ASU GSV Panel Session: Dr. Cunningham

Bending the Arc of Human Potential Through Radical Scaled Online Learning Models
Room: Harbor B, Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego
Tuesday, April 9, 2019, 2:00 PM PT
Length: 40 minutes

Following the advent of MOOCS a decade ago, the non-profit university sector has made enormous strides in creating scaled learning delivery leveraging online models. A group of prominent academic leaders debates the future of online learning and what’s the next big thing.

• Moderator:
  Mitchell Stevens, Director, Center for Advanced Research through Online Learning, Stanford Graduate School of Education
• Panelists:
  • Michael R. Cunningham, Ph.D., Chancellor, National University System
  • Don Kilburn, CEO, UMassOnline
  • Zvi Galil, Dean, Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing
  • Betty Vandenbosch, Chancellor, Purdue University Global
  • Vikram Jandhyala, Vice President for Innovation Strategy, University of Washington

National University/Sanford Programs Sessions

GASLAMP C ROOM—2nd FLOOR SEAPORT TOWER

Monday, April 8th
2:00pm-2:45pm
Session: K-12^th Extended Learning

Trauma-Resilient After-School and Summer Learning Programs: A Vision for Transformational Change

Half of public school students in Los Angeles report moderate to severe traumatic stress symptoms. After-school and summer learning programs have always been dedicated to positive youth development, but LA’s BEST Afterschool Enrichment Program has realized that to truly address the impacts of trauma, we must go deeper. In this session, we will discuss how we embraced a trauma-resilient approach and Harmony SEL’s social emotional learning program to reinvigorate a large-scale expanded learning system, equip staff to care for themselves as well as students, and transform not only our programs but also our systems and culture.

• Eric Gurna, President and CEO, LA’s BEST Afterschool Enrichment Program

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Monday, April 8th
3:00pm-3:45pm
Session: K-12^th Leadership Development

Finding a Network of Opportunity In LA Unified

LA Unified is committed to an equity agenda of access, innovation, and acceleration. Together we will discover, reflect, and engage in ways that connect research, practice, and heart. Let’s embrace our collective commitment to ensure that students are at the center in this lively session.

• Frances Gipson, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer, LA Unified

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Monday, April 8th
4:00pm-4:45pm
Panel: Pre-K-12^th Social Emotional Learning

A Community-Based Approach to Trauma and Social Emotional Learning

A panel of experts discusses strategies and interventions used to address the social emotional learning needs of all children. You will learn about successful frameworks that utilize tools to effectively address childhood trauma.

• Dr. Marc Brackett, Founding Director, YALE Center for Emotional Intelligence, YALE/RULER
• Dr. Heather J. Clawson, Chief Program and Innovation Officer, Communities In Schools National Office
• Elizabeth Cook, Senior National Advisor – Social Emotional Health, Alliance for a Healthier Generation
• Eric Gurna, President and CEO, LA’s BEST Afterschool Enrichment Program
• David Adams, Director of Social Emotional Learning, The Urban Assembly

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Tuesday, April 9th
10:00am-10:45am
Panel: Higher Education

Precision Education: Delivering a Tailored Educational Experience to Each Student

In this discussion, we will share a model of delivering education in an adaptable platform capable of considering the specific needs of each unique learner, informed and guided by evidence-based data analysis.

• Dr. Huda Makhluf, Interim Director and Chief Academic Officer, Precision Institute at National University
• Jonathon Chillas, Vice President, Chief Data Officer, National University and Precision Institute
• Meghan Fager, Psychometrician and Research Fellow, Precision Institute at National University
• Greg Wilt, Special Assistant to the President at National University

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Tuesday, April 9th
11:00am-11:45am
Session: Higher Education

Leveraging Predictive Analytics to Identify, Engage, and Support At-Risk Students

This presentation will explore the methods and early impact of using predictive analytics at National University to identify and engage at-risk students and intervene in an effort to improve student outcomes. These outcomes include student course scheduling improvements, reduction in drop rates, and an increase in the average number of courses/units taken.

