Conditions for Learning: Promoting Social, Emotional and Academic Growth in N and D Programs

1. Conditions for Learning: Promoting Social, Emotional and Academic Growth in N and D Programs Neglected, delinquent, and at-risk�students receive education and training through a number of�agencies across ED, DOJ, and DOL.� It�is important for programs serving neglected, delinquent, and at-risk youth to be able to appropriately and accurately demonstrate the academic progress and abilities�of students as they transition in and out of these inter-agency programs.� However, there is a lack of information in the field about what assessments have demonstrated validity for use with neglected, delinquent, and at-risk youth,�who are often�students with disabilities and frequently test below their same-age peers. �Neglected, delinquent, and at-risk�students receive education and training through a number of�agencies across ED, DOJ, and DOL.� It�is important for programs serving neglected, delinquent, and at-risk youth to be able to appropriately and accurately demonstrate the academic progress and abilities�of students as they transition in and out of these inter-agency programs.� However, there is a lack of information in the field about what assessments have demonstrated validity for use with neglected, delinquent, and at-risk youth,�who are often�students with disabilities and frequently test below their same-age peers. �

2. Outline Why do conditions for learning matter? What affects learning? What does the research say? Where to intervene to help youth? What you can do? Using data and indicators to promote change.

3. Why do Conditions for Learning Matter?

4. Why Should N & D Coordinators be Concerned with Conditions for Learning? Key to addressing the educational needs of children and youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system Key to ensuring that these students have the same opportunities to achieve as students in regular community schools Necessary for successful transitions

5. Key to Resolving the Contradictionthat Many of You Face

6. Resolving the Dilemma: Addressing the Reciprocity Between Learning & Behavior

7. Bottom Line Emotions and social emotional capacities affect learning and teaching Relationships and social and emotional capacity provide a foundation for learning and transition planning Contexts affect emotions and relationships Learning is social process that depends upon the ability of the student to attend and the teacher to personalize There are measurable conditions for learning that affect the ability of students to attend and teachers to personalize These conditions for learning are particularly important for students in N&D programs

8. Low Achieving Students & Students Who Are at Risk Particular susceptibility to: Low Teacher Support Negative Peer Relationships Chaotic & Reactive Environments Poor Instructional and Behavioral Practices

9. Bottom Line Achieving better N&D outcomes requires a three-tiered approach that provides students and teachers with the support necessary to improve: The conditions for teaching and learning The capacity of teaches to teach and of students to learn

10. Better Transition & Long Term Outcomes : Individual and Social Assets Provide Support

12. Capacity Examples Can students and faculty regulate their own emotions and behavior and manage stress? Do students have the ability to persevere though academic and social challenges? Can teachers establish respectful relationships with students? Can teachers differentiate instruction to build upon student strengths and accommodate student needs? Do teachers have strong classroom management skills?

13. The Zone of Proximal Development for Learning & Development Nakkula, M. J., & Toshalis, E. (2006). Understanding youth: Adolescent development for educators. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press.

14. Student Social Support*: Relationship to Average Gains in Reading and Math Achievement in Chicago:6th and 8th Graders

16. Biggest Reading Gains in Schools that Combine High Levels of Student Social Support and School Academic Press

17. New Findings: Alaska State-wide School-Climate Research Positive change in school climate and connectedness related to significant gains in student scores on statewide achievement tests. Reading and Writing The greater the increase in student ratings of caring adults at school and overall connectedness to their school, the greater the improvement in reading and writing scores Math The greater the increase in student ratings of caring adults at school, positive peer climate at school, and overall connectedness to their school, the greater the improvement in math scores

18. Social and Emotional Conditions for Learning

19. Efficacy and Social Networks Do the students� believe that they can succeed? Do students believe that academic success is a worthwhile pursuit? Do students believe that academic success will be valued by the people who matter to them?�

20. Support Do students feel connected to teachers? Do Students feel that there teachers care about them? Do students feel respected & supported by teachers?

21. Social and Emotional Conditions for Teaching

23. The Promise

24. The Power of the Peer Group

25. Implications of Freedom Writers--Why Did Ms. Gruwell & Her Students Succeed, and How is it Relevant to N&D?

26. What does the research say?

27. Research Headlines Wang et al. (1997) examined 28 categories of influences on learning based on 179 handbook chapters, 91 research syntheses, and surveys of 61 national experts Among top 11 most influential categories, 8 involved SEL (e.g., student-teacher social interactions, classroom climate, peer group) Conclusion: �direct intervention in the psychological determinants of learning promise the most effective avenues of reform� (p. 210)

28. NAEP Headlines: Positive School Climate and Academic Achievement At all three grade levels (4, 8, and 12), students in schools reporting an above-average climate on any one of the three measures had higher mean NAEP mathematics scale scores than students in schools reporting average or below-average school climate on the same measure (Greenberg, Skidmore, Rhodes, & Nesbitt, 2001).

