About the Academy
The Noel Academy for Strengths-Based Leadership and Education aims to further the research and dissemination of strengths-based approaches to teaching, learning, and leading. Inspired by the vision behind StrengthsQuest: Discover and Develop Your Strengths in Academics, Career, and Beyond by Donald O. Clifton and Edward “Chip” Anderson, the academy serves as a resource for research, consultation, and workshops to advance the strengths movement in higher education. With support from The Gallup Organization and private donors, the center has conducted research on the effectiveness of strengths-based approaches to first-year seminars, academic advising, general education courses, high school classes, and professional development programs for K-12 teachers and principals.
Due to the enormous success of StrengthsQuest: Discover and Develop Your Strengths in Academics, Career, and Beyond, a book for college students by Donald O. Clifton and Edward “Chip” Anderson (revised by Laurie Schreiner in 2006), the heart of the academy grew from the consulting and workshops conducted by Anderson, its scholar-in-residence, and Laurie A. Schreiner, Ph.D. StrengthsQuest has sold more than 100,000 copies and is emerging as an important addition to any first-year seminar.
The academy also serves as a clearinghouse for research conducted on strengths approaches. Fueled by graduate research assistants and faculty scholars, the center conducts numerous research projects each year, provides oversight to strengths research projects conducted on other campuses, and regularly collects and archives articles related to the strengths movement in education.
The Mission
The mission of the Noel Academy for Strengths-Based Leadership and Education is to transform educational practices by equipping college and university faculty and staff to identify and nurture students’ strengths as the foundation for engaging students in the learning process and helping them to achieve excellence.
The following “TRIAD” of activities enables the Noel Academy for Strengths-Based Leadership and Education to fulfill its mission:
- Training: consulting with colleges and universities to train faculty and staff to do strengths-based advising, coaching, teaching, teambuilding, and curriculum design
- Research: conducting impact studies of strengths-based educational practices and functioning as a clearinghouse for research that is conducted on strengths-based practices
- Interventions: creating standardized strengths-based interventions that can be implemented on college campuses and in local school districts
- Assessment: creating a standardized impact measure for strengths-based interventions, along with a protocol for student interviews and focus groups
- Dissemination: through the website, periodic newsletters, and biannual conferences, disseminate the best practices in strengths-based education, along with the results of the research and ways of connecting with other strengths-based educators
