Category Archives: Life Skills Building

What Can You Learn by Asking?

A Lesson/Facilitation Plan for Practicing Open-Ended Questions

This lesson/facilitation plan is an adaptation of “Open Questions – Role Play,” an exercise by William Chadwick that is available for free via https://www.sessionlab.com/methods/open-questions-role-play.

Learning Objectives

  • Learn about open-ended questions and the difference between open-ended questions and close-ended/leading questions
  • Develop confidence with asking open-ended questions
  • Practice listening to understand and respond
  • Consider the value of open-ended questions in conflict resolution facilitation

Context

This lesson/facilitation plan is appropriate for formal and informal settings, from middle- and high-school peer mediation workshops/clubs/classes to college and graduate courses to adult workplaces or community groups. It may be useful in any group setting in which instructors/facilitators are seeking to help participants learn to ask better questions, listen more closely to others, and/or prepare to serve as facilitators or mediators of some kind. As described below, this activity will work best when there are at least two instructors/facilitators. A single instructor/facilitator may modify the activity if needed, and there are suggestions below for that modification.

Materials

  • Paper/notecard and writing utensil for each participant
  • Timer
  • Optional:
    • Slides, poster, and/or handout with information about open-ended questions
    • Slides, poster, and/or handout with a list of potential fun facts for participants to choose from and instructions for the activity
    • Slides, poster, and/or handout with a written example of the activity (such as the one supplied below)

Time

Expect to spend at least 30 to 45 minutes on this activity, depending on the size of the group.

Room Set-Up

Place (or ask the participants to help place) 6 to 12 chairs (with or without desks/tables) in a semicircle, all facing towards the inside. Place one chair (with or without a desk/table) in front of the opening of the semicircle and make sure that it is facing the semicircle. If the class/group is too large to fit in the semicircle, have other chairs outside of the semicircle and explain that everyone will get a turn in the semicircle.

Background and Preparation

Invite the participants (or the first group of participants) to sit in the semicircle.

If there are people who do not fit in the semicircle, explain that those who are not in the semicircle are responsible for observing the action in the semicircle.

Tell the group that they will be practicing the facilitation tool of asking open-ended questions, which is a really important skill when you are trying to understand someone else’s experiences and perspective.

Explain that open-ended questions are questions that do not have yes-or-no answers and that are not leading or loaded. They often begin with “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” “why,” or “how.” Using “why” can be tricky because the other person may see the question as judgmental, but “why” questions can also be valuable, when asked in the right situation and with the right tone.

Share examples of open-ended questions and close-ended/leading questions and discuss the difference and the value of open-ended questions. One example pair of questions is “How did that make you feel?” (open-ended) vs. “Were you scared?” (close-ended/leading).

Ask the group for their thoughts on the value of open-ended questions.

The Activity

The following lesson/facilitation plan refers to the co-teacher/assistant/co-facilitator as “Ms. Terry.” The name “Ms. Terry” is just a placeholder for personalization and ease of reference in this lesson/facilitation plan. If you have a co-teacher/assistant/co-facilitator, replace “Ms. Terry” and her pronouns with your co-teacher/assistant/co-facilitator’s name and pronouns throughout the instructions. If you are leading this activity without a co-teacher/assistant/co-facilitator, replace “Ms. Terry” and her pronouns with “a/the volunteer” (or something similar) and explain that the volunteer will change with each round.

The following script explains the activity. Feel free to personalize it and modify it as you see fit.

Ms. Terry will leave the room shortly and, while Ms. Terry is outside, the class/group will collectively decide on one fact that they would like to know about her.

I will provide you with a list of fun fact questions to choose from, and I hope to achieve a quick consensus or do a little vote (if needed). Remember that there will be multiple rounds, so there will be a chance to use several different questions.

  • Note to the instructor/facilitator: See the next section for some fun fact question ideas.

Once the class has decided on a fun fact, Ms. Terry will return and sit in the chair in front of the semicircle. She will start off the activity by making a random statement. She might share something she did earlier in the day, something she recently saw, or some other observation.

Next, the first person in the semicircle will ask Ms. Terry an open-ended question based on her initial statement.

Ms. Terry will answer the question, and then the next person will ask a new open-ended question based on Ms. Terry’s answer to the previous question.

This question-and-answer session will continue until the group is able to steer the conversation to the point at which someone is able to ask the original question of interest or the round reaches the 10-minute mark, whichever comes first. If the round reaches the 10-minute mark without getting to the question of interest, the group will share the question they were trying to get to, and the class/group will start a new round.

There will be no random participation in the semicircle. You will have a turn to ask a question based on the order in which you are sitting. If we make it all the way around the semicircle, we’ll go back to the first person in the semicircle.

