Stop and Think Social Skills Evidence Based Program

as Part of Project Achieve

Developed by: Dr. Howard M Knoff

A. Main Focus of Stop and Think (S&T)

·  As social skills are behaviors that students learn, just as they do academic skills, S&T focuses on teaching students interpersonal, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills.

·  S&T does not focus on what students should not do but does focus on what they should do.

·  The Stop and Think Social Skills Program has historical roots in the:

·  Social skills approaches of Arnold Goldstein and Ellen McGinnis Gwendolyn Cartledge, and others

·  Ecological approaches of Urie Bronfenbrenner

·  Cognitive behavioral approaches of Donald Meichenbaum

·  Social learning theory approaches of Albert Bandura

·  Systems change approaches of Evelyn Valentine and William Cook.

1. Taught skills separated into developmental levels

a. Pre-K through Grade 1 (basic skills;listening, waiting your turn)

b.Grades 2 and 3 (ignoring distractions, dealing with teasing, etc)

c.Grades 4 and 5 (setting goals, evaluating self)

d.Grades 6 through 8 (apologizing, dealing with distractions)

2.  5 Steps/Scripts

Script-

1.Stop and think!

2.Are you going to make a good or

bad choice?

3.What are your choices or steps?

4. Do it! (model)

5. Good Job! (give feedback)

Script for teaching: Asking for help

1. Stop!Ask yourself: “Do I really need help or can I do this alone?”

2. Raise your hand, mouth quiet.

3. Look at the person and signal them to get their attention.

4. Wait until you are recognized.

5. Say, "I need help," in a nice or quiet voice and tell them specifically what you need help with

3.  Components of Stop and Think

·  Teaching the steps to the students

·  Model the steps of the process so the students see what it is supposed to look like

·  Have the students role play different scenarios, so that they can practice

·  Provide performance feedback when you see them work through the process in an actual situation

B. Main Focus of Stop and Think for Elementary Students

Social skills do not come naturally, they must be taught. Therefore, developing social skills at a young age will begin to teach the students the importance of self-control/ management, and how to get along with others; important skills that they will need in order to succeed in life. Since Stop and Think is a program that is designed to be taught in all regular education classrooms, the teachers can build on the skills learned in previous years. As the students get older, the teachers can go more in depth and teach the different social skills to match the developmental age of the students. Also, when students are taught social skills, they are more attentive in class and less likely to be disruptive, and in turn allowing the teacher to teach more information (Knoff, 2009). “Students who learn good social skills are unlikely to engage in inappropriate internalizing or externalizing behavior” (Knoff, 2009). “Significantly, when students demonstrate positive and appropriate interpersonal, problem solving and conflict resolution skills, they can focus more on their work and less on the “disconnect” between teachers and peers” (Knoff, 2009).

C. Sample School Results

Jesse Keen Elementary School, Florida (First school to implement)

·  Data collected from first 10 years after program implementation

·  decrease in number of special education referrals from 10 referrals per 100 students to 3.9 referrals per 100 students

·  Decrease in special education placements from 6 placements per 100 students to 2.6 placements per 100 students

·  16% decrease in number of discipline referrals to principal’s office from 73 referrals per 100 to approximately 61 per 100 students

·  out of school suspensions decreased from 9 suspensions per 100 students to 6.38 suspensions per 100

·  Grade retentions decreased from 6 retentions per 100 students to 3.6 retentions per 100 students

Dutch Broadway Elementary, New York (Intervention school) and CS (Comparison school)

·  DB school- teachers, staff, students 3-6 (Higher number of discipline referrals than K-2) and their guardians

·  Multicultural, suburban

·  Data was collected twice throughout the program- Pre-intervention collected in May 2001 and post-intervention in May 2002 - same time in the school year

The program impacted the DB school in numerous ways:

2000/2001 school year / 2001/ 2002 school year
101 students referred to office / 42 students referred to the office
15 students were suspended / 9 students were suspended

·  3rd, 4th and 5th grade- Number of incidences decrease in 14 of 18 categories on the behavior checklist

·  6th grade- number of incidences decreased in 10 of 18 categories on the behavior checklist

·  School Aides saw a decrease in 11 of the 14 categories on the behavior checklist

·  The students increased their test scores overall

References

Knoff, H. M. Building strong schools to strengthen student outcomes: the state-wide implementation of positive behavioral

support systems. Retrieved from:

http://www.nccrest.org/disproportionality/StrongSchools.pdf

Knoff, H. (2005). Project ACHIEVE Technical Report on Longitudinal Outcomes from National Implementation Sites: Results from Florida, Texas, and Maryland. Project Achieve Incorporated.

Knoff, H. M. (2001). The stop & think social skills program. Frederick, CO: Sopris West.problems II: Preventive and remedial approaches, 315-350.

Knoff, H.M. (2005). The stop and think social skills program: Exploring its research and rationale, Little Rock, AR. 1-20. Killan, J.M. Fish, M.C. & Maniago, E.B. (2006). Making schools safe: A system-wide school intervention to increase student prosocial behaviors and enhance school climate, Journal of applied school psychology, 23(1), 1-49.

Project ACHIEVE | Social Skills Program. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2014.