Service Learning: A Partnership between Walker Charter Academy and the GVSU School Counseling Program
Location
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
Description
PURPOSE: The Grand Valley State University (GVSU) school counseling program partnered with Walker Charter Academy (WCA) to provide school counseling candidates the opportunity to design and deliver social/emotional lessons to students in kindergarten through sixth grades during the Winter of 2019. The goal of this relationship was to provide school counselors in training an opportunity to understand the process of utilizing needs assessments to inform the delivery of a developmentally responsive social/emotional curriculum. CHALLENGE: The school social worker at WCA provides responsive services to support the social/emotional development of students; however, school personnel expressed a desire for proactive curricular programming that develops the social/emotional skills of all students. The primary challenge of this partnership was for GVSU school counseling students to create and deliver lessons that would meet the students’ needs. EXPERIENCE: Seven school counseling candidates worked to develop three social/emotional lessons that focused on personality, conflict, and conflict resolution that were delivered by four members of this team. OUTCOME: In total, approximately eighteen hours were devoted to developing and delivering these lessons to sixty-three third-grade students. Supervision was provided by school counseling program faculty, WCA classroom teachers, and the building principal. IMPACT: This partnership resulted in improved mindsets and behaviors of students as measured by comparing the results of the pre-/post-test assessments and a reduction of third-grade discipline referrals. School counseling candidates also improved their self-efficacy in creating and presenting lessons as measured through pre-/post-test assessments. Candidates also improved their advocacy skills as assessed by classroom teacher feedback.
Service Learning: A Partnership between Walker Charter Academy and the GVSU School Counseling Program
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
PURPOSE: The Grand Valley State University (GVSU) school counseling program partnered with Walker Charter Academy (WCA) to provide school counseling candidates the opportunity to design and deliver social/emotional lessons to students in kindergarten through sixth grades during the Winter of 2019. The goal of this relationship was to provide school counselors in training an opportunity to understand the process of utilizing needs assessments to inform the delivery of a developmentally responsive social/emotional curriculum. CHALLENGE: The school social worker at WCA provides responsive services to support the social/emotional development of students; however, school personnel expressed a desire for proactive curricular programming that develops the social/emotional skills of all students. The primary challenge of this partnership was for GVSU school counseling students to create and deliver lessons that would meet the students’ needs. EXPERIENCE: Seven school counseling candidates worked to develop three social/emotional lessons that focused on personality, conflict, and conflict resolution that were delivered by four members of this team. OUTCOME: In total, approximately eighteen hours were devoted to developing and delivering these lessons to sixty-three third-grade students. Supervision was provided by school counseling program faculty, WCA classroom teachers, and the building principal. IMPACT: This partnership resulted in improved mindsets and behaviors of students as measured by comparing the results of the pre-/post-test assessments and a reduction of third-grade discipline referrals. School counseling candidates also improved their self-efficacy in creating and presenting lessons as measured through pre-/post-test assessments. Candidates also improved their advocacy skills as assessed by classroom teacher feedback.