GPStudents.com – Character & Leadership (Beta)

After months of reviewing, curating, and creating content, I have found what I consider one of the best resources for teaching character and leadership to our stakeholders (i.e. staff, students, parents, mentors/skills coaches, etc.). This proposal will outline 1) how Habitudes® works; 2) how Habitudes® maps to our program; and 3) how Habitudes® can be integrated into our program.

NOTE: This page is a work in progress. Any ideas regarding integration and implementation are open for discussion.

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Habitudes® System

Habitudes Made A Difference In My Life from Growing Leaders on Vimeo.

The Habitudes® System is a growing list of courses/books each containing thirteen (13) themes/images which speak to character and leadership principles. When themes are introduced to students as images combined with interesting stories, Going Deeper stories, guided discussions, and reflection questions, students find new ways to connect with the material and are able to retain the content better because the information is captured in a single image (i.e. symbol).

Habitudes® Resources

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How It Works

Habitudes® is a unique leadership training system specifically designed to turn ordinary students into growing leaders. The philosophy is simple… people need two (2) ingredients to mature into growing leaders:

EVENTS
PROCESS

To fully equip and prepare, instructors need an EVENT to spark the flame, and an ongoing PROCESS to keep it going.

Using the power of images, conversations and learning experiences, the Habitudes® leader development systems build young men and women into leaders who can solve problems and serve people. Here’s how:

Habitudes® enables GPS to teach students in a simple fashion and brief period of time.
Habitudes® sparks conversations that go as deep as the maturity of our students.
Habitudes® offers GPS a set of transferable concepts that students can teach as well.
Habitudes® furnishes GPS with a shared language to foster a character and leadership culture.

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Experiential, Participatory, Image rich, & Connected

Students don’t need another sage on the stage, they need a guide on the side. This is why all of the Habitudes® systems are EPIC.

E – (Experiential): I want more than a lecture. I want an experience that provokes and incentivizes me.
P – (Participatory): I want to participate in the outcomes of the program. I want to upload my thoughts.
I – (Image-rich): I want a picture to engage me, help me explore new perspectives and remember ideas.
C – (Connected): I want to interact with others socially on the issue in person and through technology.

Why is teaching with images so effective?

The majority of people are visual learners
Pictures stick
Metaphors can provide a language for people
Pictures can accelerate understanding
Images engage our right brain and our emotions
Pictures make us want to express and respond
Visuals tell stories in our imagination
Pictures enable us to store huge volumes of information in our memories
Images are the oldest form of curriculum and the preferred method for learning today

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Resources

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Traditional Resources

Teacher Guides
- Learning objectives
- Creative activities/icebreakers
- Going Deeper section (extra stories)
- Movie clip ideas that related to each of the Habitudes®
- Bonus creative elements and questions
Student Books
- Image
- Story/Lesson
- Discussion questions
- Self-assessment
- Exercise
Video Series
- DVD teaching sessions with Dr. Tim Elmore for each image (15-18 minutes each)
PowerPoints
- PowerPoint presentations for each image. Includes the key points and discussion questions
Poster Sets
- Available for each image to post in hallways, training facilities, classroom or give out to students

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Digital Resources

Habitudes® Online enables our facilitators to access all of the Habitudes® teaching resources from any device with internet access
Instructors can display all of the teaching resources on a BIG screen in the classroom

Gamified Resources (Optional)

Habitudes® Play is a curated experience in a web-based interactive gaming platform wherein participants can compete with one another while learning core leadership principles
Watch videos, solve puzzles, journal, complete challenges, encourage others, and more all while competing and earning points

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Who is Tim Elmore?

Visit http://growingleaders.com/tim-elmore/

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Habitudes® Courses/Books

There are a number of courses/books available at GrowingLeaders.com. Let’s look at six (6) Habitudes® courses/books that map nicely to our Apprenticeship Model, workplace rotations, and Learn It/Do It/Live It Model:

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Habitudes® – For the Journey: The Art of Navigating Transitions

Habitudes for the Journey DVD Sample from Growing Leaders on Vimeo.

