P ROBE P RESENTATION Missouri State University In partial fulfillment for School Counselor Internship COU 783 Greta Carpenter Fall 2009 Dr. Marci Dowdy, Faculty

SIMS (STUDENTS, INTERVENTIONS, MEASUREMENTS, SETTINGS) Students- Kindergarten and 1 st grade students with focus room and/or principal referrals in the first 7 weeks of school. Interventions- Counselor met weekly with each students for 30 minutes in a small group for 8 weeks. Measurements- Discipline referrals and teachers perceptions were compared pre and post group. Settings- Counselor met with the students in the counselors office at Williams Elementary.

S TUDENTS SELECTED 2 Kindergarten students 2 First grade students 4 Boys All were recommended by teacher and/or principle All have referrals to focus room and/or principle

P RE - GROUP PREPARATION An was sent to teachers and administration requesting students with at least 1 referral to the focus room and/or principal’s office. Met individually with all 4 students to discuss the group. Permission slips were sent home to parents with 4 students. All 4 permission slips were returned within 3 days.

G OALS OF SUPPORT GROUP Students will become more self -aware. Students will learn how to tell when they are getting angry by identifying their body warning signals. Provide students with strategies to calm down when angry. Decrease number of referrals to focus room.

S MALL G ROUP S CHEDULE Group began October 14, Met for 8 weeks. Group was held on Wednesdays from 1:15-1:45. Out of the 4 students, 2 students missed 1 sessions each.

G ROUP TOPICS Session 1: Feeling faces: Identifying emotions Session 2: Puzzle people: Looking at our strengths Session 3: What bugs you?: Anger Management Session 4: Be a Start: Conflict resolution Session 5: I’m a good friend: Getting along with others Session 6: Don’t let the snowman melt game: Anger Management (Black, 2007) Session 7: Say what? Listening skills (MCGP Writing Team; Self-Control) Session 8: Review and wrap-up session

R EFERRALS TO FOCUS ROOM / PRINCIPAL

G RAPH S UMMARY L- Focus room referrals went down from 3 to 2, teacher reported an improvement in student during class. S- Principal referrals went down from 2 to 1, often went along with L in disrupting group. J- Focus room referrals went from 7 to 1, very quiet and self contained, staff reported a huge improvement in his behavior. Also received interventions outside of group from teacher, counselor, and principal. E- Focus room referrals went down from 4 to 1, very quiet and shy in beginning, talks more openly now.

T EACHER P RE -P OST -G ROUP P ERCEPTIONS

Graph Summary: Teach Perceptions Pre and Post-Group for student L Teacher reported considerable change. Students initially had 6 areas the teacher marked with a medium concern and 4 in the high amount of concern. Student ended group with 5 marks in the medium and 0 in the high areas. Overall the Student stayed the same in 4 areas, went down in 14, and went up in 0.

T EACHER P RE -P OST -G ROUP P ERCEPTIONS

G RAPH S UMMARY : T EACH P ERCEPTIONS P RE AND P OST -G ROUP FOR STUDENT S Teacher reported little to no change. Students initially had 1 areas the teacher marked with a medium concern and 2 in the high amount of concern. Student ended group with 3 marks in the medium and 2 in the high areas. Overall the Student stayed the same in 11 areas, went down in 0, and went up in 3.

T EACHER P RE -P OST -G ROUP P ERCEPTIONS

G RAPH S UMMARY : T EACH P ERCEPTIONS P RE AND P OST -G ROUP FOR STUDENT J Teacher reported considerable change. Students initially had 2 areas the teacher marked with a high concern and 17 in the very high amount of concern. Student ended group with 12 marks in the medium, 4 in the high, and 2 in very high area. Overall the Student stayed the same in 3 areas, went down in 15, and went up in 0.

T EACHER P RE -P OST -G ROUP P ERCEPTIONS

G RAPH S UMMARY : T EACH P ERCEPTIONS P RE AND P OST -G ROUP FOR STUDENT E Teacher reported considerable change. Students initially had 9 areas the teacher marked with a medium concern and 1 in the high amount of concern. Student ended group with 3 marks in the medium and 0 in the high areas. Overall the Student stayed the same in 6 areas, went down in 9, and went up in 2. Concern went up from a 2 to a 3 in the social area, teacher believes the student needs help with social skills.

S UMMARY All four students had less referrals to focus room and/or principal visits. Three out of four students showed major improvement in class.

R ECOMMENDATIONS More contact with teachers to check students behavior. Meet with each student individually to reinforce what we learned in group the week. Include a peer leader in the group.

References Black, S. T. (2007). Classroom Guidance Games (pp ). Chapin, SC: YouthLight Inc. MCGP Writing Team. (n.d.). Small Group Unit- Self Control K-2 (pp ). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from /RSSmallGroupUnitSelfControlK-2.doc MCGP Writing Team. (n.d.). Small Group Unit- Self Esteem K-2 (Self-Awareness). Retrieved September 9, 2009, from /RSSmallGroupUnitSelfAwarenessK-2.doc