Character Education and Social Skills Program

In this Analysis assignment, you will review two programs – a character education program and a social skills program. You will compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the programs using 10 evidence-based characteristics documented in the article, “School-wide Discipline, Behavior Management, and Student Self-Management: Focusing on Social Skills Instruction and Selecting an Evidence-Based Social Skills Program,” from the Arkansas State Personnel Development Grant (A-SPDG). Create a Word document for your response. Use APA format. Create a title page and references page in APA format. Develop a compare-contrast paper using the outline at the bottom of this page. The document should be a sufficient length, between 6-8 pages, to address the components clearly and succinctly, not including the title and reference pages. Follow the steps to complete the assignment. Step 1. For this Analysis assignment, you will select one character education program and one social skills program from the following list for your compare-contrast paper. You may begin your research by visiting the Web sites of the various programs and then engage in further Internet research to learn more about them. Tutorials for conducting research are available: Digital Learning Connections Resources and Tips. Character Education Programs Lion’s Quest  (Links to an external site.) Positive Action  (Links to an external site.) Second Step  (Links to an external site.) Social Skill Programs Botvin’s Life Skills Training  (Links to an external site.) Boy’s Town  (Links to an external site.) Skillstreaming  (Links to an external site.) The following two articles are also recommended for your research: Safe and Sound: An Educational Leader’s Guide to Evidence-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs  (Links to an external site.)  – Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) School-wide Discipline, Behavior Management, and Student Self-Management: Focusing on Social Skills Instruction and Selecting an Evidence-based Social Skills Program  (Links to an external site.)  – Arkansas State Personnel Development Grant (A-SPDG) This second article contains the 10 evidence-based characteristics you will use to evaluate your selected character education and social skills programs. Step 2. Using information from the program Web sites, the CASEL and A-SPDG articles, and other sources, compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the two programs across the 10 evidence-based characteristics of an effective social skills program. The characteristics include: The social skills program is evidence-based. It has been empirically demonstrated to be effective in controlled and independent studies in real schools and school situations – and independently evaluated. The social skills program connects the skill training with students to a building and grade level Positive Behavioral Support System (PBSS) that includes a focus on student accountability, staff and student consistency, common area and peer interactions, crisis prevention, and community and parent outreach and involvement. The social skills and PBSS components have evaluation components that assess treatment and implementation integrity, and relevant student, staff, and school outcomes. The program teaches classroom and school-relevant interpersonal, social problem-solving, academic-supporting, conflict resolution, and coping skills (behaviors) needed by students to be successful in classroom and school, social and academic, individual and group, and peer and adult situations. The program is instructionally and pragmatically sensitive to the developmental, language, cultural, and other differences of children and adolescents – from preschool to elementary to middle and high school. The program is designed for use by classroom teachers as the primary instructors. The program provides a specific, yet flexible, year-long sequence of skills that move from basic, foundational skills to complex, situational skills. The program teaches solution skills in the same manner as teachers teach academic skills: Using verbal scripts that guide overt behavior Using a social learning theory approach to instruction [teach, model, role play, performance feedback, and transfer of training] Using a teach, apply, infuse rotation The program addresses the emotional nature of skill instruction and behavior. The program can be used both to teach and guide skills proactively or to respond to or correct inappropriate behavior reactively. (Arkansas Department of Education, 2009, pp. 6- 7) Step 3. Conclude your paper by summarizing the similarities and differences between the two programs. Based upon your findings, identify the target student population as elementary or secondary school level and why the program is a good fit. Determine whether you would recommend one, both, or neither program to your district and why. Compare-Contrast Paper Outline Introduction Present the subject to be compared-contrasted End with a statement that focuses the main idea of the paper Body Section 1 Include a clear topic sentence about similarities Give details to develop and support the topic sentence Body Section 2 Include a clear topic sentence about differences Give details to develop and support the topic sentence Conclusion Summarize similarities and differences Explain whether and why you would recommend or not recommend each program