Becoming a Smarter educator: Empowering yourself with emotional intelligence

BECOMING A

SMART

ER EDUCAT

OR:

EMPO

WERIN

G YOURSELF

WIT

H

EMOTIONAL I

NTELL

IGENCE

By Joyce A. DeVoss,

Ph.D. Northern Arizona

University

OVERALL GOAL

To promote social interest in the school setting by integrating Adlerian and emotional intelligence components into the everyday school community .

“The striving for completion is life-long, and it can be utilized to correct an individual’s emotional-social mistakes and direct his or her daily activity in a more useful way.” (Adler)

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN:

1. Components of the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Model, including eight competencies that enhance social interest in the classroom and educational community.

2. How to incorporate EQ education into classroom lessons to build a sense of community and how to model the eight Six Seconds emotional intelligence competencies in the classroom and the school.

WHAT IS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE?

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Emotional intelligence is the “capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships”(Goleman,1998).

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ)

Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth (Mayer & Salovey, 1997).

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ)

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to use emotions effectively and productively”

(Six Seconds, 2011).

RELEVANT ADLERIAN CONCEPTS

All behavior is purposeful. We utilize our emotions to support our goals.

People behave in ways to feel more superior and less inferior, to be successful. Our emotions are internal feedback that can help us in our striving.

People behave in ways to become the fictionalized ideal person they desire. Emotions are part of the journey.

Understanding one’s relationship to others is a step in understanding oneself. Emotional literacy is a requisite for social interest.

ADDITIONAL ADLERIAN CONCEPTS CONTINUEDPeople need to be educated to value and

exhibit social interest, concern for others. (relates to Noble Goal competency)

Unsolved problems of an individual often become problems of society. We need learn to Apply Consequential Thinking.

Life style analysis is an assessment of a person’s habitual responses to frustration, responsibility and need for initiative. (Recognizing Patterns competency)

WHY DO ADLERIANS CARE ABOUT EQ?

“The educational ideal must assure usefulness to the community.” (Adler)

EQ competencies translate into specific social-interest enhancing behaviors that can be taught to students in

K-12 classrooms.

The desired outcome is a classroom in which respect, responsibility, caring ,cooperation, courage and encouragement are valued and an atmosphere in which students and staff thrive.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND LEARNING

Emotional processes are important to student learning (Pellitteri, 2006).

Teachers identified a SEL curriculum to be highly effectively in improving classroom relationships and academic performance. (Freedman, 2003).

Learning deficits are often associated with poor self-concept, lack of motivation and social conflict (Hallahan & Kauffman, 1997).

In order to be “smarter” educators, teachers, counselors and other school personnel must understand how emotions influence cognition, motivation and social interaction.

THE SIX SECONDS MODEL OF

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

THE EIGHT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

COMPETENCIES OF THE SIX SECONDS MODEL

KNOW YOURSELF

1. ENHANCE EMOTIONAL LITERACY – THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE, IDENTIFY, AND ACCURATELY NAME FEELINGS IN SELF AND OTHERS.

2. RECOGNIZING PATTERNS – ATTENDING TO CUES FROM SELF AND OTHERS NOTING RECURRING CUES OR WAYS OF EXPRESSION, REFLECTING ON THOSE PATTERNS FOR UNDERSTANDING.

KNOW YOURSELF

1. Enhance Emotional Literacy – the ability to recognize, identify, and accurately name feelings in self and others.

Lesson: Mini Tales

KNOW YOURSELF

2. RECOGNIZING PATTERNS

Patterns at Work in our lives: name a pattern that you followed today that made your life easier and tell how it helped you.

RECOGNIZING PATTERNS

Now, let’s practice recognizing patterns in the following video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fsNeyD5Ak4&feature=channel

CHOOSE YOURSELF - THE HOW

3. Apply Consequential Thinking - examining

consequences of our choices and analyzing

interaction between cause and effect. Key

to managing impulses and acting

intentionally, not reacting.

4.Navigate Emotions - tapping emotional energy and information and selecting the most productive response.

CHOOSE YOURSELF (CONTD)

5. Engage Intrinsic Motivation – tapping and

developing our inner motivations through the

feelings we associate with particular values.

6. Exercise Optimism - blending thinking and

feeling to shift our beliefs and attitudes to

become more proactive

CHOOSE YOURSELF

3. Apply Consequential Thinking

Lesson: The Ripple Effect

CHOOSE YOURSELF

4. Navigate Emotions

Lesson: Six ways to Peel a Banana: Challenges

CHOOSE YOURSELF

5. Intrinsic Motivation

Lesson: The Wooden Bowl

What are your motivators?

CHOOSE YOURSELF

6. Engage Optimism

Optimism is a learned, left brain, cognitive skill that often benefits from considering and practicing framing and reframing. Optimism is a choice.