• Dr. Brandon Jouganatos, Vice President Enrollment Management and Student Success, National University
• Jonathon Chillas, Vice President, Chief Data Officer, National University and Precision Institute

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Tuesday, April 9th
2:00pm-2:45pm
Panel: Pre-K-12^th Social Emotional Learning

Expanding the Vision for Social Emotional Learning: Driving Toward Action Around Research, Policy, and Practice

These scholar practitioners emphasize a call to action for addressing the social emotional learning of all children. They will highlight practices that can inform future research agendas and policies.

Moderator: Dr. Heather J. Clawson, Chief Program and Innovation Officer, Communities In Schools National Office

• Dr. Marc Brackett, Founding Director, YALE Center for Emotional Intelligence, YALE/RULER
• John Gomperts, President and CEO, America’s Promise Alliance
• Kathy Higgins, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for a Healthier Generation
• David Adams, Director of Social Emotional Learning, The Urban Assembly

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Tuesday, April 9th
3:00pm-3:45pm
Session: Pre-K-12^th Children’s Health/Social Emotional Learning

Healthy Kids Learn Better: Why Social Emotional Learning is Foundational to Children’s Health

Kids’ ability to learn and their physical, emotional, and social well-being are inseparable. Healthier Generation will share how social emotional learning is foundational to children’s health and how schools and their partners can play a role in supporting children’s physical, mental, and social emotional health. Learn more about how Healthier Generation, together with our partners Harmony SEL and Kaiser Permanente, is addressing the whole child to ensure every child can grow and thrive.

• Kathy Higgins, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for a Healthier Generation
• Elizabeth Cook, Senior National Advisor, Social Emotional Health, Alliance for a Healthier Generation

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Wednesday, April 10th
10:00am-10:45am
Panel: Higher Education
Gaslamp C Room — 2nd Floor Seaport Tower

Radical Affordability: Strategies And Considerations For Delivering Low-Cost Degrees

The average annual tuition for a non-profit, private university is $39,529. At the National University System, we are developing a variety of initiatives aimed at bringing down the cost of a degree, including through FlexCourseSM, a teaching and learning platform that offers faculty-supported, self-paced online degree programs at an affordable price point of $8,500 annual tuition — about 78% less than the norm. Join us as we talk about using degree program structure, variable pace, integrated learning materials, transparent and flexible pricing, and collaboration with accreditors to achieve affordability while maintaining quality and outcomes.

• Andrew Shean, Chief Academic Officer, National Education Partners
• Jay Goin, President, National Education Partners
• Susan Morrow, Vice Chancellor of Innovation, National University System
• Thomas Stewart, President, JFKu Online

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Wednesday, April 10th
11:00am-11:45am
Panel: Higher Education

Demonstrating Social-Emotional Learning in Grades PK-6 Pupils and Concurrently for Their Teachers Through Impactful University-School Showcase Partnerships

This panel discussion features showcase schools involved in a unique university-schools regional alliance that emphasizes social emotional learning and inspiring teaching in grades PK-6 pupils while concurrently focused on professional development in social emotional learning for teachers. Resources available at no cost to schools, and Year 1 results of research conducted by Johns Hopkins University are provided.

• Dr. Judy Mantle, Dean, Sanford College of Education, National University
• Dr. Steven Ross, Professor and Evaluation Director, Center for Research and Reform in Education, Johns Hopkins University
• Dr. Donna Elder, Associate Dean, Sanford College of Education, National University
• Karl Mueller, Superintendent, Coronado Unified School District
• Torrie Norton, Associate Faculty and Project Facilitator, National University

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Wednesday, April 10th
2:00pm-2:45pm
Session: Non-Profit

The Power of Cause Selling: How to Solve the Nonprofit Dilemma, Stand Out from the Competition, and Thrive in Any Economy

This workshop will introduce you to the mindsets and activities that drive Cause Selling — an approach to fundraising based on the well-established “relationship model of selling” in the for-profit world. Both nonprofits and for-profits need the same thing to grow — a steady and predictable flow of revenue. In this powerful workshop, you will learn how to cultivate loyalty and explore strategic relationship-based activities that encourage donor engagement.

