1. © 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership
MDI 101

2. Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsQkcHavTYo
KEY MESSAGES:
Experiences in the middle years, ages 6 to 12, have critical and long lasting effects and are a powerful predictor of adolescent adjustment and success.  It is important to understand and have information on how children are doing at this stage of their development.
The MDI is a self-report questionnaire completed by children in Grade 4 and Grade 7. The questionnaire includes questions related to the five areas of development that are strongly linked to well-being, health and academic achievement.
The MDI was developed by a UBC research team led by Dr. Kim Schonert-Reichl in collaboration with United Way of the Lower Mainland based on a study of over 1,400 children in school districts in Metro Vancouver. The
Results of this study are available in the report “Middle Childhood Inside and Out: The Psychological and Social Worlds of Canadian Children Aged 9-12”
Based on this study, a Technical Committee of researchers from UBC, graduate students and staff from the Vancouver School Board and the United Way created a survey that could be used at a population level. Considerable input was provided also by children, parents, teachers and community groups working with children in their middle years. Questions were assembled from surveys previously used and validated with children.
FURTHER READING:
Middle Childhood Inside and Out: The Psychological and Social Worlds of Canadian Children Aged
Video length: 2:43
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership
Video link:

3. 5 Dimensions of the MDI KEY MESSAGE:
Here are the five dimensions on the MDI.
Social and emotional development, including optimism, self-esteem, happiness, empathy, and prosocial behaviour, sadness and worries.
Physical health and well-being including overall health, body image, mealtime and sleep experiences.
Connectedness to both adults and peers.
Use of after school time measuring involvement in after school activities, unstructured activities and what children wish to be doing.
School experiences including belonging, victimization, academic concept and school climate.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

4. Well-Being Index Happiness Health Optimism Self-esteem Low sadness
Low Well-Being
Children who are reporting negative responses on at least 1 measure of well-being.
Happiness
Health
Optimism
Self-esteem
Low sadness
High Well-Being (Thriving)
Children who are reporting positive responses on at least 4 of the 5 measures of well-being.
KEY MESSAGE:
The Well-being Index is a combined score of 5 measures that are known to be of critical importance for the development of children’s overall well-being.
Happiness- Happiness, or subjective well-being, refers to how content or satisfied children are with their lives. Happiness serves a greater advantage than just feeling good: children with a positive, friendly affect are more likely to attract positive attention from peers and adults, thus broadening and strengthening their social resources. Experiencing happiness also strengthens children’s coping resources when negative experiences occur.
General health - is described by The World Health Organization (WHO) as “not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” It involves knowing and recognizing one’s own state of physical well-being.
Optimism - Optimism refers to the mindset of having positive expectations for the future. Optimism predicts a range of long-term health and life benefits including greater success in school and work, less likelihood of depression and anxiety, greater satisfaction in relationships, better physical health, and longer life. It is also a strong predictor of resiliency for children facing adversity.
Self-esteem- Self-esteem refers to a person’s sense of self-worth. It is one of the most critical measures of middle childhood health and well-being. It is during the middle childhood years that children begin to form beliefs about themselves as “competent” or “inferior” people.
Low sadness - Depression is estimated to affect 1 in every 15 children in Canada. It has a later onset than anxiety, usually beginning around the time of puberty. Depression affects children’s ability to concentrate and also limits their ability to experience enjoyment or pleasure in things. Depressive symptoms during middle childhood may be able to predict later onset of depression.
The index has 3 categories of well-being:
High Well-Being (Thriving) indicates the proportion of children who are reporting positive responses on at least 4 measures of well-being.
Medium to High Well-Being indicates the proportion of children who are reporting no negative responses, and less than 4 positive responses.
Low Well-Being indicates the proportion of children who are reporting negative responses on at least 1 of the 5 measures of Well-being.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership
Medium to High Well-Being
Children who are reporting no negative responses, and fewer than 4 positive responses.

