Should I or Shouldn’t I?

For my second item of interest I would like to share a game that I use with my supervisor
tailored to middle and high school students. The game is called Should I or Shouldn’t I? by Social Thinking. This game is used for students who struggle with problem solving, expected and unexpected behaviors, also helps with perspective taking, social thinking, and self-awareness. This can be played in large, small or induvial sessions. Asking follow up questions are beneficial to encourage deeper thinking. This game can be used with children who are on the autism spectrum, ADHD, nonverbal learning disorder, social communication disorder and other learning challenges. The junior high students seem to enjoy using this game and remain engaged throughout the session. On the website, there is also the same game for elementary students.

Social thinking is an evidence-based practice which takes characteristics related to cognitive behavioral therapy by allowing students to reframe their thoughts or behaviors by understanding how their reactions or behaviors affect others. There has been a vast amount of research done on the benefits of using the social thinking framework. On the website posted below you can excess more information on social thinking, the different products and curriculums offered though Social Thinking.


https://www.socialthinking.com/Products/should-i-or-shouldnt-i-middle-school-high-school-edition

Should I or Shouldn't I? Price: $26.99

Mindfulness activities

The item of interest that I chose was a website on mindfulness activities.  The website is PositivePsychology.com This site was designed for community practitioners.  They are a science-based online resource with courses, techniques, tools and tips to put positive psychology into practice every day.  They have many resources that can help you.  The blog is the one that interested me.  I am working with students that suffer from depression and anxiety and have noticed that mindfulness has been very helpful.  They have many mindfulness activities for both adults and kids. 

            One activity that I have done with a few of my students is the Present moment activity

This activity involves your 5 senses.  The student will write:  Right now I see…., Right now I hear….., Right now I am touching….., Right now I smell….., Right now I feel……..

This is a great way for students to be more in the present moment.  The activity takes about 5 to 10 minutes to complete. 

            Another activity that I have tried with my students in the mindful walking.  Mindful walks are a great way to practice and maintain mindfulness in everyday life.  There are just 4 easy steps they shall follow.  Step 1: Pick up one foot and take a slow-motion step forward.  Notice what you have to do to stay balanced.  Step 2: Walk in slow motion, one step at a time.  Pay attention to how your arms, legs, and feet move as you walk.  Step 3: Breathe in and out in time with your steps, working in tandem.  Step 4: If your mind starts to wander, bring it gently back to your slow-motion walking.

            Check out their website and start practicing mindfulness with your students. https://positivepsychology.com/category/mindfulness/

                                                                                               

Virtual Hope Box

This weeks item of interest is called the Virtual Hope Box. The Virtual Hope Box app is a therapeutic tool that can be used for those who may have difficulty coping with negative thoughts and stress, including patients who may be at risk of suicide or non-suicidal self-harm. It is available as a free download on iOS and Android platforms and can be used for adolescents and adults. This app is used among many of the teens at Waukegan High School based on the student's needs. There are different categories that contain coping, relaxation, distraction, and positive thinking techniques. The distraction techniques include games that require focus, such as Sudoku and word puzzles. Some relaxation techniques offer a variety of guided and self-controlled meditation exercises. The coping techniques offer suggestions for activities that reduce stress. The inspiration section offers quotes to improve mood and motivation. 

Virtual Hope Box is connected to evidence practice for many reasons. This app was developed by Nigel Bush, a research psychologist for the Defense Department’s National Center for Telehealth & Technology (T2) a component center of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. VHB is a tool for moments of crisis and intended to supplement treatments already happening. The purpose of this tool is to help individuals distress by using coping and emotion regulation skills.

 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.t2.vhb&hl=en_US or App Store

Item of Interest: The Make or Break Year (Emily Krone Phillips)

This weeks item of interest is the book, The Make or Break Year: Solving the Dropout Crisis One Ninth Grader at a Time" by Emily Krone Phillips. In the past few decades students in CPS schools were just as likely to dropout as they were to graduate.This book follows the implementation of Freshman On-Track, an approach to education to address the dropout issues in school. The book follows the research provided by CPS schools in navigating effective intervention to meet freshman students' needs. Furthermore, the implementation of these effective interventions found to positively impact student graduation rates. As I read this book I am choosing to take a critical perspective as the book presents the solution to dropout rates as a series of "simple" solutions. Knowing that academic achievement can be rooted in socio-economic status, race, ethnicity and other factors I am interested to know how accurate the solutions presented in this book are to sustainable and effective change.
Emily Krone Phillips Book Reading

Amazon Link to Book

Teaching Tolerance

My item of interest is a website called Teaching Tolerance which provides resources and tools to help schools address equity within the building and gives articles and supports around current issues.  I choose this website because it can be filtered down by different categories such as: race and ethnicity, religion, ability, sexuality, class, immigration, bullying, and activism.  You can also find information and curriculum around SEL in the classrooms and how to incorporate that into your schools.  There are many free resources and the ask is for only a donation if one is able. 

