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How would you gather feedback from students? Offer 5-10 questions that may be included as an evaluation of the group experience/topic addressed.

Survey research is designed to provide a snapshot of how things are at a particular time. According to Kelley, Clark, Brown, and Sitzia, J. (2003) anyone involved in collecting data from patients has an ethical duty to respect each individual participant autonomy. When gathering feedback from students according to Marshall & Cameron (2010) it is preferable if a different person than the treatment provider asks for participation and collects the completed questionnaire, it is recommended that the members be approached to complete questionnaire as soon as possible after the completion of the group. The students will answer the survey using the following choices: Completely False, Mostly False, Neither True nor False, Mostly True or Completely True.

1.The facilitator cared about me as a person.

2. I was able to participate and express myself in the group.

3. The focus on the group was on the right issues.

4. I learned what I was hoping to learn.

5. Would you recommend this group to others why or why not?

Marshall, L. E., Serran, G., & Cameron, C. (2010). The Group Satisfaction Scale. Unpublished Manuscript available from the first author: liam@rockwoodpsyc.com.

KELLEY, K., CLARK, B., BROWN, V., & SITZIA, J. (2003). Good practice in the conduct and reporting of survey research. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 15(3), 261–266.

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We will be working with students identified as being bullies in a Title 1 elementary school with a population of over 600 students. Studies show that bullies and their victims are at “risk for a range of social, emotional, academic, and conduct problems… [and] interventions, especially at the school…level, are vital (Broderick and Blewit, 2020).” Having groups to help these students learn healthier ways to show their feelings can send them, and their potential future victims, down a healthier path of living.

Our recruitment will involve referral forms (example attached) from teachers and staff; administrators; and parents. Because groups need to be focused on each member’s specific needs (Corey et al, 2018), referrals will then be separated based on levels of aggression.  Students that have had no disciplinary action will be in a separate group, split by grade level, than students that have had 2 or more disciplinary actions. Students that have not been violent will be in a group apart from those that have. It will be possible to have groups for each grade level, but the way groups are set up will be necessarily much different for younger ages, i.e. kindergarten vs. 5th grade. It will also be necessary to separate the bullies from the bully/victims.

References
Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2020). The life span: Human development for helping

professionals (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education.

Corey, M. S., Corey, G., & Corey, C . (2018). Groups: Process and practice (10th ed.). Belmont,

CA: Brooks/Cole.

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The Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW, 2021) discusses the importance of screening potential group members to ensure they are appropriate for the type of group being offered as well as the way it is being offered. We will also need to keep group size in mind, as Corey et al (2018) explains that elementary-aged groups should be kept to 3-4 students. We will also need to ensure we are separating violent offenders from verbal offenders, as well as bullies from bully-victims. These students have different levels of need, and attempting to mix them could lead to an ineffective group, and could lead to victimization of those in the group.

Refernces
Association for Specialists in Group Work. (2021). ASGW guiding principles for group

Work. https://asgw.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ASGW-Guiding-Principles

May2021.pdf

Corey, M. S., Corey, G., & Corey, C . (2018). Groups: Process and practice (10th ed.). Belmont,

CA: Brooks/Cole.

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The first tool in screening for the bullying group is the recruitment/referral process. When we reach out to staff and families, we will provide criteria for students to meet in order for staff/families to refer. Then, the referrals (example attached) will reviewed to ensure that the students meet criteria. There will then be intakes/screenings with each student to ensure they will fit the groups available. One of the tools we can use (example attached) is an anger management self-assessment that we can use with students. It helps students to assess their ability to control their anger. Students with similar responses can be grouped together.

It is also necessary to make sure students have an understanding of what group will be like, and get buy in for the group. In her video, counselor Keri (2022) shared questions that she typically asks students before they enroll in group. She asks about how school is for them, including what is hard for school in general and with peers; what they think the group will be like, and what things they like to earn.

