The Center for Prevention & Early Intervention

Director, Nick Ialongo, Ph.D.

Co-Director, Phil Leaf, Ph.D.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School Of Public Health & the Baltimore City Public

Schools

The Center for Prevention & Early Intervention

The Center for Prevention and Early Intervention has received a 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health and Drug Abuse to determine the most effective ways to improve classroom behavior and academic achievement, and to prevent violence, mental health and drug abuse problems among students.

Proposed Center Intervention Initiatives

Try out the Combination of the Good Behavior Game (GBG), Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS), and Family-School Partnership (FSP) Classroom-wide Preventive Interventions in K-5 (starting with K-2).

Proposed Center Assessment Initiatives

To develop and pilot test a computerized assessment system for (a) teachers to use in evaluating students behavior and academic performance and (b) to identify children in need of more intensive preventive and treatment interventions.

Common Goals for

Educators...

increase academic and social proficiency

increase engaged learning reduce classroom

disruptions increase attendance and

school bonding reduce the need for IEP’s

and Special Ed improve the working

environment

What is Social Emotional Learning?

Social and emotional learning (SEL) refersto knowledge, habits, skills and ideals thatare at the heart of a child's academic,personal, social, and civic development.

They are necessary for success in bothschool and life.

Children who lack these skills:

Enter school at risk for stable and escalating behavior problems

Risk learning problems and academic delays

Risk peer rejection and victimization Risk adolescent problems in areas of

school failure, substance use, and criminal activity

Intervention Strategy

Engage teachers as implementers of the intervention by providing them with tools and strategies to use for instruction.

Improve individual child social-emotional skills through instruction, practice and reinforcement.

Change the environment to support the use of the new skills.

Interconnected Systems for Meeting

the Needs of All ChildrenSystems of Care

Treatment of severe and chronic problems

Systems of Early InterventionEarly-after-onset

Systems for Prevention and Positive Youth Development

Universal and Selective Prevention

Systemic collaboration is essential to establish inter-program connections withinand across Systems of prevention, early intervention, and treatment.

Adapted from Adelman et al. (UCLA Center for Mental Health in the Schools)

What is the PAX Good Behavior Game?

Classroom management system thatis implemented during regularclassroom instruction that promotes:

•Self-control •On-task learning and behaviors•Focused attention •Academic engagement •Positive social relationships

GBG Findings

Teachers gain 60-90 minutes more of

teaching and learning time each day

75- 125 fewer disruptions per hour in the

classroom

20%-30% less need for special education

20%-50% reduction in use of tobacco or

other drugs over a child’s lifetime

GBG Findings

50%-70% reduction in ADHD and conduct

disorder symptoms

Significant reduction in life-time juvenile

and adult criminal acts

10%- 30% reduction in injuries and stress

related complaints

Reduces teacher stress

Implementing PAX GBG

Create a shared language & vision

• Teach the PAX GBG 3 step introductory lesson (one hour of instruction)

Play the game 3 times per day for 10-30

minutes

Play a secret game several times per week

Incorporate extra game elements as desired

PATHS

PATHS Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies

The PATHS curriculum is a comprehensive

curriculum for promoting emotional and

Social competencies in elementary students.

The PATHS curriculum increases students

skills in the key domains by creating a positive classroom environment.

Key Lesson Objectives

…Identifying and labeling feelings, expressing

feelings, managing and understanding

feelings, delaying gratification, controlling

impulses, reducing stress, self talk, reading

and interpreting social cues, using steps for

problem-solving and decision-making, self

awareness, verbal and nonverbal

communication…

Implementing the PATHS Curriculum…

2-3 lessons per week for 20-30 minutes

Ready-to-use lesson plans Supplementary activities

integrate PATHS into academics

Includes generalization strategies

Family Communication tools

Program Outcomes

Improved thinking and planning skills

Decreased symptoms of sadness and

depression ( child report- special needs students)

Decreased conduct problems

Decreased anxiety ( child report- special needs students)

Benefits of PATHS/GBG Integration

The Benefits

PATHS is a compressive curriculum that teaches key social-emotional skills and promotes a positive classroom climate.

GBG builds children’s self-control skills but also provides the necessary reinforcement for the use of this skill. It also promotes positive socialization in the classroom.

Integrating both programs will maximize students’ skill development and use. We expect that this will have an even greater impact on student adjustment and academic performance then one program alone.

The Benefits

Research has shown that for children to

learn social emotional skills they need…

• Instruction

• Opportunities for practice

• Reinforcement

By combining PATHS and GBG students are provided with all three essential elements

necessary to develop these skills.

Training… Three Day:

SummerDay One: Project Overview

Project overview, rationale for program integration, theories, research, findings of both programs

Day Two: GBG Program overview, how to implement, review of materials, outline of the implementation process and coaching support

Day Three: PATHS Curriculum overview, goals and objectives, review of supplementary materials, generalization strategies, question and answer support

Training… One Day: October

Half Day: PATHS Review of curriculum, additional supplementary and integration ideas, school-wide strategies, answer questions and provide practical solutions

Half Day: GBGReview program and implementation process, school-wide strategies, answer questions and provide practical solutions

Training… Half Day: February

Provide teachers and schools with implementation support for both programs.

School-wide implementation strategies and support for both programs

Exchange ideas Answer questions and provide practical

solutions

Support

Each teacher will be supported by a PATHS/ GBG coach during the implementation process.

Month 1: Weekly coaching support visits

Month 2: Biweekly coaching support visits

November: Classrooms with a high level of implementation quality will have

visits cut back to monthly visits. Classrooms that need continued support will have more frequent

visits depending on coaches recommendations

Incentives Teachers, school mental health professionals,

and principals will each receive the following for their participation:

• Desktop computer or PDA for use in school• Stipends for participating in any informational or

training meetings

The Center will also cover the cost of any training and intervention materials.