Practical Social and Emotional Learning Strategies for Youth with Mental Health Concerns

First Presenter's Institution

University of Alabama

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Dr. Gregory J. Benner is the Helen and Pat O’Sullivan Professor in the College of Education at the University of Alabama. He has a knack for grassroots collective impact—getting whole communities including families, child welfare, mental health, and schools on the same page to meet needs of the whole child. In February 2018, he received the Presidents’ Award from the Northwest PBIS Network for his outstanding leadership of social and emotional learning and PBIS. He is co-founder of the Tacoma Whole Child Initiative, a comprehensive blueprint for sustainable school and community transformation.

Document Type

Event

Primary Strand

Mental Health

Relevance to Primary Strand

In this session, we demonstrate practical function-based behavioral interventions for students with mental health concerns. We provide practical demonstrations on how these interventions can be applied in the classroom and as standard protocol interventions. Real world video examples of each strategy will be shown. We will provide an engaging, user-friendly approach for social and emotional learning strategies with students who need them most.

Brief Program Description

In this session, we demonstrate practical function-based behavioral interventions for students with mental health concerns. We provide practical demonstrations on how these interventions can be applied in the classroom and as standard protocol interventions. Real world video examples of each strategy will be shown. We will provide an engaging, user-friendly approach for social and emotional learning strategies with students who need them most.

Summary

Coercive interactions contribute to social, emotional, and health challenges across the lifespan; whereas sustained positive interactions contribute to the building of youth and adult social and emotional learning (SEL) competence. The purpose of this presentation is to build your capacity to integrate and infuse trauma-sensitive social and emotional learning strategies into your classroom. You will come away with doable and simple strategies to establish the positive classroom culture you envision and to keep it going all year. Strategies for building youth social and emotional learning competencies while maintaining an engaging classroom learning environment will be demonstrated. Techniques for ending power struggles and responding effectively to disruptive behavior will be modeled.

Is disruptive, disrespectful, or off-task behavior detracting from engagement in your classroom? You are not alone. Teachers cite this as their greatest challenge and are often shocked by the variety and intensity of behavioral issues they face. Sustaining social and emotional learning strategies in your classroom will lead to a healthier, safer, and more positive classroom environment. In addition, students with behavioral difficulties will experience improved self-regulation, less depressive symptoms, less externalizing problems, and greater engagement. Moreover, youth voice, leadership, and mindfulness will grow. Teachers implementing trauma-sensitive SEL practices report less stress, better health, and significantly more time to teach each day, not to mention much fewer power struggles. In this session, you will get an engaging, user-friendly approach for implementing and sustaining classroom SEL.

Evidence

Bailey, R., Stickle, L., Brion-Meisels, G., & Jones, S. M. (2019). Re-imagining social-emotional learning: Findings from a strategy-based approach. Phi Delta Kappan, 100(5), 53–58.

Bradley, R., Doolittle, J., & Bartolotta, R. (2008). Building on the data and adding to the discussion: The experiences and outcomes of students with emotional disturbance. Journal of Behavioral Education, 17(1), 4-23.

Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (1999). Initial impact of the Fast Track Prevention Trail for conduct problems: Classroom effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(5), 648–57.

Cook, C. R., Gresham, F. M., Kern, L., Barreras, R. B., Thornton, S., & Crews, S. D. (2008). Social skills training for secondary students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders: A review and analysis of the meta-analytic literature. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 16(3), 131-144.

Daunic, A., Smith, S., Brank, E., & Penfield, R. (2006). Classroom based cognitive-behavioral intervention to prevent aggression: Efficacy and social validity. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 123–39

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432.

Durlak, J. A., & Wells, A. M. (1998). Evaluation of indicated preventive intervention (secondary prevention) mental health programs for children and adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 26(5), 775-802.

Embry, D. D., & Biglan, A. (2008). Evidence-based kernels: Fundamental units of behavioral influence. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 11(3), 75-113.

Epstein, M., Atkins, M., Cullinan, D., Kutash, K., and Weaver, R. (2008). Reducing Behavior Problems in the Elementary School Classroom: A Practice Guide (NCEE #2008-012). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

Lopes, P. N., Mestre, J. M., Guil, R., Kremenitzer, J. P., & Salovey, P. (2012). The role of knowledge and skills for managing emotions in adaptation to school: Social behavior and misconduct in the classroom. American Educational Research Journal, 49(4), 710–742.

Jennings, P. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). The prosocial classroom: Teacher social and emotional competence in relation to student and classroom outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 491–525.

Jones, S. M., & Bouffard, S. M. (2012). Social and emotional learning in schools: From programs to strategies. Washington, DC: Society for Research in Child Development.

Jones, S., Bailey, R., Brush, K., & Kahn, J. (2018). Preparing for effective SEL implementation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education and EASEL lab.

Jones, S. M., Barnes, S. P., Bailey, R., & Doolittle, E. J. (2017). Promoting social and emotional competencies in elementary school. The Future of Children, 27(1), 49-72.

