Enhance the social and emotional skills of children in your after school program. In addition, caregivers will foster their own skills in working with children.
INSIGHTS will help you:
- Recognize and identify the temperament of your students;
- Achieve fit between the students’ temperaments and the classroom management style;
- React optimally to your student’s behaviors because you recognize both the strengths and challenges that come along with their unique temperament;
- Create a classroom community that is responsive to individual differences; and
- Develop relationships with students that contain low levels of conflict and high levels of closeness
About the Program
INSIGHTS into Children’s Temperament is an intervention that has been proven to improve children’s behavior and the relationships they have with their caregivers. INSIGHTS for After School includes two related programs: a professional development program for caregivers; and an engaging program for children ages 5-8 years old. A train-the-trainer model also is available
The program contains 6 one-hour self-paced lessons and 6 remote sessions conducted by an experienced INSIGHTS facilitator. The self-paced lessons, which can be accessed on any remote device, include videos, interactive activities, and downloadable handouts that can be used again and again.
In between each lesson, the one-hour remote facilitated group session assists caregivers in recognizing temperaments/personalities and then how to use strategies that reduce behavior problems and enhance social skills.
See an outline of the program below and contact us for pricing, including group rates.
INSIGHTS for After School Schedule
| Week | Lesson | Facilitator Sessions Core Question |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lesson #1 Recognizing Child TemperamentThe major concepts of temperament are presented: its biological basis, resistance to modification, manifestations in situations involving stress and change, and how an environment can be supportive of a child’s particular temperament. Caregivers are taught how to recognize the temperaments of their students. Common temperament profiles are presented as exemplars: Coretta the Cautious is shy, Gregory the Grumpy whose temperament is high maintenance, Fredrico the Friendly is very social and eager to try, and Hilary the Hard Worker is industrious. | Facilitated Session #1 The facilitator welcomes the caregivers and asks them to identify the temperament of a student who they find challenging and another one whose temperament they find easy. The participants discuss how understanding children's different temperaments changes their perceptions. |
| 2 | Lesson #2 Reframing and Responding to Children’s TemperamentsCaregivers engage in activities intended to reframe their perceptions of their students by appreciating that every temperament has strengths and challenges. They also learn that although temperament is not amenable to change, caregivers responses can be modified. Videos demonstrate examples of caregivers responses that are optimal, adequate, and counterproductive. | Facilitated Session #2 The caregivers report on optimal, adequate, and counterproductive responses they have used and how their students reacted. |
| 3 | Lesson #3 Reducing Repetitive Student Behavior ProblemsRecognition and acceptance of a child’s temperament, however, does not imply permissiveness. Caregivers are guided in developing contracts when children exhibit repetitive or annoying behaviors. The contract is designed so that the targeted student can be successful. Consequently, an annoying behavior is reduced and the relationship with the child and caregivers is enhanced. | Facilitated Session #3 The facilitator leads the caregivers in critiquing the various goals and other contract components they plan to use. Role playing activities engage the facilitators in creating a contract with a child. |
| 4 | Lesson #4 Responsive Classroom ManagementPrinciples underlying responsive classroom management are presented. Discipline is symbolic and is not punishment. Videos show common behavior problems that some students exhibit. The caregivers then develop a responsive 3-step plan for isolated behavioral incidents that may occur in the classroom. | Facilitated Session #4 The caregivers report on the status of their student contracts and amendments. |
| 5 | Lesson #5 Cultivating a Classroom Community of LearnersThis lesson discusses the importance of appreciating individual differences among the members of the classroom community. Racial/ethnic differences are celebrated. Strategies for enhancing the self-regulation of students relative to their various temperaments are explained. | Facilitated Session #5 The caregivers continue reviewing the status of their student contracts and consider whether amendments are needed. In addition, they discuss how they have implemented other strategies they have learned within their classrooms. The facilitator also leads the caregivers is exploring how they celebrate the cultural diversity of their students. |
| 6 | Lesson #6 Everyone Needs More Social Competency SkillsSocial competencies for adults, as well as for children, are the focus of this lesson: listening, relaying empathy, assertiveness skills, collaboration, problem-solving, and conflict resolution. Strategies for attending to one’s own personal needs while juggling professional responsibilities are also discussed. Caregivers are encouraged to develop a contract with themselves to enhance their own social competencies. | Facilitated Session #6 The caregivers update the status of their student contracts and discuss whether further amendments are needed. The facilitator asks each of the caregivers about their own SEL contracts and who will hold them accountable. |
Professional Development
INSIGHTS for Elementary School Educators (teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, and administrators) is a professional development program that has 6 one-hour synchronized lessons and 7 synchronized one-hour sessions program that assists educators in recognizing children’s temperaments/personalities and then how to use strategies that reduce children’s behavior problems and enhances their social skills. The lessons and sessions are built on Nearpod an award-winning engagement platform that is accessible on any remote device. The lessons include videos, interactive activities, and downloadable handouts that can be used again and again. The lessons are conducted by an experienced INSIGHTS facilitator who will coach the educators in applying the content to their students. See below for an outline of the program and the cost of the program is explained here.
2-Day Program for Schools
Day 1
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Overview of the workshop; Recognizing child temperament |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Reframing your perceptions |
| 12:00 – 1:00 | Lunch |
| 1:00 – 1:45 | Caregiver responses |
| 1:45 – 2:30 | Gaining compliance: contracts |
| 2:30 – 3:00 | Break |
| 3:00 – 4:00 | Finalizing contracts Homework assignments |
Day 2
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Review of Day 1 Re-assessment of contracts |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Gaining compliance: discipline plans |
| 12:00 – 1:00 | Lunch |
| 1:00 – 2:00 | Expressing warmth: Parents, teachers, and even clinicians are people, too |
| 2:00 – 2:30 | Break |
| 2:30 – 3:30 | Collaboration Advocacy Fostering independence |
| 3:30 – 4:00 | Looking toward the future What if none of this works? |
Schedule a free webinar to learn more about our workshops and trainings!
“I have been teaching for more than 20 years and sometimes I forget to implement strategies in my classroom. The program put me back in charge. Just like you say: not all strategies work for all students, but you have to continue to implement them to find out what works. If it does not, put those strategies to the side. You may need them next year.”
Kate, Kindergarten Teacher
“Little by little, I am getting along better with my son. We still have alot of work to do with each other. The good part is that I know I’m headed in the right direction.”