If one of you asks Ms. Terry a closed or leading question, I will speak up and ask you to reframe your question so that it is open-ended. I will also step in if someone asks a question that is not based on Ms. Terry’s last statement.

Ms. Terry will leave the room again at the end of each round to give the group the chance to decide on another fun fact question, and then we’ll start a new round.

Notes for the Instructor/Facilitator

If there are observers, you can keep them engaged and provide them with another way to learn by tasking them with raising their hand if they notice that someone in the semicircle has asked a close-ended or leading question or if someone has asked a question that does not relate to the answer Ms. Terry provided for the previous question.

For the list of fun facts, favorites are often popular and can be appropriate for all ages, but you are not limited to posing questions related to favorites. Other questions are also appropriate and interesting. Example questions include the following:

  • What is your favorite animal?
  • What is your favorite candy/food?
  • What is your favorite holiday?
  • What is your favorite color?
  • What is your favorite TV show/book/movie?
  • What is a place you really want to visit?
  • If you could go back in time, which historical era would you choose to visit?
  • What is your biggest (non-serious) fear/superstition/pet peeve?
  • What is the first job you ever wanted/dreamed of as a little kid?
  • Who is a famous person you admire?

If you are leading this activity without a co-teacher/assistant/co-facilitator, you may choose not to provide the group with a list of fun fact questions (instead just having the class/group come up with options themselves) so that the potential volunteers to serve in the Ms. Terry role, who should change with every round, will not see the list of options.

Set a timer for 10 minutes at the beginning of each round and intervene as necessary (as described above) throughout the round.

Once Ms. Terry answers the participants’ original question or a round reaches the 10-minute mark, congratulate all involved and pass out paper and writing utensils so that participants can take a moment to record their thoughts and feelings.

If the class/group was too large to fit into the semicircle, have the participants who asked at least one question in the previous round swap places with observers and start a new round, sending Ms. Terry out of the room again while the participants decide on a new fun fact to learn about her.

If you are leading this activity without a co-teacher/assistant/co-facilitator, you may ask for a new volunteer to take the place of the previous round’s volunteer at this time.

In each round, start from a different place in the semicircle.

It may be helpful to provide the participants with an example, whether by reading aloud and/or by passing around a handout with a written example. One potential example is below. If you share the example below with the participants, it may be helpful to note that a real round may be longer or shorter than this example. Additionally, if you share the example below, feel free to replace Ms. Terry with the name of the person who will take on that role in your activity, or you can use the generic “Volunteer.”

Example

While Ms. Terry is outside the room, the participants decide that they would like to learn Ms. Terry’s favorite holiday. Now, Ms. Terry has returned and the question-and-answer activity begins.

Ms. Terry: Over the weekend, I played in a basketball tournament.

Participant 1: Where did the tournament take place?

Ms. Terry: It was in a community center in Somewhere, about a 30-minute drive away.

Participant 2: How did you get there?

Ms. Terry: My teammate picked me up, and then we picked up another teammate, so there were three of us in the car.

Participant 3: What did the three of you do in the car during the drive?

Ms. Terry: We talked to each other about our weeks, our jobs, our families, and the news. We had a nice time chatting and laughing.

Participant 4: What makes you laugh?

Ms. Terry: Oh, we’ve known each other for several years and we tease each other and joke about different things in our lives and in the news. I think it’s important to be able to laugh at yourself and with your friends.

Participant 5: Who do you like to laugh with the most?

Ms. Terry: I probably like to laugh the most with my family and my best friends. We’re all so comfortable with each other and we know how to really make each other laugh and how to laugh with and at each other and ourselves.

Participant 6: Who is in your family?

Ms. Terry: My family consists of my parents, my brother, my sister, my brother-in-law, my niece, my nephew, and a bunch of cousins and aunts and uncles.

Participant 7: Besides joking and laughing, what do you like to do with your family?

Ms. Terry: We like to cook and play games.

Participant 8: When do you like to cook and play games with your family?

Ms. Terry: We cook and play games pretty much anytime we are together at someone’s home.

Participant 1: When do you gather at someone’s home?

Ms. Terry: My closest family gathers together relatively frequently because we’re pretty close. More people join in for birthdays and holidays and other special occasions.

Participant 2: What is your favorite holiday?

Ms. Terry: My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I love how everyone comes and we talk about what we’re grateful for, plus there is a lot of time for cooking and playing games together.

Participant Debrief

After completing at least three rounds, shift to the debrief. Although appropriate debrief questions will vary depending on the age of the participants and the purpose of the activity, there are a few questions, identified below, that will likely be useful to all groups.

Was this easier or harder than you thought it would be?

To break up the activity, it may be helpful to ask participants to place themselves along a spectrum for this question, indicating that participants who thought that the activity was much easier than expected should go to one side of the room, those who thought that it was much harder than expected should go to another, and those who felt that it was about what they expected or somewhere else in the middle should place themselves in the room according to their experience. Then, you may choose to ask some people to explain why they chose to stand in the particular spot they picked.

