Module 1 Project: High School Group

Before facilitating a group, preparation must be done on the types of activities that may be able to engage the students while also conveying an important message or teaching a necessary skill.This activity is a good resource for high school students because it takes an often confusing and nebulous idea and translates it into examples that are easy to understand. The idea of consent isn’t always as easy as just saying yes or no and these comics help illustrate that point. The accompanying activity encourages students to really think about the concept of consent and express it in their own way by creating their own cartoons.

The purpose of this journal is to help individuals develop a model of self-control in a daily life. Self-control plays a vital role in our lives i.e., your friends are hanging out and you want to join; you may be tempted to skip your planned homework time. Teens have to learn to resist temptation that could conflict with short or long term goals. Our focus group will think four long term goals that they can achieve and work towards throughout the semester.

Reference: Wilkowski, B. M., & Ferguson, E. L. (2016). Journal of Experimental Pyschology. The Steps That Can Take Us Miles: Examining the Short-Term Dynamics of Long-Term Daily Goal Pursuit, 145(4), 516-529. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000150

This image presents a list of important life skills for adolescents to learn, such as critical thinking, communication skills, organization skills, financial literacy, and self-sufficiency. These skills are just as important for students to master as academic skills. Part of preparing students for their lives after high school is empowering them to go out into the world and live on their own, confident that they have developed the skills necessary to use as a base for achieving those goals.

Reference: [Graphic image: Life Skills Lightbulb]. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from: https://www.time4learning.com/blog/new-homeschooler/ideas-for-teaching-life-skills-to-your-homeschooler/

An essential consideration in group planning is the effect diversity has on group dynamics. Diversity deeply impacts how small groups are conducted and all groups should be designed, planned, and implemented with cultural sensitivity. Cultural considerations include, but aren’t limited to, ethnic groups, socioeconomic levels, developmental levels, gender identity, and sexual orientation. It is important to be mindful of cultural diversity within a group as it can have a dramatic effect on the efficacy and success of group work.

This image represents barriers being conquered and overcoming fears that have hindered them. A great focus group would also have a school-based curriculum that focuses on communication, decision making, and goal setting. This would allow them to learn valuable skills and discover how they are relevant to their lives.

Reference: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://jumpmanualblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/jump-over-obstacle.jpg&imgrefurl=https://jumpmanualblog.com/overcome-obstacles-jump-hurdle/&tbnid=XJ-sOpgRcecYUM&vet=1&docid=XRIPuwkax3qdyM&w=600&h=395&source=sh/x/im

Infographics are used as a visual representation of statistics for users to get a quick understanding of the subject. Using statistics can help foster questions about how they found the numbers to generate the infographic. This image represents statistics on financial knowledge across multiple generations, as well as attitudinal and behavioral trends associated with personal finances. This picture connects to our topic by showing the importance of teaching financial literacy at a young age due to older generations having less knowledge than those after them.

Reference: Who will teach our children to be financially literate? (2018, August 15). DEBTWATCHERS - your source for debt education and guidance. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://debtwatchers.net/2018/08/kids-financially-literate/.

The lesson provided in the video is to value life. Being mindful is a strength.This video can be used to encourage and energize others to focus on a long-term goal. It can also stimulate their thought process trying to figure out how to achieve their goal. The benefit of it being in a group session is that they can develop ideas and provide feedback on how to meet their future goals.

Reference: Daretodo. (2019, August 7). The story of your life [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=YP3rgOrtQkY

The purpose of this article is to acknowledge the benefits of being mindful. High school students are at the development stage, where they develop more mature thinking skills and plan for the future. Greater mindfulness leads to greater emotional self-awareness and decreases depression and anxiety symptoms and insomnia that many adolescents face. Being mindful is not only individualized but formulates in a group setting. Traits include being observant and non-judgmental. For a group to progress and be successful, each group member needs to be mindful of one another. In addition, it is also building the skills required for adulthood.

This study focuses on the efficacy of life skills education in adolescents with psychosocial behavioral issues, such as those experiencing family issues, social issues with peers, or low self-esteem. Because adolescence is a time of great transition and development, students are likely to face these issues, with those under the stress of family or social issues or dealing with low self-esteem being more susceptible than some of their peers their peers. In this study, life skills are described as behaviors that enable individuals to deal with the demands and challenges of everyday life. The results were gathered through a pre-test before the intervention and post-test after, allowing students to self-report their levels of psychological well being and self-esteem. According to the results found in this study, the adolescents’ overall level of psychological well being and self-esteem were improved dramatically by the intervention program of life skills education. While this study focused on students already presenting with psychosocial issues, it is proposed that this intervention could be used as a preventative measure for mental health issues.

