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2021 classroom-group-m-b-action-plan (1).docx

Classroom and Group Mindsets & Behaviors Action Plan

The action plan at left outlines the classroom core curriculum lessons and group counseling plans as described in the sections below and which mindsets and behaviors for student success that they target.

Additionally, our programs touch upon the positive impacts of social emotional learning as outlined by the VDOE:

- Improved classroom attitudes and behavior:
- Better sense of community
- More class participation
- Stronger pro-social skills
- Improved attendance
- Better understanding of consequences
- Better coping skills
- Increased attitude toward school and learning
Improved school performance:
- Higher achievement test scores (+14%) and higher grades (+11%)
- Improved metacognition skills
- Improved problem-solving, planning, and reasoning skills
- Improvements in reading comprehension

Lesson Assessment.docx

Classroom Core Curriculum Lessons

Below is a series of three lesson plans that work together to address the SMART goals of the comprehensive school counseling program while also addressing specific mindsets and behaviors. They cover all three domains of academic, social/emotional, and career.

At left is an assessment that will be administered to students prior to participation in their first classroom core curriculum lesson and again after the final classroom core curriculum lesson has concluded and will be utilized for data purposes as an evaluation measure of the effectiveness in addressing the specific mindsets and behaviors that these lessons seek to address.

This assessment can also be used to help inform adaptations to be made to the lesson material (i.e. what emotions may be beneficial to address in a future lesson).

Lesson Plan (1).docx

Class 1, Academic: Learning Discussion Skills

SMART goal to be addressed: During their first three months of attendance at Noel C. Taylor, every student will participate in at least one lesson or group counseling session relating to healthy and appropriate behaviors in the collaborative learning environment.
How the lessons connect to one another: To start out this series of lessons, students will engage in a fun activity that enables them to hone their discussion and collaboration skills in order to work together and solve a mystery. This begins the process of addressing classroom misbehavior by focusing on positive skills.
As the programs rotate, this same lesson plan should be adapted with a different mystery for discussion.

Copy of Lesson Plan 2.docx

Class 2, Social/Emotional: Managing Anger

SMART goal to be addressed: During their first three months of attendance at Noel C. Taylor, every student will participate in at least one lesson or group counseling session relating to healthy and appropriate behaviors in the collaborative learning environment.
How the lessons connect to one another: In the second lesson of the series, students have already been introduced to aspects of working together in a group in a fun and engaging way that is perhaps contrary to what they are used to in a classroom setting. In this lesson, students will be provided the opportunity to explore some of the dynamics of the stressful emotions that arise in their day-to-day lives, namely anger although the material on navigating anger can be related to many different emotional responses. Here, students' voices will be heard and the pro-social behaviors from the first lesson will be highlighted and praised.
As the programs rotate, this same lesson plan should be adapted with a different emotion or emotional response up for discussion.

Copy of Lesson Plan 3.docx

Class 3, Career: Exploring Career Options

SMART goal to be addressed: During their first three months of attendance at Noel C. Taylor, every student will participate in at least one lesson or group counseling session relating to healthy and appropriate behaviors in the collaborative learning environment.
How the lessons connect to one another: In the final lesson of this series, covering the third domain and hitting on a different SMART goal, students will put their new classroom skills into practice by working independently and respectfully of the space, and demonstrating self-discipline and self-control in following directives. Then, students will engage in discussion with one another about the material they have just taken in and will be provided with the opportunity to express any emotions that become stressful to them during the course of the lesson. Additionally, they will walk away with tangible tools for navigating post-secondary life.
As the programs rotate, this same lesson should be adapted with a different career/strengths assessment.

Group Counseling

Below are two different evidence-based group counseling plans. These plans, along with the core curriculum lesson plans, target the 9th grade student population at Noel C. Taylor. The primary topic of concern is misbehavior in the classroom though, as counselors, we know that the symptom of misbehavior in the classroom can be a result of many intersecting and underlying concerns. As such, this topic of concern jointly covers the interconnected domains of academic and social/emotional.

Both of the group counseling plans target the following mindsets and behaviors:

B-LS 1. Critical-thinking skills to make informed decisions
M 1. Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional, and physical well-being.

No matter the timeframe in which the core curriculum lessons and the group counseling plans are administered, the mindsets and behaviors are all interconnected and build upon one another. Fortunately, the classroom sizes at Noel C. Taylor are all small, so all materials will be administered in small group settings.

In addition to addressing specific mindsets and behaviors for student success, other potential benefits of a small, therapeutic setting arise as described by Irvin Yalom's Therapeutic Factors of Group Counseling: Universality, instillation of hope, corrective recapitulation of the primary family experience, altruism, imparting information, development of socializing techniques, interpersonal learning, catharsis, existential factors, imitative behavior, and cohesiveness.

