This Blog is about a TED Talk on Happiness by Robert Waldinger. Waldinger reports that an almost century-long study on thousands of people allowed scientists to narrow down the predictors of happiness to one key aspect: relationships. He has three main points. First, social connections are amazing for our health, and loneliness can literally kill. Then, quality close relationships are the most important kind and should be treasured and preserved above all others. Finally, great relationships are important for our physical health, and brain health, specifically in relation to memory. 

 

Students will interact with clips of this video (learning material) through user-generated interaction. There is no quiz at the end of the video or a checkpoint they must pass to complete the lesson. However, students will automatically reflect on the important relationships in their life. Students will ponder what specific relationships mean to them, and how they can improve them. 

 

As previously mentioned, on their own, students will think about the relationships in their life. They might realize how much they appreciate certain relationships, and how happy those interactions can make them. Secondly, they might think about what relationships in their life are not making them happier, and what they can do about that. 

 

An easy activity learners could do is reflect on their relationship. They could write down a few reasons why a particular relationship makes them happy. To take it a step further, learners could be encouraged to reach out to a friend to see how they are or arrange a date to see each other. This activity would require little effort from teachers and could easily be scaled to work with larger groups. Unfortunately though, even though the student is in control for this activity, it would be challenging to give feedback. 

 

The video ends with the speaker encouraging listeners to lean into relationships as “the good life is built with good relationships”. That advice is not specific. The speaker could have suggested listeners do some of the activities mentioned above, to give them actionable steps to improve their relationships, and therefore, their lives. Otherwise, this video was great and inclusive, as it had a full transcript for those unable to listen or watch the video. The transcript is available in multiple languages which is a fantastic step towards completely inclusive learning. 

 

References

 

Waldinger, R. (2015, November). Transcript of “What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness”. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness/transcript

 

William, A. (2019, October 10). 9.6 interaction – Teaching in a digital age – Second edition. Retrieved from https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev2/chapter/pedagogical-roles-for-text-audio-and-video/