1214 Foundation Develops a Joint Program with UPENN Masters of Applied Positive Psychology
About the UPENN Masters of Applied Positive Psychology Program
The Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program at the University of Pennsylvania was the first of its kind in the US and the world. Created by Dr. Martin Seligman (Faculty Director and positive psychology founder) and Dr. James Pawelski (Director), the MAPP program accepted its first students in the fall of 2005. The MAPP program is unique because it combines the theoretical framework of positive psychology with its real-life applications, letting students master practical professional skills while continuously developing their careers. The on-site classes occur once a month, spanning a weekend, allowing students to attend lectures and seminars taught by Dr. Seligman and other leading psychology experts. The rest of the classes are held using various remote and online methods, enabling students from all across the US and the world to pursue their careers while simultaneously gaining their Masters degrees in positive psychology. The classes are a mix of historical underpinnings, theoretical basics, and research methodologies used in positive psychology, as well as its applications in professional environments.This interdisciplinary program has become popular among Psychology majors thanks to the global reputation of its founder and other faculty members, such as Dr. James Pawelski, Dr. Karen Reivich, and Dr. Allyson Mackey, but also thanks to the convenient hybrid teaching methodology that enables the professors to smoothly transition into fully remote teaching throughout the pandemic.
There are around 50 students currently enrolled in the MAPP program. Thanks to its unique format, the program’s graduates span 44 countries and an impressive age range between 21 and 73 years old. Since 2005, over 750 students successfully completed the program and received their Masters degrees.
Goals of the Collaboration
The University of Pennsylvania chose The 1214 Foundation to coordinate joint efforts with a group of MAPP students. The primary goals of the collaboration included:
- Integrating the positive psychology principles and techniques into the programs supported by The 1214 Foundation
- Improving the resilience, self-efficacy, and emotional intelligence of the participants of our programs
- Providing the MAPP students with real-world experience in implementing their theoretical knowledge to benefit children in our community
- Deepening the cooperation between the 1214 Foundation and educational institutions, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Yale School of Management
Considering how well the goals of the MAPP program and The 1214 Foundation missions align, our cooperation was a success. Our organizations strive to enable our members (children and students) to gain valuable skills they can use in their daily lives, academic, professional, or personal. These mutual values and goals helped both our teams gain invaluable experience that will affect our activities going forward.
Impact and Benefits of the UPENN and 1214 Foundation Partnership
Throughout the course of the partnership between The 1214 Foundation and the MAPP students, the student team completed a thorough study of our existing methodology and a detailed literature review. After analyzing the best character-building practices, the team came up with the following recommendations and improvements to our approach:
- Multiple initial assessment instruments for ARC program participants, including a 12-grade grit scale, a brief resilience scale, and an EPOCH scale of adolescent well-being. These instruments are designed to assess the ARC program students’ initial characteristics and their progress after completing their sessions.
- A semi-structured interview guide for ARC graduates to assess their progress and results upon completing the month-long program. It’s another tool for evaluating the impact of the ARC curriculum on children’s development that can be used in promotional materials and investment pitches for donors.
- A research methods training manual detailing the use of the proposed assessment scales, processing, interpreting, and reporting their results. These materials are designed to facilitate, streamline, and automate the ARC program's initial and final assessments and produce reliable and valid results.
- Recommendations for putting the ARC methodology in perspective for donors and other stakeholders to compare the results of program participants and the control group. Suggestions for future development of protective factors and training programs for parents to strengthen and perpetuate positive changes in children participating in the ARC program.
- These recommendations were presented at the University of Pennsylvania and implemented by The 1214 Foundation. We took to heart the team’s suggestions to supplement our theoretical models with real-world data to make necessary adjustments to our strategy, revising and replicating results to achieve social innovation that’s at the core of our mission. The suggested changes improved the overall experience of ARC program participants and enabled the foundation to gauge the positive impact on their perseverance, grit, and self-actualization.