2014-15 Mental Health Interventions Professional Development Unit

1. 2014-15Mental Health InterventionsProfessional Development Unit By: Cybeles Onuegbulem School: College View Elementary

2. What new instructional strategies did I implement in my classroom/practice during the course of the PDU? • Belly breathing • Use of balloons to teach deep breathing • Improved consultation with teachers regarding students who struggle with executive skills • Task modification and what to do before, during, and after a task or problem • E.g. Rehearse, coach/monitor, debrief • Daily Behavior Rating (DBR) for progress monitoring

3. How did I apply the PDU strategies in my classroom? (examples) How did I collaborate with my team about implementing the PDU strategies? • Practiced belly breathing with most students on my caseload • General education (students who struggle with anxiety, etc.), Affective Needs, MTSS • It also helped during the 1st grade Second Step lessons on How To Calm Down • Collaborated with special education team and other staff regarding the use of Daily Behavior Ratings (DBR) for progress monitoring during small group lessons for a 1st grade student

4. What three strategies did I implement from the study section of the PDU? What strategy worked best? Why? • Mindfulness techniques • Using videos to help teach and practice belly breathing, and • “Negotiate rather than dictate” when problem-solving • Using videos to help teach and practice belly breathing worked best because the videos (especially Elmo with Common and Colby Caillat) kept the students engaged. They seemed to become aware of how difficult belly breathing can be without practice since most students were used to the chest rising and falling, as opposed to the abdomen going out and in.

5. What did I learn to do differently as a result of the PDU and strategy implementation in my classroom? • I learned how to teach more effective deep breathing (belly breathing). • I also learned about incorporating more art and sensory techniques during small group or individual mental health sessions. • I believe I am more aware of what I say when problem-solving with students and really try to remember what they may be experiencing (or have experienced) outside the school setting.

6. Why is this PDU action research process important to my students’ learning and to my growth as a professional? • This PDU is important to my students’ learning because strategies I learn, become more aware of, or improve with practice, can be passed on in order to help students develop pro-social skills for academic and social/emotional success. It is also helpful to hear feedback from teachers when a student generalizes a particular strategy in the classroom setting. • School psychology is an ever-growing field and it seems as though there are many advances that are made that may not get disseminated to practitioners for one reason or the other. This PDU process helps me continue to learn and grow as a professional by providing several options on how to work with students from diverse backgrounds and experiences. One method alone does not work for all. In other words, the PDU provided me with “more tools for my toolbox.”

7. PDU Data AnalysisReflecting on the data you have collected, how did this experience impact instruction, progress monitoring, student performance, and your own practice? • This experience has had an effect on the way some of my mental health sessions are structured. I think I used to underestimate how much practice and repetition is required for certain skills to become permanent because just like weight loss, I would always look for a “quick fix” and become despondent when results did not come quickly. • I have also started looking at my students’ permanent products in more depth in order to help guide counseling goals. • For example, for one of the kindergarten students going through the MTSS process, I began using “Think Sheets” to debrief/process after he exhibited aggressive behaviors such as cursing and hitting. Based on the Think Sheets, I found that the student really struggles when it comes to being aware of how his actions make others feel and so that can be a future IEP goal if the student qualifies for special education services.

9. How will I apply my new learning in the future to further my practice? What are my next steps? • I will try to look for more opportunities for professional development and continue to incorporate my new learning into practice. Also, I will try to be more open-minded when it comes to practices or interventions that I have pre-conceived notions about (i.e. Mindfulness). Exploring interventions should not only be focused on what I gain from something, but also on how the population of students I serve may benefit from it. When I actually tried some mindfulness activities, I wished I started using them earlier because the students loved the ones we did!

10. PDU Artifact #1 • Direct Behavior Rating charts for 1st grade student • Academically Engaged and Respectful; Disruptive behavior graphed separately • http://www.directbehaviorratings.org/cms/files/pdf/V%201.4%20DBR%20Standard%20Form%20with%203%20Standard%20Behaviors.pdf

11. PDU Artifact #2 • Data from Behavioral Observation of Students in Schools (BOSS) • AET = Academically engaged (active); PET = Academically engaged (passive); OFT-M = Off-task motor; OFT-V = Off-task verbal; OFT-P = Off-task passive; All defined on BOSS form

12. PDU Artifact #3 • Monthly Attendance for target student during implementation of interventions

13. Exit Ticket • How can we support your professional growth in future PDUs? • I would be interested in learning more about school-wide consequences for students who exhibit especially difficult behaviors (where safety is a concern for staff, other students, and themselves). I would also like to expand my knowledge base on behavioral interventions for those students, and on getting the most out of a parent and/or student interview. • 2 things that you took away from the PDU this year • Belly breathing! This may seem like a trivial answer but I have been able to apply it to many things, including the S.T.A.R. when teaching Conscious Discipline calming techniques. • Mindfulness: Initially, when I thought of Mindfulness, I just pictured yoga poses and meditation and assumed this was not something I would be interested in. However, there’s so much more to it and I loved the different activities that were shown to us during the PDU. Doing the activities was useful as well because it made me consider which group of students may find certain mindfulness practices beneficial. • 1 piece of constructive criticism • It was so helpful to learn about different interventions to use with our students. However, it would have been great to find out more about options for students with mental health disorders (e.g. when you may continue to see them on your service vs. when to give parents resources for outside services).