Image 1: Windshields and Rearview Mirrors
Image 2: A Compass or a GPS
Image 3: A Bridge Not a Wall
Image 4: Baggage Fees
Image 5: Sturdy Guardrails
Image 6: Tollbooths or Roadblocks
Image 7: Flight Delay
Image 8: Pass on the Left
Image 9: Tank Half Full or Empty?
Image 10: Travel Agents or Tour Guides
Image 11: Backseat Drivers
Image 12: Shortcut or Second Mile
Image 13: The Destination vs. the Trip

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Habitudes® – Career Ready Students: The Art of Preparing for a Career

No video available.

Image 1: Surgeries and X-Rays
Image 2: Puzzle Pieces and Box Tops
Image 3: Kitchens and Restaurants
Image 4: Obstacle Course
Image 5: Bikes and Birds
Image 6: Immigrants and Natives
Image 7: The Sun and the Moon
Image 8: Seed and Fruit
Image 9: Tappers and Listeners
Image 10: 3-D Glasses
Image 11: Soloists and Symphonies
Image 12: Brands and Labels
Image 13: Butterfly Effect

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Habitudes® – Book #1: The Art of Self-Leadership

Habitudes Book #1 The Art of Self Leadership Leader’s Kit DVD Sample from Growing Leaders on Vimeo.

Image 1: The Iceberg
Image 2: The Starving Baker
Image 3: Golden Buddha
Image 4: Thermostat and Thermometer
Image 5: Fun House Mirror
Image 6: The Oversized Gift
Image 7: Personal Laptop
Image 8: Pop Quiz
Image 9: Emotional Fuel
Image 10: Opportunity Statue
Image 11: Discipline Bridge
Image 12: The Half-Hearted Kamikaze
Image 13: Drivers and Passengers

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Habitudes® – Book # 2: The Art of Connecting with Others

Habitudes Book #2 The Art of Connecting With Others Leader’s Kit DVD Sample from Growing Leaders on Vimeo.

Image 1: Hosts and Guests
Image 2: The Indian Talking Stick
Image 3: Chess and Checkers
Image 4: The Calcutta Paradox
Image 5: Pyrrhic Victory
Image 6: Hot Air Balloons
Image 7: The Velvet Covered Brick
Image 8: Pocket Change
Image 9: The Waldorf Principle
Image 10: The Gardener’s Job
Image 11: Tightrope Walker
Image 12: Lightning Rods
Image 13: The Poet’s Gift

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Habitudes® – Book # 3: The Art of Leading Others

Habitudes Book #3 The Art of Leading Others Leader’s Kit DVD Sample from Growing Leaders on Vimeo.

Image 1: The Mirror Effect
Image 2: Rivers and Floods
Image 3: The Paul Revere Principle
Image 4: Bit Market
Image 5: Big Rocks First
Image 6: Duck Hunting
Image 7: Choir Director
Image 8: Taxi Principle
Image 9: Barn Building
Image 10: Small Sprocket
Image 11: Gorillas in Hawaii
Image 12: Star Trek Principle
Image 13: Life Sentence

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Habitudes® – Book # 4: The Art of Changing Culture

Habitudes Book #4 The Art of Leading Others Leader’s Kit DVD Sample from Growing Leaders on Vimeo.

Image 1: The Joshua Problem
Image 2: Critical Mass
Image 3: The Hollywood Effect
Image 4: Family Virus
Image 5: Portable Truths
Image 6: Trade-Offs
Image 7: Growing Pains
Image 8: Gift Factor
Image 9: Science Class
Image 10: The Ripple Effect
Image 11: Cathedral Building
Image 12: Dorothy’s Way
Image 13: Movements From Scratch

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Habitudes® Integration & Mapping Overview

The Habitudes® System integrates and maps to our GPS program in many elegant ways. In addition to how the Habitudes® System integrates into our character and leadership curriculum, it could also augment other programs and initiatives:

The Habitudes® System will serve as another content resource for our Parent Engagement Program
The Habitudes® System will serve as another content resource for our Student Engagement Program with regards to intervention, re-engagement, re-employability prompts, etc.
The Habitudes® System could serve as another content resource for our College & Career Readiness Program
The Habitudes® System could serve as another content resource for our Mentor/Job Skills Coach Training Program
The Habitudes® System could serve as a foundation for creating an organization-wide character culture and help our ed centers (as well as corporate) meet the requirements to become National Schools of Character (http://character.org/schools-of-character/). In turn, this effort could add to the prestige of GPS helping to secure additional funding, grants, partners, students, etc.
Would integrating the Habitudes® System into our program meet any other grant/fundraising criteria GPS has already received?

