Empathy/Affective Education
Affective education helps students understand their own and others' feelings. Self-awareness and the identification and appropriate expression of feelings are emphasized. Students are encouraged to predict how others might feel and to respond to them by showing care or providing comfort. Empathy is a significant factor in the development of respect in relationships and in the control of aggressive behaviour.
Anger Management
Relaxation
Skill Practice
Social Perception
Story Circle
Journaling
Teachable Moments
Affect Attunement
Human Sculpting
Sculpture Wheel
Person to Person
Sharks and Lifeboats
Exchanging Sounds and Movements
Hypnosis
The Glass Cobra
Visualization (or guided imagery)
Anger Management
This strategy encourages students to recognize anger cues and triggers, to use self affirmations and "I statements" to express feelings constructively, to explore relaxation techniques as a way of controlling anger and to reflect on anger provoking incidents in order to construct a plan which can prevent these feelings in the future.
Relaxation
Teaching students how to relax enhances their ability to control their thoughts and feelings. Relaxation or time out provides time to think about alternatives and respond appropriately. It is a useful technique for controlling anger and overcoming feelings of anxiety.
Back to top
Skill Practice
Varied opportunities to observe, analyze and practise new skills are needed to ensure that behaviours will be internalized. Practising desired behaviours under supervised conditions helps students behave positively in real life situations. Students need to be able to identify the steps that are required to achieve a specific goal. Skill practice can begin with pre established steps or with student generated components and sequences.
Social Perception
This strategy involves teaching students how to understand and respond to a variety of social situations. The instructional goal is to help students understand verbal and nonverbal communication cues and respond appropriately to these perceptions.
Back to top
Story Circle
In Story Circle students share personal experiences related to a particular topic or issue. To engage students seat them in a circle and show them material (pictures, short films, objects, etc.) related to the theme or topic. Ask them to recount stories that show dissatisfaction, confusion or conflict related to the topic. Encourage every participant to share a personal story. Use these stories to explore feelings, identify commonalities (or differences) and stimulate interest in a given topic.
Journaling
This strategy provides opportunities for students to respond to ideas, images and other stimuli presented in a particular lesson. Journal writing can be used to help students reflect on their own thoughts and impressions of the day's lesson, to stimulate debate and discussion and to assist in developing critical thinking and inquiry relating to the topic at hand. Journals allow students to express their own ideas in a safe way. Sometimes journal entries can be shared with classmates. Evaluation of journals can be problematic. Teachers need to consider whether or not they will formally grade the journals, read only some sections selected by the student or not evaluate them at all. Consider the pluses and minuses in adopting any of these approaches.
Back to top
Teachable Moments
Take advantage of the times in class where student interest is piqued to encourage the transfer of knowledge, skills and attitudes to new situations. Encouraging students to reflect on the consequences of their actions and inviting them to become active problem solvers will help them assume a greater responsibility for their own behaviour and for the classroom community. Teachable moments in a classroom are times in which there is a psychological safety, emotional openness and a readiness on the part of both the students and teacher (see Affect Attunement).
Affect Attunement
This is a special kind of emotional communication that occurs in classrooms in which students feel psychologically safe and in which emotional openness is fostered by teachers. It involves individuals mutually focusing upon one another, being "in the moment" with and experiencing one another, and spontaneously "coming together" and matching their internal states (e.g., feelings, emotions). This dynamic process results in feelings of emotional connectedness and a sense of "oneness." Sometimes teachers and students refer to a kind of "chemistry" when this occurs. For most students, affect attunement underlies the ability to relate to and learn from one another due to the spontaneous emotional involvement and validation they receive from one another as well as the teacher; the result is improved academic achievement. Attunement in the classroom is promoted by recognizing that teaching is an emotional activity, creating opportunities for free emotional expression, encouraging emotions that are appropriate for the materials/subjects being studied, being sensitive to individual students' needs, becoming emotionally involved with students, reducing power differences, and varying activities that balance emotional and cognitive involvement. For further information, contact Dr. Greg Fouts at the University of Calgary: gfouts@ucalgary.ca, or visit his Website - http://www.psych.ucalgary.ca/people/bio.php?id=gfouts
Back to top
Human Sculpting
A human sculpture is a way to help players and observers physicalize and visualize a conflict in order to address its root causes. For example, it provides a strategy to help groups address issues such as bullying and harassment. Sculpting helps participants know how it feels to be in someone else's shoes. Sculpting is done by creating an image composed of people representing various roles in the conflict. By exploring the various roles, everyone comes to understand the how a network of individuals influences a conflict. Factors such as power, status, socio-economic level, role, and familiarity (with the central character) are reflected in the image as one by one each person joins others to shape the sculpture. To create a human sculpture, provide all participants with a critical incident, real or imaginary, that illustrates a problem or conflict. Create cards that describe each person's role (i.e. mother, coach, etc.), their relationship to the central character and their interpretation of the critical incident. Hand the cards out randomly (one per person). Ask the central character to assume a position in the center of the room and strike a pose that illustrates his or her feelings about the conflict. Working with one player at a time, ask each to read his or her card aloud and then step into the scene. Ask each person to strike a pose that reflects his or her relationship to the central character. This can be done by sitting, standing, lying on the ground, being far away or close and so on. Think about body language as well as position. Ask the observers to suggest ways to help new players strike an appropriate pose. Make adjustments to the scene if the character agrees. Discuss what needs to be done to change the situation and resolve the conflict.
