The

process of conducting a direct intervention goes far beyond simply

working with students on academic or social emotional skills, either individually or

in groups. Effective school psychologists understand that carefully selecting the
students most likely to benefit from a particular group is equally as important as
conducting the group itself. Brief consultations with teachers can yield critical
information about the exact difficulty a student is having in class, how his/her
challenges may differ, behaviorally or emotionally, from the challenges faced by
another student in class and whether or not the teacher sees benefit to their being in
a group together. These factors, when combined together, provide important
baseline data for how a student is likely to perform in a specific group, whether or
not a group setting is appropriate for him/her overall or if his/her needs would be
best served individually. Once group members have been selected, a survey should
be given to each childs teacher, in order to measure their behaviors or level of
social-emotional understanding before, during, and after the intervention. School
psychologists should strive to create interventions that will increase students levels
of resiliency by teaching effective strategies to overcome obstacles, thereby aiding in
the prevention of behavioral or social-emotional struggles, which only serve to
hinder their success, academically. Moreover, both individual and group counseling
may be best approached from a collaborative standpoint, whereby, the school
psychologist, as facilitator, provides scaffolding to assist in guiding each session but
the majority of solutions are derived mutually, rather than being provided by the
facilitator. This serves the dual purpose of increasing student buy-in while
maintaining the bidirectional nature of each session, in which the facilitator and
student(s) both stand to benefit from learning.

The artifacts presented below illustrate my ability to engage in collaboration

with teachers regarding the needs of their students, utilize the information they
provide to inform my decisions on where each student is most likely to benefit,
conduct a pre- and mid- survey to measure individual progress, and devise sessions
that are guided, but also allow for mutual learning and discovery.

One of the main challenges school psychologists are confronted with, in

attempting to implement a direct intervention for a group of students, relates to the

amount of time to devote to planning vs. conducting an intervention. The fervor of

the educational environment can lead to groups being formed with little or no
attention to the individual needs of each student. A problem arises when, as the
early sessions of the group begin, it becomes obvious that one or more of the
students is ill-suited to the group, either because of developmental differences or
differences in emotional need. Removing the student(s) at this point will be
disruptive to both the student(s) and the group, while allowing them to remain
could cause them to miss valuable instructional time, while gaining little from the
experience.

This scenario highlights the need for a thorough assessment of each students

academic and social-emotional needs prior to his or her placement in a group

intervention. While the reality of time constraints may make it appear necessary to
begin a group intervention as soon as possible; the fact remains, that failing to allot
adequate time for planning could negate many of the positive effects of the
intervention. The characteristics and needs of the individual students who comprise
a group are at least as important as the curriculum being taught to the groups
overall likelihood of success.
Artifact I

The first student to come to my attention was Miguel, whom I first heard

about in mid-October. Miguel is an 11-year-old male, who is currently in the fifth

grade. He has been enrolled at Denison since the age of 3. He has two sisters, ages 3
and 16. His teacher, Ms. Smith, has taught him since he was in first grade, having
previously been a lower elementary (grades 1st, 2nd, 3rd) teacher and then
transferring to upper elementary (grades 4th, 5th, 6th) during the same year as
Miguel. Ms. Smith first approached me seeking guidance for what she felt was
escalating behavior being exhibited by Miguel in the classroom. I agreed to meet
with her later in the week to get a complete background on the student. When we
spoke, she indicated that he had struggled, to varying degrees, with being able to
attend to his work and complete assignments on time since he was in first grade.
However, recently he had begun to struggle to the point that he was rarely turning
in assignments on time and often never turning them in at all. When she tried to
confront him about this, either by pulling him out to the hallway for a quick
discussion or redirecting him during class, he would often ignore her, refuse to

comply or start crying. She noted that this was the first time she had seen him acting
so openly defiant and that she was very concerned.