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Habitudes® System Integration

There are many ways the Habitudes® System could be integrated into our program. Below are recommendations which cover each integrated element of the Habitudes® System:

Staff Training (On-site & Online)

I would like to share the responsibilities of teaching and training our staff and students with our PAs and other staff throughout the year. This could be accomplished during All Staff Meetings, in-class workshops, and online (e.g. Google Hangouts, evergreen webinars, etc.). I would also like for our staff to take turns sharing out their favorite Habitudes® lessons/stories during in-service times.

In addition to the training events, the Habitudes® Teacher Resources are excellent. To see a sample, please visit:

URL: www.HabitudesOnline.com
Username: rblystone@gpsed.org
Password: **********

Habitudes® Courses/Books Integration (Classroom)

Purchase the same number of copies of each Habitudes® course/book as there are computers in our ed centers. In other words, the morning/afternoon classes will share the books and be used year after year. In conjunction with the books, instructors will have access to digital teacher resources. Teachers have the flexibility to allow students to complete lessons/modules/courses at their own pace OR guide instruction as a class by displaying content on their BIG screen. Assessments for each Habitudes® lesson can be integrated into our LMS or be used as stand-alone resources. Although copyright prevents us from simply copy/pasting content into either of our existing LMS offerings, I believe assessment lessons/quizzes can be developed that work around this issue.

Year 1: Purchase Habitudes® course/books for Modules 1-3
Year 2: Purchase additional Habitudes® course/books for Modules 4-6
Year 3: Assess which Habitudes® themes/images best suit our needs

RealizeIt Integration (LMS)

Habitudes® (from the books) may be referenced within the online lessons and assessment questions may be added anywhere within the lesson plan. Whether we use the actual questions from the resource material OR re-word the assessment questions is a topic worthy of discussion. Regardless, integration within the RealizeIt LMS offers a straight-forward approach to integrating the content into our courses, lesson plans, assessments, etc.

The RealizeIt LMS allows for simple assessment opportunities within the first phase of our Learn It/Do It/Live It model

GPStudents.com Integration (Student portal as a possibility)

GPStudents.com offers additional advanced assessment opportunities within all phases of the Learn It/Do It/Live It model while also offering GPS many additional benefits. For example, when students “share” what they are learning by posting (e.g. text, photos, video, etc.) on the site, the following occurs:

Sharing is a form of Practice and helps drive the content further into top of mind awareness (TOMA)
Sharing is a form of Teaching others who interact with our content (i.e. exposure to themes, imagery, language, etc.)
Sharing is a form of Shaping/Modeling which develops other character and leadership muscles
Sharing is a form of Social interaction which brings people closer together (including AM/PM classes, ed centers, stakeholders, other staff, etc.)
Sharing is a form of Advertising/marketing and helps drive brand awareness
Sharing is a form of Polling/surveying our constituents to learn what Habitudes® are working, meaningful, relevant, etc.
Sharing is a form of Crowdsourcing which allows GPS an opportunity to curate additional “shared” content (i.e. new themes, images, stories, etc.) thereby expanding our curriculum beyond the licenses and limitations of Habitudes® existing offerings
Sharing is VERY IMPORTANT because it helps GPS bypass two (2) very important barriers to effective and efficient use of the Habitudes® System:
- Sharing helps GPS create and curate new content outside of the protections of Habitudes® copyright
- Sharing helps GPS create a character culture with all of our stakeholders (i.e. school districts, business partners, mentors, coaches, parents, etc.) without violating Habitudes® copyright

Note: Habitudes® will serve as the foundation for our Character & Leadership Curriculum. In this way, all additional content (e.g. created, curated, shared, etc.) can be tweaked to fit within this model. Simply create a new theme (or add to an existing theme), attach an image, curate new stories, create similar processing questions, and add to the LMS.