• Dr. David Lill, Distinguished Professor, Entrepreneur, and Co-Author of Cause Selling the Sanford Way: A Guide to Relationship-Driven Fundraising
• Jennifer Lill-Brown, Ghostwriter for Speakers, Sales Coach, and Co-Author of Cause Selling the Sanford Way: A Guide to Relationship-Driven Fundraising

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Wednesday, April 10th
3:00pm-3:45pm
Panel: Higher Education
Gaslamp C Room — 2nd Floor Seaport Tower

Credentialing Workforce Training Programs — Degrees for as Low as $5k/yr

While an estimated $22 billion dollars is spent annually by US employers for tuition reimbursement, workforce leaders would conclusively agree that there is still a long way to go to build a vital and competitive workforce. At the National University System, we specialize in building customized, high-value, online programs specific to industry requirements that easily stack into degrees — and we are currently piloting one such initiative aimed at bringing the price point for a degree to about $5,000 per year. Join us as we talk about using stackable program structure, variable pace, integrated learning materials, and industry-aligned learning outcomes to achieve employment readiness while maintaining quality and cost.

• Andrew Shean, Chief Academic Officer, National Education Partners
• Susan Morrow, Vice Chancellor of Innovation, National University System
• Joylyn Darnell, Executive Director for Corporate Partnerships, National University

Thought leaders from school districts, education advocacy groups and youth organizations recently gathered in San Diego for the Harmony Forum on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) to discuss how educators can incorporate social emotional learning approaches to improve school culture, reduce student trauma and address equity in education.

The Nov. 2 event forum featured speakers from around the country who shared developments in practice, policy and research, with breakout sessions for collaborative discussions and sharing of best practices. Welcomed by National University System Chancellor Dr. Michael R. Cunningham, the Harmony Forum attendees also had the chance to learn more about the history of the PreK-6 research-based Harmony, which is being made available at no cost to educators and nonprofits, and reaching more than 1.5 million students.

Social emotional learning approaches, as offered by Harmony through the private, nonprofit National University System, provide a foundation to support student development and growth, and various studies have demonstrated social emotional learning contributes to more positive academic and personal outcomes for children into adulthood. Harmony forum speakers included a representative from the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), which evaluates and recognizes high quality social emotional learning programs, and recently designated Harmony as a SELect program.  Some of the topics discussed by invited speakers included:

• Dr. Duncan Meyers, of CASEL, who focused on ways organizations and schools can put social emotional learning into practice, encouraging educators to take a four-point approach to incorporating social emotional learning into their districts or youth programs — building foundational support, strengthening adult competence and capacity, promoting social emotional learning for students and using data to assess and improve the work as it proceeds. CASEL, he said, also has prepared a new online assessment guide to aid educators in that final step.

• Lauren Puzen, of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, explained how small policy changes can have the power to lead to major shifts that affect the education system as a whole – and as a result, many more students. “I did this because policy is personal. It affects everyday practices and the research we conduct,” she said. “We’re getting so much closer to supporting whole-child health.”

• Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, a University of Southern California professor of education, neuroscience and psychology, explored her research into how social influences and emotion affect how young people learn – and placed emphasis on the huge role educators play in activating their innate abilities. Education, she said, helps students build stories, from absorbing basic concepts, to shaping their own personal narratives about their values and beliefs. “In every subject, the integration of a person’s emotional connection to thinking about what they’re doing, to the problem solving, to the learning that they’re doing in the relational context of the school classroom environment, is the essence of what you’re trying to build,” she said.

Addressing a need to advance social emotional learning skills, Harmony offers strategies, stories, activities, and lessons for encouraging students to strengthen communication and collaboration skills aimed at reducing stereotypes and embracing differences. The National University System – which is home to one of the largest schools of education in the country and includes pre-college programs and higher education institutions –  has overseen the program’s national expansion effort since 2014.

Harmony SEL is introducing its Online Professional Learning Library, which includes a number of online tools and resources to enhance the Harmony experience. Teachers and staff are able to access training, helpful SEL modules, support materials, and even the Harmony toolkit while on the go. Here are all the exciting new features that can be accessed right now!

Online Training

Teachers and staff can register for individual or group online training sessions. Upon completion of training, they will each receive a certificate, and will be well prepared to implement Harmony into classrooms. Watching the group training sessions during grade-level planning time offers teachers the chance to chat with one another about strategies appropriate for their teaching situations. In some school districts, the certificates received after the training sessions can be evidence that is submitted for salary or position advancement.