The intake will also include the necessary information in order for parents to sign informed consent. The information needed will include but not be limited to a disclosure statement; explanation of the goals/ purposes of the group as well as the modality that will be used; policies regarding starting and ending group as well as group expectations; confidentiality and exceptions to confidentiality as well as rights and responsibilities of group members and group leaders; what services are realistically possible within a group setting as well as possible benefits and risks of taking part in the group (Corey et al, 2018).

The Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW, 2021) explain the importance of “mak[ing] every effort to provide appropriate and accessible referrals for those who are screened out (p. 8)…”, so it will be important to have resources available to refer students to when we are unable to serve them.

References
Association for Specialists in Group Work. (2021). ASGW
guiding principles for group

Work. https://asgw.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ASGW-Guiding-Principles

May2021.pdf

Corey, M. S., Corey, G., & Corey, C . (2018). Groups: Process and practice (10th ed.). Belmont,

CA: Brooks/Cole.

Counselor Keri (2022). 5 Questions I ask students before group [Video]. YouTube.

https://youtu.be/Rny_WQmyjsE

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Stacked Bar Graph Example for Needs Assessment

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Stacked Bar Graph Example for Needs Assessment

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Google forms is one of many kinds of survey creators that can be used to send out needs assessments electronically. After the results are collected, they can be displayed in graphs (like the one in this picture) to see which needs are most relevant.

Reference
Edukate and Inspire (2022).  2nd Grade Needs Survey Results [PNG]. Confident Counselors. Retrieved from https://confidentcounselors.com/2017/05/09/creating-a-school-counseling-needs-assessment-using-google-forms/

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Information for group logistics will be communicated with parents by letters sent home with the students, which will provide information about the groups as well as informed consent, giving students permission to attend the group sessions. For teachers and administration information will be present via email. (Sink, et al, 2011) states that school counselors must partner with parents/caregivers, teachers, and school administrators who will refer to and support students in the group. A way of connecting with these individuals is to send a notice, informing them of the upcoming group experience. Being able to collaborate with parents, administrators and teacher will create open communication, thus far improving and monitoring the behaviors and activities of the students.  An example notice that we will implement in our own format to the teachers and staff, which was taken from (Sink, et al, 2012 ) is listed below. An example letter to be mailed as well as emailed to the parents is attached below.

“Hello wonderful teachers! I will begin a bullying prevention group within the next two weeks. I would like to take a strength-based approach of addressing bullying. We will learn and practice some communication skills (such as “I” statements) and we will have a chance to develop a plan for improving, communication, building, friendships, and increasing self-esteem, as well as communicating more positive ways of expressing themselves.  At this point, I’m thinking Thursday afternoons during intervention period may be a good time, but I’m open to suggestions! The groups will be divided into two groups consisting of k-2 and 3-5th grade, the groups will be 30-45 minutes long and will last a total of 8 weeks. Would you PLEASE suggest a few students you think would benefit from the group?  If I don’t hear from you in a week, I’ll stop by your classroom for a brief chat. My goal is to support you and the students with these difficult issues! “

Thanks,

School Counselor

Reference:

Sink, C. A., Edwards, C., & Eppler, C. (2012). School Based Group Counseling (School Counseling). Cengage Textbook.

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At Brookwood Elementary the school counselors have come together to organize and conduct a bullying prevention program targeting elementary school bullies. The groups will be presented as closed-instructional small groups, sessions will be led by counseling staff and will be held weekly, preferably every Thursday afternoon during intervention period, which is from 2:50pm-3:30pm at the end of day, that way students will not miss any important class information. Groups will be divided into two sections one group will consist of k-2nd grade and the other will be for 3rd -5th grade. The purpose of the group division is to not only help the counselor with preparing and planning appropriate group activity and discussion for grade levels but to also give the students a sense of comfort with a smaller group and being able to interact with students their age. The sessions will last approximately eight weeks and each group will consist of six to eight students in each group, consisting of both male and female students who have had at least one encounter with students whom they have potentially bullied. This group may potentially reduce bullying activity and social isolation of students, build confidence, increase communication, build friendships, and improve student behaviors. (ASCA, 2020) Group counseling can help reduce social isolation and negative emotions, as well as increase positive peer relations and a sense of belonging. In group counseling, affect, cognition, and behavior are emphasized. The group creates a climate of trust, caring, understanding, and support that enables students to share their concerns with peers and counselor. Group counseling has a positive effect on academic achievement and personal growth.

