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| Concepts and Skills |
Each School-Connect lesson is research-based, builds on previous lessons, and lays the groundwork for what is to come. |
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| Module 1: Creating a Supportive Learning Environment |
The primary research supporting the concepts and skills taught in Module 1 is in the area of empathy development. Research studies of young children identified three components of empathy: 1) the ability to recognize emotions in others, 2) the ability to take the perspective of others, and 3) the ability to respond emotionally to others (Feshbach, 1975). By middle childhood, most young people have an understanding of the types and causes of emotions, including situations that involve mixed or contrasting emotions, and show personal concern for others in distress (Hoffman, 2000). This is not true for students with behavioral problems, who, as they grow older, tend to show less personal concern for others (Hastings et al., 2000). In adolescence, empathy is an important skill in friendship but is not readily extended to those outside of one’s sphere of friends (Worthen, 1999). Peer bullying, particularly in the form of relational aggression (i.e., exclusion, shunning, gossip, and verbal abuse), reduces students’ empathy for those who are targets of this behavior (O’Connell, Peplar, & Craig, 1999).
Module 1 aims to interrupt these negative social processes by awakening students’ natural empathic tendencies. It does this by providing practice in: recognizing micro-expressions of emotions, identifying situational social cues, actively listening to others’ viewpoints, and developing strategies for caring about the welfare of people who students perceive as different from themselves. Activities that have students listen to each other’s experiences with labeling, stereotyping, prejudice, and bullying; and assess their own reactions to diversity, help fuel students’ desire to act in accordance with their better selves.
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| Module 2: Developing Self-Awareness and Self-Management |
Module 2 employs cognitive-behavioral interventions that help students understand how their thought processes affect their emotions, which in turn drive their behavior. This cycle, well documented in the literature on depression, psychological pathology, and violence prevention, impacts the way students perceive and respond to social and academic challenges, directly affecting their success in either realm (Beck, 1976; Seligman, 1998; Guerra & Slaby, 1990). The School-Connect curriculum helps students learn to recognize automatic negative thoughts and attributions prompted by different situations, such as going into a test (“I’m going to blow this.”) or passing a friend who doesn’t acknowledge them (“He just dissed me!”). Students learn to challenge these thoughts with more neutral or positive assessments and recognize the effect these self-statements have on their feelings and behavior.
In addition to addressing their thoughts, students learn to manage their affective states. They practice reducing negative emotions, such as anger, fear, anxiety, and shame, which can become barriers to learning and making friends. Students also learn to employ positive emotions that can increase optimism and their ability to concentrate and apply themselves (Isen, 1990).
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| Module 3: Building Academic Strengths and Purpose |
In Module 3, students learn to apply the automatic thoughts cycle and other psychological strategies to academic planning, self-organization, and study skills (Weinstein & Hume, 1998). The module starts with an introduction to Multiple Intelligences (MI) Theory, the theory that true intelligence can be exhibited in a range of abilities outside the traditional view of intelligence. The MI aptitudes include: body-kinesthetic, interpersonal, verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, intrapersonal, visual-spatial, musical, and naturalistic (Gardner, 1983; Gardner, 1999). Students choose an MI aptitude that best reflects their natural skills and interests, and discuss ways to better utilize their MI strengths in the school environment.
Students also examine their underlying beliefs that lead to “mindsets” about intelligence and personality, habits of thinking proven to have profound effects on student behavior and achievement (Dweck, 2000, 2006). They learn about research documenting the debilitating effects of having a fixed mindset about intelligence and personality (i.e., our intelligence and/or personality is fixed and we can’t do much to change them). Students who exhibit a fixed mindset learn to challenge their beliefs, while those who exhibit a growth mindset (i.e., believe that effort pays off) learn why this attitude works in their favor and how to strengthen it, especially as it applies to academic engagement.
Module 3 then delves into the relevance and purpose of high school by tying high school responsibilities to long-term goal attainment. In an extensive study of resilient youth, Benard (1991) found young people who showed the greatest success in adolescence and adulthood shared five common factors: 1) a sense of autonomy, 2) problem-solving skills, 3) social competence, 4) a sense of purpose and future, and 5) a relationship with a caring adult. While the curriculum addresses all of these factors, Module 3 focuses primarily on factor four: developing a sense of purpose and future. Students envision what they will be doing five and 10 years after high school and at age 65, and then begin mapping a path to reach their envisioned self. They create a budget for a 30-year-old adult and compare this budget to average incomes of high school graduates and those with higher education degrees. Next, they research career paths and college acceptance criteria to gain a greater perspective of how high school grades and activities can impact their future plans. Students take this knowledge into account when learning to set and achieve goals.
To help reach their goals, students practice essential study skills, including effective note-taking, time-management, and collaborative learning; and apply research-based stress-reduction techniques to test preparation.
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| Module 4: Resolving Conflicts and Making Decisions |
| The concepts and skills taught in Module 4 are grounded in prevention research. Numerous studies document the positive effects of teaching interpersonal problem solving and other relational skills, such as refusal, positive persuasion, and apologizing, on young people (Zins, Bloodworth, Weissberg, & Walberg, 2004). At the high school level, peer mediation has been a popular response to the threat of school violence. In two similar studies, high school students who were taught conflict resolution skills in conjunction with English literature and a social studies course showed increased academic achievement in the courses and reported having applied the skills in real conflicts (Stevahn & Johnson, 2002; Stevahn, Johnson, Johnson, & Schultz, 2002). |
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