Pros:

1) Specific, actionable strategies to increase resilience.

2) It's an introduction to resilience.

Cons:

1) There is a blatant lack of diversity in the examples and scenarios where we applied resilience skills. This is especially important since my particular interest was how people from severely disadvantaged backgrounds use resilience to mitigate the socioeconomic effects of their background.

2) The optional readings on content not covered in this course require some kind of purchase.

3) This course is not rigorous (quizzes had questions with obvious answers), and lacks breath/scope (only goes in-depth with some, not all variables that affect resilience)

Very useful course in building up resilience. Will take time to work on these skills but this course gives a good grounding by providing lots of helpful guidance and tips. So glad I did this course.

I took this course because of Dr Reivetch (and her expertise was clear throughout), but overall I was disappointed in the course because

(a) There was ZERO use of media other than talking heads by Dr Reivetch..... not even one bullet-pointed slide, much less any illustration or animation of her points. She simply stood in one place, looked into the camera, and spoke for the entire duration of the course.

(b) As a practitioner, I was hoping for more help in teaching / training / supporting the development of Resilience skills in others. This couse was almost entirely Self-Helpy.

Took the course since it was part of the Positive Psychology Specialization. I highly enjoyed the real-time resilience and different skills. The only reason why it isn't 5/5 is because I wish that the readings on Resilience, Character, Positive Psychology, etc. were not just links to Amazon to buy the books or journal purchases. I wish we could just receive free excerpts or summaries of what the readings were because I would have loved to read the "optional" readings without having to pay.

This is a really excellent cours. I have learned a lot and feel strengthened after these weeks.

The following areas were particularly valuable to me:

The influence of optimism on one's resilience.

The mindful handling of one's own thought traps.

Experiencing and further developing one's own character strengths.

Dealing with Anxiety.

The technique and the internalization of active and constructive communication.

Recognizing and appreciating circumstances when a person is doing well.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

The course was really good. I had some idea of mindfulness but the course brought up some refreshing new concepts on resilience and it turned out to be really useful for me. Thank you so much Karen!

Excellent! There was some common sense here, but plenty of new data and tools anyone can use in both their personal and professional life. A must for every human who wants to get the most out of life.

As always, very impressed with the coursework and the Professors. I will use each topic in my day-to-day life and continue to encourage others too. Thank you for taking the time to create this MOOC.

Really very good course. I really recommend to complete all tasks and make a notes watching the sessions. The gained knowledge will help to build self awareness and stronger relationships with others.

Sound, constructive, well presented. Psychology has come of age and is offering the kind of suggestions about healthy outlook and character building we've yearned for. Congratulations and Thank You.

This is another great course by the Penn State team - I loved Karen's presentation style, she gets you thinking and analysing rather than simply passively absorbing. It was a very practical course, relevant and interesting. The *only* down side for me is that the reading material was not provided in direct links, making it more time consuming and complex to seek out the relevant references. Otherwise, another fantastic course. Thank you!

It was quite useful in the beginning, but towards week 4 or week 5, my interest drifted because there was not much solid content being shared.

This course material is easily applicable to my life. I found the content to be very useful and the instructor was easy to follow. I enjoyed this a great deal.

This was my favourite course of the specialization so far! It was so practical and the facilitator was great. There was fun in the MOOC, different activities made it more interactive. For a first MOOC, just wonderful. Thank you.

I truly felt like I was in a classroom learning all the material! I greatly appreciated all of the real-world applications and hearing all of the different perspectives throughout each week and topic!

Dr. Reivich is a terrific presenter. She provides frequent and useful summaries, is clearly passionate about the subject, and has organized the content in a very logical, easy-to-follow manner.

Great course that is more heavily biased towards application(s) than research and findings which will likely serve most well. Specific techniques are laid-out in plain English.

This course is not as polished as some others. The instructor at times seems to simply be reading from her teleprompter. Other times she seems more engaging. I would have preferred a more consistent feeling of connection to Dr. Reivich. This can be challenging in this format but having seen it successfully done by other instructors it is unquestionably possible.

For some, the material will be powerful enough to overlook "roughness around the edges". It certainly was for me. Of the courses offered in this series, this one deeply resonates.

Maybe because I studied psychology I was expecting a little bit more detailed information for the topic. But the course overall was well structured, the videos had very good quality and the amount of scientific papers and the possibility to take surveys and tests are a nice variety. Go on with more courses, thanks alot!

This is a lovely course and it teaches valuable skills. The one point for improvement is that there maybe could be more visual aids. All lectures are just a 'talking head'.

A little less academic than I was expecting and much more about practical application in your own life. Overall, very useful, though and interesting. Thank you!

I appreciated this course, but I believe it repeats many concepts already given in Martin Seligman's first course in this specialisation; I expected more focus on the actual topic of resilience.

There's a lot of theory behind the science of it (75% of the course is theory), but only 1 or 2 application methods per issue. A lot of the material is also repetitive if you have taken Course 1 and 2 of the Positive Psychology Course from U Penn.

It was an excellent course! I enjoyed the videos, reading the online context, and also reading the book, The Resilience Factor. Also, I enjoyed the online discussion sessions and reading what other online students were experiencing and thinking, thus sharing and learning even more. I thought the multiple choice questions were excellent, challenging, and pointing me into the right direction as I analyzed each question and multiple choice answers. I thought it was an excellent exercise in thinking. The groups of factors involved in different sections of the course really pointed out to me some very important and basic analyses and how to resolve them in systematic order by starting with challenging my impulsive thoughts or the five thinking traps, and also the four steps to resolution, plus how to apply my character strengths. I really liked that latter aspect very much. I feel I am a much stronger person now, that I have a better understanding why we falter in not being resilient or resilient enough, and to be able to help myself and also help others around us to become more resilient. The course inspired me enough, as it probably did for many of us, if not all, to look more into myself to be a more resilient person, and to better affect others around me in being so; and to review periodically, so that I am at top notch! All in all, I feel that I am now a more complete and valuable person, my self-esteem has been raised because I can be more understanding and in better control of situations arising, and, as a result of all of this, I can be a better and more giving person.

This course has been a transforming experience for me - my wholehearted thanks to Dr. Karen Reivich and her team!I found the real-time resilience techniques, and the cognitive approach/trick to managing anxiety in the now, the most most useful. It was also eye-opening to learn to identify the thinking traps I am prone to, and my 'values in action', so I can consciously veer away from negative emotions and leverage my strengths in setbacks. As part of the course, I designed a gratitude practice to strengthen my relationships and thus boost my resilience, and it has had some immediate effects that my family has appreciated. I hope to sustain my practice for the long-term.It would have very helpful had I received this education in school, college or somewhere along the way in the five years of my career as a consulting associate - but, looking forward, I am glad I signed up for this course now, and grateful to Dr. Reivich and UPenn for creating the course. I have encouraged my younger sister and juniors at work to enroll.

My graduate degree at Penn was in Adult Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. Over many years of practice I thought I new a great deal about resilience, cognitive distortions and methods to help thinking and behavior become healthier and more satisfying.

While there was some review, I learned so much from the content and the way this course was presented. I absolutely loved Karen's style, how she taught this material and her wonderful anecdotes. I so appreciated the range of application of resilience especially Lucy's heartbreaking loss her sweet girl and family friends. A lot to take in but such an powerful example of resilience in the most difficult of times.

I also learned so much about myself and how I think in certain circumstances. I am an optimist and gratitude is my second character strength. I plan to continue to grow these and help my students do the same. Thank you for the opportunity to take this course. It really was a gift.

Robin Ritchings Gutmann