The following week, I came in to observe him and found that he was either:

walking around the classroom, talking with other students or sitting at a table not
working throughout the entire 30 minute observation. I met with Ms. Smith again,
who provided more information on his background and home life that she had
previously received from his mother. His status as the middle child with two sisters,
one being a toddler and the other a teenager, meant that he felt he always had to
compete for attention from his mother, who raises them, along with Miguels
stepfather, both of whom regularly work long hours. I hypothesized that his recent
defiant behavior and crying may be the result of frustration and a desire for
attention, either positive or negative. I agreed to speak to his mother about the
possibility of seeing him individually to help with his feelings of depression and
create a behavior plan to help him in the classroom.

A second student, James, a fourth grader, age 9, came to my attention in early

November, primarily as a result of the unusual location of my office within Denison.

Because my office is located within an upper elementary classroom, I am able to
overhear classroom interactions on a daily basis. Recently, I had been hearing the
classroom teacher, Mr. Taylor, having to redirect James to return to his work, come
join the rest of the group or stop talking to other students around him, several times
within the morning work period as well as in the afternoon. One morning, I spoke to
Mr. Taylor who indicated that James was really struggling to attend to his work, had
been turning in assignments late for much of the year and, as a result, was failing to
make significant progress academically. Later that week, I spoke to James mother
on the phone and she mentioned that she believed she had ADHD herself and saw a
lot of the same traits in James. She indicated that it was a daily struggle for him to
get ready in the morning and for them to get out of the house on time with him
requiring constant reminders from her to complete his chores. I mentioned to her
that I was considering starting a small group focused on teaching social skills,
including how to have positive peer interactions, along with understanding and
managing impulses, and that James could be an ideal candidate.

I decided that James and Miguel, given their similar ages and difficulties with

impulse control, would likely work well together in a group, but that I needed to find
at least one or two more students to better simulate the classroom environment.
After checking back in with Miguels teacher, I learned that she had another student,
Tommy, whom she was concerned about. Tommy, a fourth grader, age 9, had
exhibited significant anti-social behaviors from a young age (including fire-setting)
that had resulted in him being medicated. Both Ms. Smith and his mother reported
that he had been doing much better in the past couple of years but continued to
struggle with completing work, interrupting during lessons, and interacting with
peers appropriately.

Subsequent observations of all three students appeared to confirm that they

were likely to benefit from a small-group intervention designed to target

recognizing and managing impulsive behavior, building self-control, and interacting
pro-socially with peers. I believe that this group is vital to the future success of these
students, both inside and outside of the classroom, because having the ability to
maintain focus, persevere through difficult tasks, and demonstrate self-control are
valuable traits that will be beneficial to them throughout their lives.

The value of social-emotional skills to a students academic success is a topic

that has been rigorously analyzed over the past decade. In 2011, a meta-analysis,
consisting of 213 universal-level social and emotional learning (SEL) programs,
involving over 270,000 students in grades K-12, indicated that students who had
participated in an SEL curriculum in school demonstrated significantly improved
social and emotional skills, attitudes, and behavior (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki,
Taylor, & Schellinger). Furthermore, students in SEL programs experienced an
average 11-percentile gain in their academic achievement as compared to peers not
participating in an SEL program. This study provides clear evidence as to the value
of social-emotional education in conjunction with traditional academic instruction.

A 2011 study examined the relationship between boys who had been

diagnosed with ADHD compared with those diagnosed with ADHD and oppositional
defiant disorder (ODD) or conduct disorder (CD) and those without ADHD.
Researchers analyzed 288 males, ages 5-12, diagnosed with ADHD-only, ADHD and
ODD, or ADHD and CD and compared them to 209 males who had never been

diagnosed with ADHD (Sibley et al., 2011). Participants patterns of delinquency

were observed over a 7-year period and analyzed by severity, age of initiation, and
variety of offenses. Results indicated that individuals with ADHD and conduct
disorder had the highest risk of juvenile delinquency; however, those in the other
two ADHD groups were also at a significantly higher risk for later offending (Sibley
et al., 2011). The overwhelmingly negative future outcomes of individuals diagnosed
with ADHD highlights the dire need for meaningful, effective, interventions targeted
toward students from an early age.