The purpose of this journal article is to help guide educators with an activity to promote healthy eating skills while living on a budget for families on SNAP benefits. This article takes you through an activity that requires students to create a meal plan, with three meals a day, for seven days, with only the average SNAP benefits. Students are required to make a grocery list based on the meal plan, while also including nutritional information for each meal. At the end of the activity, students are asked to reflect on the experience. This article is relevant to our topic because our population is low-income students or students who are already living an independent lifestyle that would require them to budget their meals. This article will help serve as an activity guide that can be done in our small groups to help students learn that they can eat healthy while living on a budget.

Reference: Schneider, N. M, Zavos, M. H., McAdams, A.T., Kovas, Y., Sadeghi, S., Gregory, M. A. (2019). Mindfulness and associations with symptoms of insomnia, anxiety and depression in early adulthood: A twin and sibling study. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2018.11.002.

Reference: E. P., A. A. (2015). Positive Mental Health through Life Skill Education: Empowering Adolescents having Psychosocial Problems. Journal of Psychosocial Research, 10(1), 21–31.

Reference: Whitney, E., & Herbert, P. (2018). Healthy Eating on a Budget: A Lesson in Frugality. Strategies (08924562), 31(6), 42–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/08924562.2018.1516442

This chapter is an important resource for planning and facilitating group work in a school setting. The chapter is an all-encompassing guide to planning for group work, from conception to implementation. It covers needs assessment, participant screening and selection, detailed logistics, and the stages of group development, among many other topics. This chapter is an essential resource, regardless of the age range, developmental level, or topic considerations of the particular group being planned. It reads as a comprehensive to-do list for anyone planning a small counseling group and can be easily accessed time and again for reference and guidance.

This resource explains why group sessions are essential. Adolescents are more likely to question the benefits of participating in certain activities. They will be more likely to be committed and contribute if the services pertain to them. This resource also informs them of the group process and expectations. This information is vital for students to feel prepared and understand their role.

This resource gives guidelines for group work from the Association for Specialists in Group Work, who recognizes the commitment to the Code of Ethics. The guidelines are intended to help clarify the use of the ACA Code of Ethics in group work by defining what a group workers responsibility and scope of practice is using activities, interventions, and strategies that are current and consistent with the ethical standards. This resource breaks the guidelines into three sections which are best practices when planning, best practices in performing, and best practices in group processing. This learning resource is relevant to our topic because it helps to provide a guide on maintaining the Code of Ethics when facilitating a group. It also serves as a tool to all the different aspects it takes to have a successful group, by providing planning, performing, and processing guidelines.

This resource explains the ASCA three domains: academic, career and social/emotional development. The ASCA will help us guide the group by promoting mindsets and behaviors that progresses the learning process and create a culture of college and career readiness. Group counseling, which involves a number of students working on shared tasks and developing supportive relationships in a group setting, is an efficient, effective and positive way of providing direct service to students with academic, career and social/emotional developmental issues and situational concerns.

Reference: Sink, C. A., Edwards, C., & Eppler, C. (2012). Basics of group preparation and implementation. School based group counseling (pp. 64–106). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Reference: American School Counselor Association. (2020). The school counselor and group counseling. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements/The-School-Counselor-and-Group-Counseling

Reference: Thomas, R. V., & Pender, D. (2008). Association for Specialists in Group Work: Best Practice Guidelines 2007 Revisions. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 33(2), 111–117. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/01933920801971184

Reference: American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Retrieved from https:www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/f041cbd0-7004-47a5-ba01-3a5d657c6743/Ethical-Standards.pdf

Reference: Dovas. (2016) “Rape And Consent Explained In 7 Simple Comics By Alli Kirkham.” Bored Panda. www.boredpanda.com/consent-rape-comics-alli-kerkham/?utm_source=google.

Financial literacy is not something that everyone has knowledge about and can be important when trying to plan. This resource is a quick guide to some basic financial terms and basic things that you should know concerning finances. Some topics include balancing a checkbook, investing, budgeting, filing taxes, etc. It also gives some startling facts about today’s youth’s knowledge of financial literacy and provides more resources for learning about finances. This resource is relevant to our topic because we are working with low-come and financially independent students who are responsible for finances. This resource will help to provide information on different parts of financial literacy for students to learn about, especially some financial terms that they may not quite understand.

