GroupWORKS for Education

Story

GroupWORKS trains educators to effectively reach ALL students. We give teachers the skills they need to understand and control the group dynamics of the classroom. We help students to develop the resiliency skills they need to learn and succeed. In the process, disciplinary issues are greatly reduced. Teachers can focus more energy on teaching and less on discipline. We train school counselors and prepare them to continue the process when we leave. We're successful when you and your students no longer need us.

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Featured Facilitator
Ken Hechter, LCSWR, CGP


Featured Program
On-Site Professional Development
at
PS 42, The Benjamin Altman School

PS 42 is a K-5 neighborhood school on the boundary between Chinatown and the Lower East Side. PS 42 has just over 800 students, and roughly 50 teachers and support staff. Test scores have so improved that PS 42 is on the state's list of most improved schools and the chancellor's list of 209 schools exempted from having to install a new standardized curriculum. Principal Rosa O'Day states that “we take teaching and learning very seriously, but not at the expense of humanity." The school provides bilingual classes for its immigrant students.
GroupWORKS was asked to partner with PS 42 in order to provide school wide professional development tailored to the needs of the school community. Senior Facilitator Kenneth Hechter, LCSWR, CGP working with school Guidance Counselor Rachel Yip-Leung, has worked with the teachers and support staff of PS 42 to develop professional development that is meaningful, in depth, and immediately applicable.
This year, the teachers and staff wanted to try something different. One group decided to follow two difficult students, students that many teachers had trouble with, for the entire year. Each month one teacher would present a progress report on that student. Teachers felt that in depth thinking and developing interventions for these two students would be easily generalizable to other students in their classes.
ADAM & EVE
The first child, Adam we will call him, was 8, a third grader, an outsider in his classroom. Adam was in a Collaborative Team Teaching (CTT) classroom which means that there were two teachers and the class classroom. Adam had a great deal of trouble sitting still for class and was often disruptive. He was so difficult and disruptive that it was thought that he would need a special placement—not at this school—if his behavior continued.
When the teachers began looking at this boy’s behavior, they asked if there was any time of the day that the boy was calmer. After this discussion, the teacher began to notice that Adam was calmer after gym. He seemed to be able to sit still longer and listen better. The homeroom teacher discussed the problem with the gym teacher and they worked out a system whereby Adam could go to gym twice a day. Normally students have gym twice a week. No one was sure whether he could be incorporated into the other gym classes, or whether missing more class time would improve his behavior, but both teachers decided to give it a try.
In the monthly groups, many teachers worried that the teacher might appear to be rewarding bad behavior by letting Adam have extra time in gym. No other student was getting it. Everyone agreed that the teacher should tell the class what was going to happen. When the issue was processed with the class, the other students stated that Adam needed to move around more and they were happy to let him go. They said he was too hyper and he had to take a break. The class had effectively accepted his problem behavior and allowed him to find a solution that worked for everyone. The students’ reactions to Adam had a profound effect on him. He began to be more cooperative in the classroom and his peer to peer interactions improved.
With this intervention plan, Adam went to gym twice a day. He was included in whatever gym class was going on at the time. He enjoyed his time in gym and sometimes took on a leadership role there. His behavior in the classroom became more natural and integrated. He had less trouble sitting still and he began to be less disruptive. Gradually, he stopped going to gym twice a day and was able to sit still and cooperate by one going once a day. Now he goes to the gym on an ‘as needed’ basis.
The second child that the group followed, Eve we will call her, was 7, a second grader. She was incredibly attention seeking, calling out in class and disrupting the lesson. Eve wanted the teachers attention all to herself and she did not interact well with her peers. She was very isolated and made no eye contact.
In the monthly groups, the initial recommendation was to give her a position of responsibility in the classroom. Perhaps if she felt recognized by the teacher, she would focus more of her energy on interacting with other students. Unfortunately, whatever task she was given, Eve would become very controlling. One student called her “a little dictator”.
Eve was then referred to the guidance counselor for small group counseling to work of becoming more related. In the classroom, the teacher began to use predictive interventions like asking Eve what could they expect today from her? Was she going to cooperate or interrupt a lot? These interventions were designed to help her develop the ability to observe her own actions, a pre-requisite for self-regulation.
Ken Hechter stated “What strikes me about these groups of teachers, and I have been working with them for many years now, is that they really take care of each other. They have a real bond with each other. These groups build a culture of mutual aid and help that allows everyone to comfortably say what they need to say without feeling judged. “
“It gets them away from looking at the deficits of the parents or the environment, and focused on identifying the problems and developing appropriate interventions. “
“It gives me hope, it really does”
For more information on our programs contact David J Dumais, LCSW 917-838-9534 or [email protected]