After completing the activity and participating in the debrief up to this point, what do you think is the value of using open-ended questions when conflicts arise? How might you use open-ended questions to deal with rumors? How might you use open-ended questions when a group of people is trying to work together for the first time?

When you asked your questions, you were trying to steer Ms. Terry in a certain direction. Do you think this sort of questioning is okay in a real facilitation situation? If so, when and how would you decide to do this?

Additional Resources

For more information about open-ended questions, take a look at any of the following articles (presented in alphabetical order, not in order of preference).

Emotional Intelligence and Social Change: A Conflict skills and Peacemaking Activity

Designed by Haley Nelson

Background Information/Content

Social-emotional intelligence is central to group dynamics and conflict. Yet, the exploration of emotional intelligence has historically been neglected in conflict resolution and peacebuilding conversations. The absence of emotional intelligence in conflicts can hinder the ability of group members to navigate conflict, empathize with others, and manage relationships (Schwarz, 2002). When emotional intelligence is considered at the educational, community, or organizational level, group members can learn to harness emotion as a community and relationship-building tool. 

This activity explores emotional intelligence in the context of peace education. This resource draws inspiration from psychology surrounding basic emotions, emotional wheels, and the origin of emotion, as well as conflict resolution and peacebuilding research on emotions and conflict. This activity will support groups in building emotional intelligence on the individual and social levels. This activity is best suited for groups with a common goal, such as classrooms, community organizations, and the workplace. 

Context

This activity is best suited for high school students, college-age students, and adults. The formality of this activity can be adapted to various education settings but is neutral in its current form. The activity consists of two phases and will take approximately 30 minutes per phase. The length of this activity may vary based on the depth of conversation and volume of participation.

The recommended group size for this activity is 4-10 people. Increased group size will increase duration, allowing for productive discussion among group members. This activity would be best supported by materials such as sticky notes, note cards, and a whiteboard. However, this exercise can be completed via discussion if these resources are unavailable.  

Implementation

Phase 1: (30-45 minutes)

  • Introduction (2-3 minutes):
    • Check-in on how everyone feels and provide context for the activity. The purpose of this introduction is to reveal that the activity will encourage participants to explore and feel daily emotions and tensions. The facilitator should consider establishing a controlled environment where participants can explore emotions safely. An introductory example is below:
      • “We are going to discuss emotional intelligence today. We will create a respective space where real emotions will be felt. We will go through a simulation designed to stimulate emotions in scenarios we feel and experience in our daily lives. If you feel the need to leave the space and take a moment for yourself at any time, please do so.”
    • Describe the importance of emotional intelligence when managing conflict.
  • Description of the simulation (2-3 minutes):
    • Provide a scenario, context, and discussion topic for the audience to navigate. For example, a dinner party discussing travel destinations will generate conversation and allow participants a neutral space to explore group dynamics.Assign behavioral traits to participants randomly: Each participant will be assigned a behavioral trait designed to generate tension, such as disruptive talking, withdrawn behavior, and overconfidence.
      • Remind the audience of the difference between behavior and emotions, acknowledging that the two might contrast during the activity.
    • Open conversation for any questions before beginning.
  • Simulation (5-10 minutes)
    • During the simulation, the participants will navigate conversation based on the context and behavioral traits provided. The group may find conversation challenging to navigate. The goal of the activity is to stimulate emotions based on the role assigned, the conversations at hand, or the simulation process itself.
  • Reflection: (5 minutes)
    • Take a moment to check in with participants. Ask the audience to write down the emotions 1. They experienced during the role play, and 2. Behaviors that might indicate others’ emotions during the role play.
    • After listing these observations on a notecard or sticky note, ask participants to hold on to their observations for later conversation (allowing for further engagement).
  • Individual level emotional intelligence? (10 minutes)
    • Define emotional intelligence and explore this definition with the group. This is an excellent opportunity to explore the meaning behind emotional intelligence and clarify any questions regarding emotional intelligence with the group.
    • After defining emotional intelligence, ask group members to share the emotions they experienced during the activity with the group. Ask the participants to refrain from group observations until later.
      • Explore the dynamic of emotions as they arise:
        • Did members experience multiple emotions? Were those emotions in harmony with one another? Did emotions contrast with each other?
  • Clarifying emotions (5-10 minutes):
    • Explore the six types of basic emotions with the group: happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and surprise. Then, explore emotions surrounding each category and how they can be clarified. For example: if a group member said they felt anxious during the activity, that emotion is rooted in fear. If a group member said they felt confused during the activity, that emotion is rooted in surprise. Provide examples for the group, then encourage them to clarify their shared emotions.
    • Many people, especially adults, will provide cognitive responses instead of emotions when asked how they feel. When asked what emotions they experienced during the activity, a cognitive response might sound like, “conversations about travel destinations made me want to explore the world more.” Encourage using the emotional wheel to assist participants in shifting from cognitive responses to emotional responses. Ask the participant which emotion is closest to their shared responses and explore the differences between emotion and cognition.