Digital Kits

Harmony SEL kits just got a new look and are available through the Online Professional Learning Library! Kits include storybooks, games, grade-specific lesson plan books, and Quick Connection Cards. If teachers lesson plan at home, all of the digital teacher resources and lesson plans are accessible on home computers—no more dragging home heavy teacher editions when teachers make use of Harmony online resources.

Hablamos Español

The Harmony SEL Digital kits for Pre-K through second grade will be available in Spanish on the Online Professional Learning Library this summer.

On-Demand SEL Modules

SEL-focused professional development modules will be available online in the coming weeks. You can view the modules at any time to support planning and implementation of Harmony activities, including:

– Affirming Difference and Valuing Background Knowledge

– Teachers as Agents of Change

– Working Against Racial Bias

Support Materials

Teachers and staff can watch helpful webinars and access other support materials (i.e. short videos) to refresh their skills and learn new SEL techniques to apply in the classroom. The brief videos of real kids and adults will assist teachers in thinking about ways to implement Harmony activities in their classrooms. The videos are organized by grade level, so teachers can view those that are most applicable to their teaching situations.

Sanford SEL App

Harmony SEL has launched the Sanford SEL app for grades Pre-K through second grade, so teachers and staff can access storybooks, Quick Connection Cards, and Meet Up discussion topics, and organize buddies for Buddy Up activities right from an Android tablet or iPad. The app can also be used for keeping track of student and classroom SEL progress, and for SEL lesson planning while on the go. If there are particular students in classrooms that need evidence of social-emotional-behavioral monitoring, this tool can be used specifically for individual students. Their progress shown by use of this tool can be the basis for discussion with school personnel.

What are you waiting for? To register for the Online Professional Learning Library and start enhancing your Harmony experience today contact a Harmony SEL Online Ambassador at sanfordharmony@nu.edu.

The end of the day and the end of the semester aren’t always easy on young students—they may miss their friends and teachers, and the fun and structure of school. Make saying goodbye a happy occasion, so they carry that positivity with them long after they leave. Here are some tips to make saying goodbye easier for students.

Leave Connected – Have students suggest unique and fun ways to say goodbye (i.e. high five, hug, hand shake, smile, hip bump, wave, thumbs up, short dance move), and list their responses. Stand at the door as they leave, and as students say goodbye to you and each other, give them the option to use one of the fun ways from the list.

Regroup Routine – Create a 15-minute routine for the end of each day. Help students leave with a good feeling about themselves and what they have accomplished by doing the following:

• Clean up together
• Sit in a circle
• Let students know that talking about learning at the end of the day helps them remember what they’ve learned.
• Ask students a question and let each one give a brief response or a pass. Open-ended questions are best: What is one thing you loved doing this semester (or day)? What is one thing you learned this semester (or day)? What is something that we did in class that you’d like to have more time doing?

Stay Upbeat – Establish a goodbye ritual for the whole group to do together, such as singing a song, listening to special music, or doing a chant or fun poem. Suggested songs are “Happy Trails to You” or “So Long, It’s Been So Good to Know You.”

See You Later, Alligator – Recite this poem together throughout the semester and one final time on their last day in the classroom:

See you later, alligator

In a while, crocodile

Out of the door, dinosaur

Chop chop lollipop

See you soon, baboon

Take care, polar bear

Give a hug, ladybug

In an hour, sunflower

Maybe two, kangaroo

Better swish, jellyfish

Chow, chow, brown cow

Better shake, rattlesnake

Bye, bye, butterfly

Gotta go, buffalo

Let’s jam, Sam

Blow a kiss, goldfish

Be sweet, parakeet

How do make saying goodbye fun for your students? We’d love to hear!

 

 

The best thing about young students is that they all have their own unique personalities. While some are well-behaved, eager pleasers in class, some can tend to be more disruptive, unruly, and…not as well-behaved. There comes a point when you must address certain behavioral issues with the student’s parents, so together, you can come up with a solution that helps the student to do better, and ultimately succeed in school. Here are some tips for touching on this touchy topic with parents.

 Send a classroom management packet home

During the first week of school, or when a new student enters the classroom, send home a notice that outlines classroom expectations, including rules, guidelines, and goals. Parents should know exactly what type of behavior is acceptable in your class. During your conference, you can refer back to the guidelines, and parents won’t be taken by surprise should you have to address that their child is not complying with any of these standards.