In 2012, a meta-analysis was performed on 60 outcome studies conducted

between 1996 and 2010 on the efficacy of school-based interventions for attention
deficit hyperactive disorder (DuPaul, Eckert, & Vilardo). Notably, a number of
intervention strategies were found to have a moderate to large effect on student
academic and behavioral outcomes, with most providing equal or greater benefit to
the effects observed in students who had received medication alone. These results
demonstrate the need for educators, particularly school psychologists, to take a
more proactive role in providing interventions and supports to students who
struggle with attention and focus issues as soon as they begin to experience
difficulties, so as to provide the greatest likelihood of quick remediation of these
skill deficits.

As a necessary prerequisite to beginning my group intervention, I first sent

permission forms home with all three students and instructed them to either return
the forms to the classroom teacher or me. The forms provided an overview of the
topics to be covered (e.g. impulse control, understanding consequences of actions,
being patient). After permission was obtained, I distributed a pre-survey (see
attached) consisting of six questions that asks each teacher to rate their student,
using a Likert scale numbered from 1 to 5 and ranging from almost never to almost
always, on their current ability to demonstrate skills such as listening, ignoring
distractions, waiting before speaking, and interacting positively with peers. I
analyzed the data obtained and utilized it to create a series of overall group goals for
us to work on together:

I will often or almost always (4 or 5 on Survey):

1) Listen to my teacher without interrupting

2) Ignore distractions in my classroom that prevent me from working

3) Release my anger or frustration in positive ways

4) Demonstrate grace and courtesy toward those around me

These goals were incorporated throughout each session and were frequently

reviewed to ensure all group members understood what we were working toward.
The following information provides an outline of each session along with periodic
summary and reflection throughout the course of the intervention:

Session #1 12/17/14
1) Introductions
2) Choices
3) Highs and Lows
J High got all of his homework done even when sick
Low being sick Mon. and Tues.
M High finished writing WWI report
Low No low
T High finished diorama on coal mining
Low got hit in face at recess
4) Group Norms
1) Indoor Voices
2) One Person Talks at a Time
3) What Happens in Group, Stays in Group (2 exceptions)
4) Stay in Your Seat
5) Be Respectful of Each Other
6) No Arguing
5) Student Pre-Survey (My Teacher Thinks, I Think) (see attached)
6) Draw a Hand with favorites OR Draw your family

Session #2 1/9/15
1) Review Group Norms

- ADD Drinks and restroom before group

2) What is the purpose of the group?

3) Goals
1) Listen to my teacher without interrupting
2) Ignore distractions in my classroom that prevent me from working
3) Release my anger or frustration in positive ways
4) Demonstrate grace and courtesy toward those around me
4) Points system (15 pts. Game at end; XX Pts. Party on last day)
5) Highs and Lows
6) Choices
7) Next Week: ADHD Workbook Act. 1: Avoiding Getting into Trouble

While I had initially been planning to cover our goals for group during the

first session, I found that all three students were struggling to maintain focus and
listen quietly so I elected to devote additional time to brainstorming the norms of
our group. Miguel, James, and Tommy were each able to come up with at least one
rule that made sense for our small group. This served the dual purpose of setting
clear expectations and also letting me know that they did possess the knowledge of
what some of the correct behaviors were, it was just a matter of teaching them
enough tools and strategies to enable them to do so.

Session #3 1/22/15
1) Review Norms & Points System
2) Highs and Lows

J High Completed division/decimal checkerboard

M High Birthday is soon

T High - Finished reading his book

J, M, T No Lows!

3) ADHD Workbook Act. 1: Avoiding Getting into Trouble

Students asked to work together to make a list of things they have done in
the past that have gotten them into trouble

They then assign a number (1-6) based on how serious they believe each
action was

We discuss answers and I provide them with more examples

4) Choices

Group receives > 15 points, choices activity is reward

Each student picks a card and reads it, Would you rather A or B?... Why?

