The document discusses implementing the Strong Start social-emotional learning program in 3 second grade classrooms. The author conducted pre and post-tests to measure changes in students' social skills, emotional coping, and academic functioning after teaching the 10 Strong Start lessons over 3 months. Results showed increases in all measured areas across the 3 classrooms. This indicates that directly teaching social-emotional skills can have benefits for students.

1. PROMOTING SOCIAL-
EMOTIONAL LEARNING
USING STRONG START
Action Research Using the Participatory
Inquiry Process (PIP)
Louise Lindgren

2. What is Action Research?
Action Research is “…an active and engaged form of future
forming or lifescaping research designed to promote change and
accountability” (Lewis, 2016).
• Ken Gergen points out that “The aim of the future forming orientation
is to create what is to become” (Lewis, 2016).
• When conducting future forming research, we are looking ahead to
see what we can create in our community. We have to look at what is
already working in the school we are at, and then engage with others
in order to find out how we can expand on what is already in place.
• It is essential to become familiar with the community you are working
with. Understanding the systems already in place and using the
strengths of those systems will help to potentially create or build upon
something that will last even when you are no longer at the school.
• PIP is an on-going process, full of adaptations in order to create
change in the future (Lewis, 2016).

3. What is Social-Emotional Learning?
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is “…a process through which
children...effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary
to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel
and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive
relationships, and make responsible decisions” (CASEL, 2015).

4. Ecological Context
SL, CA: Elementary School
• Population: 87, 975 (United States Census Bureau,
2013)
• School Size: 408 students
• Asian: 42%
• Hispanic: 25%
• Filipino: 9%
• White: 8%
• 2 or more races: 8%
• African American: 7%
• Pacific Islander: 1%
• Students Participating in a Free or Reduced Price
Lunch Program: 42% of the student population
• English Language Learners: 35% of the student
population

5. Literature
Research shows that, “SEL can have a positive impact on school
climate and promote a host of academic, social, and emotional
benefits for students” (CASEL, 2015).
Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger (2011)
• Meta-analysis of 213 rigorous studies of SEL in schools
• Indicates that students receiving SEL instruction demonstrated
better academic performance, improved attitudes and behaviors,
fewer negative behaviors, and reduced emotional distress
• Achievement scores increased on average of 11 percentile points
higher than students who did not receive SEL instruction
• Students demonstrated a greater motivation to learn, deeper
commitment to school, increased time devoted to schoolwork, and
better classroom behavior
• Disruptive class behaviors, such as noncompliance, aggression,
delinquent acts, and disciplinary referrals decreased and there
were fewer reports of student depression, anxiety, stress, and
social withdrawal

6. Literature
“Social–emotional learning (SEL) is increasingly becoming an
area of focus for determining children’s school readiness and
predicting their academic success” (Denham & Brown, 2010).
Weissberg and Cascarino (2013)
• Overall results indicated that high quality and well
implemented SEL can have a positive effect on school
climate and promote academic, social, and emotional
benefits for students.
• Results showed improved social and emotional skills, self-
concept, bonding to school, and classroom behavior; fewer
conduct problems such as disruptive classroom behavior,
aggression, bullying, and delinquent acts; and reduced
emotional distress such as depression, stress, or social
withdrawal.

7. Strong Start
• Strong Start, the Strong Kids K-2 program, is evidence-
based and designed to be both a prevention and early
intervention program.
• It has a wide range of applications, and may be used
effectively with high functioning, typical, at-risk, or
emotionally-behaviorally disordered children, and in a
variety of settings.
• Strong Start includes 10 lessons, which take
approximately 35 minutes per lesson to teach and are
fun, activity-based, and utilize popular children's
literature to help emphasize main concepts.

8. My Action Research
• Implementing the Strong Start program as a Tier 1
intervention in the three, second grade classroom at an
elementary school in SL.
• The purpose of this research is to see if the
implementation of the Strong Start curriculum positively
affects students’ social skills, emotional coping, and
academic functioning in a school in which there is little
social and emotional learning or support.
• Will implementing Strong Start increase students’ social
skills, emotional coping, and academic functioning as
measured by teacher reports?

9. Participants
• Three, second grade classrooms
• Classroom 1: 24 students
• Classroom 2: 25 students
• Classroom 3: 25 students
• 2 students’ parents did not consent to their child receiving the
curriculum and collecting data
• 74 total student participants
• I will be facilitating the lesson with classroom teacher
assistance so that they learn the curriculum and language of
the program
• Information will be obtained for the subjects via teacher
report. Teachers will fill out a brief questionnaire to help
assess the students’ skill levels prior to the intervention and
after the intervention.

10. Phase 1
Initiating Conversations and Identifying
Challenges
• Began looking at school environment, accessible school
data, and other school-wide sources of information
• Principal, school psychologist, resource teacher
• Lack of social and emotional support for students
• Response to intervention (RTI) academic support,
tutoring, before and after school homework help, and
reading clubs
• Need for social skills and social, emotional, and
behavior support

11. Phase 2
Engaged Inquiry
• When students demonstrate a social, emotional, or
behavioral difficulty in the classroom, teachers and staff
members do not usually know how to respond, other
than sending the student to the office or principal’s
office.
• It would be beneficial for the schools to attend to the
whole range of social and emotional needs for students
in order to make fully rounded students who are
successful in both academics and social emotional
skills.
• As a whole, the community hopes to learn if a social
and emotional learning curriculum will benefit their
students, just at research has suggested.