ED478681.pdf

Group Assessment.pdf

Motivational Enhancement Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescent Cannabis Users: 5 Sessions

This plan can be found at left.
SMART Goal to be addressed: During their first three months of attendance at Noel C. Taylor, every student will participate in at least one lesson or group counseling session relating to healthy and appropriate behaviors in the collaborative learning environment.
While not all participants in the group will necessarily be cannabis users, we as school counselors believe that including a mix of participants helps every student to learn from one another, offer unique perspectives, and grow in empathy. Psychoeducational material on cannabis and other substance use will be presented with subsequent discussions on how behavior outside of the classroom impacts behavior inside of the classroom. It may be that some participants have experience with parents/guardians or other family members who use substances, and this will provide an opportunity for them to learn and process their thoughts and feelings on these matters. This group will also dive into the territory of peer pressure and self-advocacy, as well as taking in the cultural lens of what behaviors are appropriate in the classroom versus what behaviors are appropriate in the community for safety and well-being.

Group Assessment.pdf

Motivational Interviewing Group Intervention: 5 Sessions

This plan can be found under References: Fields, A (2005).
SMART Goal to be addressed: During their first three months of attendance at Noel C. Taylor, every student will participate in at least one lesson or group counseling session relating to healthy and appropriate behaviors in the collaborative learning environment.
In the true spirit of Motivational Interviewing (MI), the school counselor will model and provide a non-judgmental space for students to share and feel heard. Through modeling the acceptable group norms of respect, confidentiality, and honesty, students may for the first time in their lives learn and feel that they will not be labeled. Through the process of acceptance and safety students will begin to share and hear their ambivalences aloud. As a group with the school counselor's facilitation, students will work through the four phases of MI; engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning. We feel that MI will create more autonomy and increase students' self-confidence while building the skill sets to empower whole self-development.

Individual Counseling

Chelsea Reed

My theoretical orientation is a combination of Person-Centered and Gestalt, dealing largely with the counselor-student relationship in the present moment, fostering deeper levels of honesty, authenticity, and understanding. Motivational Interviewing (MI) or its subset Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) that both fall under the umbrella of the Person-Centered approach are particularly effective with the adolescent population in meeting students where they are in a welcoming, non-judgmental and non-threatening manner. A few important techniques in MI can be remembered with the acronym OARS - open-ended questions, affirming, reflecting, and summarizing. Another key component in MI is eliciting change talk to come alongside the student in increasing their motivation to make a change that they are already aware of and wanting to make. A technique within the Gestalt framework is the empty chair technique whereby the counselor facilitates a conversation between the student and an empty chair - a placeholder for a key figure in their life - so that they can authentically articulate their thoughts in a therapeutic setting and process the emotions that come along with those thoughts in the present moment with the counselor. This technique could also be conducted through writing a letter to a key figure in the student’s life with the purpose of processing the emotions in the present rather than sending the letter. For example, if a student had an ongoing issue with a teacher or a parental figure, this technique - either the empty chair or writing a letter - could be utilized in order to process the thoughts and emotions freely in a therapeutic setting. The techniques of MI are particularly useful in engaging with students who are underachieving or using substances.

John Lemaire

I have an eclectic and adaptive theoretical orientation when working with students. The trunk of my orientation is rooted in a Person-Centered approach that relies heavily on my strengths of empathy and unconditional positive regard. Utilizing a Person-Centered approach, the techniques and skills of Motivational Interview (MI) can be a very powerful tool to help a student overcome ambivalence to change. Students also grow through strong supportive relationships around them and I see the importance of those associations by incorporating my connection to Relational Cultural Therapy. And there are situations when sitting with present feelings and emotions that the powerfulness of the here and now presents itself. During these situations I call upon my appreciation for Gestalt. Helping a student access their feelings in the present moment can be illuminating as they build motivation to approach the barriers of their past.

I do call upon each of these theories and techniques, but I feel grounded with a Person-Centered approach relying on the skills of reflections and open-ended questions. These skills allow the student to carry the majority of the conversation. I believe many adolescents may feel as though they are misunderstood and do not have a voice. This approach advances students' access to the motivation deep within themselves in the safety of a strong therapeutic relationship rooted in unconditional acceptance. MI gives an opportunity to connect and walk alongside a student so they feel heard, understood, and supported. Students can work through their ambivalence as they hear a reflection and re-word their own thoughts out loud. MI is a valuable tool in working through situations where students feel there are many barriers to their success in academics and social connections. For example, a student may feel as though they will never achieve a good grade in a class, or lack confidence because they (...insert barrier here). Through active listening and reflection, the student’s ambivalence to change will likely surface. This is when the work begins with a non-judgmental approach, walking with them through change talk then gauging their confidence to change.

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