LESSON 5

WELLBEING

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND WELLBEING THROUGH ACTIVE-CONSTRUCTIVE RESPONDING

PART 1- (5 MINUTES)

Rationale

• Active Constructive Responding (ACR) is how we listen to and respond to other people when they share something with us. How we respond to the good news of others can either build a relationship or undermine it (Seligman, 2011).

• ACR benefits the individual we are relating to as well as the relationship itself. There are three other types of responding, each of which has been shown to have a negative impact on the wellbeing of those sharing the good news and also on the relationship (Gable, Gonzaga, & Strachman, 2006).

• ACR is a skill, and just like any other it can be developed with practice.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, learners should:

• identify different types of responding

• understand what ACR is

• understand the link between ACR and the strength of the relationship and also the wellbeing of both people involved

• apply ACR in real time

PART 2- watch and discuss- (10 MINUTEs)

QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS: Has anyone noticed others who usually respond in one of those 4 ways? Can anyone reflect on how they might be able to respond better when people share with them?

PART 3- WORKED EXAMPLE- (5-10 MINUTES)

Check out this example as a whole class.

Hypothetical Situation: A friend has shared that their football team has just made it into the finals.

Active constructive responding

“That is awesome! I am so happy for you. You team seems to have really improved since the start of the season. How are you feeling about it?”

Active destructive responding

“Now you are going to have to train so hard and waste two extra weekends of your life playing footy.”

Passive constructive responding

“That’s nice that you've made it to the finals.”

Passive destructive Responding

“Footy finals, huh? Well, hurry up, we've gotta get to our next class now.”

PART 4- WORKBOOK PRACTICE- (10 MINUTES)

In your workbook, complete this process for some good news that a friend has actually shared with you in the last week. It might be good news to do with their sport, academic, family, holidays, friendships etc.

Some examples include:

- a friend has shared with you that they have just made the District Netball Team.

- a friend told you that he is really looking forward to the end of term holiday with his family.

- a friend just shared that they received an A grade on the assignment they worked really hard at.

PART 5- PRACTICE ACR WITH A PARTNER- (10 MINUTES)

• Practice ACR with a partner. To do this, students begin by standing back to back with a partner. When the teacher invites students to begin, they turn around and face each other. Person A shares some good news (it can be made up if necessary). Person B practices responding with ACR. Swap roles.

• If there is time, swap partners and have another go.

• Try to hone your ACR skills throughout the next week.

• Here are some prompts to make it easier for the person responding to draw more out of the conversation: "tell me more about that, what is the best thing about your experience? what did you see? how does it make you feel when you think about it?"

HOMEWORK

Students are invited to notice how they respond to the good news of others over the next week. Think about your typical response, and try responding in a more active and constructive manner. This takes practice to do well, so give it a go and try to improve. Remind students that their friends, family, themselves and their relationships might all benefit from it.