There are many other resources beyond articles, including lesson plans and posters.  I like the lesson plans because they can be filtered down by the above categories and also by grade ranging from kindergarten all the way through grade 12. There are text for students and text for educators.  You can also subscribe to get articles sent to your email that are appropriate for what is currently going on.  For example, there was an article about how to speak with students about being mindful about Halloween costumes and why that is important.  There are currently articles about Thanksgiving and what that actually means for Indigenous Persons in America.

The website is located at www.tolerance.org

Leadership Inspirations

Website: https://leadershipinspirations.com/

My second item of interest that I would like to share is a website called Leadership Inspirations. The website includes a section titled “Activities.” This is a great place to look for activities/ideas to do with a small group. You can customize your search by choosing from statements that best describe your group and their needs. For example, you can select that “My group is new or going through a personnel change; My group is focused on individual needs rather than on group cohesion...” Then from the second list, you can select options that include, “Icebreakers, energizers, mixers; activities that improve communication between members to maximize effectiveness and efficiency.” Therefore, these different options allow you to really choose activities that are unique to your group. Once your list of activities is generated and you find an activity that interests you, you can click on it to find more details on how to conduct the activity. It tells you the duration, the team stage it can be used for, the type of activity, and the materials needed. It then explains the set-up of the activity and then provides detailed instructions. It even includes a section that provides different variations to the activity if needed. The best part of this resource is that it includes Sample Debriefing Questions to pose for your group after the activity. Broken into three sets of questions- What, So What and Now What?- it allows for members of the activity to reflect on the purpose of the activity and connect it to the broader group.

            This resource is great since many school social workers run groups. Whether you are looking to get the group comfortable with one another, or your group needs to come together and build community, build trust, resolve any conflicts etc. this is a great place to get ideas. The lessons are very easy to adapt to whatever age group you are working with, as well as the size of your group. This activities can be very impactful and meaningful if you want them to, or they can be fun and silly. They can open discussions amongst the group, as well as provide insight for the social worker.

SSWN

My second item of interest is a website called School Social Work Net or SSWN that provides support, resources, and a community for School Social Workers. This website includes current research, effective interventions, useful tools for direct practice, and podcasts that discuss important topics within the school environment. Additionally, this website provides an online tool that allows for School Social Workers to track both time and data to assist in making better practice decisions, advocating for workload and role within the school, and identify needs and trends for the social services department. Both access to the website and time tracking tool are free to those who are interested in accessing this item of interest. 

The way that I have been using SSWN at Evanston Township High school is by reading current research on interventions to ensure that I am using best practice with the students on my caseload. SSWN provides school social workers with evidence based research articles to ensure that direct practice interventions are meeting student needs. For example, my supervisor and I have been utilizing mindfulness research and tools provided on SSWN for the social skills group that we cofacilitate. These mindfulness tools will be useful for the students as they prepare and complete their final examinations for the semester. Additionally, I will be using the SSW tools app next semester to track sessions with students and create measurable data. Overall, I feel that SSWN is a point of reference and community that allows for school social workers to connect with the field and find resources that are specific to schools. 

School Social Work Net fits into providing evidence-based education, behavior, and services area of the school social work practice model. The School Social Work team is comprised of licensed practitioners with years of experience in the field as well as researchers that are providing current resources on evidence based practice. SSWN works to provide school social work and mental health professionals with current tools, interventions, and research that remain within a strengths based perspective and can  be used with diverse populations. Beyond interventions and tools for practice, SSWN provides a live stream of current news that is relevant to the field and might effect current policy implementation. By utilizing SSWN, school social workers can build upon their knowledge of evidence based interventions, stay current on research and best practices, and be part of a collaborative community of like-minded professionals.

Below is the link to the SSWN website. Once again, it is free to sign up with your email and full of useful information. I hope you find this tool useful and feel a sense of community amongst fellow school social workers!


https://schoolsocialwork.net/