The Relationship Between Safety, The Social Emotional Conditions for Teaching

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The Relationship Between Safety, The Social
Emotional Conditions for Teaching Learning and
Learning
David Osher AMERICAN INSTITUTES For
RESEARCH dosher_at_air.org
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An Example of What Can Be Done North Lawndale
College Preparatory School, Chicago

• This is not about graduating from high school
  it is about graduating from college
• Money for Counselors, not metal detectors and
  security staff
• One Counselor stays with same students grades
  9-13 another one follows up 14-16

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An Example of What Can Be Done North Lawndale
College Preparatory School, Chicago

• Strong Academic Press Strong Social Support
• Supports academic risk taking Teachers are like
  another set of parents
• Development of Moral Community
• Fellow students like brothers, sisters, cousins

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What Affects Learning Outcomes?
Capacity For Learning
Conditions For Learning
Capacity For Teaching
Conditions For Teaching
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Conditions for Learning
Mental Health Physical Health
Experience of Safety Social Emotional
Capacity Authentic Challenge Caring Connection
Support
Health
Social Emotional
Pedagogical
Appropriate Pedagogies Curricula Differentiated
Instruction
Learning Environment Opportunities To
Learn Cultural Competence Organizational
Efficacy Instructional Leadership
Organizational
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Social Emotional Conditions for Learning
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Social and Emotional Conditions for Teaching
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Why Are Conditions For Learning Important The
Importance of Being in the Zone of Proximal
Development For Every Student

• Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky)
• Personalization,
• Differentiated instruction and support
• Scaffolding learning and support

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The Zone of Proximal Development for Learning
Development
(frustration)
challenge
ZPD
(boredom)
support

• Nakkula, M. J., Toshalis, E. (2006).
  Understanding youth Adolescent development for
  educators. Cambridge Harvard Education Press.

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The Challenge Be in the Zone of Proximal
Development for Every Child
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The Additional Challenge Be in the Zones of
Proximal Development as they Change for Every
Child
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Why Are Conditions For Learning Important The
Neurochemistry and Neurobiology of Learning

• attending,
• concentrating,
• memorizing

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Heuristic Question - What happens if the learner
(or teacher) is

• Angry, anxious, depressed, fearful, frustrated,
  upset, traumatized, worried, sad, otherwise
  distressed?
• Lacks the skills and neuronal networks to handle
  emotional arousal?
• Violence and bullying affect these factors
  directly and indirectly (e.g., Nansel et al.,
  2001 Flannery, 2006)

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Impact of Bullying

• Prevalence
• Focus on Learning
• Attendance
• Mental Health
• anxiety
• depression

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Examples of relationship between Climate and
Achievement Findings from National Surveys

• NAEP- At all three grade levels students in
  schools reporting an above-average climate 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)
• NELS -Adolescent perceptions of connections with
  teachers predicted academic growth in Mathematics
  (Gregory Weinstein, 2004)
• NELS -Students were more likely to perform well
  on tests when they believe that their teachers
  care about them (Muller, 2001 Ryan Patrick,
  2001)

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An Examples of relationship between Climate and
Achievement Alaska Research

• Positive changes in school climate and
  connectedness related to significant gains in
  student scores on statewide achievement tests in
  reading, writing and math
• 114 schools in 11 districts including Anchorage
• Climate (made up of High Expectations, School
  Safety, and School Leadership)
• Overall Connectedness (made up of Respectful
  Climate, Peer Climate, Caring Adults). (Spier,
  Kendziora, Osher, 2007)

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Other Research Examples from Individual Studies

• Feeling secure with teachers and being engaged
  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
  years time than did teachers who lacked
  high-quality relationships with their students
  (Waters, Marzano, McNulty, 2003)

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Connecting the Dots
Strategic Evidence- Based Learning Supports
Effective Opportunities To Learn
Effective Instructional, Behavioral,
Emotional Supports
Greater Attachment, Engagement, Commitment to
School
Better Academic Performance and Success in
School and Life

• Teach SEL
• Competencies
• Self-awareness
• Social awareness
• Self-management
• Relationship skills
• Responsible
• decision making

Safe, Caring, Cooperative, Supporting Engaging
Learning Environments
Less Risky Behavior, More Assets,
Positive Development
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Lessons

• Chicago Score Card, School Report, Tool Kit as a
  means of the addressing the barriers created by
  narrowly focused accountability practices
• Survey Social Emotional Conditions for Learning
  as part of School report card
• Provide information to school on how students and
  subgroups of students experience the school
  environment
• Turnaround for Children approach to address the
  challenges created by unmet mental health needs
  and how they disable schools
• Build Organizational Capacity to address unmet
  mental health needs
• Reduce disorder and improve conditions for
  teaching and learning
• Say Yes to Education approach to helping all
  students thrive
• Monitoring system that addresses health
  (including mental health) , social
  emotional-behavioral, and cognitive-academic
  barriers to thriving
• Build a school-wide foundation to support
  social-emotional and academic barriers to
  learning

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Some Resources Articles

• Osher, D. Fleischman, S. (2005). Positive
  Culture in Urban Schools. Educational
  Leadership, 62 (6), 84-87.
• Osher, D., VanAker, R., Morrison, G., Gable, R.,
  Dwyer, K., Quinn, M., (2004). Warning Signs of
  Problems in Schools Ecological Perspectives and
  Effective Practices for Combating School
  Aggression and Violence. Journal of School
  Violence, 2/3, 13-37.
• Osher, D., Sandler, S., Nelson, C. (Winter,
  2001). The Best Approach to Safety is to Fix
  Schools and Support Children and Staff, New
  Directions in Youth Development, 92, 127-154.

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Some Resources Books

• Dwyer, K. Osher, D. (2005). Safeguarding Our
  Children An Action Guide Revised and Expanded.
  Longmont, CO Sopris West.
• Osher, D., Dwyer, K., Jackson, S. (2004).
  Safe, Supportive, and Successful Schools Step by
  Step Longmont, CO Sopris West.