5) Next Time: How to predict how others will respond to my actions

Session #4 1/28/15
1) Highs and Lows

J High got a lot of work done

Low Having to do math facts every morning

M High science experiment

Low Made a mistake during the experiment

T High - science experiment

Low - None

2) ADHD Workbook Act. 2: Predict What Others Will Do

Read scenario about student who was supposed to practice her spelling
words every night, chose not to, took a test later in the week, failed the test

Why do you think she failed?

Discussion: Have you ever gotten a bad grade? When? Why?

3) Choices

Only received 10 points, did not earn reward

Session #5 2/4/15
1) Discussion about why reward wasnt earned, how could you improve your

behavior?

2) Review of group norms

3) Highs and Lows

J High finishing literature work

Low getting sent to principals office

M High finished math work

Low Got in a lot of trouble on Monday

T High - None

Low - None

4) Finish ADHD Workbook Act. 2

Three actions that will get you 1) a good grade, 2) a hug, 3) yelled at or
punished

5) Choices

Group earned 16 points

Sessions 3, 4, and 5 were filled with many great moments along with some

other moments that were more challenging. I found that the students were able to
mostly stay engaged during session 3 and contribute to our discussions in
meaningful ways. During session 4, Miguel and Tommy were making jokes and
acting immature for much of the time. While James joined in initially, he quickly
refocused after I redirected the group and reminded then of todays reward along
with the ice cream party at the end of the year that we were working toward. As a
result, we did not complete our lesson for that day and ran out of time to role-play
the skills that had been learned. Session 5 represented a turnaround, with Miguel
and Tommy taking responsibility for their actions during the previous session and
all three students agreeing to help each other stay on task going forward.

Session #6 2/11/15
1) Highs and Lows

J High Being in group

Low None

M High Valentines Day party on Friday

Low None

T High - Valentines Day party on Friday

Low - None

2) ADHD Workbook Act. 4: Learning to Be More Patient
Worked as a group to come up with strategies to help us be more patient in
situation where we have to wait (e.g. at doctors office, mom is on the phone)
Wrote down each strategy on a piece of paper
Began building patience box put each strategy inside and pull one out
when you need to wait for something
3) Choices
Earned 18 points! Highest number yet!

Session #7 2/18/15
1) Highs and Lows

J High Valentines Dance on Friday

Low None

M High None

Low None

T High Completed spelling test

Low didnt finished report on chimpanzees

2) Finish ADHD Workbook Act. 4

Completed patience box
3) Choices
Earned 16 points

Session #8 3/6/15 (rescheduled from 2/26 Snow Day!)

1) Highs and Lows

J High Excited about weekend

Low Has to do a lot of worksheets to get ready for PARCC

M ABSENT

T High Finished his animal report

Low None

2) ADHD Workbook Act. 6: Learning to Sit Still

Read scenario about Justin and Mrs. Rose break down meaning of word
hyperactive
Each student shares a time when they have felt hyperactive
What were you thinking in your mind? How did you feel inside (e.g. Happy,
calm, angry)?
Practice strategies for releasing extra energy
Clasping your hands together, pressing your feet on to the floor for 1 minute
3) Choices
Earned 17 points

Mid-Evaluation of Group Intervention

Sessions 6, 7, and 8 asked the students to take what they had been learning

thus far in our group and put it into practice. At the end of each session, we had a go-
around where each student named 1 behavior they wanted to work on and I
assigned them one strategy to use to help manage that behavior. I have noticed that
James and Tommy have both improved their ability to recognize when they are
losing focus or becoming distracted, either by others or by the environment, and
begin to bring themselves back to the group. Miguel continues to struggle with
interrupting when someone else is talking but has started to raise his hand before
he speaks. Going forward, I plan to work with James, Tommy, and Miguel on
anticipating when they are beginning to lose focus and how to stop and think about
how to correct this.