For some students, finances are not on their minds, but for others such as low-income students or independent students, finances are at the forefront. This blog is about an activity that helps students to make a ‘life’ of choices, from renting or buying a home to getting a car. The financial lessons from making life choices can include mortgages, interest, taxes, building credit, budgeting, etc. To begin the activity, students are asked to choose between going to college or joining the workforce. After that decision is made, students begin on their journey to different stations, beginning with housing. From there on, students will go from station to station until they have reached the end of the stations and are asked to review their financial planning sheets. This activity is relevant to our topic because it is aimed at financial planning and will help students to organize their finances and learn how to budget based on their income.

Teenagers need to know how to successfully write a resume. Our job is to remind students not to limit themselves to work experience when considering things to include on their resumes. Explain that many things they do on a regular basis can provide experience and indicate skills. Offer examples such as babysitting for younger siblings, helping with the cooking, volunteering, and participating in school activities.

Before facilitating a group, research must be done into the type of information to be presented to the students and its ability to translate the salient points into a form that adolescents can appreciate and understand. This presentation, and the accompanying guided notes, cover a topic that adolescents need but rarely receive education on. It presents abuse in its many different forms, not just physical violence, and highlights that people often suffer from these types of abuse long before things get physical. It also addresses the cyclical nature of abuse and offers some resources for those who may be experiencing abuse to receive help. Topics like these are important for adolescents to learn about because often abuse can be veiled and pervasive and hard to acknowledge. This presentation seeks to give students the tools they need to spot abuse and resources to get help.

The purpose of this article is to provide practices for group members who may feel overwhelmed with information and uncertainty. The information shared in the group session can be a lot to internalize and can become exhausting on top of their already challenging situations. Simple tasks such as stopping and using a breathing technique can help them stay calm and feel more in control.

Moore, A, K., Howard, S., & Buchwald, P. (2015). Stress and anxiety: Applications to schools, well-being, coping, and internet use. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/waldenu/reader.action?docID=5231170&ppg=7

Reference: Perrizo, J. (2019). Spotting abusive behavior, understanding the cycle of abuse, and resources to help [powerpoint]. https://bb.spokaneschools.org/ultra/courses/_44265_1/cl/outline

Reference: Csíkszentmihályi, M., & Schneider, B. (2000). Becoming adult: How teenagers prepare for the world of work. New York: Basic Books.

Reference: Teaching Personal Finance to Teens. (2015, November 3). Math Giraffe. Retrieved March 18, 2021 from https://www.mathgiraffe.com/blog/teaching-personal-finance-to-teens.

Reference: Financial literacy guide: A crash course for students. (2018, July 6). CouponFollow. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://couponfollow.com/research/financial-literacy.

conversation-image

Communication is integral to group work. The more people that are involved in something, the more necessary and difficult clear and concise communication can be. The importance of this particular image is in the fact that each member of the group is contributing something; some may have more to contribute than others, some may just be more comfortable sharing, but they are all given the opportunity. The most productive and most effective groups are those that use the voices of each member to grow and strengthen the overall group.

Reference: [Graphic image: Group Conversation]. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from: https://www.ctjfs.org/counseling/group-counseling-and-support-group/

When facing bumps in the road, we tend to forget we have options. This video is to assure the students that you can overcome any obstacle in your life or you can allow it to overcome you. Some ways to modify how society evaluates individuals is by looking at what's on the inside of a person and not their appearance. Being judge on your appearance amplifies the obstacles many people face. The group would focus on building confidence that would also stimulate growth.

Reference: Claunch, S. (2013). Overcoming Obstacles [Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=2MGMvEnoD6U&t=2s

Statistics is crucial data that brings awareness of a topic. It's a visualizer that produces a realization of what is going on around you. Providing statistics can stimulate additional questions of how and why it may have happened. Providing information related to a group will spark communication and collaboration to predict influencers that may have caused the statical data. This particular data shows the percentage of stress between high schoolers and post-high school adults. This visualization will hopefully bring awareness and lead to efforts in wanting to decrease the percentage in both areas.

Reference: [Graphic Image: Stress and boredom are commonly found in high school students].Retrieved March 15th, 2021, from:https://www.the74million.org/bored-in-class-a-national-survey-finds-nearly-1-in-3-teens-are-bored-most-or-all-of-the-time-in-school-and-a-majority-report-high-levels-of-stress/