29. Some Other Research Headlines Feeling secure with teachers and engagement related to positive coping and using teachers to address school problems (Ryan et al. 1994) Lack of teacher nurturance was the most consistent negative predictor of academic performance and social behavior (Wentzel, 2002) Teachers who had high-quality relationships with their students had 31% fewer discipline problems, rule violations, and related problems over a year�s time than did teachers who lacked high-quality relationships with their students (Waters, Marzano, & McNulty, 2003)

30. NELS Headlines Adolescent perceptions of connections with teachers predicted academic growth in Mathematics (Gregory & Weinstein, 2004) Students were more likely to perform well on tests when they believe that their teachers care about them (Muller, 2001; Ryan & Patrick, 2001)

31. Importance of teaching appropriate behaviors and social problem-solving skills Self-Awareness (e.g., identifying and recognizing own emotions, recognizing strengths) Social Awareness (e.g., empathy, respect for others) Responsible Decision Making (e.g., evaluation and reflection, personal responsibility) Self-Management (e.g., impulse control, stress management) Relationship Skills (e.g., working cooperatively, help seeking and providing)

32. Benefits to teaching and supporting SEL Growing evidence-based support for improved: Attitudes (motivation, commitment) Behavior (participation, study habits) Performance (grades, subject mastery) Based on Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence, 1994; Elias, 2003; Elias et al., 1997; Fredericks, 2003; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002; Wilson, Gottfredson, & Najaka, 2001; and Zins, Elias, & Greenberg, 2003; Zins, Weissberg, Wang, & Walberg, 2004.

33. SEL & Attitudes Higher sense of self-efficacy Better sense of community (bonding) and view of school as caring More positive attitudes toward school and learning Higher academic motivation and educational aspirations Greater trust and respect for teachers Improved coping with school stressors Increased understanding of consequences of behavior

36. Think Pyramid, Not Triangle

41. What can you do?

42. Principals can: Use a school social climate assessment tool Promote high academic standards and expectations Develop school-wide community service projects Strengthen parent-teacher relationships Ensure that every student in the school has an adult assigned to know and �watch out� for that student Ensure that teachers receive ongoing professional development and support regarding how to improve conditions for learning

43. Classroom teachers can: Develop high expectations for their students Establish high academic expectations Provide consistent and proactive classroom management Encourage cooperative learning. Use behavioral and cognitive behavioral educational techniques. Rely on peer-assisted teaching

44. Classroom teachers can: Create participatory classrooms Develop identified roles that contribute to the learning enterprise for all students Share positive reports of student behavior and achievement with parents Develop routines and rituals for the class Model SEL Skills

45. What Youth Say Teachers Can Do Care Demonstrate Respect Make a serious effort to know every student well so they feel supported and motivated to learn Create opportunities for students really learn about classmates� cultures to help reduce negative peer interactions.

