Step Into My Sessions: Supporting buy-in from our students
The importance of student-clinician collaboration
You may have read my last blogs 📧 focusing on AI – the benefits and challenges of using it to support our students. Well, today we are going in pretty much the opposite direction.
I’ve written before about how important it is to collaborate with our students in creating the visual supports we use. The more they are engaged in developing materials, the more ownership they will feel. The more they will understand whatever it is we are trying to help them learn about, and the higher the likelihood that they will integrate the learning into everyday situations.
Recently in a conversation with the counselor at a school one of my students attends, the topic of apologizing came up. Specifically, could I help my student understand the importance of apologizing to peers – whether during a group project or on the blacktop🛝.
Last week, we started on this discussion in group. We began by watching Maca and Roni: Superglue, by Kyungmin Woo. We found moments when characters made a mistake (of various sizes) and discussed them, talked about the idea of apologizing, suggested possible things they could have said.
Then, we pulled up a SocialScale, and started putting together the language for “reactions to having made a mistake.” After a few minutes, this is what we had come up with:
My thoughts about this Scale:
I loved how much giggling and laughing was part of the work – a serious and important subject embedded in lots of happy connection, critical thought and growing understanding.
Somehow the idea of toast came up🥪. And fit so beautifully into our continuum. A quirky, amusing, memorable way to think about apologies. A way that will help them understand and remember. They appreciated how readily I typed the “toasty bits” in. They felt heard🙉.
Because it was created by the group, it was easy to start using immediately. There was a sense that we were all part of a special club – the Apology Toast Club.
Opportunities to practice came up organically. One student interrupted/talked over another. While she thought it was a “just move on already” moment, the others felt it was a “not a toast moment.” A quick “sorry”, and move on. When discussing gingerbread houses to decorate next week, one student grabbed the one she wanted. Others felt that was unfair – there should be a discussion. A regular toast offer was quickly made.
In the coming weeks, we will continue our work on apologies. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes, and how the Apology Toast Club moves along!