Phase 2: (20-30 minutes)

  • Social-emotional intelligence (5-10 minutes)
    • Ask the participants to return to their group observational notes from the simulation. Consider what cues clued participants in on how others might have been feeling.Provide an example of clarifying social emotions for the group:
      • “I noticed that you were quiet after being interrupted. Did you feel sad after that interaction?” Remind the group to use core emotion vocabulary (i.e., happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, surprise). 
      Allow group members to share their observations. 
    • Open a conversation to ask how accurate their observations were.
      • Why were my observations accurate/inaccurate? How can I better observe the emotions in groups moving forward? 
  • Further discussion: (15-20 minutes)
    • Allow the group to discuss their experience with the activity in depth. Some guiding questions might include the following:
      • How aware were you in the moment of your emotions? Others? 
      • Did you feel that other people’s emotions influenced yours? How? 
      • What were your reactions to emotions in the space? How/did you respond?
      • How might you manage your reactions to emotions in the future?
      • How difficult was it to clarify your emotions? 

Ways to further curate this resource:

  • Pedagogies that may strengthen this resource involve increased participant freedom and involvement. The facilitator of this exercise might increase participant freedom by:
    • Encouraging group members to create their own activities to stimulate everyday emotions.
    • Allowing group members to redefine emotional intelligence for themselves based on shared interests.
    • Involving artistic approaches to exploring emotions such as paintings, photographs, and music. This might involve emotional responses to the creation of artwork or the observation of artwork.

Goal

This activity focuses on individual and social-emotional intelligence. As an introduction to emotional intelligence, this activity seeks to help group members identify their emotions and clarify the origin of their emotions. At the group level, this activity seeks to increase awareness of group dynamics through observations and clarification of emotion. This activity aims to foster empathy and connection within a group by discussing the relationship between individual and social emotions. 

After this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Understand the meaning and importance of emotional intelligence.
  • Clarify everyday emotions into the six core emotions.
  • Have increased awareness of the connection between individual and social emotions. 

Resources

Further reading on emotions and insight into social-emotional intelligence:

Cherry, K. (2022, December). The 6 types of basic emotions and their effect on human behavior. Verywell Mind. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/an-overview-of-the-types-of-emotions-4163976 

The Junto Emotion Wheel. The Junto Institute. (2022). Retrieved 2022, from https://www.thejuntoinstitute.com/emotion-wheels/ 

Schwarz, R. (2002). Ch 12: Dealing With Emotions. In The skilled facilitator: A comprehensive resource for consultants, facilitators, managers, trainers, and coaches. essay, Jossey-Bass. 

“Dancing in the Dissonance” – A Conflict Resolution Skills Activity

Designed by Audrey Williams

I. Introduction

The goal of the “Dancing in the Dissonance” activity is to introduce the concept of “dissonance” as a tool to build curiosity and respect for difference in shared meaning-making spaces. The activity draws on narrative and musical tools for conflict resolution to build a better understanding of how people make meaning both individually and as part of a group. By the end of the activity, participants should have a better appreciation for how curiosity, complexity, and difference relate to healthy experiences of conflict.

By working with a pre-selected song to make and share meaning around sonic representations of conflict, participants will have the chance to ponder how meaning making happens on multiple levels, including:

  • on the level of the individual;
  • on the level of the group; and
  • on the level of the message between artist and audience.

This activity can be carried out in settings where participants already know each other as well as in settings where participants are just meeting each other for the first time. This activity involves a pre-class work expectation, and so it should be used in contexts where the facilitator has enough advance connection with participants to send pre-class materials to them.

At each stage, the activity is designed to help participants build greater appreciation for the flexibility and adaptability of meaning while also exercising their curiosity about how people can have different experiences of the same phenomena. Participants will learn how to see dissonance as an invitation to curiosity, and will walk away with an understanding of how to use curiosity to navigate difference in a generative, rather than destructive, way.

Continue reading →

Grades of Green

POSTED ON BEHALF OF SARAH JACKSON

http://www.gradesofgreen.org/initiatives

I found Grades of Green in a Google search for how to incorporate recycling into the classroom. I did this search after one of our class modules that challenged me to consider my impact on the earth, and choose one feasible strategy for mitigating that impact. Recycling in the classroom seems a clear place to start, and thus – this resource was discovered.

