Redefining happy hour: Positivity in the middle of a pandemic

College should be a time for learning, exploration, and maturation. However, many students find that the college experience challenges their emotional health and well-being. According to recent survey data from the National College Health Assessment, nearly 2/3 of students reported overwhelming anxiety, while 40% of students indicated feeling too depressed to function (Roy, 2018). 

As faculty, we wanted to provide learning environments conducive for optimal student growth, but we struggled with how to support students who have mental health concerns. Typically, we directed students for outside help from counseling services or pastoral support. Positive psychology offered us a proactive approach to building supportive learning environments for our students by focusing on the scientific elements of well-being and happiness (Pascha, 2019). Emerging research demonstrated the contributions of positive psychology in increasing student engagement, improving faculty-student relationships, and enhancing the campus community (Williams et al., 2018). In response to these findings, a Positive Psychology Faculty Learning Community (PPFLC) was formed.

This PPFLC began organically by bringing together a diverse group of individuals across undergraduate and graduate programs and disciplines, including psychology, physical therapy, art, education, business, nursing, and communications. The agenda started with a blank slate. The group determined the focus and direction of our shared purpose through discussions defining positive psychology as well as specific strategies that could be embedded into course learning experiences. During our PPFLC meetings, we embraced a positive tone and created a trusting space, learned from each other, and developed an empathetic atmosphere by listening deeply. Also, we checked in with each other before each meeting, took time to talk about personal and professional issues/stressors in a trusting environment, and created a safe space to relieve stress and feel support (Bransford and Moroz, 2020).

Because of the diverse makeup of the group, some individuals having a strong knowledge base of positive psychology, and others being new to the concepts and strategies, the group dynamic evolved. As a group, we shared research-based strategies and activities that encourage positive affect in our courses. Later, the PPFLC decided to read “The Happiness Advantage” (Achor, 2010) to further our growth toward a unified context. We came to realize positive psychology was about well-being and not about being happy all the time. Studies emphasized strengths and human flourishing that empowers individuals to thrive (Peterson, 2006). The goal of positive psychology strategies is to shift the balance so that one’s positive experiences outweigh one’s negative experiences. 

At the beginning of the spring semester, many of us were using the research based-strategies in our face-to-face courses. Enter in COVID-19. Once classes shifted to an online format, we observed that many students were experiencing a sense of anxiety, unsettledness, and loss. We had to ask ourselves, “How can we use positive psychology to create a supportive community in the online classroom?” Our group quickly realized a greater need for incorporating positive psychology exercises in these transitioned online courses to create a sense of community and a supportive atmosphere for students dealing with competing stressors. 

These exercises were essential to allow students to acknowledge their concerns/stressors while also learning strategies for creating a positive learning environment. We felt a heightened need for daily check-ins to get a sense of students’ well-being and discuss ways to include daily uplifts to cope with this new uncertainty. It is common to overestimate both how long and intensely an adverse life event will impact us and how long and intensely a positive event will keep us happy. Daily hassles and daily uplifts will intervene to temper our pleasure or mitigate our pain. Creating a positive mindset and a sense of community when online provided a safe space to explore humor and spontaneity of necessary discussions with emojis as additional coping mechanisms. As we delved deeper into positivity to support our students as well as our mental health, we noticed that the context we were designing in our classrooms paralleled the positive learning environment created in our faculty learning community. 

The ongoing pandemic strengthened our resolve to support one another, so we, in turn, could be in a better position to help our students. Finding the positives and hope amid unsettledness and unknowns was essential. The PPFLC began to meet more often and shared ideas related to positive psychology. Sessions focused on brainstorming the infusion of specific applied exercises into our courses, considering which formats were more conducive or receptive to these exercises, and understanding how positive psychology impacted our roles academically and personally.

After learning about the positive psychology exercises, each member found opportunities to implement the activities into the curriculum. We present five examples and preface each activity with the evidence supporting the exercise.

