GEAR UP 2 Learn: A Curriculum for College Readiness

1. GEAR UP 2 Learn: A Curriculum for College Readiness An Overview Presented by Dawn CheNeen Offutt, GEAR UP Kentucky June 8, 2012

2. Overview • Social Emotional Learning (SEL) • What is SEL? • Importance? Goals? • What does the research say? • Why GEAR UP 2 Learn? • GEAR UP 2 Learn Curriculum Outline • GEAR UP 2 Learn Sample Lesson • Questions, Comments, Concerns

3. Ordered Sharing Activity • Ordered sharing is based on your response to a quote • Divide into groups. • Participants sit in a circle. • Present the quote (1 minute thinking time) • Each person shares thoughts for about 30 seconds. • Anyone can start first, but stay in that order(clockwise). • Choose one quote, thought or comment to share with the group.

4. Ordered Sharing Activity “Our children are called to order by the insistent bells of Education. Each morning we watch them go and hope. We hope they are engaged and motivated, that their teachers are invested and caring, that they don’t become involved with the “wrong” crowd. We hope apathy and disconnection don’t creep in. We hope we don’t lose them. We hope because what else can we do?” ~Kimberly Hackett

5. What is SEL? SEL is the process of acquiring core competencies to recognize and manage emotions, set and achieve goals, appreciate the perspective of others, establish and maintain positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle interpersonal situations constructively.

6. What is SEL? SEL is the process through which students enhance their ability to integrate thinking, feeling, and behaving in order to achieve important life tasks.

7. What is the Goal of SEL? The goal of SEL is to foster the development of interrelated sets of cognitive, affective, and behavioral competencies: self-awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making in an effort to provide a foundation for better adjustment and academic performance, fewer conduct problems, less emotional distress, and improved test scores and grades.

8. Why is SEL Important? Research shows many students lack social-emotional competencies and become less connected to school as they progress from elementary to middle to high school, and this lack of connection negatively affects their academic performance, behavior, and health.

9. Why is SEL Important? Research also shows that effective mastery of social-emotional competencies is associated with greater well-being and better school performance whereas the failure to achieve competence in these areas can lead to a variety of personal, social, and academic difficulties.

10. Why is SEL important? Students who are competent in SEL acquire the following skills: • They are self-aware. • They can regulate their emotions. • They are socially aware. • They have good relationship skills. • They demonstrate responsible decision-making skills.

11. What the research says about the effectiveness of SEL • Significantly improves children’s academic performance on standardized tests. • Students have significantly better school attendance records, less disruptive classroom behavior, like school more, and perform better in school. • Students are less likely than children in control groups to be suspended or otherwise disciplined

12. What the research says about the effectiveness of SEL • SEL programs with the best outcomes are multi-year in duration, use interactive rather than purely knowledge-based instructional methods, and are integrated into the life of the school rather than being implemented as marginal add-ons

13. SEL in the classroom Within the school setting, SEL can best be accomplished through a layered approach of skills lessons, infusion into the curricula and classroom practices, and an environment of safety, respect, and caring which models SEL values.

14. Video Clip • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W34KiYJ6W5k

15. IMAGINE Knowing from a young age: • how to make decisions and set goals • that academic success requires certain skills, and that skills can be learned • the one thing that makes the difference between a dream and a goal

16. Welcome to GEAR UP 2 Learn!

17. Program Strategy When students possess the skills to set goals, to solve problems, to enhance their study behaviors, and to increase their academic engagement in rigorous course work, college and career will be viable options. Believing that school success must be defined more broadly than the scores students receive on tests, GEAR UP 2 Learn will assist students in a variety of areas:

18. Program Strategy • To help them better negotiate the information field • To understand their personal motivations • To increase their ability to communicate effectively • To find relevant and accurate information for the task at hand • To be learners in settings both inside and outside of the classroom

19. GEAR UP 2 Learn Course Outlines 7th Grade Curriculum 8th Grade Curriculum • Learning: Self & Others • Decision Making • Goal Setting • Time Management • Communication • Problem Solving • Teamwork • Financial Literacy • Team Development Project • Empathy • Conflict Resolution • Study Skills • Note Taking • Test Taking • Critical Thinking • Global Thinking • Information Literacy • Financial Literacy

20. Chapter 1: Learning: Self & Others • Learning about learning • Assessments, inventories (multiple intelligences, core values, Career Cruising inventory)

21. Chapter 2: Decision Making • What is a decision? • The Decision Making Process • Decision Making Film Clips • Decision Making Case Studies

22. Chapter 3: Goal Setting • Dreams, Wishes, & Goals • How to Set Goals • What’s Your Dream? • Setting Group Goals • Setting Individual Goals • Personal Mission Statement • Group Mission Statement

23. Chapter 4: Time Management • What is Time Management? • Techniques for Effective Time Management • Find Your Time Management Style • Three Things You Do Everyday

24. Chapter 5: Communication • What is Communication? • Listening • Questioning • Understanding • Responding

25. Chapter 6: Problem-Solving • Have You Ever Had a Problem? • Why Was it a Problem? • How Did You Solve it? • What is Problem Solving? • Exploring a Problem Solving Model • Case Studies for Problem Solving

26. Chapter 7: Teamwork • Critical Elements of a Team • Team Roles • Group Processes • Stages of Group Development • Team Building for Success

27. Chapter 8: Financial Literacy Foundations in Personal Peace • Savings • Budgeting • Career Choices

28. Chapter 9: Team Projects GEAR UP 2 Learn Team Projects This project will require the demonstration and application of skills and knowledge gained from all previous modules. The team’s assignment will be to develop a project idea that will positively impact their school or community.

29. GEAR Up 2 Learn Sample Lesson Decision Making • Reading • Video Clip • Discussion • Respond to questions individually, then as a group. • Share

30. GEAR UP 2 Learn • What are your thoughts? • How might you implement this type of curriculum in your school or district?

31. Questions? Comments? Concerns?

32. Citations • http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111.j.1467-8724.2010.01564.x/pdf • http://www.asdk12.org/depts/SEL/ • http://casel.org/about-us/

33. Websites • www.casel.org • www.edutopia.org • http://www.edutopia.org/social-emotional-learning-introduction-video • http://www.projecthappiness.org/about-us/social-and-emotional-learning/ • https://www.pcsb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=977:character-lesson-plans-middle-school&catid=131

34. Thank You!!! GEAR UP Kentucky would like to acknowledge the following contributors to the idea, content, and design of GEAR UP 2 Learn: Carol Blunt-White Beth England Omari Gletten Beth Lawson Wendy Nealy Angela Roberts, and Timmy Sorrow