This resource is designed for use in a traditional classroom, however, the ideas, initiatives and resources can easily be adapted to fit any type of organization or business. The goal of the website is to propose alternative methods of communicating and educating – those that do not use so many of our planet’s finite resources. For example, one idea they posit is to post chalkboards throughout the building to present ephemeral messages, rather than using paper (ie: bulletin boards) to do this, which ultimately creates a lot of waste as the messages change each month. While this idea is geared toward a school, it clearly can be used for any type of business or organization.

At my school, I would use this resource primarily to model for my students (and colleagues!) how to be good stewards of our earth. I would start small – focusing only on what I personally can control: a recycling bin next to the trash can, creating small chalkboards to use instead of poster paper, taking charge of a display case to communicate ways to be environmentally conscientious, and conserving the use of electricity in my classroom. I believe that these types of actions would foster conversations with my students about why I’m making these choices, which would then lead to a greater awareness amongst my students and colleagues. The attitude I would most hope to develop in those around me in the school (including myself) is that of gratitude and care. I take for granted all that I have that directly impacts the environment. I want to appreciate what I use and consider how I use it. I hope that by making these small but determined changes I would create pause in the young people whom I have been tasked to influence.

Implementing this resource supports the pillars of community building and skill building. We all share one environment. Therefore, whether we like it or not, we are one community on earth. Becoming responsible members of that environment forces us to work together to care for it and share strategies and information of the best choices that will protect it. This illustrates the pillar of community building. Secondly, in order to accomplish change and promote awareness, the pillar of skill building is incorporated into the use of this resource. To be good stewards of the earth, we must develop an array of life-style changes and choices that promote conservation. In addition, we must have the knowledge to empower others to want to make changes in their lives as well. Innovation and practicality are both required to do this effectively, especially when it’s much more convenient to use it up and toss it out. To make better choices, we must access aspects of the skill building pillar as we reflect, analyze, innovate, and communicate.

Qigong

POSTED ON BEHALF OF BETH JIMERSON

“Qigong is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation. With roots in Chinese medicine, martial arts, and philosophy, qigong is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qi (chi) or what has been translated as “intrinsic life energy”. Typically a qigong practice involves rhythmic breathing coordinated with slow stylized repetition of fluid movement, a calm mindful state, and visualization of guiding qi through the body. Qigong is now practiced throughout China and worldwide, and is considered by some to be exercise, and by others to be a type of alternative medicine or meditative practice. From a philosophical perspective qigong is believed to help develop human potential, allow access to higher realms of awareness, and awaken one’s “true nature”.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong)

My mother has recently become very involved with Qigong classes and incorporated Qigong into her daily routine. I attended one class when I was home (in Bellingham, WA) and was intrigued by the gentle, flowing movements.  After our unit on yoga and meditation, I was reminded of these practices and decided to read more into this ancient Chinese practice. I truly believe in the importance of slowing down and relaxing for better health for both the body and the mind. Yoga, meditation and Qigong provide different approaches to similar goals in breathing, relaxation and exercise. It is important for everyone to find a route that speaks to them personally, so I thought I would introduce a new addition to this unit. Read more about this ancient Chinese practice from the National Qigong Association: http://nqa.org/resources/what-is-qigong/

The gentle and rhythmic movements of Qigong combine some of the concepts of yoga and meditation. They can be done in a variety of settings and practiced by people of any age. These methods could be used for personal relaxation and health or even incorporated into the classroom. Just as we’ve talked about benefits of meditation and yoga in the classroom, Qigong movements could be explored to stimulate different areas of the body or mind in our students.

A recent example that my mom sent to me from her instructor, Richard, focuses on self-healing Qigong for clearing the lungs, throat, sinuses and other “lung” issues. It is called the White Butterfly. This exercise can be performed seated, standing, or lying down so it could easily be used in a classroom setting. You can hold the position for just a few minutes or longer if you wish. Holding this position allows time to concentrate on breathing and meditation. Your students can breathe along with you. It would be a great exercise especially for the winter months of the year to clear sinuses, concentrate on breathing and meditation and take a few moments to relax and learn about ancient Chinese healing methods.

Exploration of Qigong could be tied into history and used as a base to explore other ancient healing methods. Ancient Chinese concepts such as ‘qi’ are also found in martial arts or feng shui which could open the conversation to a variety of discussions on history and culture. It would be interesting to explore ways in which other cultures have traditionally used practices such as these to promote peace. The conversation could open to uses of meditation by peace promoters such as Gandhi and comparing the methods used in his culture and by him to Qigong.

The Qigong methods incorporate many different movements and combinations of movements to target different parts of the body as well. It sometimes uses a combination of pressure points similar to acupressure. Just as with yoga or other forms of exercise, I would suggest taking a few classes or learning from someone else before attempting to teach these techniques to anyone yourself. There are a lot of subtleties involved in these methods and ways to combine breathing techniques with movements that are best learned and explored personally first in order to help others understand how to perform them correctly.