Following Session 8, mid-surveys (see attached) were distributed to Tommy

and Miguels teacher, Ms. Smith (James teacher, Mr. Taylor, was absent on medical
leave during this time). Ms. Smith indicated that Tommy had improved his ability to
listen when she is talking and had begun to interact more with other students in his
class, though he often has difficulty relating to them. She also observed that while he
now appears to want to join a group, he struggles to find the correct way to do so.

Miguel has been working hard on improving the way he interacts with other
students, particularly when he is feeling frustrated. He continues to have difficulty
with ignoring distractions and listening to Ms. Smith during lessons.

Artifact II

My second artifact centers on a student named Amy. Amy is a 12-year-old

girl, currently in sixth grade. She has many strengths, including her ability to be
caring and empathetic toward others and her positive attitude. She has been on an
IEP for a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) since she was 6 years old and currently
receives 30 minutes of mental health services per month. In speaking to her special
education teacher, who has known her for the last three years, I learned that Amy
had really struggled, last year, in her old classroom, with fitting into the strict
demands of the classroom and making friends. During the spring of last year, Amy
and a boy in her class had engaged in inappropriate sexualized behavior that
ultimately resulted in the boy being moved to another upper elementary classroom
and leaving Denison at the end of the year. In part due to this incident, along with
Amys feelings of low self-esteem, attributed, by the special education teacher, to the
rigorous, authoritarian, style of her classroom teacher, Amy was also moved into a
new classroom. Amys new teacher, Ms. Jones, reported that she would often choose
to work with peers who would bring her off-task, making it difficult for her to
complete work. Also, some of the girls that she chose to associate with would end up
being mean to her or talking about her when she wasnt around.

During the first semester, I primarily worked with Amy on friendship. We

discussed and practiced strategies for making friends, understanding how to be a

good friend and building and maintaining pro-social relationships with others. In
January, Amy shared with me that although she had made some new friends in Ms.
Jones class, there was a couple of students who were bothering her on the bus. She
said she had told her teacher, who spoke to the bus driver, but that one of the
students was still being mean to her. I made the decision to start working with her
on identifying and standing up to bullying. I felt that a number of factors were
contributing to Amy being a target in the eyes of some students. The fact that Amy
was in special education coupled with her significantly lower cognitive ability meant

that she lacked the emotional maturity of many of her peers, making it more difficult
for her to perceive both social context and the underlying intent of others actions.
Moreover, her impending transition to middle school meant that she is likely to face
even more challenges socially as she moves into adolescence.

Bullying is a subject that has risen to prominence in recent years as one of

the primary issues facing adolescents. While bullying was once perceived by some
as a mostly harmless right of passage experienced by all students, research
conducted throughout the last 20 years has begun to reveal the true effects of
bullying on academic achievement and overall health. In 2007, researchers
examined the effects of both bullying and sexual harassment on girls in middle
school versus high school (Gruber & Fineran). Students from four suburban New
England schools (two middle schools and two high schools) were asked to complete
a survey on sexual harassment, bullying, attitudes toward school, and overall health.
Notably, results indicated that while high school students were significantly more
likely to experience sexual harassment and bullying, middle school students were
more significantly impacted by these experiences (Gruber & Fineran, 2007). These
findings appear to highlight the need for school psychologists and other mental
health professionals to offer more interventions for students during this uniquely
challenging time in a childs development. As children begin to mature at an earlier
age, it becomes ever more important for us to provide preventative supports to
students who may have once been considered too young to benefit.

A recent study performed by Ross and Horner (2014) sought to examine the

effects of school-wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) on

elementary school students in grades three through five. Three elementary schools
were selected to implement a PBIS program with full staff training and both
teachers and students being asked to complete post-intervention surveys. Results
indicated student perceptions of assertiveness, bystander support, and use of a
stop signal were all particularly altered as a result of the program (Ross &
Horner, 2014). These two studies serve as an illustration of the dire need for an
increase in mental health supports for the prevention of harassment and bullying,
beginning around the middle of elementary school.

