Linking body cues to emotions for elementary aged children: an understanding by design curriculum for social-emotional learning

America’s elementary-aged children are struggling in school. Teachers and parents report that children are demonstrating difficulty attending to and staying engaged with instructional activities in classrooms nationwide. As a result, teachers must manage children's dysregulation as it may impact their immediate learning abilities and produce further downstream consequences in the K-12 environment. These elementary-aged children are often referred to school-based occupational therapy. The referrals indicate social-emotional learning (SEL) deficits. These social-emotional processes and the child’s learning are negatively impacted by increased anxiety. Evidence supports these findings. In fact, the current literature on the topic reveals multiple contributing factors including sensory functions that link body cues to emotions. This doctoral project provides an overview of My Body Feelings (My BF) curriculum. This project details the curriculum’s development, and the specific connection of school-based interventions. My BF is informed by three educational theories including Sociocultural Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and the Theory of Constructed Emotions. Curriculum materials and lessons are organized as well as structured for the instructors using the Understanding by Design Framework. The program incorporates current evidence-based intervention strategies in 21 accessible 30-minute sessions complete with take home Exit Tickets. The result is an educational curriculum which directly addresses decreased self-regulation in children. The skills developed in the program will drive situation-specific coping skill development in children in grade levels 1-5. The anticipated outcome is improved emotional health and well-being of today's elementary-aged children impacting their important occupational role of student

Interdependent Relationships and Biodiversity

This project is a composite of three Next Generation Science Standard(NGSS) aligned lessons aimed at middle school science students. Three E-Learning modules have been developed and uploaded to www.DiscoverEntomology.comto supplement the classroom lessons in a flipped model, whereby students complete the online lesson prior to attending class, application of concepts are explored through activity. Over the course of five to six class sessions and a field trip, students will build their understanding of interactions within ecosystems, the interdependent relationships that form between and among organisms, and the importance of biodiversity, using insects as model study subjects. This project serves to show application of techniques, skills, and understanding gained from Insects as Educational Tools, Presentation Methods, Developing Distance Education, and Program Planning and in conjunction with the skills and processes I use daily as an Instructional Designer. The quality and quantity of available lesson plans aligned to the NGSS standards has been gaining impetus since its implementation in 2013. In reviewing articles, discussions occurring in online forums, and speaking informally with middle school science teachers, I wanted to design this micro-unit to be thorough, but user-friendly so that teachers, already pressed for time in trying to develop new material for class, can locate each lesson, a checklist for preparation, and the handouts for classroom activities

Interdependent Relationships and Biodiversity

This project is a composite of three Next Generation Science Standard(NGSS) aligned lessons aimed at middle school science students. Three E-Learning modules have been developed and uploaded to www.DiscoverEntomology.comto supplement the classroom lessons in a flipped model, whereby students complete the online lesson prior to attending class, application of concepts are explored through activity. Over the course of five to six class sessions and a field trip, students will build their understanding of interactions within ecosystems, the interdependent relationships that form between and among organisms, and the importance of biodiversity, using insects as model study subjects. This project serves to show application of techniques, skills, and understanding gained from Insects as Educational Tools, Presentation Methods, Developing Distance Education, and Program Planning and in conjunction with the skills and processes I use daily as an Instructional Designer. The quality and quantity of available lesson plans aligned to the NGSS standards has been gaining impetus since its implementation in 2013. In reviewing articles, discussions occurring in online forums, and speaking informally with middle school science teachers, I wanted to design this micro-unit to be thorough, but user-friendly so that teachers, already pressed for time in trying to develop new material for class, can locate each lesson, a checklist for preparation, and the handouts for classroom activities