Benefits in implementing a Social Emotional Skills Program
- 1. Running head: BENEFITS IN IMPLEMENTING A SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL SKILLS PROGRAM Benefits in implementing a Social/Emotional Skills Program Jose Antonio Rios Jr. American College of Education August 2015 C15513- Developing Students Self Management Skills
- 2. BENEFITS IN IMPLEMENTING A SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL SKILLS PROGRAM 1 Benefits in Implementing a Social/Emotional Skills Program What is our school doing to produce intelligent, productive and well respected individuals? If one takes a tour of most of the schools in their district they will noticed that much time is being spent on the academic side. Course books are stacked up in the corner, workbooks are waiting to be opened, and teacher drills are aching to be unleashed. What’s missing from this picture? It is understood that the board of education puts a lot of emphases on “Standards” and teachers are doing all they can to meet those standards. In my opinion that is why most schools are failing. The human factor is out of the academic equation. One example is that in most city schools behavioral problems are common place. This causes teachers to interrupt their lessons to restore order. Lost of time and energy is given and not much productivity is accomplished. Another example is that most students that attend public schools are within the poverty line. They need inspiration and reassurance that they have a chance to accomplish great things in life. How can meeting the “Standards” help these students? The mistake of so called policy makers is that they stress too much on the academic side and neglect the human factor. Students need guidance in becoming emotional and socially balanced individuals. How can we make this happen? The induction of a social skills program would greatly benefit all students and give teachers another way to interact with them. This can help students prevent any future social- emotional skill defects while improving the other skills they posses. The acquisition of a program as stated by Ocak (2011) “requires a considerable investment of time, effort, resources, and money to successfully sustain …” (p.1399). Masten & Coatsworth (as cited in Domitrovich , Cortes & Greenberg, 2007) stated, “In order to prevent mental health problems in early childhood, interventions need to focus not only on reducing children’s aggressive, disruptive,
- 3. BENEFITS IN IMPLEMENTING A SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL SKILLS PROGRAM 2 and withdrawn behavior, but also on building their social-emotional competence” (p.69) The best way to implement such a program is not by having a weekly or monthly assembly with a psychologist or other medical professional but having their home room (primary) teacher introduce them a day at a time. These social skills should be embedded in the students and practiced as often as possible. A psychologist can be helpful is assessing the students understanding of the social skills at least once a month and can recommend strategies in further implementing said skills. Teachers will spend most of the day with their students and can understand their needs. With a person that knows them and cares about their future, teachers will do all they can to instill positive social and emotional skills upon them. There are many ways to instruct students on how to remember the proper “scripts” to handle a certain situation. One of the best ways to target their overall perceptions/sensations would be a role play (Knoff 2015). The teacher will conduct said activity by first taking on the role of the “victim” and asking a student to be the “aggressor”. The teacher must keep in mind not to over play the part and act like him or herself. During the interactions the teacher will “freeze” a moment and explain what options are available. After the “script” has been completed it is important to go over them and explain why these are the best choices to solve the problem. It is also important to remember to only demonstrate proper solutions. If a wrong solution is presented, the students will likely remember them more then the correct action (Knoff 2015). To achieve best results, it is recommended that the role play be preformed in a “common area” environment. For example, if teasing happened in the cafeteria then it should be performed there, if fighting occurred in the playground then it should be enacted there. The sensations of the area and the correct implementation of the skill script will help students trigger their
- 4. BENEFITS IN IMPLEMENTING A SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL SKILLS PROGRAM 3 memories. Once the skill set has been reviewed by all, the students will have a greater possibility in choosing the correct action for a problem. There are more then twenty social skills (common/advanced) that would benefit every student (Knoff 2015). To make sure our students across the same grade levels are receiving the same social skill instruction there must be a meeting. These can occur once every month or every week if time allows. The selection and practice of a new social skill must be determined and scripts must be agreed upon. This time can also be used to assess the pervious month’s behavioral skills lessons. Lane, Wehby, and Coolery (2006) stated, “It is imperative that every effort be made to proactively manage student behavior with the goal of promoting effective, efficient instruction” (p.155). Time is a very valuable commodity in a child’s education. To implement a social skills / behavioral program one must segregate the academic time in order to introduce or review a skill set. The recommend time is about ten minutes for every teaching hour. Most likely this will occur either towards the beginning of class or the end. This short time is enough to chorus the skill set and have one or two pairs demonstrate it through role play. More time would be beneficial but we do have to remember that the main purpose of school is its academics. If further intervention is needed parents can be involved or time must be siphoned from extra curricular activities. With each new class for the semester it is beneficial to spend more time on the classroom and schools building routines. The first week or two about half of the instructional time should be given to go over these important rules. This not only promotes better classroom management but also students will be familiar of what is expected of them. The behavioral matrix can be introduced and positive reinforcements such as stickers, extra play time, and prizes can be
- 5. BENEFITS IN IMPLEMENTING A SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL SKILLS PROGRAM 4 demonstrated (Knoff 2015). The classroom rules should list what should be preformed not “what not to do”. Having a positive classroom can be a great asset in their emotional development. When students are not in their classroom they should understand that there is also a certain way to behave in the “common areas”. Going over all the routines during the first week or two is necessary. Teachers are given a long chore list that may or may not be complete during the end of the academic year. With the help of solid social skills, student management, and behavioral system teachers can fulfill many aspects on their list. Parlakian stated (as citied in Ashdown and Bernard, 2012) “The emergence of these social-emotional skills helps young children feel more confident and competent in developing relationships, building friendships, resolving conflicts, persisting when faced with challenges, coping with anger and frustrations, and managing emotions” (p. 397). There are times when some students may not perform to the teachers expectations in social skills development. Hopefully it’s a small percentage so that the teacher can continue their curriculum. With these students more professional help will be required. Counselors, social workers, or physiologist will gather the needed information to help these individuals. There may be many reasons why these students are having a hard time in understanding these rules or skill sets. Most likely they were never conditioned to follow rules and can’t grasp the concept that there are positive and negative ways to interact with others or in places. Many professionals might label these students with a medical term such as ADD (attention deficit disorder), but I believe there is no such thing. If a teacher is truly a “teacher”, he or she can overcome any barrier and with time, care, and imagination they can find a way to instruct the student in any curriculum.
- 6. BENEFITS IN IMPLEMENTING A SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL SKILLS PROGRAM 5 References Ashdown, D. & Bernard, M. (2012). Can Explicit Instruction in Social and Emotional Learning Skills Benefit the Social-Emotional Development, Well-being, and Academic Achievement of Young Children?. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39(6 ), 397-405. Domitrovich, C. E., Cortes, R., & Greenberg, M. T. (2007). Improving young children’s social and emotional competence: A randomized trial of the preschool “PATHS” curriculum. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 28(2), 1-25. Knoff, H. (Course Lecturer). (2015). Module 3: Primary Social Skills and how to Teach Them. Part 2: How to Teach a Stop & Think Social Skills Lesson. American College of Education. Retrieved from http://www.ace.edu Lane, K. L., Wehby, J. H., & Cooley, C. (2006). Teacher expectations of students’ classroom behavior across the grade span: Which social skills are necessary for success? Council for Exceptional Children, 72(2), 153-167 Ocak, S. (2011). Discussed Issues in Preventive Intervention Programs. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 11(3), 1396-1402