These exercises could work towards the peace pillar of skill-building by building skills to deal with our own stress and physical well-being or teaching our students which movements can help with different parts of our bodies and minds. Just as yoga or meditation are skills for peace of mind or exercise, Qigong practice could be incorporated to target different parts of the body. These skills could be easily practiced outside the classroom as well or built upon through further exploration.

The peace pillar on nurturing emotional intelligence could also be incorporated through getting in touch with our feelings and our bodies. Students could record the way they feel before and after these exercises or on a weekly basis after practicing three or four days a week. One adaptation that could be made throughout these exercises (which I have seen done) is to smile while performing these movements. This can help with emotional well-being just as being conscious of smiling and being positive can. These exercises could be used before lessons to create a relaxed and thoughtful environment for discussion- to get our students ready and receptive to opening up.

For more information, check out my mother’s Qigong instructor’s website: www.robertbateshealing.com

Nansen Model of Integrated Education

POSTED ON BEHALF OF KELLY RYAN

My home away from home (in terms of countries) is Macedonia. I love the people, the food, the various cultures, and in many ways this small Balkan country reminds me of my home state of Montana. I was fortunate to live in the capitol, Skopje, for nearly a year while I researched the integrated bilingual peace education model created by the Nansen Dialogue Center Skopje (NDC Skopje). NDC Skopje’s vision is of “a democratic society in which dialogue is the everyday tool for conflict resolution between individuals, groups or communities. A society in which peace, multiethnic cohesion, integration, equality and tolerance are the core values.” NDC Skopje successfully combines dialogue and peacebuilding theory with co-curricular activity to overcome local obstacles and promote peace education.

Following the violent conflict in Macedonia in 2001—largely between the Albanian minority and the Slavic Macedonian majority—schools in the country became segregated by language. This educational segregation is double edged. While all students are allowed to learn in their mother-tongue language, students are separated ethnically which creates a barrier to positive intergroup contact. For many communities in Macedonia, this has led to a “two schools one roof” situation where Macedonian and Albanian (or any other linguistically different community such as Turks) might go to school in the same building but remain completely isolated from one another. As a response, NDC Skopje designed a unique program of integrated bilingual education that works with the existing “two schools one roof” system.

In 2008 NDC Skopje opened the Fridtjof Nansen Primary School, since then NDC has worked to open a secondary school and train teachers in six other schools around the country to implement the Nansen Model of Integrated Education (NMIE). The model is unique in that it allows students and teachers to learn and teach within their ethnic groups and with their native languages for the state mandated curriculum but adds a daily or weekly co-curricular classes in which students and teachers integrate, both languages are used equally, and students and teacher collaborate on activities and projects. For example, in 2010 I was watched a wonderful bilingual rendition of Romeo and Juliet by Albanian and Macedonia students in the Mosha Pijade Secondary School in Preljubiste.

The NMIE methods targets students, teachers, and parents to promote intercultural, linguistic, and interpersonal understanding while fostering positive social contact.

The benefits from this model of education are the following:

For the students – high quality integrated extracurricular activities that will enable them acquire a variety of life skills and abilities, permanent upgrade of knowledge, strong self-esteem as well as promoting open communication, socialization, dialogue, tolerance and overcoming stereotypes and prejudices. Students also participate in various sports and cultural school and outdoor events, fairs etc.

For the parents – special programs for annual cooperation that promote their active role in school, increasing the life skills of the parents and creating habits for their continuous self-education, strengthening the cooperative relations between the parents and school staff from different communities etc.

For the school staff – professional practical and theoretical training on integrated education through the NDC Skopje Training center, variety of workshops and working literature, professional development programs and continuous upgrade of knowledge and competences etc.

For the school – improved conditions for work and a variety of equipment and contemporary didactical means, multifunctional classrooms, high quality regular and extracurricular teaching process, positive socio-emotional climate, improved cooperation between the school staff, parents and students from different ethnic communities, participation in various events and activities etc.

This peace education model is designed to meet the needs of those in Macedonia. However, their methods could certainly be adapted in different segregated school systems around the world, so long as the practitioners are careful in their adaptation to meet the needs of their respective context. I think this model could also be useful in parts of the U.S. where language barriers exist between students and communities. For example, instead of forcing Spanish-speaking students into English emersion courses, districts could start to implement an integrated bilingual program that allows English and Spanish speaking students the opportunity to learn both languages and interact with diverse populations.