Signature strengths are positive traits that an individual possesses, celebrates, and continually displays (Peterson, 2006). Every individual possesses all 24 character strengths in different degrees, giving each person a unique character profile. Strengths are categorized into six virtues (wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence). Being able to understand signature strengths allows individuals to live a more abundant life by providing them the confidence to face the struggles and tasks of their daily lives in a way that is best for them (Peterson, 2006). Using signature strengths can help buffer against, manage, and overcome problems/stressors, improve relationships, enhance health and overall well-being, and live a more fulfilling life. A modification of the signature strengths exercise includes:  

Students who are not art majors come to an art appreciation class to meet general education requirements, many believing they are not creative. One instructional strategy encourages a creative mindset by using a name tag to identify students’ superpower. Students identified their “superpower” on the first day of class and then designed a name card with the superpower on it. Students thought about how their superpowers can help them in the classroom and with their school work. The use of the superpower name tag made learning names easier and strengthened the classroom community.

The acts of kindness positive psychology exercise builds engagement by performing these acts beyond your daily routine. Research has shown that doing several acts of kindness per day, varying the types of kindness throughout the week, and keeping track of one’s acts of kindness provides psychological benefits (Rowland and Curry, 2018). One instructor in the PPFLC, who teaches intercultural communications, had four different sections of their course create an “Acts of Kindness” initiative on campus providing students an opportunity to practice intercultural sensitivity and promote inclusion through human kindness. Students were asked to “commit” two random acts of kindness during a specified week, observe the effects, then reflect on their experience. This had a significant, long-lasting impact on the students and the campus community.

Gratitude is a positive emotional state where one recognizes and appreciates what one has received in life. Research shows that taking time to experience gratitude can make you happier and even healthier (Seligman, et al., 2005). Gratitude has been associated with positive emotions, vitality, optimism, hope, and overall life satisfaction. At the beginning of class, students were encouraged to share in response to the prompt, “What are you grateful for today?” Gratefulness is in the eye-of-the-beholder. Everyone finds gratitude in their way, small experiences to significant experiences. This exercise increases gratitude by reflecting on people, places, or situations throughout the day (Seligman, Steen, Park, and Peterson, 2005).  

A mirror concept, savoring, is an effective strategy to create fuller and longer-lasting positive emotions by thinking about past occurrences, current situations, or future events. The emphasis is to fully immerse oneself to feel, enjoy, and prolong positive experiences. “Savoring is a great way to develop a long-lasting stream of positive thoughts and emotions because positive events cannot always be relied on to make you happier” (Davis, 2019, para. 2). To further our gratitude exercise, class closed with students responding to the prompt, “What are you looking forward to doing this weekend?” Instructors modeled response ranges by offering examples of something simple to look forward to in the coming weekend. The modeling allowed students to realize that one can savor both minor or significant experiences as well as not put a value judgment on the meaning of what each person relishes. Savoring of the future is a process of thinking about what experiences are anticipated, social connections can be made, and positive emotions might emerge. The thinking attaches a positive affect to an event that hasn’t yet occurred. (Davis, 2019).

The broaden and build model, researched by Barbara Fredrickson, proposes that when we experience positive emotions, we open up and become flexible in our thinking and behaviors (Fredrickson, 2001). The positive emotions accelerate the person in experiencing their life situations as opportunities and allow them to draw upon other related successful episodes in their lives, thereby enhancing the perceived probability of doing well in the present circumstances. Also, this impacts one’s problem solving, levels of positive emotional energy, and effective coping abilities (Fredrickson, 2001). and example is beginning class sessions with a dance video that students curated given specific guidelines aimed at encouraging an equitable, positive classroom context. Another course created a private Facebook group for students in response to COVID-19 containing only positive posts that enhanced the class community continuity, equitable sharing, uplifting responses, and a “no COVID Zone” due to a 24-7 news cycle focusing on the virus.

As group members became more familiar with the positive psychology strategies, implementation in face-to-face and synchronous online formats met with success. Sending prompt questions to classes created energy and a sense of community; students’ responses generated others to respond exponentially. There appeared to be joy in seeing each others’ ideas. However, embedding positive psychology activities in an asynchronous course was met with challenges, for example, creating weekly check-ins and rarely getting responses.

During the pivot from a traditional face-to-face format to online course delivery due to the virus, students requested a specific classroom routine that enhanced positive emotions. Several traditional courses in early childhood education model storytime/morning meeting to help teacher candidates live these classroom experiences, as well as to model high-quality literacy instruction. In the abrupt shift to an online format, students expressing this loss of community needed this classroom routine adapted for the online format. 