Reference:

American School Counselor Association. (2020). The school counselor and group counseling Links to an external site.. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements/The-School-Counselor-and-Group-Counseling

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A crucial element in starting counseling groups is making decisions beforehand. Pre-group planning is the first step in the process. Leaders design groups so that they will yield productive and pragmatic results for participants. Among the most important considerations are those associated with objectives, membership, rules, time, place, and dynamics (Counseling.org, 1994.) Pre-planning is the first step in the process, it sets the stage for the entire group process. When, where, and the schedule of the group, sets the tone of the group. For our group we are holding both groups during the last period of the day in the counseling conference rooms. These rooms are conjoined spacings but have enough wall between them that privacy is initiated. Having enough space and privacy are an important key factor to consider when looking for spacing to host your groups, it allows the students to feel comfortable and gives them the confidence to share knowing that the person next door can’t know what is being said in groups. (Corey, et al, 2010) states that groups often fail often because of their settings. If groups are being held in a room full of distraction, productive group work is not likely to occur. Although counseling groups vary, members need a specific, consistent time and place to meet. The meeting room should be quiet and inviting and away from other activities (Counseling.org, 1994). Scheduling is also key factor in the pre-planning process, as state in the previous slide, groups will be held once a week, on Thursday afternoon, during Intervention period from 2:45pm to 3:30pm, groups will last approximately eight weeks and last for 30 minutes with k-2nd and up to 45 minutes, again sessions are every Thursday and will last approximately six to eight weeks, depending on the overall progress of the students.

References:

Gladding, S. T. (1994) Effective group counseling. Eric Digest. https://www.counseling.org/resources/library/eric%20digests/94-02.pdf

Schneider-Corey, M., Corey, G., & Corey, C. (2010). Groups Process and Practice (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.

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Bauman, S. (2008). The role of elementary school counselors in reducing school bullying. The Elementary School Journal, 108(5), 362–375. https://doi.org/10.1086/589467

Gökkaya, F. (2017). Peer Bullying in Schools: A Cognitive Behavioral Intervention Program. In (Ed.), Child and Adolescent Mental Health. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/66701

Katz, A. (1999). Keepin' it real: personalizing school experience for diverse learners to create
harmony and minimize interethnic conflict. Journal of Negro Education. 68(4), 496-510.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2668150

Ross, S. W., & Horner, R. H. (2009). BULLY PREVENTION IN POSITIVE BEHAVIOR
SUPPORT. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42(4), 747-59. Retrieved from
https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/bully-prevention-positive-behavior-
support/docview/225037244/se-2

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Additional Resources:
American School Counselor Association. (2020). The school counselor and group counseling Links to an external site.. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements/The-School-Counselor-and-Group-Counseling

Gladding, S. T. (1994) Effective group counseling. Eric Digest. https://www.counseling.org/resources/library/eric%20digests/94-02.pdf

Learning Resources:
Schneider-Corey, M., Corey, G., & Corey, C. (2010). Groups Process and Practice (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.

Sink, C. A., Edwards, C., & Eppler, C. (2012). School Based Group Counseling (School Counseling). Cengage Textbook.

Youtube:
https://youtu.be/EhcVsXNfXsM

# data[].attributes.body
American School Counselor Association. (2020). The school counselor and group counseling Links to an external site.. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements/The-School-Counselor-and-Group-Counseling

American School Counselor Association. (2021). ASCA Student Standards; Mindsets and
Behaviors for Student Success. Alexandria, VA: Author.

American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors Links to an external site.. Retrieved from https://schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf

Association for Specialists in Group Work. (2021). ASGW guiding principles for groupWork. https://asgw.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ASGW-Guiding-PrinciplesMay2021.pdf

Schneider-Corey, M., Corey, G., & Corey, C. (2010). Groups Process and Practice (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.