NMIE is a great program and definitely touches on multiple components of peace education. I think that the two most relevant pillars of peace education that NMIE supports are skill building and community building. With NMIE students learn to develop language skills. Additionally, teachers develop bilingual and integrated teaching skills and curriculum development skills. Finally, NMIE facilitates community building between ethnic groups on the student, teacher, and parent level by promoting positive intergroup contact and collaboration. I encourage everyone to explore the NMIE resources and website!

NDC Skopje webpage: http://www.nansen-dialogue.net/ndcskopje/

NMIE resources: http://www.nmie.org/index.php/en/

PBIS for a more Peaceful School Environment

POSTED ON BEHALF OF MARG BRENNAN

For my final blog post, I wanted to share something that I’ve been working very closely with since beginning at my middle school, and up until this semester, I had been chairing. Since starting at my school, one pervasive and difficult issue has been the culture of the school and community – it’s an understatement to say that neither is conducive to learning.  Two years ago, we began to integrate PBIS – Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports – into our school and I’ve noticed the difference that it’s made.

The basic idea of PBIS is that behavior is taught like any other subject – through explicit instruction, modeling, reinforcement, etc. and that positive and/or appropriate behavior should be recognized, rather than solely punishing negative or inappropriate behavior. Additionally, programs are put into place to support students at all levels (or Tiers) of functioning – the idea being that roughly 85% of your student population are Tier 1 students, who will respond to school-wide supports, roughly 10% need Tier 2 small group support and roughly 5% will need focused individual support at Tier 3. General information on the program can be found at its website: http://www.pbis.org/. All behavior data is tracked through an online system to consistently monitor success of the program and make adjustments.

I was able to work with several of my colleagues over the summer to further develop our PBIS program and I wanted to share part of our lesson plans that we created. Our school-wide expectations are that all students are ready, responsible, and respectful. We spent the entire first week of school working with climate and culture building and explicitly teaching expectations.  I’m including the lesson plan for Be Responsible, but if anyone is interested in PBIS material, please just let me know!

We specifically designed this lesson (and all others) with our middle school students in mind, but the content and activities could be modified for any grade level. As PBIS is a very structured program and designed to be implemented in a school setting, I would say the materials are designed for a formal classroom setting. These lessons could also be incorporated into any subject, as the types of behaviors being addressed are applicable in all areas.

PBIS has been incorporated in ways that connect to peace education throughout the past couple of years. Students develop conflict resolution skills through working with teachers and mentors. Other students learn more about emotions, emotion regulation, and interpreting others’ emotions accurately through our social skills groups.  Lessons are reinforced in classrooms throughout the year. Last year, I ran a student leadership committee, where students were able to organize the field trips, activities, and build some of the community partnerships that we established throughout the year.

My one issue with this program has been the amount of extrinsic motivation that we provide to students (field trips, school currency, shout-outs on morning announcements, etc.) for displaying appropriate behaviors, as opposed to attempting to cultivate an intrinsic motivation in students. However, from where we started, which was at one of the highest suspension rates in the state of Maryland for many different issues, to where we are now, I definitely argue that for us the program works. We still have a long way to go, but we are making progress.

One pillar of peace education that is definitely supported by PBIS is skill building. The program is designed to work with the students who most need support in the areas of conflict resolution, developing knowledge of appropriate behavior and interactions with others, relationship building (with other students, staff, and families), managing more responsibilities, and multiple other skills that help the student become more ready to learn and often times, much less violent or aggressive and much more respectful in their interactions with others.

Another pillar that is supported, and is especially important for our Tier 2 and 3 students, is nurturing emotional intelligence. Many students are bringing issues to school with them that they do not know how to or are not capable of dealing with in a non-aggressive way. These students are often pegged as the “behavior problems” from the first day of school and then have one more aspect of their lives to struggle with. Our Tier 3 students actually have daily check-ins (sometimes multiple times per day) with our crisis intervention specialist or student advocates and they learn ways to express how they are feeling and have trusting relationships with those adults. They practice in situations with other students where they are able to model appropriate social interactions and emotion regulation. Some learn strategies for going home and talking with their parents or bringing skills back into the classroom in their interactions with other students and teachers.

PBIS Sample Lesson Be Responsible (.pdf)

Peace Learner Commitments

The above podcast was recorded on Wednesday, November 14th 2012 during the Peace Pedagogy (EDU-596) course I facilitate each year at American University.  As a final assignment for the class I asked each student to develop what I called a “Peace Learner Commitment.”  A Peace Learner Commitment is:

“…a pledge to yourself, and shared with our community, to achieve a goal that seeks to build and foster peaceable learning environments.  This environment can be built in the classroom, your community, among your peers, with your family, in the work place, or for yourself.  The choice is yours.

“The key is for an element of this course that resonated with you – skill, content, activity, attitude, technique, perspective, etc. – to bear fruit outside of the (tiny) classroom we shared this semester.”

