by Dana Tibbs

Master of Science Dual Degree CMHC and School Counseling, Walden University

COUN 6111: Introduction to School Counseling

Dr. Ken Sanders

January 19, 2025

1.     Comprehensive School Counseling Program:

Used to develop, deliver, and promote student achievement in academic and personal environments.

These programs are set in place to prepare students for the challenges of the future by allowing the counselor to create a plan supporting their academic, career, and social development.  

2.     School Counseling Scope of Practice:

Taking on leadership roles within education systems to work from a strengths-based perspective to develop comprehensive programs and maintain legal and ethical standards that focus on prevention and interventions.

Importance of this practice is to promote enhancing student academic, and social or emotional outcomes. Providing support to each individualized student.

3.     Academic Development:

A lesson plan organized to support students academically through various modalities conclusive with counseling curriculum.

To implement the comprehensive programs to have a positive impact on student growth.

4.     Career Development:

Part of the counseling curriculum to help students strive in career education for long term goals and development.

Another important modality used to implement the comprehensive programs used to impact student growth.

5.     Social/Emotional Development:

Inclusive in the comprehensive counseling program to better aid students in appropriate behavior development throughout academic environments.

Modality used to implement comprehensive programs used to impact student growth along with cognitive development.

6.     ASCA Mindset and Behaviors:

Alongside the three domains used to implement student growth, these behaviors promote the mindsets that enhance learning processes and create a culture of educational and career readiness for students.

Helpful for counselors to give students the knowledge on how to behave and find their learning style to promote their own individualized processes in education and career readiness when it’s time to move on from K-12.

7.     ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors:

Standards set in place that respect values, beliefs, cultural backgrounds, and do not impose on the counselors’ own values on any student or family.

Put in place to keep the integrity of the students and counselors in place and maintain individuality and confidentiality without judgement.

8.     ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies:

A broader scope of topics put in place to describe the knowledge, attitude, and skills of school counselors to implement the programs.

These are important as they are specific and measurable indicators for the counselors’ behaviors and mindsets when implementing the programs.

9.     School Counseling Direct Services:

Face to face or virtual interactions that happen ethically between counselors and students, implementing instruction, appraisal, and or advisement.

Important to provide the opportunity to meet students where they are at, whether that is more comfortably in person, or in the privacy of their home virtually. Rapport comes from trust and providing a trusting environment.

10.   School Counseling Indirect Services:

A service provided on behalf of students because of the interaction between counselor and others involved, such as referral, collaboration, and consultation.

It is important for all involved with the student to create a treatment plan and program that is specific to the needs and growth of the student academically, socially and emotionally, and career driven.

As a School Counselor, I will be empowered to encourage students to reach their maximum academic and personal potentials to gain the accessible and necessary skills to become their own learners. With this, student’s will be able to sustain their individualized personal growths that will allow them the knowledge, experience, and skill to contribute to society. These skills will encourage students to approach society with empathy, compassion, and above all pride.

Lesson Plan will be for Grade level 1.

Topic of lesson plan is: “Unit #1: A Newer, BETTER, Older Me”. This lesson plan is helping the students to understand themselves as an individual, and members of local and global diverse communities. Identifying their feelings, personal roles in school, and recognizing personal character traits.

The most challenging issue to face when trying to get this lesson plan’s across will be due to the age range of students that this lesson will be implemented on. Children at this age, first grade level ages 6-7 years old, struggle enough with time and attention management. It will be important to take note of how the children respond to learning and watching the time. Time is important when teaching children as we can only expect their attention span to relax for so long, so taking note of how long the children sit and comprehend the lesson for will help the counselor indicate break times. Finding activities that hold their attention and keep them involved will help with understanding things like specific emotions and feelings related to self, as well as group projects can educate the children on socialization and participation.

A systematic ongoing method of gathering, analyzing, and using this information about a program, while measuring program outcomes to improve student learning.

2.     Annual Results Report:

Designed to ensure programs are assessed for continued effectiveness and to inform decisions that are directly tied to maintain program improvement.

3.     School Counselor Assessment and Appraisal:

Being able to identify the performance areas that need to be supervised and evaluated through observable and measurable terms.

The lesson plan that is selected matches the Social and Emotional Development aspect of the Mindset and Behaviors model. This lesson is looking at the core belief in development of “whole self”, including having a healthy balance between mental, social/emotional, and physical well-being of the students. Another area of the Mindsets and Behavior tool that can be applied to this lesson plan would be in the area surrounding skills. Students will learn the skills to identify and acknowledge what they need, and how to appropriately ask for those needs to be met. 

According to the data on the lesson plan, the pre/post assessment items aligned with the Mindset and Behaviors topic due to the nature of the questions being asked. At the start of the pre assessment, the students appear to be having a harder time identifying with the questions being asked or being able to relate to whether or not the statements are true to who they are individually. By the end of the lesson, the post assessment results show that with the result numbers the children were able to more accurately find a representative scaled answer to their feelings and social emotional well-being. The pre assessment had a baseline data (achievement) or 30 disciplinary referrals a week, and the post assessment had decreased by 9, showing that 21 disciplinary referrals were being sent out per week. Indicating a 30% decrease in disciplinary action being needed.

The selected materials for the lesson matched the Mindset and Behaviors skill as the counselor provided activities that kept the children engaged, and learning at the same time. The topic of “Exploring Feelings and Behaviors” followed by explaining emotions and how they differ from each individualized student, while also giving space for the children to experience emotion based on provided activities and prompts, is allowing them to develop social and emotional growth. Part of the lesson plan includes a targeted ASCA standard, which effectively adapts the Mindset and Behavior topics that were chosen.

Based on my opinion of the time spent on this lesson plan, I believe that 30 minutes per 10 session was appropriate. These are children of the elementary level in grade 2 so their attention spans for hard learning like this perhaps could not expand appropriately beyond 30 minutes. Most of the time children at this age are most worried about recess, and snack times, so to keep the attention and learning flowing it is appropriate for the school counselor to “read the room” so to speak and allow that space for the age of students and prepare for ample amounts of distractions and wondering of the mind.

Some ways I would imagine changing the lesson plan to accommodate other teachers plans, or others that could potentially use this as a lesson plan in their classroom would be to take note of the demographic and cultural division within the schools over all body. It’s important to watch for things that can be taught at home preventing the students from being able to participate in activities that allow them to grow into themselves in a free and open supportive environment, where they may not be able to outside of the classroom. This age group is in an important part of life where they begin to socialize, and grow into their own human, and while we want to promote this in an environment where the student feels open to speak freely, and having an overall safe space, it is possible that outside of academics they are not able to practice these lessons. So, just focusing on the delivery of message and making sure that the plan is indicative of all students (without fear of judgment, singling out, etc.). these are what would be important to me as the counselor, to make sure that everyone involved in sharing this lesson plan is able to abide by the ASCA Standards of Practice that include respecting values, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds. And do not impose on the counselors’ own values on any student or family.