Sink, C. A., Edwards, C., & Eppler, C. (2012). Chapter 3, “Basics of Group Preparation and Implementation” (pp. 64–106). School based group counseling. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Thomas, R. V., & Pender, D. A. (2008). Association for Specialists in Group Work: Best practice guidelines 2007 revisions Links to an external site.. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 33(2), 111–117. doi:10.1080/01933920801971184

# data[].attributes.body
American School Counselor Association. (2022). The School Counselor and Bullying/Harassment Prevention and the Promotion of Safe Schools. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements/The-School-Counselor-and-the-Promotion-of-Safe-Sch

Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2020). The life span: Human development for helping professionals (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education.

Counselor Keri (2022). 5 Questions I ask students before group [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Rny_WQmyjsE

Gladding, S. T. (1994) Effective group counseling. Eric Digest. https://www.counseling.org/resources/library/eric%20digests/94-02.pdf

Start Empathy. (2012). What is empathy? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icIlUdTEQnU

TEDx Talks. (2016, February 4). Bullying in Elementary School | Elizabeth Parsons | TEDxPascoCountySchools. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR50-_Wn0WM

The Helpful Counselor. (2018, June 30). School Counseling Needs Assessment. https://www.thehelpfulcounselor.com/school-counseling-needs-assessment/

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https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/children-group-therapy

Hipp J. R. (2016). Collective efficacy: How is it conceptualized, how is it measured, and does it really matter for understanding perceived neighborhood crime and disorder? Journal of criminal justice, 46, 32–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2016.02.016

KELLEY, K., CLARK, B., BROWN, V., & SITZIA, J. (2003). Good practice in the conduct and reporting of survey research. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 15(3), 261–266.

Mark, A. D., & Wells, S. (2019). Evaluation of an Afterschool Mentorship Program for Self-Efficacy. Journal of Educational Research and Practice.

Marshall, L. E., Serran, G., & Cameron, C. (2010). The Group Satisfaction Scale. Unpublished Manuscript available from the first author: liam@rockwoodpsyc.com.

Whiteoak, J. W., Chalip, L., & Hort, L. K. (n.d.). ASSESSING GROUP EFFICACY Comparing Three Methods of Measurement (Vol. 35). Sage Publications Inc.https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496403258495

https://theresponsivecounselor.com/2019/10/group-counseling-data-measuring-success.html

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This post is the second in a series about intentional group counseling in schools. Last time, I wrote about intentionality in developing the objectives and content of the group. Today's post focuses on measuring the success in our groups. If we're going to devote a lot of time to servicing students in small groups, we should make sure they are effective. Group counseling data is important! This helps us make sure it's an effective use of our time AND it helps us to advocate for doing more of them. Data is a language that our administrators and our teachers can understand.

The most common method of measuring the effectiveness of our groups is through pre/post surveys. Some counselors choose to give a pre/post survey to your students. I recommend only doing that if they're 5th grade or above. When I delved into the research, I found that there were very few self-report measures that were reliable and valid for children under age ten. One thing I noticed that happens in doing pre/post surveys with students is that they are often less aware of their issues when the group begins, and they indicate few concerns on the survey. Then the group brings awareness to them and they end up scoring themselves lower on the post-survey. It's not because their behaviors or emotions or social skills have gone downhill, but because they understand the concepts better. Surveying students can still give some great information about what the students are thinking and what they want to get out of the group. Self-report surveys just aren't great for measuring group effectiveness in the under ten crowd.

What is helpful for seeing student changes in the group is to use a pre and post survey with the teachers. Remember your overall group objective(s)? And the skills, attitudes, and beliefs you were hoping to develop? Those should guide your survey prompts. I recommend picking response options based on frequency of degree. This gives you a better opportunity to see growth than a "yes/no" option. There are three sample surveys below. The first is from a K-2 social skills group designed to impact emotional expression and regulation, self-control, and friendship skills. The second is from a 2nd-5th group aimed at increasing healthy friendship behaviors and decreasing relational aggression.