In the podcast each student shares what their commitment is.  And listening to this podcast, I can honestly say that it has been a privilege spending an entire semester with this outstanding, kind, and inspirational group of learners. The 14 students all came to the course for different reasons, with different needs, and from different professional and academic backgrounds.  Given the diversity of the learning goals and needs, as the professor for the course I really had to give deep thought to what kinds of assignments were going to actually be useful to the class.

Guide to Preventing and Responding to School Violence

POSTED ON BEHALF OF AUDREY VAN GILDER

I’ve chosen to loosely relate my final blog post to my Peace Learner Commitment. That commitment was made as a result of all I’ve learned about gun violence while interning at the Brady Center, and in an effort to start spreading the word about intercepting gun violence, I’d like to share this resource with you.

https://www.theiacp.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=MwvD03yXrnE%3D&tabid=378

This Guide to Preventing and Responding to School Violence is a pretty technical examination of all the pragmatic steps that need to be in place should the worst happen – the worst, in this case, being gun violence in a school. As much as we as teachers and caregivers hope that this never touches us, the fact is, America sees a frightening amount of gun violence on a daily basis, substantially more than any other developed nation. Many of these mass shootings (considered at least four people injured or killed by one shooter at one time) happen in schools.

This document is a very thorough resource for not only teachers, but administrators, parents, community leaders, and public safety officials. It is appropriate to implement in full or in part at the discretion of a school. The important thing is that adults in schools are aware of the threat of gun violence. Not only must official emergency preparedness policies be in place, but teachers have a responsibility to keep an alert eye and ear out in order to discourage talk of violence among students. There are often warning signs of the potential for violence with weapons; the answer to confront this threat is not arming more people, but in increased communication among responsible adults about how to address and respond to violent crisis, should it unfortunately occur.

The way I interpret this resource, it can be used as a way to build a safe community. This pillar of peace education can be addressed by an unlimited number of strategies – this is just one to develop in order to serve a community if gun violence ever does become a reality. In addition, this document is a tangible method of skill building for adults in a school. It should be integrated with the crisis response plans that schools already have, and can be the worst-case-scenario guide for schools that already are committed to building peaceable communities.

As sad as it is to acknowledge, many schools in America are stuck in violent environments, in neighborhoods that experience gun violence every day. Realistic measures must be taken by people in charge to make every effort to ensure no gun crosses the threshold of their schools.

Stand Up and Speak Out

POSTED ON BEHALF OF MARIA SCHNEIDER

After reviewing my own reflections for our Peace Learner Agreements I decided that this program anti-discrimination and bullying program known as Stand Up Speak Out (SUSOSH) that I was involved with is something that I am proud of. It deserves recognition, and I believe that it should be implemented in other schools in communities across the country. It is relevant to peace education because of the long-term goals related to the seven pillars: community building, exploring approaches to peace, re-framing history, and transforming conflict non-violently, and lastly building life skills.

[Taken from the Minneapolis South High School website:] http://south.mpls.k12.mn.us/activities_s-z Stand Up Speak Out South High (SUSOSH) is a student driven peer education event at South High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Led by a core group of students on the SUSOSH Leadership Committee and staff advisors, SUSOSH trains over one hundred students in the art of peer education regarding homophobia, sexism, racism, and disability awareness. For two days, these peer leaders facilitate workshops for the entire student body of South High School in hopes of raising awareness and igniting change in the community. SUSOSH participants are committed to social justice at an unprecedented level at South High School.

SUSOSH, started as an initiative by the Gay Straight Alliance, Student Government, National Honor Society and Corinth Matera a dedicated, and well-respected teacher at South High. Based on student and teachers noticing an increase in vulgar and offensive language being used in the hallways of Minneapolis South High the conversation began of how we could transform our school environment to be more accepting and respectful of all people.

I think that this initiative can be implemented in many different learning environments but it is best done in middle and high schools where students and teachers can work together to create a comprehensive and effective social justice action plan to engage students of various backgrounds and grade levels. That way it is structured and can lead the way for transformational change and peace throughout an entire school or institution, not simply in one class or one group of students. As far as how to incorporate this into a class, I think that the need has to be there and a drive from students as well a support from faculty and staff members. Otherwise, there won’t be positive response from students if they don’t see positive leadership from their peers.

One year later, after local teen suicides related to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender bullying, South High was recognized for its anti-bullying measures related to SUSOSH. http://www.shsoutherner.net/news/2010/11/09/south-students-respond-to-recent-suicides/

After exploring this concept of Standing Up and Speaking Out I discovered a similar program on the edutopia site http://www.edutopia.org/blog/social-justice-lessons-activities-resources-rebecca-alber aimed at teachers to help better develop social and emotional learning through social justice lesson plans and resources.

How can this program be implemented in other schools? Who is responsible for doing this? How can we spread the word?