Back to top
Sculpture Wheel
Sculpture Wheel is a variation of the sculpturing human activity described above. The sculptures are non-verbal ways of exploring and communicating the participants' understandings of concepts related to the work. The game is an effective way of organizing the creation and viewing of sculptures. Divide the group into two equal groups. One half stands in a circle facing outward. The other half stands in a circle around the outside of the first circle, facing inward. Each person should be facing someone else, forming pairs all the way around the circle. The participants in the outside circle are the sculptors, while the participants in the inside circle take on the role of clay. The teacher calls out words or phrases related to the topic the group is exploring (which participants have previously have brainstormed). The sculptor in each pair sculpts the clay into a frozen image, a representation of his/her interpretation of the concept. The sculptor should shape their partner's body by moving her/his body parts (make sure that participants are comfortable being touched), or by demonstrating with the sculptor's own body. Partners should avoid verbal communication. When the sculptors have all finished, the sculptures (inside circle) remain frozen. The outside circle is then asked to rotate slowly clockwise around the circle of sculptures taking the time to look at each one. Sculptors are instructed to stop when they arrive one person before their previous partner. The teacher calls out another word or phrase and the sculpting begins again. After a few rounds participants change roles-the sculptors become clay, the clay becomes sculptors. This game is an adaptation of an adaptation of an Augusto Boal game from Cohen-Cruz, J. & Schutzman (1994).
Back to top
Person to Person
This game can be used as a physical warm up - a variation of "Twister." It is also a great way of getting to know each other. The game encourages people to work together. Ask participants to walk around the playing space randomly. The teacher calls out, "person to person." As quickly as possible each participant finds a partner. The teacher then calls out any two body parts (e.g. nose to elbow). The partners must touch one person's nose to the other person's elbow. The teacher calls out another pair of body parts, (e.g. shoulder to thigh). Again the partners must carry out the new task while still maintaining the first connection. In other words, they must touch one person's shoulder to the other person's thigh while still touching nose to elbow. A third set of body parts is called out, (e.g. palm to head). At this point pairs are ready to topple over. Then the teacher calls out, "person to person." This instructs participants to change partners, and the game continues. Begin with simple body part connections and increase difficulty. Also allow participants to take turns calling out body parts.
Sharks and Lifeboats
This is an active game that demands cooperation and teamwork. Participants must work together developing strategies to get as many people as possible onto lifeboats that decrease in number as the game progresses. To play sharks and lifeboats, spread several sheets of newspaper on the floor or randomly place a number of chairs (using chairs is more difficult and risky) around the playing space. The newspapers or chairs are lifeboats. The space between the lifeboats is the ocean. Participants move around the space-they swim (encourage them to mime the swimming action) in the ocean. When the teacher/facilitator calls out "Sharks," participants must find, as quickly as possible, a secure place on one of the lifeboats. If they "fall into the ocean" they are eliminated. After each round the teacher/facilitator removes one of the lifeboats. Inform students that the goal of the game is to save as many people as possible.
Back to top
Exchanging Sounds and Movements
This game is a physical and vocal warm up. It also encourages the kind of spontaneous action used in improvisation. Everyone stands in a circle facing inward. One participant volunteers to begin. It's best if the teacher demonstrates the game first. A volunteer goes to the centre of the circle and adopts one simple repeated movement accompanied by a sound. That person then stands in front of someone in the circle and performs the sound and movement. The selected individual copies the sound and movement. The second person then takes the sound and movement into the centre of the circle while the first person takes his/her place in the circle. The second person performs the sound and movement and then changes these into a new sound and movement. The activity is repeated as above. Encourage participants to allow the sounds and movements to emerge organically-not to think about or plan what they will do. Encourage full physical and vocal engagement in the sounds and movements. If beginners feel self-conscious begin slowly.
Hypnosis
This game is simple and effective at demonstrating power relationships. Use this activity to help students think about bullying and harassment issues. The feeling of being in power can be strangely exhilarating. Participants work in pairs. One partner puts his/her open palm 3-inches/8 cm in front of their partner's nose. The partner with the open palm moves around the room slowly, moving the hand up or down, side to side, back or forth as she/he pleases. The other partner must maintain the 3-inch/8 cm distance between his/her nose and the partner's hand. Play for five minutes and then exchange roles.
Back to top
The Glass Cobra
The game Glass Cobra is based on Brazilian mythology. The object of the game is to re-create the glass cobra-by forming a human chain. The game requires trust and a level of comfort with being touched. Ask everyone to stand in a circle, one behind the other. Ask students to place their hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them. Then ask everyone to close their eyes and investigate, with their hands, the head, shoulders and upper back of the person in front of them. Instruct the group to break apart and wander in different directions around the room with their eyes closed. Each participant must find, by touch only, the person they were standing behind to reform the circle to its original order. This game is from the work of Augusto Boal.
Visualization (or guided imagery)
This is a method to help students picture an idea in their mind prior to a discussion or activity. Visualizations work best in a quiet, comfortable setting with lowered lights and appropriate musical background. The teacher uses suggestions or questions to guide the visualization process. It is important to provide thinking time after each question to allow thoughts to form and images to form. After students have experienced the visualization they can discuss their ideas, draw pictures, dramatize an event, perform an athletic skill or write a story. Visualization helps students draw on their own experiences to further explore a topic or concept.
Back to top
Back to Strategies page
|