Your group objectives might be tied to school data. Maybe you want to decrease behavior referrals. Or maybe it's a group meant to increase attendance. Or it could be a study skills and motivation group for students underachieving, and you want to examine their grades or test scores before and after the group. This outcome data is really powerful. I think it is tough for group counseling to directly impact some of these things - especially if the group is the only intervention at play. At the same time, I think it's very useful to track this data for the students you see in group. Any positive impact here is worth celebrating and sharing with admin. Below is a group roster sheet to use for tracking this data (included in this group counseling documents pack but of course you could whip up your own pretty easily!):

As we move more towards aligning our work with the RTI or MTSS model, the more important data-based decision making becomes. Progress monitoring is one way to measure the success of the group and also give you information as the group is progressing. It helps you decide whether or not to change interventions. And it helps you determine whether or not a student is ready to "exit" the group. There are some counselors who do progress monitoring through FASTBridge (an online platform many schools use for their academic screeners and progress monitoring). You could also create your own measure (I recommend just 3-4 questions) that you give teachers each week or biweekly. These prompts could just be a condensed version of the pre/post-survey. Or, they could be specific to whichever skills you're focusing on in group during that time chunk. For example, if you're doing three sessions in March on conflict resolution, you would give a survey specific to those skills from maybe mid-March through mid-April.

Progress monitoring data in a group with behavior improvement objectives might look like the points charts used in group counseling documents pack Whether or not they see a mentor or receive any specific reinforcement tied to the points, a chart like this provides you (and the student) with quick snapshots of how each day went.

You can also create your own mood or behavior tracker specific to the group foci for the teacher and/or student to fill out each day. Here are some examples of prompts you might use for this:

On a scale of 1 to 10, how worried did you feel today?

How many times today did this student use a coping skill (that you could see) to take care of their feelings?

Today, this student interacted positively with peers...all of the time, most of the time, some of the time, or rarely.

What are you doing with your groups? How are you measuring the success of the group?

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Group Counseling Data: Measuring Success - The Responsive Counselor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This post is the second in a series about intentional group counseling in schools. Last time, I wrote about intentionality in developing the objectives and content of the group. Today's post focuses on measuring the success in our groups. If we're going to devote a lot of time to servicing students in small groups, we should make sure they are effective.

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How would efficacy of the group experience be measured?

Group efficacy is an extension to Bandura’s self-efficacy concept to groups. According to Whiteoak, Chalip and Hort(n.d.), it is understood to be the groups sense of its capacity to complete a task successfully or to reach its objective. The measuring of group efficacy used according to Whiteoak et al., (n.d.) would involve aggregating members appraisal of their personal capabilities for the particular functions that they perform in their group. Using this method asking each group member to estimate their confidence in their own ability to successfully meet the groups objectives for a given work would give an average of individuals members estimate of their personal efficacy when performing group tasks. Having group members complete a questionnaire on self-efficacy which is defined by Mark and Wells (2019) as the belief that one can achieve a particular outcome. Authors Mark and Wells (2019) stated that having self-efficacy can be enhanced through mastery experience (enactive attainment), the modeling of the tasks (vicarious persuasion), and managing negative emotional stimulus (physiological arousal).  Understanding self-efficacy would help define roles, responsibility and teamwork that are needed in group settings to be effective and successful.

Hipp J. R. (2016). Collective efficacy: How is it conceptualized, how is it measured, and does it really

matter for understanding perceived neighborhood crime and disorder?. Journal of criminal justice, 46, 32–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2016.02.016

Mark, A. D., & Wells, S. (2019). Evaluation of an Afterschool Mentorship Program for Self-Efficacy. Journal of Educational Research and Practice.

Whiteoak, J. W., Chalip, L., & Hort, L. K. (n.d.). ASSESSING GROUP EFFICACY Comparing Three Methods
of Measurement (Vol. 35). Sage Publications Inc. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496403258495