Positive Education

Curriculum

Positive Education

The MAI vision of nurturing students with taqwa, thinkers and learners and leaders with compassion was fortified in 2020 with the adoption of Positive Education (PosEd) to enhance student well-being in school. This, together with other school programmes such as Ihya Al-Quran, Dirasat Deeniyyah, Student Leadership, Co-Curricular Activities and Talent Management Programme, can potentially increase students’ capacity to learn effectively, enhance resilience and develop a learning community where they flourish as students, to later develop into promising young Muslim adults.

 

PosEd brings together the science of positive psychology and best practices in teaching and learning to support students to thrive in their learning environment. A new steering committee for Flourish@MAI was formed in Dec 2019 to introduce to staff and students the essence of PosEd. Fortnightly tutorials on Flourish were planned to provide purposeful class discussions to understand the different character strengths that make a wholesome person and how such strengths can be enacted.

 

Character Strengths

In its introductory stage, Flourish lessons take teachers and students on a familiarisation journey to understand the 24 Character Strengths, beginning with a personalised survey for every staff and student. With character strengths, we hope to develop students to see positivity in six domains, namely:

Positive RelationshipsWe help our students develop social and emotional skills that nourish their positive relationships with their peers, teachers and family, and emphasise the importance of connectedness and strong relationships for their well-being. Existing school programme include Pastoral Care and Islamic Religious Knowledge.
Positive EmotionsThrough a culture of care in the school, we seek to engender positive emotions of well-being such as gratitude, hope and joy. We believe this will build up students’ resilience and character strengths. Existing school programme that complement this is the GEMS.*
Positive PurposeWe believe that students will also be able to find themselves spiritually through our Islamic programmes and practices in school and see their quest for excellence as an Islamic obligation.
Positive HealthWe provide opportunities for students to develop sustainable habits for optimal physical and psychological health. Existing programmes that seek this goal are the PE Programme, Sports CCA as well as our Counselling and Restorative Practice approach to discipline.
Positive EngagementWe provide meaningful learning experiences for students across subjects and through the Dirasat Deeniyah Authentic Transfer Task and the Overseas Community Outreach with International Rahmatan Lil Alamin.
Positive AccomplishmentWe provide opportunities for students to pursue their passions and deepen their mastery in various disciplines, academic or otherwise, to achieve meaningful outcomes. Recent initiatives like the introduction of Qul Club and Fencing as new CCAs, Art as a subject, SASMO and ICAS all attest to this.

*Gratitude Every Monday by Staff (GEMS)

In MAI, promoting the well-being of students has taken a more personal level with the Principal, Vice-Principal and teachers sharing their life stories and anecdotes on a weekly basis. We speak to students about our personal challenges, teenage experience, school experience, work life or family moments which students can relate to. Aligned to the 2RISE values, character strengths in the VIA CS list, our school vision & mission, or theme for the year (eg 2020 Theme: Hijrah – from light to bright), the aptly-dubbed initiative began early in 2017 and is sustained till today. Strategically, the session is done on Monday morning to set the right tone at the start of the week. GEMS is also a gesture of teachers’ willingness to let students in on our strengths, some formed and others yet to be polished. While it may leave us feeling vulnerable sharing stories of our lives with students, our gems of advice will go a long way to bring us closer in establishing positive relationships with our students.

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