I agree with the initial ASCA mindset the school counselor chose based on what was stated in the challenge. Student discipline records indicated increased referrals related to behavior, conflict escalation, and class outbursts. The mindset also correlated to the observation that 8th-grade teachers shared regarding the difficulties the 8th graders had identifying and sharing emotions.

However, another mindset I would have chosen was “M 2. Sense of acceptance, respect, support and inclusion for self and others in the school environment.” Also, the Behavior Standard, “B-SMS 2. Self-discipline and self-control,” could have also been added to the lesson plans with 10 different lessons; the counselor could have added one each to the daily lesson plan. I understand that the counselor used an evidenced-based model, but I wonder if these were also standards in her chosen model.

In what ways do the ASCA Student Standards Pre- and Post-Assessment Items align and not align with the Mindsets and/or Behaviors and topic?

For each lesson/unit/small group, school counselors will administer pre-/post-assessment aligned with the selected ASCA Student Standards and student learning objectives.

The designated Pre-/Post-Assessment items are:

Likert Scale – (1- Always True, 2 - Mostly True, 3 – Not Sure, 4 – Mostly False, 5 – Always False)

1. I think it’s important to understand my feelings in difficult situations.

2. I am good at naming my feelings in difficult situations.

3. I don’t usually get in trouble for how I display my feelings in difficult situations.

4. I know the different feelings that affect my behavior in difficult situations.

5. I can tell when my feelings are going to affect my behavior.

6. I know how to calm down when I am overwhelmed with my feelings.

For the most part, these pre-post assessment questions align with the mindset the counselor is attempting to teach, although I am sure they can be written better for my student's understanding. However, they do address M1:

M1 is focused on the holistic development of an individual, encompassing his or her Mental well-being: The cognitive, intellectual, and psychological aspects of the person.

The students' social/emotional well-being which includes their interpersonal skills, relational, and affective dimensions of the student and his or her physical well-being. Physical well-being includes: The bodily, physiological, and health-related aspects of the person.

Did the lesson content/materials match the selected Mindsets and/or Behaviors skill? Why or why not?

The content and materials were very basic and a good start for students. All students in every school I have worked at has access to a computer. The counselor included a journaling app on the computer and students are very computer savvy. The downside of the computer app is it's use outside of the classroom. If these are lifelong skills, there could be a disconnect unless the student has access to the application in their real-world environment. However, the lesson plan is not specific if it's paper or computer based.

Timing can be important for delivering lessons and holding small group sessions. Yet, timing can also be limited for school counselors when it comes to working with students. Based on your opinion, how do you think that timing may have impacted the results of the lesson?

The lesson is 25 minutes. That's a lot of information to get through in 25 minutes. I am not sure that would be enough time to introduce the lesson, play the video, complete the journaling prompts and review with the students. If the students do not have adequate time to process, the lesson is not going to be as impactful as it could be with a longer session.

School counselors often share lesson plans amongst each other when they might experience similar student challenges or topics. But schools, populations, cultures, developmental levels, and school counselors are unique. What are some ways you would modify the lesson plan to align with your creativity, knowledge of the ASCA National Model, and skillset?

A counselor would have to understand their population and what learning techniques and strategies are proven successful within those populations. For my institution, I would have the pre and post assessments written on a lower lexile level. I would also spend more time on the introduction to the lesson with "hook" for students that get and keep their attention. I would try to explain the lesson utilizing their community expectations and giving examples of how those expectations were not used and the outcome of those decisions. I enjoy sprinkling humor in my lesson in addition to student participation. Maybe I would ask open ended questions that would begin a cooperative and conversational lesson. Also, the journaling may need some creative sentence starters. I do like that the students are expected to take an emotional temperature.

These include individual and small group sessions as well as classroom lessons.