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GPS Character & Leadership Standards & Competencies

I am currently mapping Habitudes® courses and individual themes/images to our CL Standards & competencies. Once completed, each Habitudes® lesson/theme/image will be tagged with related competencies.

(IN PROGRESS)

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Apprenticeship Model

The following is a proposed map and timeline for how the Habitudes® System will align to our Apprenticeship Model:

THE ROAD TO EMPLOYMENT

Module 1 – Navigating Transitions
- Book: For the Journey – The Art of Navigating Transitions
- 13 Habitudes® lessons

VALUE ADDED TEAMMATE

Module 2 – Preparing for a Career
- Book: Career Ready Students – The Art of Preparing for a Career
- 13 Habitudes® lessons

DEFINING QUALITY (LEVEL 1)

Module 3 – Self-Leadership
- Book: # 1 – The Art of Self-Leadership
- 13 Habitudes® lessons

VALUE OF SERVICE (LEVEL 2)

Module 4 – Connecting with Others
- Book: # 2 – The Art of Connecting with Others
- 13 Habitudes® lessons
- Review of prior lessons as needed

INVESTMENT IN COMPANY (LEVEL 3)

Module 5 – Leading Others
- Book: # 3 – The Art of Leading Others
- 13 Habitudes® lessons
- Review of prior lessons as needed

CONTRIBUTING CITIZEN (LEVEL 4)

Module 6 – Changing Culture
- Book: # 4 – The Art of Changing Culture
- 13 Habitudes® lessons
- Review of prior lessons as needed

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Workplace Rotations

The following outline is a proposed map and timeline for how the Habitudes® System will align to student workplace rotations:

Exposure Rotation One (1):

Students will be introduced to Modules 1 & 2 of our Habitudes® curriculum:
- Module 1: For the Journey – The Art of Navigating Transitions
- Module 2: Career Ready Students – The Art of Preparing for a Career
Students will be introduced to Module 3 of our Habitudes® curriculum:
- Module 3: Habitudes® #1: The Art of Self-Leadership
- Review earlier modules as needed

Exposure Rotation Two (2):

Students will be introduced to Module 4 of our Habitudes® curriculum
- Module 4: Habitudes® #2: The Art of Connecting with Others
- Review earlier modules as needed

Experience Rotation (1):

Students will be introduced to Modules 5 of our Habitudes® curriculum
- Module 5: Habitudes® #3: The Art of Leading Others
- Review earlier modules as needed

Experience Rotation (2):

Students will be introduced to Modules 6 of our Habitudes® curriculum
- Module 6: Habitudes® #4: The Art of Changing Culture
- Review earlier modules as needed

Assessments

Students will be assessed via RealizeIt (or other suitable means – worksheets, Google Classroom, GPStudents.com, etc.).
Online assessments MUST be completed in order to advance to the next lesson/module/level.
Mentor/coach interacts regularly and completes OJT Employability Score Card (i.e. rubric).
At the end of each rotation, mentor/coach will conduct an exit interview.
An additional status review (or Level 3 completion review) will be completed somewhere near the middle of the experience rotation (e.g. 6 months)

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Learn It, Do It, Live It

The following outline is a proposed timeline for how our Habitudes® System will align with our “Learn It, Do It, Live It” model:

Learn It

Each week, instructors are recommended to introduce a new Habitude utilizing the teacher resources
Each student will have a book to follow along and reference as needed
Each student will be required to complete some reflections questions

Do It

Each day, instructors are recommended to illustrate/demonstrate the Habitude in a unique way using teacher resources
Each week, students will be required to share an image (on social media) of themselves or others demonstrating that week’s Habitude
Each week, students will be required to comment on at least one other student’s Habitude post

Live It

Each day, instructors are recommended to identify students engaged in a Habitude and edify with words of affirmation (i.e. seize teachable moments)
Each student will be required to consistently illustrate/demonstrate our Habitudes in the classroom and workplace
Each student will be encouraged to identify other people (i.e. family, friends, classmates, co-workers, etc.) engaged in a Habitude and edify with words of affirmation (i.e. seize networking opportunities)

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