Past projects 2
Learning Relaxation with Tongue Drums
Funded Apr 29, 2024Thank you so much for your contribution to my Donors Choose project, "Learning Relaxation with Tongue Drums". My students will love learning to relax with the help of Tongue Drum music. Learning these skills as elementary school students will benefit them for years to come. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.”
With gratitude,
Dr. Taylor
Students Building With LEGOs While Developing Social-Emotional Skills
Funded Oct 12, 2018Thank you so much for your contribution which made it possible for my 2nd grade Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Group to work together to create an amazing Lego community. As they built the community, the students learned about how we as individuals contribute to creating a caring community and at the same time, they worked on building SEL skills for self-improvement. The students were unsure of what it would be like to be in group, but they were overjoyed when they got to open the Lego boxes and start bonding with one another through play. It was an instant icebreaker!
Ten students started in the group. One student had to leave the group because his academic delays were such that he needed to receive supplemental instruction during the time we held group. One other student moved out of the school so he did not complete the group either. The other eight students completed the group. There were times when the students had conflicts with one another (they were recommended for the group because they were having some behavioral challenges so this was to be expected), but they were extremely motivated to work out their issues because they were so invested in being a part of the group. I used time in group to coach the students on conflict resolution techniques.
Here are some of the topics we covered in group: identifying and expressing feelings, assertiveness skills (saying what you need in a nice way), accountability, conflict resolution, making amends and taking responsibility, ways to handle anger, reading body language and understanding non-verbal communication, avoiding "pushing buttons" and what to do when your buttons get pushed, what is within and not within your control, dealing with other people's anger, the importance of honesty, how to show empathy and compassion, things to do to calm down, how to handle a bully as a victim or bystander, why it is not cool to bully, strategies to help you focus and pay attention, and problem solving.
The group met 30 times during the third quarter of the school year. The majority of the time, we had perfect attendance in the group sessions. Of the eight students who completed the group, six students showed grade improvement between their second and third quarter report card grades. In reference to "personal development" section of the report card (which includes work/study skills, positive interactions with peers and adults, and demonstrating self-control), three students improved, and five stayed the same (three of the students who stayed the same had no personal development areas that were unsatisfactory and two of them continued to have areas of personal development that are unsatisfactory). I will meet with the principal to explore additional options to help the two students who continue to have unsatisfactory progress. Of the eight students, one student made substantial progress in both academic grades and personal development marks.
All of the students reported areas in which they grew and had improvements by being in the group. Some of the areas they reported in which they grew include (these are quotes from students): being nice, how to be a good friend, assertiveness, how to work out problems, how to deal with anger, thinking about others' feelings, bringing up my grades, doing my school work, don't play video games so much, paying attention, how to be respectful, being helpful, improve on sharing, focusing, always tell the truth, accept the consequences of my behavior, my reactions to other people, not being sneaky, and how to handle situations better.
Although I could have done the group without the Legos, having the Legos made a huge difference to the students. They needed to work together to bring their plan for their community a reality. They felt special because the Lego group was just for them. And they were extremely proud of their final product. Finally, the group has allowed me to build excellent relationships with each of these boys so that I can continue to work with them to help them grow and succeed.”
With gratitude,
Dr. Taylor