46. Improving Teacher Performance

47. LEAKING ROOF 1. Ask "How many people here have ever had a leaking roof?" (Most hands will go up.) 2. How can you tell if the roof is leaking? ("Water on the floor, down the walls etc.") So, this is how you might "experience" a leaking roof.����3. How could you measure how badly the roof is leaking? ("By how much water...") So you might put out a bucket and measure the number of inches in the bucket after each rainstorm! That's the chart� at the right (CLICK): the number of inches from the last three rainstorms. 4. Where do you think this line is headed if we don't do anything? ("It will get worse. Through the roof, you might say.") (CLICK) Draw a forecast line going up. This is the forecast of where we're headed if we don't do anything. We want to turn this curve to zero, right! (CLICK) Draw it. 5. Now, what's the first thing you do when you have a leaking roof? ("You get up on the roof and try to find out why it's leaking.") Right! You look for the cause of the leak. And this is the story behind the baseline, the causes of why this picture looks the way it does. 6. Who are some of the people who might help you fix the leak? (brother-in-law, neighbor, professional roofer) These are some of your potential partners. 7. Now, what kinds of things� work to fix a leak? (Patching material, get a whole new roof, sell the house.) You have some choices about types of patching material. Some will work better than others. Tar is probably better than duct tape. 8. So let's review. You've got a leaking roof. It's getting worse and will keep getting worse unless you do something. You actually have the data on this. You've figured out the cause of the leak and the partners who might help fix it. And you've considered some of� the possible ways to fix it. Now the important final question is what are you going to do? This is your action plan. 9. So now you've implemented your action plan. Maybe you've hired a roofer who's gotten up on the roof and patched it. And now what's the next thing you do? ("Wait for the next rainstorm.") Right! You wait for the next rainstorm to see if it's still leaking. And what if it's still leaking, what do you do? (Draw a new point lower but not zero.) ("You get back up on the roof.") Right! You start the whole process over again. You look for causes. You think about who can help and what works. And you try something else - maybe sell the house this time. This is an iterative process. Hopefully you fix the roof in one pass. But the things we are working on are much more complicated than a leaking roof, and one iteration won't do it. 10. So, this is the whole thinking process! It's just common sense. It's how we solve everyday problems. And communities working to improve the quality of life, or managers working to improve their program's performance can use this same process. This is the thinking process at the heart of results and performance decision making! If you understand this process, you can go home now. 11. Notice that we identified the "inches per bucket" measure pretty easily. With a leaking roof, it's obvious what's important and what could be measured. But with programs, agencies and service systems, the choice of what's important and what to measure is much more complex. That's the process that's addressed when we choose indicators or performance measures. (See for Question 3.7 for more information on choosing program, agency or service system performance measures. And see Question 2.7 for more information on the process for choosing indicators for population well-being.) 12. Finally, notice that, in real life, we don't actually put out a bucket and measure the inches of water. We do this work based entirely on the way we experience the leak. We consider it fixed when we don't see water anymore. It is also possible to run the results decision-making processes without data, and use just experience. An action plan can be developed this way. It's a way to get started. But ultimately this is unsatisfying. In complex systems, you generally need data to see if you are making progress or not. Otherwise you are left with just stories and anecdotes. So if you don't have any data at all, you might start the process on the basis of experience. But you should give great attention to pursuing your Data Development Agenda. LEAKING ROOF 1. Ask "How many people here have ever had a leaking roof?" (Most hands will go up.) 2. How can you tell if the roof is leaking? ("Water on the floor, down the walls etc.") So, this is how you might "experience" a leaking roof.����3. How could you measure how badly the roof is leaking? ("By how much water...") So you might put out a bucket and measure the number of inches in the bucket after each rainstorm! That's the chart� at the right (CLICK): the number of inches from the last three rainstorms. 4. Where do you think this line is headed if we don't do anything? ("It will get worse. Through the roof, you might say.") (CLICK) Draw a forecast line going up. This is the forecast of where we're headed if we don't do anything. We want to turn this curve to zero, right! (CLICK) Draw it. 5. Now, what's the first thing you do when you have a leaking roof? ("You get up on the roof and try to find out why it's leaking.") Right! You look for the cause of the leak. And this is the story behind the baseline, the causes of why this picture looks the way it does. 6. Who are some of the people who might help you fix the leak? (brother-in-law, neighbor, professional roofer) These are some of your potential partners. 7. Now, what kinds of things� work to fix a leak? (Patching material, get a whole new roof, sell the house.) You have some choices about types of patching material. Some will work better than others. Tar is probably better than duct tape. 8. So let's review. You've got a leaking roof. It's getting worse and will keep getting worse unless you do something. You actually have the data on this. You've figured out the cause of the leak and the partners who might help fix it. And you've considered some of� the possible ways to fix it. Now the important final question is what are you going to do? This is your action plan. 9. So now you've implemented your action plan. Maybe you've hired a roofer who's gotten up on the roof and patched it. And now what's the next thing you do? ("Wait for the next rainstorm.") Right! You wait for the next rainstorm to see if it's still leaking. And what if it's still leaking, what do you do? (Draw a new point lower but not zero.) ("You get back up on the roof.") Right! You start the whole process over again. You look for causes. You think about who can help and what works. And you try something else - maybe sell the house this time. This is an iterative process. Hopefully you fix the roof in one pass. But the things we are working on are much more complicated than a leaking roof, and one iteration won't do it. 10. So, this is the whole thinking process! It's just common sense. It's how we solve everyday problems. And communities working to improve the quality of life, or managers working to improve their program's performance can use this same process. This is the thinking process at the heart of results and performance decision making! If you understand this process, you can go home now. 11. Notice that we identified the "inches per bucket" measure pretty easily. With a leaking roof, it's obvious what's important and what could be measured. But with programs, agencies and service systems, the choice of what's important and what to measure is much more complex. That's the process that's addressed when we choose indicators or performance measures. (See for Question 3.7 for more information on choosing program, agency or service system performance measures. And see Question 2.7 for more information on the process for choosing indicators for population well-being.) 12. Finally, notice that, in real life, we don't actually put out a bucket and measure the inches of water. We do this work based entirely on the way we experience the leak. We consider it fixed when we don't see water anymore. It is also possible to run the results decision-making processes without data, and use just experience. An action plan can be developed this way. It's a way to get started. But ultimately this is unsatisfying. In complex systems, you generally need data to see if you are making progress or not. Otherwise you are left with just stories and anecdotes. So if you don't have any data at all, you might start the process on the basis of experience. But you should give great attention to pursuing your Data Development Agenda.

58. Safeguarding Our Children: An Action Guide, Revised and Expanded (Sopris West) Teaching and Working with Children with Emotional and Behavioral Challenges (Sopris West) Addressing Student Problem Behavior (Parts 1, 2, 3) (CECP) �Schools Make a Difference,� in Racial Inequity in Special Education, The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University and the Harvard Education Press

59. Resources Learning First Alliance. (2001). Every Child Learning: Safe & Supportive Schools. Washington: DC: Author Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (2003). Safe and sound: An educational leader�s guide to evidence-based social and emotional learning programs. Chicago: Author. Zins, J.E., Weissberg, R.P., Wang, M.C., & Walberg, H.J. (Eds.). (2004).Building academic success on social and emotional learning: What does the research say? New York: Teachers College Press.