12. Phase 3
Collaborative Actions
• With an emphasis on teaching students skills to build positive
relationships, social and emotional learning can be utilized as
a strategy for schools to improve students’ ability to cope
with frustrations and stressors
Problem Statement: Students do not have an opportunity to
learn social and emotional skills at school.
Hypothesis: With direct instruction of social and emotional
skills through Strong Start along with teacher buy in and support,
the second grade students will show growth in their social and
emotional skills, as change will be measured by the students and
their teacher. Students will learn healthy, pro-social skills in
emotional regulation, social interactions, and positive living for
school and life success through the implementation of the Strong
Start lessons.

13. Phase 4
Community Assessment and Reflection
• After looking at the pre-surveys data, I noticed that
teachers rated students’ social and emotional skills low.
In each class, a majority of students appear to struggle to
manage and express their feelings in appropriate ways,
which often times comes out in social situations.
• I implemented all 10 Strong Start lessons as planned over
the course of three months. Students were excited each
week when I came into the classroom, and demonstrated
the skills they were learning and remembering through
our exercises and discussions. Teachers confirmed that a
majority of them were able to carry the skills taught in my
period to other periods.

14. Pre and Post-test
• Short questionnaire to assess teachers’ perceptions of
students’ social-emotional functioning
• I measured the following four different areas of growth:
• The student’s has good overall social and emotional
functioning.
• The student is able to successfully solve conflicts with
peers.
• The student is able to cope with challenges in the
classroom
• I am pleased with the student’s overall academic
functioning.

15. Intervention: Strong Start Lessons
1. The Feelings Exercise Group
2. Understanding Your Feelings 1
3. Understanding Your Feelings 2
4. When You’re Angry
5. When You’re Happy
6. When You’re Worried
7. Understanding Other People’s Feelings
8. Being a Good Friend
9. Solving People Problems
10.Finishing Up

16. Goals
• Promote students' self-awareness, social awareness,
relationship, and responsible-decision-making skills
• Improve student attitudes and beliefs about self, others,
and school
• Acquiring these skills and meeting these goals allows for
a foundation that supports better academic performance
“…as reflected in more positive social behaviors and peer
relationships, fewer conduct problems, less emotional
distress, and improved grades and test scores”
(CASEL, 2015).

17. Results
• Quantitative data collection shows an increase in each
area measured across all three classrooms.
• Teacher responses were averaged
• Qualitative data shows that students were able to retain,
practice, and carry over skills practiced.
• These results are consistent with what the literature
predicted and are what I had hoped and anticipated for.
• This implicates that a social and emotional learning
curriculum could have promising results if it was applied
school wide, and that students could have better overall
social and emotional skills.

18. Classroom 1
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
The student has overall good
social and emotional
fuctioning.
The student is able to
successfully solve conflicts
with peers.
The student is able to cope
with challenges in the
classroom.
I am pleased with the
student's overall academic
progress.
Pre-Test
Post-Test

19. Classroom 2
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
The student has overall good
social and emotional
fuctioning.
The student is able to
successfully solve conflicts
with peers.
The student is able to cope
with challenges in the
classroom.
I am pleased with the
student's overall academic
progress.
Pre-Test
Post-Test

20. Classroom 3
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
The student has overall good
social and emotional
fuctioning.
The student is able to
successfully solve conflicts
with peers.
The student is able to cope
with challenges in the
classroom.
I am pleased with the
student's overall academic
progress.
Pre-Test
Post-Test

21. References
CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (2015). SEL Defined.
Retrieved from http://www.casel.org/social-and-emotional-learning/
City of San Leandro California. (n.d.). Demographics. Retrieved from http://www.sanleandro.
org/about/demographics.asp
Denham, S. A., & Brown, C. (2010). “Plays nice with others”: Social-emotional learning and
academic success. Early Education and Development, 21(5), 651-680. doi:
10.1080/10409289.2010.497450
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D. & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The
impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of
school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82: 405–432. doi:
10.1111/ j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
Great Schools, 2016. Madison elementary school. Retrieved from
http://www.greatschools.org/california/san-leandro/295-Madison-Elementary-School/
quality/#Test_scores
Lewis, R. (2016). Four phases and nine steps in the participatory inquiry process (PIP)
[PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from Blackboard.
McKevitt, B. C. (2012). School psychologists’ knowledge and use of evidence-based,
social-emotional learning interventions. Contemporary School Psychology (16), 33-.
45. Retrieved from http://www.casponline.org/pdfs/pdfs/school_psychologists'.pdf
Strong Kids. (n.d.). Strong start. Retrieved from http://strongkids.uoregon.edu/strongstart.html
Weissberg, R. P. & Cascarino, J (2013). Academic learning + social-emotional
learning =
national priority. Phi Delta Kappan, 95 (2): 8-13.