Self-science: Emotional Intelligence for Children (McCown & McCormick)

Outcomes

Instructional Conditions

Methods

Our Instructional-design Theories Concept Map

Outcomes

Affective/Motivational Objectives:

Detailed goals:

  1. Legitimizing self-knowledge as valuable subject matter.
  2. Develop a trusting attitude toward members of one's class.
  3. Becoming more aware of the multiple and layered feelings one has.
  4. Developing communication skills for affective states.
  5. Disclosing one's thoughts and feelings.
  6. Enhancing self-esteem.
  7. Accepting responsibility for one's attitudes and actions.
  8. Becoming aware of one's major concerns/worries/anxieties.
  9. Recognizing one's present behavior patterns and learning styles.
  10. Experimenting with alternative behavior patterns such as choosing optimism and hope.

Origins

Theoretical Roots: 

Instructional Conditions

Developed for a school with grades 1-8 and requires support from the administration, teachers, and parents for self-science course to succeed.

Methods

Trumpet Process

The "Trumpet Process" tool for making discoveries about and acting on issues having to do with emotion -  which includes the following steps for students to take

 

  1. Share experiences to provide a common reference point for discussion

- The child participates in various exercises or games that provide the class with a common reference point for discussion.  Having common affective experience facilitates sharing of concerns

  1. Inventory your responses: what did you think, feel, and do?

- The child examines and explores what happened during that experience, asking "How did I respond? What was unique? What was common?"  This stage may be the most complex part of the trumpet process and requires the ability to ask questions in three mina areas:  What did you think? How did you feel? What did you do?

  1. Recognize your patterns of unique behavior

- As the inventory process becomes more elaborate, patterns of unique student behavior emerge and are evident in thought, feeling, and action.  All people exhibit behavior patterns, but most people need help in identifying and understanding their patterns.  Learning about one's patterns is difficult. Most children need to be made aware of a given pattern on at least three separate occasions before they recognize its existence.  In this step, the child asks, what is typical of me?  The teacher asks, what are you doing right now?  What did you just do?  Do you usually do that? 

  1. Own your patterns and understand how each serves you

-  Children examine the functioning of their patterns, understand how a particular pattern serves them, and accept that it is theirs.  A socially positive pattern, such as volunteering to clean the white board, is easy for the child to grasp, because the child is quickly aware of rewards.  Many children however, find it difficult to discover the benefits that may accrue from a socially negative pattern, such as bullying other children.  The teacher may need to help them understand that even socially negative patterns serve the possessors in some way.

  1. Consider the consequences of each pattern benefits and costs

-  The teacher encourages the child to ask, what happens or could happen in my life because of this pattern?  The child examines the price one pays for a particular pattern.  The teacher helps the child to understand the benefits come at what costs and to analyze how to rewards and consequences balance out.  As all patterns have positive aspects, they also have negative aspects.  Most people have at least one socially positive behavior pattern and generally think only of the good things derived from this pattern.  Nevertheless, something is given up for this pattern, a price is paid.  Even cleaning the white board has some costs for the child.

  1. Allow alternative patterns-explore the options

-  The group supports the child in helping to search for alternative modes of responding.  The teacher often asks children, what else might you do?  They think of as may ideas as possible without evaluating them right then.  Using their imaginations in this way helps children realize there is more than one approach to any situation.

  1. evaluate the alternatives

-  Once alternatives have been generated, the child begins evaluating them by discarding the most obviously inappropriate ideas.  When only one or two alternatives remain, the child commits to trying one.  After trying the chosen alternative, each child reports the results to the group, using the trumpet process to evaluate the new behavior.

  1. Choose the best one for each situation

-  The child asks, now that I have a choice, which behavior do I want to use?  Conscious choice is the most important element in this final step.  Children must be aware of making decisions and must take responsibility for them.  The issue is not whether people choose one alternative over another or that they supplant one pattern with another.  The purpose is to expand the range of choices children have so they can learn to choose an appropriate pattern according to specific circumstances.  Repeating old patterns may be appropriate in some circumstances but not in others.

Teaching methods:

  • Use an appropriate class structure, such as tow teachers working as a team, class size of 12-15, class session of 40-50 minutes, content is determined by each child's circumstances, being each class by gaining a sense of the mood of the group, avoid the tendency of the teacher to take over the discussion
  • Create a safe environment by having a focusing activity that builds trust and collaboration, also build trust by expressing feelings openly labeling acitons clearly giving feedback and reassurances, participating in games, and being sensitive to each child’s needs

Set grounds rules, especially for how communication takes place: respect the confidentiality of other students, no "killer" statements, communicate during conflicts, use I-messages, don’t require a new student to participate.

Use questioning techniques, focusing on what , no why, and focusing on similarities and differences in students responses, with an underlying premise of respect for the thoughts and feelings of others.

Use such teaching techniques as dialogue, role-playing social experiments, simulations from real life, games with rules, guided fantasy, expression through art, and keeping a journal.

Variable Teaching methods.

For grades 1-2, help students become aware of the variety, intensity, and shifting of their feelings

For grades 3-4 help students become aware of the tension caused by concern for social acceptance.

For Grades 5-6, help students to set healthy boundaries within their families and social groups

For Grades 7-8, help students to build healthy images of their emerging adult self, their friendships, and their choices in the world