The K-Primary Grades Version of Shure's Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving program

I just received the K-Primary version of the Interpersonal Cognitive Solving Program Program.

While it is definitely the same format as the other versions, it is clearly geared to younger children.

The focus is on the vocabulary of feelings and relationships. It includes words like "frustrated, some-all, if-then, fair, good idea....

At the same time, dialogue continues to be a primary teaching tool, with many age-appropriate pictures and activities to teach and use the "feeling"/"relationship:"words. It is a flexible, teacher friendly program designed to help children become problem solvers.

Evaluating Models of SEL.

Perhaps we can start with “Models” that give us some insight into how a particular “model” gives us sufficient detail to form an opinion about its usefulness to a particular teacher/class.

I am going to start with…   I CAN PROBLEM SOLVE by Myrna Shure  

AGES: Booklets for Preschool, K-1, and Elementary Grades   (Available from Amazon as “used” copies.  The following quotes are from the Elementary Grade Edition.        Ability range (80-120+IQ) Page 3.                                                                                       

AREAS of FOCUS: “Problems they have with other children”:  “….we have learned that, as early as age 4, youngsters who learn how to use ICPS skills in time become less impatient, over-emotional, and aggressive, as well as better liked and more concerned about their peers in distress.  Over inhibited youngsters become more outgoing, better able to express their feelings, and more like to enter into activities with others…” (Page 1, Introduction)

TIME FRAMES:  “Teachers report that, with the first few weeks most children begin to adopt ICPS concepts outside of formal training, especially words describing people’s feelings.” (Page 1)

Begin the program as early as possible in the school year…Some teachers have integrated ICPS into their lesson plans for one 40-45 minute period three times a week.” With this schedule…”sufficient to complete the entire series well within the school year.”(Page 6)

Number of Lessons:  77, divided into 2 groups: Pre-Problem Solving Skills (1-36) and Problem-Solving Skills (37-77)

DIALOGUE.  “Central to the ICPS program is the process of problem-solving dialoguing…” (Page 8) 

Basic Principles of ICPS Dialogue:          

                      

                “First, both child and teacher must identify the problem.”…

                “Second, when dialoguing, it is important to understand and deal with the real problem…”

                “Third, once the real problem has been identified, the teacher must not alter it to fit his or her own needs.”….

                “Fourth, the child not the teacher must solve the problem.”…

                “Finally, the focus is on how the child thinks, not on what he thinks (in other words, the specific conclusions he comes to”….

RESEARCH:    20 years of school-based research.  References included. 

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE PROGRAM:

*Simplicity, including the *Clarity of lesson format and range of materials

*Flexibility (“Feel free to adapt the wording or content of any lesson.”

*Can be class based

*Refer to the lessons as “games” or “activities”

Many "Models" address Social Emotional Learning!

We’ve highlighted: CASEL’s model, as well as those of Zimmerman, Paris and Winograd, Carolyn Saarni (Emotional Development), Myrna Shure (I Can Problem Solve).

What criteria can a teacher use to choose among all of the possible SEL Programs?

How can a teacher or parent sift through all of the labels that address a child’s sense of “Agency” in both the personal and social domains?

If we look across models, can we develop a set of SEL skills that children can begin in preschool? …  In Kindergarten? … In 1^st Grade?  Is follow through important across elementary grades?

Can parents and teachers do this on their own or is a school wide commitment necessary?

Should we focus on personal and/or relationship skills?

Can we match "A" Model of SEL to the individual child's skills and needs?

Lots of questions to answer over the next several weeks.

Brain-Based Learning: 4 Short Videos

Learning and the Social Brain

In a series of interviews/videos, researcher Patricia Kuhl reveals the science behind the social brain—which she calls the gateway to human cognition.  July 25, 2018

[Dr. Patricia Kuhl, the Bezos Family Foundation Endowed Chair at the Institute of Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, in a series of interviews on the science of human learning…..]

https://www.edutopia.org/package/learning-and-social-brain?utm_medium=socialflow&utm_source=facebook

…..”For educators, an awareness of the social brain presents an opportunity to tap into some of our most durable, deeply seated abilities. If the species is hardwired to work together, then our classrooms should continue to feature a healthy dose of activities that emphasize cooperation, teamwork, and peer-to-peer teaching.
Even the simplest tactics should reap dividends, according to Kuhl, who suggests using “circles or U-shaped arrangements”—or anything that gets kids interacting with one another. “The social context is extremely important to learning,” she noted, “not only in infancy, but in school-aged children, who use the social brain when they’re collaborating with one another, when they’re studying how another person goes at it, when they’re watching the eyes, even unconsciously, of their study partner as they work towards a solution together.”….

In this four-part video series, see “Kuhl’s fascinating insights on the science of human learning, with a focus on the positive—and cautionary—aspects of our social brain.”

Edutopia developed this series in collaboration with the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

BRAIN-BASED LEARNING….a series of 4 short (under 3 minute videos

What Is the Social Brain?  https://www.edutopia.org/video/what-social-brain     The research is in: Learning is a social endeavor.         

