7 x 7
Rochester Resilience Project
Co-Directors
Peter Wyman, Ph.D.
Wendi Cross, Ph.D.

}Jennifer West, PhD
}Karen Schmeelk-Cone, PhD
}Mike Teisl, PhD
}Luke Sworts
}Katharine Burke
}Erin Walsh
}
}Administration and Staff of Schools:
}19, 22, 30, 45, 50
}
}RCSD Administration; Special thanks to: Gladys Pedraza-Burgos, Gary Hewitt, Andrew MacGowan
}

ØApply ‘state-of-art’ knowledge about emotional development to strengthen children’s self-control
skills
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ØPromote successful ‘life course’ – prevent future problems
–
ØBuild a sustainable program that enhances the school setting and engages parents
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ØOngoing quality improvement
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}
Resilience Project
7 x 7

}Focus:  1st – 3rd grade
ØCritical period for academic skills, achievement motivation
ØLanguage and emotion competence burgeoning
Ø
}Complement primary education focus by:
ØStrengthening children’s behavioral self-control
ØChild-Adult Mentoring relationship
ØParent engagement and support of child skills
Ø
}
7 x 7
Resilience Project

mentors
Resilience Mentors
Resilience Project
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◦‘Hot’ Emotions – under challenging emotions, individuals rely on old learning
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◦Learning new skills is optimal under ‘cool’ situations
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}
}Generalization to “hot” situations -- classroom and ‘whole school’ (e.g., lunchroom)
}
}School-Based Resilience Mentor
}
}‘Coaching’ by Mentor in challenging situations for child; support by teacher and parent
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Child
Mentoring & Coaching
Parent    Meetings & Outreach
Teacher & School Collaboration
Resilience Project Components
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Resilience Project

◦ 1.  Building positive relationship
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◦ 2.  Exploring/Learning about feelings
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◦ 3.  Managing Feelings and coping skills
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◦4. Using new skills in challenging situations
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Ø2 years of formal 1:1 skill building meetings
ØOngoing practice of skills
ØOngoing coaching in ‘hot zones’ for transfer
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ØEmotion Regulation Skills
ØTo manage behavior
ØRecognition & Labeling feelings, identifying feeling intensity, ‘hot zone’
ØMental Muscles, “DB”, Step back-Count Back, Imaginary Umbrella
ØSelf-soothing
Ø
ØAttribution, Control, Problem-Solving
}
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Resilience Project

•Increase self-control
}
•Identifying emotions (e.g. heart racing)
•Comfortable/Uncomfortable Feelings
•Feelings small-BIG gradient (e.g., annoyed or furious’)
•Feelings can Change
•Can Feel 2 Ways (e.g. excited and scared)

•Increase self-control
}
•Two People Can Feel the Same Way or Different Way
•Can Help to Tell Someone How you Feel
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•When Feelings Get in Hot Zone – it can be hard to control behavior

•Increase self-control
}
•
?
M.M.

•Increase self-control
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•Help yourself to ‘Stop’ and keep feelings from entering Hot Zone
•‘Belief’ and ‘Identity’ – I’m a kid who uses MM

•Increase self-control
}
Take time to use a strategy to calm down, regain equilibrium
exhale
D.B.
SBCB

    Adult models each skill   Adult guided role-                             Adult cues
child                               Adult reinforcement
     & verbal teaching                   play & integrate skills                       ‘in vivo’
settings                         Refresher learning as needed

                   Imitation of adult model                  Purposeful practice w/
Child uses skills in some      Increasingly child initiated
                Child verbalizes skill concepts                  adult
prompts                         in-vivo contexts                      skill use

Scaffolding model for teaching emotion self-regulation skills
Unchallenging
Neutral
Increasingly challenging   emotions
‘In vivo’      emotionally challenging
Contextualized in diverse
settings
Situational Contexts
Sequence of Adult-Child Interactions
Monitoring Emotions (Self-others)
Maintaining Control-Regaining Equilibrium
Self-Control Reducing Escalation
Monitoring Emotions (Self-others)
Maintaining Control-Regaining Equilibrium
Self-Control Reducing Escalation
Primary Skill Components

}Parent Component
}Classroom Component
n
n2 year relationship
}
nParent-Mentor meetings at home or school
}
nTeach parent child’s skills
nReinforce with activities
nFamily goals/needs -information
nEnhance positive connection to school
}
qTeachers identify target children (Screening)
qMentors ‘coach’ in classroom with teacher collaboration
qTeacher -Mentor Lessons
§Developed with RCSD teachers
§15 min group skill building
§Parallels child program
}
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Resilience Project

1.Program Development and ‘proof of concept’ (SAMHSA, UR, NYS funding; 2000 – 2003 in 2 schools)
2.
2.‘Efficacy’ Study ($2.4 mil NIMH grant; 2005 – 2010)
–Schools # 19, 22, 30, 45, & 50
–400 children/parents; 100+ teachers
3.
3.Quality improvement , sustainability and expansion
4.
4.
Resilience Project
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   Resilience Project
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p<0.01
   Resilience Project
   Mentored Group 40% fewer suspensions
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1.Adult Introduces Skill to Child
2.
2.Practice
3.
3.Adult ‘Coaches’ Child
4.
4.Child Independently Uses Skills
}

5 SCHOOLS
Random assignment to: Individual Mentoring or Classroom Skills


Teacher 1
Classroom

Teacher 2
Classroom

Teacher 3
Classroom

Teacher 4
Classroom

Teacher 5
Classroom

C
E
E
E
E
E
C
C
C
C

Design for Ongoing Phase 2
  30-month follow-up with each child/parent:
Children’s learning of resilience skills
Child behavior, classroom adaptation, emotional development
Teacher, parent engagement
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Resilience Project

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Resilience Project
Intervention Component
     Total Number
Students Receiving Individual Skill Mentoring
        383
Individual Mentoring Lessons
     5,694
‘Coaching’ students to use skills in school setting
     8,800 +
Parent meetings with Mentors
# individual Parents engaged
        806
        197
Teacher-Mentor Resilience Lessons in the Classroom
        720

}1) Declarative Knowledge
◦Verbal, generic, accessible
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}2) Procedural Knowledge
◦Embodied, sub-symbolic, specific
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}3) Generalized Procedural Knowledge
◦Proceduralized and flexible to allow use in diverse settings

}30-min interactive interview
}Declarative Knowledge
ØChild can verbalize what “DB” is and why use it
Ø‘How’, ‘When’, ‘Why’ = Function in ER’
}Procedural Knowledge
ØOther-Directed: child demonstrates a ‘DB’ with prompt by examiner (“can you show me how’d you’d
use DB to handle this situation?”)
ØSelf-Directed: child fully demonstrates ‘DB’ without prompt (child ‘generalizing skill’ to a new
setting)
}

Resilience Project
7 x 7


}Children receiving Resilience Mentoring learn more skills than controls
}
}Analyses are ongoing…
}
}
Resilience Project
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}Peer to peer group component
}Extend to novel settings
}Teacher engagement in ‘lessons’
}Parent engagement
}Mentor training
}Spread of skills across students
}Teaching skills to ‘other personnel’ (e.g., lunch staff; ISS/ ATS)
}Which students do not respond and why? How to improve outcomes?
}