Needs Analysis

To begin our design process, our team sent out a survey (linked here) to 14 current middle school teachers and administrators in the Wake County Public School District. Our goals of this survey were to:

• determine the educational background of our respondents (i.e. years of experience in education and role(s) in education

• gain insight into general social emotional training our respondents had received, their perceived effectiveness of these methods on their students, and how they measure this efficacy, and any other constraints they wished to share relating to other social emotional methods they had been trained in

• gain insight into restorative circle training our respondents had received, their perceived effectiveness of these methods on their students, how they measure this efficacy, and any other constraints they wished to share relating to circles

From this survey, we received 8 responses and were able to find 5 educators who aligned with our target learners in having 5 or more years of teaching experience, circle training, and at least one year of experience using circles in their classroom. These individuals gave us great insight into how teachers were utilizing circles with their students, what worked well for them in conducting circles, and what didn't work well when conducting circles. More specifically, these were our main findings:

• teachers used circles for relationship building and resolving conflict with student

• teachers were trained in how to implement circles, but not how to measure their success

• teachers were primarily using teacher observations and student feedback to determine if their circle was effective

From this we were able to interview 3 of these educators to gain deeper insights into those previously mentioned areas. From these conversations and the survey results, we were able to determine that the biggest struggle that teachers faced when using circles was determining their long-term efficacy using objective data. One of these educators wished that they had a tool to measure trends in student data in relation to the implementation of circles with students. This great feedback lead us into creating Circle Keeper as a way to solve this issue and meet the needs/ wishes of our target learners.

Our group is investigating how to help teachers improve the efficacy of restorative circles being used by Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) middle school teachers. Restorative circles are a tool that teachers, administrators, and restorative justice county officials are being trained to implement into schools to practice relationship building skills to strengthen relationships and connections within communities. Ultimately, WCPSS is implementing circles to reduce, prevent and improve harmful behavior within schools as noted on their “Counseling and Student Services” webpage. We focused on middle school teachers as this is a group where we know these practices are actively being implemented. Our group focused on a group of teachers who have 5 or more years of teaching experience versus “beginner teachers” in WCPSS because they have well established classroom practices, and have been using circles for more time; therefore, are more knowledgeable on the limitations or problems that come with the use of circles in the classroom.

After surveying and interviewing a group of middle school teachers who have been trained in restorative circles and are actively utilizing them, it became apparent that the only way that they know if their circles are successful is through student commentary and teacher observations during the circle. None of the teachers interviewed noted that they were provided a tool to measure the efficacy of their circles. While student commentary and teacher observations can show if some students are immediately responding well to the use of circles, it does not objectively show efficacy of their use in the long-term of all students engaged in the circle. If circles are working successfully, then it should show a positive trend in a student’s attendance, behavior and academics. Specifically, teachers need to see a reduction in student absences and tardiness, administrative referrals, and higher grades in classes. If a teacher does not see these trends, it is a definitive indicator that further intervention measures need to be enacted. This is the problem that our group is going to address in our project.

The lack of clarity surrounding the efficacy of restorative justice circles stems from a lack of objective data. When teachers were asked how they determined if a circle was effective, five out of the eight teachers interviewed stated they used data collected from student observations because it was the only data available to them. And while our participants noted student observations were helpful, their responses indicated teachers are unable to consult any objective data, like attendance records, while contemplating the efficacy of a restorative justice circle. Instead, they rely on subjective data such as student input and observations, which are helpful but limited sources of data. For example, students may behave differently outside the view of the teacher or refrain from sharing their honest opinion with the teacher. Additionally, when interviewed, teachers mentioned students often stated they enjoyed participating in the circles, but such data is not informative enough to determine whether a restorative justice circle was effective in the long term. Therefore, because the only data available to teachers is subjective and limited, teachers cannot measure how students respond to restorative justice circles in the long term.

• Teachers can determine trends using student data following the implementation of circles.

• Teachers can evaluate data points and trends in student data to determine if circles are being used successfully

• Teachers can identify students who need further interventions provided trends in student data

We want to create a space where teachers are able to store, access, and assess objective data which can be used to measure the efficacy of Restorative Circles. As we noted before, teachers are not able to measure whether or not Restorative Circles are effective in the long term because they only have access to subjective data from sporadic student interactions. By providing a space where teachers can interact with and observe objective data like student grades, referrals, attendance, and other similar variables, we believe teachers will have an easier time determining the efficacy of circles.