Be friendly

This one should go without saying, but greet parents with a kind hello and a smile. Start off the meeting with some small talk, and get to know them personally, before diving into any issues. By putting parents at ease, they will be a less defensive and more receptive to your feedback about their child. Maintain a positive tone and attitude throughout the conversation.

Inform

The purpose of talking to parents about their child’s behavior is to strictly inform. Keep thoughts, opinions, and advice to a minimum (or entirely to yourself). If parents ask for your opinion, be cautious, and try to be as diplomatic as possible. Keep in mind you and the parents only want what’s best for their child.

Stick to the facts

Tell the student’s parents exactly what happened, or what has been happening, that prompted the conference or telephone call. Stick to what you know to be true, which brings us to our next tip.

Be honest

Be straightforward and say, “This behavior is interfering with learning, and is not allowed in this classroom.” Don’t hold back or allow any room for misinterpretation, because the most helpful language for parents is the plain truth.

Explain how you are handling the behavior

After giving the facts of the incident or behavior, let the parents know how the problem is being handled at school. Explain the rule or guideline that the student has broken, and how he or she is being held accountable. Assure the parents that you are doing your part to help resolve the issue, change the behavior, and turn it into a teachable moment.

Be brief

Try to conduct conversations or conferences with parents, especially over the phone, in less than five minutes. End the call by indicating to parents that you appreciate their support and that they can call or email with any further questions.

It’s never easy talking to parents about behavioral issues. However, keep in mind, parents appreciate being informed, and most certainly want to know about any issues, so they too can address them at home. Parents can use this information as a way to open up dialogue with their child, and discuss any underlying issues that may be causing the behavior at school. All children are good children, some just need a little extra guidance in regard to classroom etiquette. Do you have any tips for talking to parents about a difficult student? Share them in the comments section below.

 

 

(Source: Smart Classroom Management, June, 2011)

There’s probably nothing more gratifying, as a teacher, than seeing students develop a love of learning. When young students display an eagerness to understand, and desire to know more, we know that we’ve done our jobs. Some kids have a natural inclination to learn, and others may have a more lackadaisical approach to school. So, what can you do to get your students engaged, motivated, and excited about learning? Here are some Harmony tips:

Share Your Love of Learning

It’s important for students to know that learning is invaluable, and even necessary, at any stage of life. In a Meet Up, share a personal experience in which you learned something new as an adult or as a teacher. For example, discuss a book you read, a documentary you saw, or a person you met, and what you learned and why that was important to you. Invite students to ask you questions about this learning. When you share that you learn new things too, you become part of your classroom’s learning community. In another Meet Up, you can have students begin to share their learning experiences also.

Make it Fun   

One of the best ways to get students to love learning, is to teach in a way in which they don’t even realize that they are learning. Get your students moving around and playing physically. Play thinking games. Invent games and let students invent games. Make sure every game has a learning goal and make that goal explicit to the kids. Just make it fun! Use a wide variety of open-ended, multi-sensory materials so that children, with teacher input, can see everyone has different learning styles.

Teach a Lesson on Learning

Let kids know that learning can be difficult, but when new learning is produced, not only the learning but the effort it took to get there will be evident. During a Meet Up, tell your students about a time it was challenging for you to learn something new (i.e., new computer technology or riding a bike). Also, invite students to discuss some challenges they have experienced in learning.

Offer Praise for Effort

When students are praised for their effort (not just the end result), they begin to understand how learning works. This positive reinforcement encourages students to continue to try, and enjoy the process.

Change the Variable

Add just one new/different material in the classroom periodically so that children have new items to experiment with and use. This will make the classroom not so familiar or predictable and will challenge children to think of new ways to work.

If we want independent, self-reliant children who are able to direct their own lives, we need to give kids the learning tools and knowledge necessary. This requires challenge and loving direction. It’s important to teach that the process of learning is something that will benefit them their whole lives, and is a process they can make all their own. Follow some of our tips, and let us know if you have any of your own.