Lesson: Our stories and symbols of overcoming

DR. MARTIN SELIGMAN---MY HERO

29

P

T

Permanent

Temporary

P

Pervasive

P

Powerless

IIsolated

EEffort

Possible

HAPPIEST PEOPLE (DR. SONJA LYUBOMIRSKY)

Devote a great amount of time to family and friends

Are comfortable expressing gratitude

Are often the first to lend a helping hand

Savor life’s pleasures and try to live in the present moment

Physical exercise is a weekly or daily exercise

Deeply involved in lifelong goals and ambitions

Practice optimism

Have the coping mechanisms to deal with challenges

31

“No pessimist ever discovered

the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land,

or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.”

– Helen Keller (1880 - 1968)

Strategies to Promote Optimism

•Classroom talk about positives of day and how they can meet the challenges•Awareness of positives of relationships•Remembrances—more positive than negative•Make cartoons and use “bubbles” with prosocial and encouraging statements•Model how to problem solve adversities

GIVE YOURSELF

7. Increase Empathy - Recognizing and appropriately responding to others’ emotions

8. Pursue Noble Goals – Connecting your daily choices with your overarching sense of purpose

GIVE YOURSELF

7. Increase Empathy

Lesson: In Another’s Shoes

GIVE YOURSELF

8. Pursue noble goals

Lesson: Babema Story

SUMMARY OF GOALS OF EQ STUDENT INTERVENTIONS

One goal is to improve the social-emotional functioning, social interest and connectedness of students.

A related goal is to increase students’ motivation to learn and experience success and sense of competence and contribution.

ADDITIONAL STUDENT EQ INTERVENTIONS

Interventions that facilitate verbal expression of emotions and needs in a socially appropriate manner.

Interventions that help students access emotional memory to help in decision making and problem solving.

Interventions that help students learn to regulate emotions, moderate intensity and tolerate emotional states depending on cues in the social environment.

ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES OF EQ INTERVENTIONS

Use of feelings faces charts, photographs, pantomime games, mood graphs.

Role play games, brief film clips, stories, teachable moments associated with events

Early recollections accessing emotional memories, earliest recollections and how the student felt and what made them feel that way.

Think Good, Feel Good activities to tolerate and moderate intensity of emotions and goal setting activities.

MOOD GRAPHS

GOALS-SELF, BEHAVIORS, ACADEMIC, FAMILY, FRIENDS

ADDITIONAL EQ INTERVENTIONSCooperative learning activities to

develop social interest and ESI in all students and to prevent peer rejection and promote healthy problem solving and conflict resolution.

Promote understanding of major themes and ideas and ”deeper” messages rather than details.

Identify emotional responses to material and discuss relevance and meaning to student.

Read, write and share activities that reinforce emotional and social learning.

ADDITIONAL EQ INTERVENTIONS

Peer tutoring to promote encouraging learning experiences among peers.

Democratic classroom meetings with agenda developed by everyone, consensus building, and group problem solving.

EXAMPLES

Have students who are having trouble in a subject, ie., spelling or reading, tutor younger students in earlier grades, and report to the teacher and younger student what the student is doing correctly.

SHARE! CARE! UNDERSTAND!LISTEN!

TEAM WORK AND COOPERATION

CONCLUSIONSIt is the educator’s emotional responses

to students that has a major impact on students’ behavior in the classroom (Stuhlman & Pianta, 2002). Teachers can develop unique EQ strategies to help each student develop a positive approach to learning and the courage to be imperfect.

The teacher-student relationship is reciprocal. Each one’s emotional responses affects the other’s emotional responses.

Students make self attributions based on the teacher’s affective response to them, ie., sympathy to failure can lead to discouragement (Gredler, 1997)

MORE CONCLUSIONS

Students gain sense of competence when they have successful learning experiences that are personally relevant and have affective connections for them.

EQ interventions require that educators are aware of the emotional dynamics within students, the school environment and the learning experience.

JUST A FEW MORE CONCLUSIONS

Facilitating positive emotions within the school learning community, classroom and peer groups will improve quality of students’ social interactions as well as sense of belonging.

Students who regulate their emotional reactions are likely to improve motivation to learn.

Consider every academic task and social interaction an opportunity to facilitate social and emotional awareness in students.

REFERENCESBruck, A. (2009). Educating Children for Cooperation &

Contribution: Vol II. Bellingham, WA: The Classical Adlerian Translation Project.

Doty, G. (2001). Fostering Emotional Intelligence in K-8 Students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Goleman, D. (2006). Social intelligence. New York: Bantam.Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam.Gredler, M.E. (1997) Learning and instruction: Theory into

practice. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.Mayer, J. D. & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional

intelligence? In P. Salovey & D. J. Sluyter (Eds.) Emotional development and emotional intelligence. (3-31). New York: Harper Collins.

McConnell Franklin, A. (2009). Choose to Change. Pellitteri, J. (2006). Emotionally intelligent inteventions for

students with reading disabilities. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 22, 155-171.

Stallard, P. (2002). Think good, feel good. NY: Wiley & SonsStuhlman & Pianta, (2002). Teachers narratives about their

relationships with children. Associations with behavior in classrooms. School Psychology Review, 31(20), 148-163.

http://www.6seconds.org

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST AND YOUR PARTICIPATION!