As the university began speculating about whether or not it would be shifting face-to-face courses to an online environment, one instructor had a conversation with students about which assignments could immediately convert to the online format. The students were involved in the solution of reorienting the class to an online format. As the course transitioned, students already prepared for the completion of assignments. The instructor’s leadership resulted in a socially invested classroom where members felt engaged to continue the learning process despite the uncertainty (Achor, 2010).

In the age of COVID-19, positive psychology fueled a metamorphosis of teaching, which supported this transition. As a PPFLC, we discussed how to prepare your mindset so you can be a more effective educator. Reading Achor’s book “The Happiness Advantage” (2010) to become more educated on positive psychology principles enhanced the ability to apply this research and a positive mindset with students in the classroom. For example, meditating before class and completing daily uplifts made for better-enhanced teaching effectiveness. 

COVID-19 seemed to add stress and anxiety for students we knew were already struggling, and other students we expected to transition well also struggled academically and/or personally. Listening to and discussing the daily stressors and challenges students were facing helped us become more empathetic and effective as instructors. The need for intentional and consistent communication was paramount to being responsive, especially in the transition to the online format, along with sending positive and thinking-of-you messages to those in need, flexibility with deadlines, etc.

As instructors, the ability to be empathetic and positive with students required parallel work by applying these positive psychology principles into our daily lives to cope with the stressors of COVID-19 and the transitions experienced personally and professionally. There was the realization of needing to use the techniques more in our lives while teaching them to students. When focusing on everything negative that was happening, one instructor used the ABCDE model of disputing negative thinking (Ellis and Dryden, 1987) taught to students. As an instructor, it was essential to model optimism and hope by recognizing and disputing pessimistic thoughts and focusing on an optimistic explanatory style when things were not going well.

A second personal coping strategy from positive psychology focuses on active constructive responding, a strategy easily forgotten during times of stress. The goal of this exercise is to build social engagement through showing sincere enthusiasm, provide positive feedback, a genuine interest, and affirming nonverbal communication in your conversations when individuals are describing something positive to you (Gable et al., 2004). Remaining present and empathetic required getting grounded before teaching. Acknowledging stressors but then also using the strategies being taught allowed instructors to walk the talk in supporting students.

This faculty learning community began by exploring the possibilities of successfully integrating positive psychology concepts into higher education. As a PPFLC, we provided learning environments conducive to optimal student growth. The “happy hours” spent together redefined our resolve as we worked collectively to remain positive in the middle of a pandemic. The success we experienced drives us forward as we face continued academic uncertainty. The PPFLC’s collective sharing of infusing applied strategies, considering different learning formats, and reflecting on the personal and academic impact of these strategies was beneficial to the group members and, in turn, their students. The ideas shared in this article serve to inspire our group to thrive and spur our scholarship in this area.

Kristin Bransford, PhD, is a professor of psychology and faculty member at Concordia University—St. Paul since 1999. She teaches a variety of courses in the department including positive psychology and co-leads a faculty learning community focusing on the principles of positive psychology. Her scholarly interests include faculty learning communities, positive psychology, and engaged learning strategies in higher education and has presented at numerous local and national conferences on these topics.

Erin Simunds, MS, PT, is an instructor in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Concordia University—St. Paul. Her clinical experience positions her to teach life span services, healthcare management, and the biopsychosocial aspects of wellbeing. She has spoken at local, state, and national levels. Simunds is pursuing an educational doctorate and intends to study the scholarship of teaching ethics in physical therapy.

Sue Starks, EdD, is an associate professor of education at Concordia University—St. Paul. She coordinates the early childhood licensure program, teaches within the Birth to Grade 3 and K-6 licensure tracks, and supervises early childhood field experiences. In addition, she presents at conferences sharing her knowledge and expertise, continuously learning alongside of other early childhood professionals. 

Cate Vermeland, MFA, is a faculty member in the art and design department at Concordia University, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her work at Concordia includes teaching photography, art history, community art,and student travel experiences to Italy and Ireland. She has won grants and awards for her own photography and has curated numerous exhibitions along with teaching the next generation of artists. Her love of education has brought her to her next venture as she pursues her EdD in educational leadership.