Masters of Social Learning:  https://www.edutopia.org/video/masters-social-learning We’re hardwired from birth to decode facial expression, posture, and tone of voice—and to work collaboratively.

When the Social Brain Misfires   https://www.edutopia.org/video/when-social-brain-misfires

Sometimes our powerful urge to belong can hurt us. We look at how stereotypes undermine learning. 

The Social Classroom   https://www.edutopia.org/video/social-classroom

Increasingly, modern classrooms support group work and peer-to-peer collaboration. The science says that’s right on.

An Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-Solving Program for K-5

A Well respected research-based program...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqpkEWnNuKI&list=PLM3PYurzmKsBVF-8oiUnt2v0fwG087Zti&index=3

The model “I Can Problem Solve” was developed by Myrna B. Shure in the 1990’s.  It was implemented and researched in several schools.  The link above offers a 5 minute video explaining the model.  It can also be obtained in book form as “I Can Problem Solve.”  It consists of 77 lessons.  Each lesson consists of 4 or 5 pages and addresses Purpose, Materials, Teacher “Script”*, and  a series of short Mini-Plays.  There are also graphics and games.  *Although there is a “script” teachers are advised to use their judgment and knowledge of the children to carry out the lesson.

The first 36 lessons are called “Pre-Problem Solving Skills.”  These include, for example, the following topics:

1-2          Begin to develop sensitivity toward and awareness of others and ….                                                       

                To focus on ICPS concepts relating to negations (Is/Not) and choice (Or/And)

7-9          To help children recognize the importance of listening to others, of getting the

                whole message and of getting information directly from the original source.

12-13     To give children practice in paying attention and remembering a precursor to sensitivity to                   others’ feelings, needs, and preferences.

20-21     To introduce the concept “There’s more than one way” of thinking by focusing on different                   ways of observing, listening, watching, and asking.

27           To further sensitize children to the perceptions of others through role-playing Problem-                       Solving Skills

37-46     Alternative Solutions

47-53     Consequences

54-61     Solution-Consequences Pairs

62-77     Means-Ends Thinking

All Learning Starts Early and Involves Interaction

From Harvard Developing Child Series:

a 2 minute video on language and literacy development beginning in infancy:

https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/serve-and-return

For the entire Brain/Development series:

https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/brain-architecture/

From The Development of Emotional Competence by an acknowledge expert: Carolyn Saarni

Social Emotional Development : Saarni

http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/emotions/according-experts/emotional-development-childhood

Emotional Development in Childhood  Carolyn Saarni, PhD  Sonoma State University, US  September 2011

PDF version   Excerpts Below from a 6 page article        

See Also Saarni’s book: The Development of Emotional Competence, c 1999 (old but classic/still relevant) One chapter for each skill

“Introduction and Subject

Theoretical Perspective 

The theoretical perspective taken toward emotional development in childhood is a combination of functionalist theory and dynamical systems theory¹: A child’s encounters with an environment can be seen as dynamic transactions that involve multiple emotion-related components (e.g., expressive behaviour, physiological patterning, action tendencies, goals and motives, social and physical contexts, appraisals and experiential feeling) that change over time as the child matures and in response to changing environmental interactions. Emotional development reflects social experience, including the cultural context. Elsewhere I have argued that emotional development should be considered from a bio-ecological framework that regards human beings as dynamic systems embedded within a community context.² Table 1 summarizes noteworthy descriptive markers of emotional development in relation to social interaction.  Full range Infancy to 15+

Age                       Social/Emotional Coping

Age Period                 Regulation/Coping                       Expressive Behavior         Relationship 

[Not sure why these charts are not printing....see original article]

Table 2. Skills of Emotional Competence

 1. Awareness of one’s emotional state, including the possibility that one is experiencing multiple emotions,…..

 2. Skills in discerning and understanding others’ emotions, based on….

3. Skill in using the vocabulary of emotion and expression in terms….

4. Capacity for empathic and sympathetic involvement in others’ emotional experiences.

5. Skill in realizing that inner emotional state need not correspond to outer expression, both in oneself and in others, …

6. Capacity for adaptive coping with aversive or distressing emotions by using self-regulatory strategies ..

7. Awareness that the structure or nature of relationships is in part defined by both the degree of emotional immediacy or genuineness of expressive display and by the degree of reciprocity or symmetry …

……Conclusions Strengths in the area of emotional competence may help children and adolescents cope effectively in particular circumstances, while also promoting characteristics associated with positive developmental outcomes, including feelings of self-efficacy, prosocial behaviour and supportive relationships with family and peers. Furthermore, emotional competence serves as a protective factor that diminishes the impact of a range of risk factors. Research has isolated individual attributes that may exert a protective influence, several of which reflect core elements of emotional competence, including skills related to reading interpersonal cues, solving problems, executing goal-oriented behaviour in interpersonal situations, and considering behavioural options from both an instrumental and an affective standpoint.”