Jones, S. M., & Bouffard, S. M. (2012). Social and emotional learning in schools: From programs to strategies. Washington, DC: Society for Research in Child Development.

Jones, S. M., Brush, K., Bailey, R., Brion-Meisels, G., McIntyre, J., Kahn, J., & Stickle, L. (2017). Navigating social and emotional learning from the inside out; Looking inside and across 25 leading SEL programs: A practical resource for schools and OST providers (elementary school focus).

Low, S., Cook, C. R., Smolkowski, K., & Buntain-Ricklefs, J. (2015). Promoting social–emotional competence: An evaluation of the elementary version of Second Step®. Journal of School Psychology, 53(6), 463–477.

Low, S., Smolkowski, K., Cook, C., & DeFosses, D. (2019). Two-year impact of a universal social-emotional learning curriculum: Group differences from developmentally sensitive trends over time. Developmental Psychology, 55(2), 415-433. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000621

McLeskey, J., Maheady, L., Billingsley, B., Brownell, M., & Lewis, T. (2018). High leverage practices for inclusive classrooms. Routledge.

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2009). Preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders among young people: Progress and possibilities. Committee on the Prevention of Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse Among Children, Youth, and Young Adults: Research Advances and Promising Interventions. Mary Ellen O’Connell, Thomas Boat, and Kenneth E. Warner, Editors. Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Kitil, M. J., & Hanson-Peterson, J. (2017). To Reach the Students, Teach the Teachers: A National Scan of Teacher Preparation and Social & Emotional Learning. A Report Prepared for CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning).

Shores, R. E., Jack, S. L., Gunter, P. L., Ellis, D. N. DeBriere, T. J., & Wehby, J. H. (1993). Classroom interactions of children with behavior disorders. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 1, 27–39.

Slate, T. M., Simonsen, B., Hirn, R. G., & Wills, H. (2019). Bridging the research-to-practice gap through effective professional development for teachers working with students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 44(2), 107-116.

Sugai, G., & Horner, R. H. (2006). A promising approach for expanding and sustaining school- wide positive behavior support. School Psychology Review, 35(2), 245–259.

Sutherland, K. S., Conroy, M. A., McLeod, B. D., Kunemund, R., & McKnight, K. (2019). Common practice elements for improving social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes of young elementary school students. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 27(2), 76–85.

Wagner, M., Friend, M., Bursuck, W. D., Kutash, K., Duchnowski, A. J., Sumi, W. C., & Epstein, M. H. (2006). Educating students with emotional disturbances: A national perspective on school programs and services. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 14(1), 12–30.

What Works Clearinghouse. (2013). Social skills training. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Evaluation, WWC.

Yao, H., Chen, J.H., & Xu, Y.F. (2020). Patients with mental health disorders in the COVID-19 epidemic. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(4), e21.

Yoon, K. S., Duncan, T., Lee, S. W. Y., Scarloss, B., & Shapley, K. L. (2007). Reviewing the evidence on how teacher professional development affects student achievement. Issues & answers. REL 2007-No. 033. Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest (NJ1).

Zee, M., & Koomen, H. M. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy and its effects on classroom processes, student academic adjustment, and teacher well-being: A synthesis of 40 years of research. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 981–1015.

Learning Objective 1

Differentiate social and emotional learning support based on need.

Learning Objective 2

End the use of power struggles and reduce teacher burnout, stress, and exhaustion.

Learning Objective 3

Boost youth classroom engagement, voice, and leadership.

Learning Objective 4

Build youth social and emotional learning (SEL) competence in the classroom.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 

Practical Social and Emotional Learning Strategies for Youth with Mental Health Concerns

Coercive interactions contribute to social, emotional, and health challenges across the lifespan; whereas sustained positive interactions contribute to the building of youth and adult social and emotional learning (SEL) competence. The purpose of this presentation is to build your capacity to integrate and infuse trauma-sensitive social and emotional learning strategies into your classroom. You will come away with doable and simple strategies to establish the positive classroom culture you envision and to keep it going all year. Strategies for building youth social and emotional learning competencies while maintaining an engaging classroom learning environment will be demonstrated. Techniques for ending power struggles and responding effectively to disruptive behavior will be modeled.

Is disruptive, disrespectful, or off-task behavior detracting from engagement in your classroom? You are not alone. Teachers cite this as their greatest challenge and are often shocked by the variety and intensity of behavioral issues they face. Sustaining social and emotional learning strategies in your classroom will lead to a healthier, safer, and more positive classroom environment. In addition, students with behavioral difficulties will experience improved self-regulation, less depressive symptoms, less externalizing problems, and greater engagement. Moreover, youth voice, leadership, and mindfulness will grow. Teachers implementing trauma-sensitive SEL practices report less stress, better health, and significantly more time to teach each day, not to mention much fewer power struggles. In this session, you will get an engaging, user-friendly approach for implementing and sustaining classroom SEL.