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Media
Kit: Resist Media
Kit: Research Media
Kit: Software |
The Research: Questions & Answers Q:
What is Ripple Effects social learning software? Q: What is Ripple Effects social learning software? A: It's a multimedia software tool for changing behavior and improving performance. It combines a proprietary learning system with research proven strategies for shaping social behavior. The software includes stories, illustrations, videos, narrated text, interactive games and interactive profiles for each of the social topics it covers. It was developed by Ripple Effects cofounder and social learning expert Alice Ray, and produced by Ripple Effects cofounder and technology innovator Sarah Berg. Q: What did the latest study show? A: Kids who used Ripple Effects social learning software did 77% more positive things-like being courteous and problem solving, and 32% fewer negative things, like shoving or needless tattling, than kids who didn't use the software. And, their rates of summer school referral declined 62%. A: The research was conducted by Dr. Robin Stern, of Teachers College, Columbia University; and by Dr. Theodore Repa, of New York University. Dr. Robin Stern is both a clinician and a professor. She is on the faculty at Teachers College, Columbia University, and at the Center for Social and Emotional Learning, where she conducts research in the area of emotional intelligence and digital technology. Dr. Theodore Repa is Associate Professor, Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology in the School of Education, NYU, and Deputy Director of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education. His Doctorate is from Stanford in Sociology & Anthropology. He has a 30 year career in conducting research to improve the educational experiences of children, particularly in urban settings. Q:
What are the implications for improving academic performance? Q: What are the implications for improving social behavior? A: The impact of the intervention on social behavior is also dramatic. If changes observed during the five minute sample periods were extrapolated to a five hour classroom day (300 minutes), it would equate to 60 more pro-social acts and 15 fewer anti-social acts for each student every day. That would mean a cumulative difference of up to 1,200 more pro-social acts per classroom per day, and 300 fewer aggressive acts per classroom per day. That would create a massive change in school climate, on a scale that could make the difference between whether a teacher stays in teaching or not, and whether a student skips school, or even drops out or not. A: As a pilot study it was small: two experimental groups of 17 students each and one control group of 23 students, over a twelve-week period. One experimental group used the computer program on computers in the classroom, during their free time, twice a week; the other had the additional intervention of teacher facilitated role-plays and discussion. Larger studies are underway. Q: What exactly did researchers measure? A: The investigators used two sets of outcome variables:
Q: What parts of the program did The New York study use? A: Students were assigned these 24 topics from Ripple Effects for Teens, spread across twelve weeks: Respect, Courtesy, Kindness, Caring Body Language, Paraphrasing, Asking Questions, Making Space for Others, Expressing Thanks, Giving Compliments, Fighting, Name Calling, Resolving Conflicts, Ignoring, Put Downs, Racial Slurs, Sexual Harassment, Bullying, Stereotypes/Labels, Appreciating Diversity, Taking Someone's Point of View, Predicting Feelings, Understanding Feelings, Identifying Feelings, and Identifying with Others.
Q:
It's counter intuitive that computers could teach kindness to kids.
Why did it work? Q:
Is additional research planned? Q:
Are these kinds of behavior skills being taught in any other ways?
Q: If teaching these skills can make such a
big difference, why have successful programs not been more widely adopted?
Teachers and counselors are in a double bind situation: hours spent on social-emotional skill building are often seen, particularly by administrators who are hearing the call for increasing student achievement, as hours taken away from academic instruction. Yet many teachers and counselors spend a large proportion of their counseling or classroom hours dealing with aggressive behavior that disrupts the learning experience for everyone. So not dealing with students' social-emotional competence also has high costs in terms of time (Stern, 1999). The second barrier is a political one. Social-emotional skill education has long been considered the province of families and churches - not schools. As such, it is tied up with issues about private morality and personal values (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/march97/coles_3-3.html). School boards facing re-election often do not want to open the Pandora's box of dealing with emotional abilities or controversial social issues in the school setting. Finally, there is a marked lack of expertise among teachers in dealing with this area. Only a tiny percentage of teachers have ever received professional development themselves in the areas of social-emotional literacy (Goleman, 1995, 279-280). Even if a school or district is willing to invest in professional development, the declining retention rate of teachers and their pattern of frequent transfers makes it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain the needed level of teacher expertise. Q: Could a social learning software application like Relate overcome those barriers to adoption? A: The use of electronic technology might provide the opportunity to overcome some of these barriers. Individualized, computer-based education could happen in free moments with individual students, or in group settings on a "what you need, when you need it" basis. The logic of a data base structure could allow local communities to pick and choose among topics they consider appropriate for their students, and block those they don't. Having a changing knowledge base and technical expertise on-line or "in the box" could allow the constant incorporation of new knowledge, greatly reduce the need for instructor professional development, and could open up the possibility of providing social-emotional skill education in after-school programs and other settings not staffed by professionals. In workplace education situations, e-learning has resulted in lower costs, faster learning and greater retention rates (Weisinger, 1998). For further information, please contact: Sarah
Berg or Alice Ray |
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