Big idea. Well-being has more than one meaning, and each meaning is measured in a different way. A claim about “happiness” is only as clear as the definition and the scale behind it.
Outcomes served. O1 (define flourishing), O2 (evaluate measurement), O5 (read a study critically).
Plan your six hours
| Part | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Opener and orientation (this page) | 15 |
| M1.L1 Three ways to ask how well a life is going | 55 |
| M1.L2 Measuring well-being | 55 |
| M1.L3 Is the number meaningful? | 45 |
| M1.L4 Reading a study | 45 |
| Practice set | 35 |
| Lab: Read a scale | 50 |
| Mastery checkpoint | 30 |
| Discussion prompt and recap | 30 |
| Total | 360 (6 hours) |
Assumed. Only what the Passport lists: a simple graph, a table, percentages.
Where this module fits. It is the first module. Module 2 uses these measures to ask what predicts well-being. Modules 3 to 7 use them as the outcomes that habits are said to change. The capstone uses them to judge a personal experiment.
Where this topic appears in practice. National statistics offices and international bodies measure well-being with short survey questions. Examples are the four personal well-being questions in UK Office for National Statistics surveys (life satisfaction, feeling that things done are worthwhile, happiness yesterday and anxiety yesterday), the OECD guidelines on measuring subjective well-being, and the ladder question behind the World Happiness Report. Clinical and research teams use short scales such as the WHO-5 as screening aids and trial outcomes.
A note on care. The scales in this module are teaching tools, not diagnoses. A learner who finds that answering them leaves them worried about their own mood should speak to a qualified professional or a trusted person.