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Research
Research
Research supporting strengths-based teaching dates back many years. While our understanding of what works best has grown, practice has not kept pace.
Consider this early finding: When students were praised for good work in a math class, they improved their performance by 71%. In contrast, criticism led to an improvement of only 19%. These findings inspired the hypothesis that individuals, and possibly organizations, have more potential for growth in areas of strength than areas of weakness.
(Hurlock, 1925)
Current Research in the Field
• Managers who built on the strengths of their employees were 86% more successful than managers who didn’t. These top-performing managers were more likely to indicate that they invested time in high- producing staff, matched talent to tasks, and rewarded strengths rather than seniority when making personnel decisions.
(Gallup: Clifton & Harter, 2003)
• People who report “having the opportunity to do what they do best every day” are 44% more likely to succeed on engaging customers and retaining employees and 38% more likely to succeed on productivity measures. These differences can amount to millions of dollars in any large organization.
(Gallup: Harter & Schmidt, 2002)
• Organizations that offer a strengths intervention are 12.5% more productive, are 9% more profitable, and have 15% less turnover than organizations that offer no strengths intervention. Furthermore, a study of salespeople revealed that one strengths feedback session administered by a manager can have a profoundly boost sales.
• High school students who learned their strengths and used them showed significant increases in self-efficacy, empowerment, and self-perception.
(Gallup: Asplund, 2008) (Donald Austin, 2006)
• College students who learned their strengths and how to use them showed increased self-confidence, direction, hope, and altruism.
• Students learn more from strengths-based teaching strategies. It increases their levels of academic
engagement, objective test scores, and quality of a public speech.
• College students who are the best of the best at using their strengths—the capitalizers—rely on the sustained social support of family, friends, and mentors. They also build on success experiences that give them the confidence to apply their strengths in new situations.
(Bowers, 2008) (Gallup: Hodges & Clifton, 2002) (Cantwell, 2008)
• Students whose strengths and talents were identified perceived they had more control of their academic futures than students who did not know their strengths or talents. In addition, students who actively developed their strengths were more likely to set learning goals and have a growth mindset than students whose talents are identified but not developed.
(Louis, 2008)
Research supporting strengths-based teaching dates back many years. While our understanding of what works best has grown, practice has not kept pace.
Consider this early finding: When students were praised for good work in a math class, they improved their performance by 71%. In contrast, criticism led to an improvement of only 19%. These findings inspired the hypothesis that individuals, and possibly organizations, have more potential for growth in areas of strength than areas of weakness.
(Hurlock, 1925)
Current Research in the Field
• Managers who built on the strengths of their employees were 86% more successful than managers who didn’t. These top-performing managers were more likely to indicate that they invested time in high- producing staff, matched talent to tasks, and rewarded strengths rather than seniority when making personnel decisions.
(Gallup: Clifton & Harter, 2003)
• People who report “having the opportunity to do what they do best every day” are 44% more likely to succeed on engaging customers and retaining employees and 38% more likely to succeed on productivity measures. These differences can amount to millions of dollars in any large organization.
(Gallup: Harter & Schmidt, 2002)
• Organizations that offer a strengths intervention are 12.5% more productive, are 9% more profitable, and have 15% less turnover than organizations that offer no strengths intervention. Furthermore, a study of salespeople revealed that one strengths feedback session administered by a manager can have a profoundly boost sales.
• High school students who learned their strengths and used them showed significant increases in self-efficacy, empowerment, and self-perception.
(Gallup: Asplund, 2008) (Donald Austin, 2006)
• College students who learned their strengths and how to use them showed increased self-confidence, direction, hope, and altruism.
• Students learn more from strengths-based teaching strategies. It increases their levels of academic
engagement, objective test scores, and quality of a public speech.
• College students who are the best of the best at using their strengths—the capitalizers—rely on the sustained social support of family, friends, and mentors. They also build on success experiences that give them the confidence to apply their strengths in new situations.
(Bowers, 2008) (Gallup: Hodges & Clifton, 2002) (Cantwell, 2008)
• Students whose strengths and talents were identified perceived they had more control of their academic futures than students who did not know their strengths or talents. In addition, students who actively developed their strengths were more likely to set learning goals and have a growth mindset than students whose talents are identified but not developed.
(Louis, 2008)