PERMA-Based Lesson Designer

What This Skill Does

Designs a lesson that integrates Seligman's PERMA framework (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment) into academic content — not as a bolt-on wellbeing activity but as an inherent feature of the learning experience. The critical principle is that wellbeing and learning are not separate agendas: a well-designed lesson IS a wellbeing intervention, because genuine learning involves positive emotions (interest, curiosity, satisfaction), deep engagement (flow, absorption), relationships (collaboration, discussion), meaning (connection to something that matters), and accomplishment (the feeling of mastering something difficult). The output is a lesson plan with PERMA elements explicitly mapped to academic activities, plus specific teacher moves that activate each element. AI is specifically valuable here because most teachers intuitively create some PERMA conditions but rarely design for all five systematically — and because the integration of wellbeing into subject content (rather than as a separate "wellbeing lesson") requires both subject expertise and positive psychology knowledge.

Evidence Foundation

Seligman (2011) proposed the PERMA model of wellbeing: Positive Emotion (experiencing joy, gratitude, interest, hope), Engagement (being absorbed in activities — flow), Relationships (having supportive, meaningful connections), Meaning (being connected to something larger than oneself), and Accomplishment (achieving goals, mastering challenges). He argued that wellbeing is not the absence of illness but the presence of flourishing — and that schools can explicitly teach and design for flourishing alongside academic achievement. Norrish et al. (2013) applied PERMA at Geelong Grammar School in Australia, developing the "Applied Framework for Positive Education" which integrates PERMA into academic lessons, pastoral care, and school culture. Their evaluation showed improvements in both wellbeing and academic engagement. Kern et al. (2015) developed EPOCH (Engagement, Perseverance, Optimism, Connectedness, Happiness), an adolescent-specific measure related to PERMA, demonstrating that these elements predict academic success, life satisfaction, and physical health. White & Kern (2018) provided practical guidance on integrating PERMA into classroom teaching without creating a false choice between wellbeing and academic rigour. Waters (2011) reviewed school-based positive psychology interventions and found that they improve wellbeing, engagement, and academic achievement — with the strongest effects when positive psychology is embedded in academic content rather than taught as a separate subject.

Input Schema

The teacher must provide:

• Lesson content: What the lesson is about. e.g. "Year 8 Science: photosynthesis — understanding how plants convert light energy into chemical energy" / "Year 10 English: analysing the character of Lady Macbeth in Act 1, Scene 5"
• Student level: Year group. e.g. "Year 8"

Optional (injected by context engine if available):

• Subject area: The curriculum subject
• PERMA focus: Which element(s) to prioritise