5. Assets Index ADULT RELATIONSHIPS PEER RELATIONSHIPS NUTRITION
AND SLEEP
AFTER-SCHOOL
ACTIVITIES
SCHOOL
EXPERIENCES
Not Reported Publicly
KEY MESSAGE:
The Assets index is a measure of key resources and influences present in children’s lives that help promote positive development and well-being.
Supportive Adult Relationships: Research shows that children who do not feel connected are more likely to drop out of school and to suffer from mental health problems. A single caring adult, be it a family member, a teacher in the school or a neighbour, can make a very powerful difference in a child’s life. Children who feel connected report greater empathy towards others, higher optimism, and higher self-esteem than children who feel less connected. Children are asked to rate statements about their connectedness to the adults in their lives:
- Adults at School
- Adults in the Neighbourhood
Adults at Home
Positive Peer Relationships:
Beginning in middle childhood, friendships and peer support begin to have a stronger influence on children’s school motivation, academic and life success. During this phase of human development children begin to place more importance on peer groups than on relationships to adults. Children are asked questions related to these two important aspects of positive peer relationships:
Peer Belonging
Friendship Intimacy
Proper Nutrition and Sleep:
Physical health outcomes are not uniquely controlled by genetics. They can be affected by different factors or determinants in one’s environment: family, relationships, lifestyle, economic and social conditions, as well as the neighbourhoods in which we live. Children are asked questions about their experiences in the following areas:
Eating Breakfast (Frequency of breakfast weekly)
Meals with Adults at Home (Frequency of meals weekly)
Frequency of Good Sleep (weekly)
Participation in After School Activities:
We know that the environments in which children live and play are important, yet we know very little about how school-aged children actually spend their after-school hours. The data provided by the MDI attempts to fill gaps in the existing research on children’s participation in activities during after-school hours (from 3 to 6pm). These are known as the “critical hours” because they are the hours in which children are most often left unsupervised.
Children are asked about their participation in organized activities such as:
Education lessons or activities
Music or art lessons
Youth organizations
Individual sports with a coach or instructor
Team sports with a coach or instructor
School Experiences:
School success is optimized when children perceive that they are learning within a safe, caring, and supportive environment. The MDI questionnaire asks children about the following school experiences:
School climate
School belonging
Academic self-concept
NOTE: The School Experiences asset is not mapped in public MDI reports. This is in order to avoid a ranking of schools or neighbourhoods.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership
Adults at School
Adults in the Neighbourhood
Adults at Home
Peer Belonging
Friendship Intimacy
Eating Breakfast
Meals with Adults at Home
Frequency of Good Sleep
Organized Activities

6. Assets and Well-Being: How are they related?
As the number of assets in children's environments increase, so too does their well-being.
Number of Assets
KEY MESSAGE:
There is a relationship between children’s assets and well-being. MDI research demonstrates that children’s self-reported well-being is related to the number of assets they perceive in their lives; as the number of assets in a child’s life increases, they are more likely to report higher levels of well-being. This finding is consistent across all participating school districts in British Columbia.
Example: Let’s say a group of 100 children report that they have all 5 assets present in their lives. Using the data from the graph in this slide we can predict that 86% of these children are also experiencing well-being. On the other hand, in a group of 100 children who are all reporting that they have zero or only 1 asset in their lives, only 30% of those children are predicted to be experiencing well-being.
Schonert-Reichl K., Guhn, M., Gadermann A., Hymel S., Sweiss L., Hertzman C. (2012). Development and Validation of the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI): Assessing Children’s Well-Being and Assets across Multiple Contexts. Social Indicators Research, 114: 345–369
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership
% Experiencing Well-Being

7. Reports
KEY MESSAGE:
Data collected from the MDI questionnaires are combined in order to create reports for three different levels of geography: school, neighbourhood, and school district.
School District and Community Reports - Contain data representing all of the children who were surveyed within a school district. Data are aggregated and averages are reported at both the school district and the neighbourhood levels:
• School district data - Averages are reported for all children who participated within the geographic school district boundary.
• Neighbourhood data -Averages are reported for all children living within a particular neighbourhood. These data are aggregated using children’s home postal codes, not by where they attend school.
School District and Community Reports are made publicly available at:
School Reports– Contain data specific to the population of children who participated in the MDI at an individual school. These reports are internal and are not released publicly. School reports can be shared with teachers, parents, and community partners at the discretion of the school district administration.
A Guide to Understanding your MDI Results has been developed in an effort to assist users with interpreting and applying their MDI results. It provides valuable information about the MDI’s five dimensions of children’s well-being as well as detailed information on the MDI survey questions, the response scales and the scoring methods for each dimension and measure are provided. We encourage you to read the guide as you review your reports and maps. 
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