The following session notes and reflections detail my ability to provide

intensive mental health supports through the implementation of an individualized

intervention for a student with significant social-emotional needs.

Session #1 Fri. 1/23
1) Begin activities, role-play and discussion from How to Stand Up for Yourself and
Your Friends"

What is bullying?

Quiz: Is This Bullying? (Pre-test)

Session #2 Thurs. 1/29
1) What does a bully look like?

Anyone can be a bully

Bullying can look many different ways

2) Spotting the Difference

Understanding how one phrase can have two very different meanings based
on tone of voice, context, facial expression

3) Its about HOW you say it!

Session #3 Weds. 2/11
1) Why do people bully?
2) Bullying Hurts examples from girls who have been affected by bullying
3) Standing up for Yourself

What are some strategies you already know?

I began the first session by asking Amy the open-ended question What is

bullying? She explained to me in detail for about five minutes what her basic idea of
bullying was and some of the times that she had been bullied, including recently on
the bus as well as last year in her previous classroom. I then distributed a pre-test to
her, which described different scenarios that girls encounter in school and asked her
to determine whether or not they were considered bullying. Throughout sessions 2

and 3, Amy remained eager to learn and even tried skipping ahead a few times.
During session 3, we began talking about how bullying can hurt and she became
upset, telling me about how two of the girls in her anti-bullying group last year had
actually continued to bully her multiple times during the year. Her previous difficult
experience with groups, coupled with her need for slower instruction with more
frequent repetition, led me to conclude that one-on-one instruction would be most
beneficial to her, for the time being.

Session #4 Weds. 2/18
1) Why do people bully? (continued)

When to just ignore it

When to speak up

Session #5 Weds. 2/25
1) Choices
2) Review ignoring and speaking up
3) Quiz Whats Your Speak Up Style?
4) Discuss quiz questions

Pros and Cons of being a Type A vs. B vs. C

Session #6 Fri. 3/6
1) Choices
2) Review different types of responses to bullying
3) What words work when standing up to a bully?
4) How to Stay Strong at School

Starting with session 5, I began each lesson with Choices, an icebreaker

where each person reads a thought-provoking question (e.g. Would you rather be
able to fly or be invisible?) and answers it. Amy indicated that she enjoyed this and
it appeared to make it easier for her to discuss some of her more difficult past
experiences with bullying. I also started including a review of the strategies we had

discussed previously and a check-in with Amy to see which ones she had tried
during the previous week

Mid-Evaluation of Individual Intervention

After six sessions, I believe that Amy has made a significant amount of

progress in understanding the causes of bullying and how to stand up for yourself
without being mean or getting in trouble. One lesson, in particular, on identifying
how tone of voice and facial expressions can greatly change the meaning of what
someone is saying, is something that I feel is very important for her to understand
and that I intend to review with her again before the end of the school year. Also,
Amy has expressed interest in having a group with a couple of other students. I
think she would benefit from being able to practice her social skills with other
students her age, in a more controlled environment, in addition to the practice she
gets in her classroom.

Summary Statement

The two artifacts presented above illustrate the progress that I have made in

implementing more comprehensive interventions targeted toward individuals with

a much greater degree of need. While the intervention in my pre-internship
portfolio focused on first grade students who presented with only a limited number
of challenges, the three boys in my social skills and impulse control group, as well as
Amy in my bullying prevention group, were all struggling with the complex social-
emotional issues that often characterize adolescence. All four students possessed
lagging skills that needed to be remediated quickly so as to best prepare them for
the, often, tumultuous environment of middle school. I was able to find success by
utilizing a semi-structured curriculum that I could modify as needed to best fit the
needs of my students. Areas in which I would like to improve include: slowing down
lessons to allow students more time to practice the skills they have just learned,
conducting weekly follow-ups with teachers to ensure practice extends to the
classroom, and creating a bully prevention group that includes Amy and other allies.