Just as classrooms all over the nation are adopting Harmony as their social-emotional learning (SEL) program, after school programs are joining the Harmony movement! After school programs function differently than the traditional classroom, but are equally important to SEL development. This month, we’re putting the spotlight on LA’s BEST After School Enrichment Program offered at most schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

LA’s BEST gives Pre-K through middle school students a safe place to go after school for help with homework, and to participate in enrichment courses, STEM activities, dance, and the arts. LA’s BEST brings together hundreds of students at each site with diverse backgrounds, temperaments, and ages.  While this could be a recipe for chaos and disorganization, LA’s BEST provides structure and positive relationship building for their after school students by integrating Harmony strategies throughout their program.

Harmony Trainer, Erica Harms, explains, “LA’s BEST was searching for an effective social-emotional teaching tool. Harmony was a natural fit since LAUSD is currently implementing Harmony into all of its Pre-K classrooms, and has plans to roll out the program to all other grades as well.”

Since last spring, LA’s BEST has engaged students in Meet Up and Buddy Up routines using the Harmony Quick Connection Cards. “Site leaders have reported seeing improvements in students being more inclusive, showing empathy, and being more helpful. There has also been a decrease in arguing, bullying, and isolating” Harms reports.

Each LA’s BEST site carries out Harmony differently, depending on specific needs. For example, students may participate as one large group, or be divided into small groups based on grade level. Harms shares, “During after school programs, students have a great deal of energy and may express different emotional needs or frustrations: school is out, children may be excited or exhausted, and require a certain level of freedom. Harmony provides structure, and makes it easy for kids to branch out and work and play with other students. You might observe a third grader buddy up with a fifth grader, and this can make the third grader feel less intimidated, while the fifth grader feels a sense of responsibility to look out for and help his or her buddy.  Students appreciate having the structure, and having activities that include everyone. Through Harmony, students are building many new relationships that wouldn’t be built organically.”

LA’s BEST students have been enthusiastic about Harmony as part of their after school program. “Kids like sharing stories and talking about themselves. Shy students are able to come out of their shells and make new friends, because Harmony provides multiple opportunities for students to get to know and understand one another,” shares Harms.

Parents were pleasantly surprised how well Harmony was working for LA’s BEST students. Parents have reported noticing that children are now more connected and empathetic, and really enjoy attending LA’s BEST After School Enrichment Program. Harms says, “They are impressed with the care and emphasis on positive relationships that LA’s BEST provides for their children.” Parents have enjoyed the positive results of the program so much, they have asked if Harmony could be a component of back-to-school nights, open house, or other school events.

“One of the best parts about Harmony is that the options are limitless—it can be implemented in classrooms, after school programs, healing circles, Saturday academies, or parent nights, as participants will always value building supportive relationships,” reports Harms.

October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month

The statistics are alarming: one out of every three students is a victim of bullying. It’s an age-old problem that can impact children emotionally, physically, and academically. Anti-bullying legislation and campaigns can help, but educators must invest time to foster social-emotional competencies essential for a school culture of acceptance, tolerance, and respect. Harmony strategies, lessons, and activities are designed to build healthy relationships and combat bullying. Research indicates that Harmony reduces stereotyping, teasing, and bullying while increasing school connectedness, empathy, and student achievement.

Margaret Johnson is a former principal and director of curriculum and staff development who now serves as a Product Specialist and Trainer for Harmony program. In a recent interview, she shares the importance of building healthy relationships among children and how Harmony is helping educators prevent bullying and aggressive behavior in schools.

Q: What is bullying?

A: A student is bullied when he or she becomes a repeated target of deliberate negative actions by one or more students who possess greater verbal, physical, social, or psychological power.  Verbal bullying involves threats, name calling, teasing or spreading rumors and cyber-bullying. Physical bullying involves hitting, pushing, or destroying items that belong to others. Bullying also includes repeated social isolation when children are purposefully excluded from groups. Bullying has devastating effects such as school avoidance, loss of self-esteem, increased anxiety, and depression.

Q: Why does bullying occur?

A: Childhood and elementary school is a dynamic time of new experiences and forming relationships with diverse peers. Students come to school with diverse backgrounds and cultures, a variety of languages, different temperaments, communication skills, and maturity levels. During elementary school, children are still learning a great deal about how to get along with others. Some students are less prepared to share and solve problems with their peers. Unfortunately, some students resort to aggression to solve problems, rather than more effective ways to resolve conflicts.

Q: Are there certain characteristics of bullies?

A: Students more likely to bully others may be well-connected and enjoy social power among their peer group, be hyper-concerned about their popularity, and like to dominate groups. Other students tend to be more isolated from peers, not feel connected to school, have low self-esteem and may be anxious or depressed, be unaware of others emotions and feelings, and be easily pressured by peers.

Children who bully may also have the following factors:

• Less parental involvement or experience family issues at home
• Low options and tolerance of others
• Difficulty following rules
• Interested in violence
• Aggressive or easily frustrated
• Friends who bully others

Q:  What are the characteristics of a child who is victimized by bullies?

A:  There is no single descriptive profile to identify those students at risk for being targeted by bullies:  One indicator may be the absence of friends in a child’s life.  Children who are socially isolated are easier targets because they lack a friendship network to back them up and support them against a bully’s actions. They may be new to the school, struggle academically, be perceived as different from their peers in appearance, and not “cool.”

Students who are bullied may be passive or provocative victims. Passive victims may be physically weaker than most classmates, less assertive, experience learning difficulties and be more anxious than their peers. Lacking friends, these children are an easy target for bullying. Proactive victims may be both anxious and aggressive.  They may also lack social skills and tend to irritate or alienate their classmates. Bullies may provoke these provocative victims into an outburst through taunts or teasing and then sit back and watch as the teacher reprimands the victim for disrupting the class.

Q:  How does Harmony combat bullying?

A: The everyday practices of Meet Up and Buddy Up provide students with opportunities to interact with peers and participate in conversations and problem solving about issues related to your classroom community. Meet Up and Buddy Up teach your students essential relationship-building skills that combat bullying.

Setting Harmony Goals lays the foundation for the entire Meet Up process.  Creating goals establishes agreements for how the classroom will function is key to developing respect and equity among students. Regularly visiting goals and problem solving helps provide a common language to support and hold one another accountable. As students share commonalities and celebrate differences they are empowered to step into the shoes of their peers and learn to avoid hurting or bullying others.

Buddy Up creates opportunities for students to engage with diverse peers. By pairing students with a different peer each week students develop connections and social responsibility toward each other. When students know one another they are less likely to isolate, tease, or bully and more likely to support one another if they are bullied.

Harmony lessons and activities foster self-awareness and self-regulation skills and help students develop strategies to prevent bullying. Grades 3-5 lessons, activities, and games engage students in role-playing and problem-solving discussions to develop an awareness and prevention of bully behavior. Battle the Bullies is a popular game that helps students examine the roles of the bully, victim, and bystander and increases their awareness of effective and ineffective approaches for resisting victimization and providing victimized peers with support.

Harmony Pre-K-2nd grade storybooks introduce important relationship-building concepts to younger students.  The stories validate children’s feelings and help them recognize and manage their own emotions so that they do not harm themselves or others.

Q: What are teachers sharing about Harmony?

A: Teachers have embraced Meet Up and Buddy Up as effective practices to build supportive and respectful learning communities. Harmony teachers share they’re no longer putting out discipline fires all day as students are solving problems without staff intervention. Teachers are observing increased empathy and inclusion, cooperation, and supportive peers who are standing up against teasing, aggression, and bullying.  In Harmony classrooms teachers can teach and children can learn!

Q: What can parents do to help build healthy relationships?

A: Family and community investment in social emotional competencies enhances the Harmony experience. Parents want to know that their children feel included and accepted in their classroom. Harmony teacher kits include home school communication activities to share with families. Grade level manuals share a variety of strategies, lessons, and discussions appropriate for families. Our Harmony website also introduces parents to Harmony and provides supportive video teaching modules of Harmony in action.

Stopbullying.gov is an excellent resource for everyone invested in eliminating bullying:

Younger Students:  http://www.stopbullying.gov/kids/webisodes/ to learn how friends deal with kids who bully.

Upper Grade Students: Check out our “Be More Than a Bystander” section at http://www.stopbullying.gov/respond/be-more-than-a-bystander/index.html and learn how you can be exceptional role models in your school.

Teachers and School Administrators:  http://www.stopbullying.gov/prevention/at-school/index.html

Take the new online course:  http://www.stopbullying.gov/prevention/training-center/index.html.  This free online course will walk you through the basics you need to know about bullying and bullying prevention.