8. MDI Participation KEY MESSAGE:
To date, the voices of over 43 thousand children are reflected in the results.
No. Students Participation by Year
2009/10 (Vancouver) = 3,042
2010/11 (Coquitlam & Revelstoke) = 1,995
2011/12 (7 districts) = 1,639
2012/13 = 10,285 (includes Vancouver Grade 7 MDI pilot)
2013/14 = 7,255 (Grade 4 and Grade 7)
2014/15 = 9,083 (Grade 4 and Grade 7)
2015/16 = 9,800 (Grade 4 and Grade 7)
2016/17 = 13,698 (Grade 4 and Grade 7)
To date, 31 school districts have participated in the MDI (nearly a third of the province).
Participation Rate
The average participation rate across the past 3 years has been 84% (87% excluding New West). Range from 55-99%. (Range from 76-99% excluding New West).
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

9. KEY MESSAGE:
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

10. Check Out discovermdi.ca
KEY MESSAGE:
The Human Early Learning Partnership has created the Discover MDI: A Field Guide to Promoting Well-Being in Middle Childhood; an online resource to help interpret the MDI reports and move forward with action. Innovation happens when people build on ideas, rather than simply duplicating them. Explore the growing collection of video stories, downloadable tools and action articles in the MDI Field Guide. Be inspired, edit, adapt or create new! Visit: discovermdi.ca.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

11. Facilitation Ideas
MDI 101 was designed to introduce or refresh participants’ understanding about the MDI as a research tool. Presenting this information before sharing local data will help to solidify people’s knowledge and context of the research before getting caught up in specific numbers. In addition, creating an opportunity to be confident in the foundational ideas before the leap into results will help to create a readiness for data exploration.
Use Worksheet 1—Mindset (or simply pause at slide 9) to take the opportunity to foster reflection and dialogue through simple activities to establish a foundation of trust and validation with the research.
MDI 101 may be presented on it’s own as a distinct session as described here or may be combined with Your MDI Data. Bear in mind that your task as facilitator is to balance the quantity of information with the time available without overwhelming your audience.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

12. The Agenda Welcome & Introductions MDI 101 PowerPoint Presentation
Mindset Activity
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

13. Activity Instructions
MINDSET ACTIVITY OPTION 1
Think-Pair-Share
This technique does not require a lot of time yet still increases a sense of involvement within a safe and closed conversation.
Step 1—Provide participants ~ 5 minutes of quiet time to reflect on how they personally connect with the foundational concepts of the MDI. The worksheet is helpful for this but not required.
Step 2—Follow the individual reflection time with an opportunity to share their thoughts and beliefs with a partner. Allow 5-10 minutes for these small discussions. Pairs may discuss each reflective prompt or allow for the pairs to choose which reflective prompt they are most interested in exploring.
Step 3—You may choose to invite some (or all) of the pairs to share any discussion highlights.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

14. Activity Instructions
MINDSET ACTIVITY OPTION 2
Flip Chart Carousel
This technique allows for reflection in a more active and public process.
Step 1—Post 4 pieces of Flipchart paper in different areas of the room.
Step 2—Label each paper with one of the reflective prompts from Worksheet 1/last slide of MDI 101 Slide Deck.
Step 3—Divide participants into four small groups and assign one per prompt. Invite the groups to stand and gather around the paper.
Step 4—Encourage small group dialogue with one designated recorder jotting down key ideas and conversation aha’s.
Step 5—After a certain period of time (eg. 5 minutes); rotate groups to physically move and then discuss the next reflective prompt. Their notes will be added to the paper eventually reflecting the whole group’s reflections.
Step 6—If time, debrief the activity to discover learning.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership