fond of PERMA, the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, Subjective Happiness Scale, PANAS etc. But there is something about WHOQOL that I love.

Customised Student Wellbeing Interventions

This customized approach has led to statistically significant improvements in students' QOL and overall happiness.

While the direct impact on classroom engagement is harder to quantify, the consistent invitations to train educators on these methods attest to their effectiveness.

Hopefully, this gives you insights into how I go about adding a bit of happiness for students

Few Research Findings On Happiness and Academic Success

• A few predictors of academic success that you can modify include happiness, sleep, screen time, social connections, self-regulation, mindset etc
• A study by Christina Hinton found that for students from elementary school to high school, happiness is positively correlated with motivation and academic achievement. She also found that creating strong relationships with teachers and peers plays an important role in student happiness.
• Studies from Harvard indicate the strongest predictor of happiness is the strength of your social connections. That’s true for adults and children.
• People who experience frequent positive moods, especially happiness, have a greater likelihood of working actively toward new goals while experiencing those moods.
• And of course, happiness and positive emotions create dopamine and serotonin. They in turn impact the brain's capacity to make connections and make connections faster - thus impacting memory, recall etc. Happiness is known to increase verbal and spatial working memory capacity whereas sadness does not...

So let's work towards happier students for greater academic success.