MODULE DESCRIPTION:

There is little question surrounding the importance of social competence for both short term and long term adaptation in educational and vocational settings. Students who lack social competence frequently have difficulty with skills such as listening, following instructions, accepting no for an answer, accepting corrective feedback, disagreeing appropriately, getting an adult’s attention, greeting others, working together, giving and accepting compliments, offering apologies, etc. As a result these students often have difficulty establishing and maintaining friendships, are poorly accepted by their peers, and generally exhibit inappropriate behavior in social situations. The levels to which children learn to develop, establish, and maintain appropriate interpersonal relationships represent the core of social competence. Unfortunately, most established social skills programs do not deliver the needed long-term results.

Every year in classrooms in this country the same concerns surface regarding a “small group” of students who lack interpersonal and social skills and have difficulty getting along with others. The results of the 31st Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll again reported that “lack of discipline” was perceived as the biggest problem facing public schools. This finding was also corroborated by a survey conducted by Recruiting New Teachers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the availability and recruitment of teachers (Recruiting New Teachers, 1998). A 1998 study by the Educational Testing Service linked discipline problems to poor academic performance (Gordon, 1999). Furthermore, discipline issues rank highest as the reason teachers give for leaving the profession.

More and more teachers are reporting that student deficiencies in social skills are not just limited to a “small group” of students. Many teachers are now acknowledging the fact that all students could benefit from some level of social skill instruction. The article by Lope & Ededlbaum, 1999 explores the level of social skill competence as a factor in establishing teen reputations. Being considered a jock, popular, burnout, brain, or “normal,” labels students with reputations that can later lead to social maladjustment. Peer relationships define children’s social development; therefore it is important that all children receive some form of social skill training. This speaks to the need for school-wide training in social responsibility and facilitating social skill development in natural environments rather than in special education classrooms or a counselor’s office. However, the research to date has reported no lasting effects and very little carryover where social skills programs have been implemented in isolated settings outside of the general education classroom, particularly for students with emotional/behavior disorders and specific learning disabilities (Gresham 1998).

The school is a microcosm of society and is a logical setting for social skills interventions since it is a place where children and adults work, play, eat, and live together for 6 hours per day, 5 days per week, and at least 180 days per year. This amounts to approximately 5400 hours per year in environments that could be ideal for teaching social behavior (Gresham 1996).

According to Gresham’s research, the best practices in social skills instruction take place both informally and formally. Informal social skills instruction is typically in the form of incidental teaching, occurring when natural opportunities or events arise that “open the door” for teaching appropriate social behavior. Thousands of behavioral incidents occur in a classroom each year that could be used as the basis for this type of informal social skills instruction. For this reason, informal and incidentally taught social skills have a greater potential for generalization than social skills instruction presented in more formal and less natural settings (Gresham 1996). Effective formal social skill instruction can also take place in a classroom setting in which the entire class is exposed to a social skills “curriculum” (Elias & Clabby, 1992; Elias & Branden, 1998; Weissberg, Caplan, & Harwood, 1991).

Four fundamental variables that underlie all effective social skills training, based in part on the work of Ladd and Mize (1993), are direct instruction, rehearsal, feedback/reinforcement, and reductive procedures. As an intervention process, the best practices in social skills training support the following four objectives: promoting skills acquisition, enhancing skills performance, removing interfering problem behaviors, and facilitating generalization of pro-social behavior. Additionally the evidence is clear that the best practice is to incorporate generalization from the very beginning of any social skills training program (Elliott & Gresham, 1991, 1993).

This module was developed to strengthen and enhance the educator’s knowledge, understanding, and ability to use preventive and proactive procedures to promote appropriate social behavior for all students including those with special needs.   Through this module, the educator will be offered a basic course in planning for effective social skills instruction, identifying skills to teach, selecting instructional methods, and using procedures to promote maintenance and generalization of social skills across a variety of settings.  Specific examples and applications of strategies will be provided for each of the instructional components.

IPSB Instructional Proficiencies

Standard 7:  Performances #1, #2, #4, #5, #8

INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES:

At the completion of this module the learner will be able to:

1. Develop/write a rationale for teaching social skills and justify why these skills should be integrated throughout the school curriculum.
2. Identify and discuss procedures for determining what social skills to teach.
3. Identify, explain, and use instructional methods used for teaching social skills.
4. Discuss procedures used for promoting maintenance and generalization of social skills training.
5. Teach a social skill lesson and evaluate the effectiveness.

INSTRUCTIONAL EVENTS:

To complete this module, you will need to:

1. Study this module on Teaching Social Skills.
2. Study other resources and report on additional information related to the module topics.  Other resources include Cool Kids: A Proactive Approach to Social Responsibility, Cool Kids Starter Kit: Teacher’s Handbook, Audiotape, Skills Cards and the Module 12 titled 6 Strategies for Effective Teacher Guided Instruction
3. Complete the tasks for completion and discussion included in this module.

Task for Completion and Discussion

There are twelve “Task for Completion and Discussion” activities that you will be asked to respond to throughout this module.  These tasks are designed to assist you and provide opportunities for deeper understanding, additional practice, and reflection on the content.

Module Index:

1. What Are Social Skills?  (Task for Completion and Discussion #1)
    
2. Integrating Social Skills Throughout the Curriculum  (Task for Completion and Discussion #2)
    
3. How One Faculty Integrates Social Skills (Task for Completion and Discussion #3)
    
4. Teaching a Social Skill (Task for Completion and Discussion #4)
    
5. Elements for Teaching Social Skills (Task for Completion and Discussion #5)
    
6. Rationale (Task for Completion and Discussion #6)
    
7. Modeling and Concept Teaching (Task for Completion and Discussion #7)
    
8. Role-Playing and Practice (Task for Completion and Discussion #8)
    
9. Preventive Prompts, Feedback and Coaching (Task for Completion and Discussion #9)
    
10. Promoting Maintenance and Generalization  (Task for Completion and Discussion #10)
     
11. Summary (Task for Completion and Discussion #11 & #12)
     
12. Resources