Promoting School Success Social-Emotional Skills Training Nicole Morrell University of Minnesota Early Risers “Skills for Success”

Promoting School SuccessSocial-Emotional Skills Training

Nicole MorrellUniversity of Minnesota

Early Risers “Skills for Success”

Social-Emotional Skills Training

What is it? Tools that assist children with emotion

recognition, self control, problem solving, and self esteem.

Why is it important? An approach is needed that will prepare

children for the social, peer, and emotional experiences and challenges they will face in the future.

Curriculums

Incredible Years Second Step LifeSkills Coping Power PATHS

Most Social Skills Training Programs Include:

Self-Control Skills Training Problem Solving Competence Training Affective Education Perspective Taking Self-Esteem

PATHS

Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies

What is PATHS?

PATHS is an empirically validated social-emotional skills curriculum

Designed for children between Kindergarten and 6th grade

Used most often as a “universal” (whole class/school) prevention curriculum Adapted for Early Risers as a targeted

intervention

PATHS Places an emphasis on the process of

learning and developing skills (less focus on facts)

Designed to help children develop competent peer relationships emotion recognition problem solving skills positive self esteem

Focuses on helping children to deal with emotions learn positive behaviors and reactions

PATHS

A new skill or topic is selected each day and taught according to the curriculum manual (5 volumes)

Comprehensive lessons Recommendations for ways to present the topic Illustrations (pictures/photographs) Activity sheets, home activities, supplementary ideas Letters to the parents

PATHS

PATHS is designed to address Behavior – that can be observed Feelings – that are often not readily observed

Iceberg Analogy

Goals of PATHS

The PATHS program provides in-depth training for dealing with uncomfortable feelings (sadness, frustration, anger, and jealousy) while enhancing self-control and teaching strategies for making and keeping friends.

Organization of PATHS Units

FEELINGS AND RELATIONSHIPS SELF-CONTROL PROBLEM SOLVING SELF-ESTEEM

Feelings and Relationship Units

The ability to label emotions is central to the focus of PATHS

Lessons include approximately 40-50 different affective states

Taught in a developmental hierarchy beginning with basic emotions (happy, sad, angry, etc.) and gradually introducing more complex emotions (jealousy, pride, guilt, etc.)

Feeling Lessons:Feelings and Behavior

FEELINGS Units teach children that

all feelings are OK to have Comfortable &

Uncomfortable

• Feelings are signals that communicate useful information

• If we listen to signals they can be used in a positive way

BEHAVIOR Children are taught

that all behaviors are not OK.

Children are taught to judge and evaluate behaviors.

Peer Relationship Approaches

All components of PATHS are designed to enhance interpersonal relationships through emotional understanding and self-control

Specific topics are also included relevant to developing and maintaining positive peer relationships Making up after peer conflict Characteristics and behaviors that make good friends Different ways to make friends in new contexts Handling peer teasing (e.g. understanding affective states

associated with peer rejections vs. belonging.)

Self-Control and Problem Solving Units

Having self-control or being “in control” means that an individual is able to make choices about his or her actions

When someone is “out of control” that person is not able to direct his or her behaviors and may be considered to be on “automatic pilot”

Self-Control Lessons

Self-control involves several skills that are all important for Peer relationships Academic success

These skills include: Frustration tolerance Anger management Taking personal responsibility Attention and concentration

Self-Control Lessons

Signals on a traffic light are a reminder to regulate their own behavior

Red Light = Stop – Calm Down Yellow Light = Go Slow – Think Green Light = Go – Try My Plan Evaluation = How Did My Plan Work?

Problem Solving Lessons

1. Stopping and Calming Down2. Problem Identification3. Feeling Identification4. Deciding on a goal5. Generating alternative solutions6. Evaluating the possible consequences7. Selecting the best solution8. Planning the best solution9. Trying the formulated plan10. Evaluating the outcome11. Trying another solution/reevaluating the goal

Self-Esteem Approaches

“Kid for Today” A designated child is a special helper Compliments of the group members are

directed toward the “Kid for Today”

Training Methods

A new skill or topic is selected each day and taught according to the curriculum manual

Learning is promoted through the combined use of visual, verbal and movement activities

The sequence of the session typically involves The introduction to the skill or topic A practice component Consolidation component

Training Method:Introduction of Skill or Topic

Didactic presentation: Description or explanation of the social-

emotional skill or topic of the day

Guided discussion/dialoging: Provide examples ask the children

questions

Training Method: Practice Component

Engage children in activities as they pertain to the social-emotional skill of the day

Modeling: staff and children take turns demonstrating positive and negative examples of the social-emotional skill of the day

Role-Play: staff and children practice the skills learned by acting in a hypothetical scenario using a range of materials including puppets, video-recordings, etc.

Training Method: Practice Component

Storytelling: tell or read fictional or real-life stories pertaining to the skills of the day

Verbal Mediation: use of language to organize and community their thoughts

Project Participation: involvement in games, crafts or other activities that reinforce the skill of the day

Reinforce the Skill: social and self-reinforcement for utilizing the skill

Training Method:Consolidation Component

Review previous learned skills Encourage use of skills in other settings

Classroom Playground Home

PATHS in action

Early Risers Saves the world!

How does social-emotional skills training promote school success?