Social Skills

The Claim

Social skills are an important element of classroom management and should be taught in the same manner as academic skills.

The Facts

Social skills development is an important aspect of schooling and plays a large role in academic achievement, peer interactions, and the ability to behave appropriately in school. Researchers such as Drs. Terry Scott and James Kauffman have described in detail the link between academics and behavior within the classroom setting. Students are often expected to come to school with the skills necessary to get along and interact with peers, follow directions from adults, and behave appropriately during instructional activities. This, however, is not often the case. As a result, social skills instruction tends to become a part of the “hidden curriculum” in that it is not taught explicitly to students within the classroom context.

Drs. Melissa Miller and Nicole Fenty have explored the development of social skills instruction, and found that like the development of any other instruction, social skills instruction consists of planning, instructional delivery, and assessment. Planning for social skills instruction involves planning for both logistics and content. Logistical concerns include when and where training will take place, as well as who will be involved and the length of training. Planning for instructional content involves consideration of the nature of the problem and the corresponding content of instruction. Instructional planning must consider what skills will be taught, the range of variation in those skills, selection and sequencing of examples and non-examples, and practice in the natural environment. Delivery of instruction begins with the introduction of a new skill to students and continues with modeling and the facilitation of practice with feedback. In the beginning behavior is largely controlled by teacher praise but, over time, praise is faded and behaviors are more and more reinforced solely by naturally occurring events. For this to be effective, it is crucial that feedback during instruction remains consistent and constructive by acknowledging success and providing correction and re-teaching in the face of errors. Assessment is the mechanism by which we determine whether our efforts have been successful and thus, teachers must assess instruction in a formative manner to continually evaluate student mastery. At the acquisition level, teachers are interested in whether students understand and can consistently demonstrate the appropriate skill. Once mastered, teacher attention turns to assessment of student behavior over time (maintenance) and in varying contexts (generalization). As a general rule of thumb, the more students are evaluated in various contexts and conditions, and then provided with immediate and constructive feedback, the more likely students are to demonstrate maintenance and generalization of skills.

Classifying social skills deficits into acquisition or performance categories also helps to design instruction based on student need. An acquisition deficit is when the student lacks the skill knowledge and ability, whereas a performance deficit is when the student has the skills but elects not use them. In the case of skill deficits, instruction will involve teaching students how to act in and react to social situations. For students who possess but choose not to perform skills, instruction will focus more on when (antecedent contexts) and why (consequences) to use skills rather than how. In either case, it is clear that these students need explicit instruction that provides alternatives to antisocial behaviors and facilitates an increase in the amount of positive social interaction they experience with their teachers and peers.

The model-lead-test method can be used to teach social skills. This type of successful social skills instruction includes an eight-step lesson format that includes modeling, role playing, and opportunities to practice or test for skill acquisition. Here are the eight steps:

• Step 1: Name or identify the skill that will be taught. When introducing the skill, it is important to discuss the rationale for the skill so students see the relevance of learning the skill (Gresham, 1998). Students can brainstorm examples for why the skill is important.
• Step 2: Define the skill by stating the rule for the skill. By stating the rule for using the skill, students learn when and in what situations to use the skill.
• Step 3: Break the skill components down into step-by-step procedures for completing the skill. Skill components can be taught in isolation, with one presented per day so that all students have the opportunity to learn each component for mastery. For social skills that have components that are already in the students’ repertoire, those components can be reviewed and new components added.
• Step 4: Define the skill component to be taught for each day’s lesson. This occurs when breaking skill components down to teach one per day and is particularly important for skills that have complex components.
• Step 5: Demonstrate use of the skill and model within the natural context of the skill. The teacher arranges a role play with another student or adult and assigns roles to students so that each child is responsible for monitoring a specific skill component.
• Step 6: Facilitate appropriate skill use by the student through effective rehearsal with assistance. Role playing is commonly used during this phase, giving the child the opportunity to practice the skill without fear of social rejection or failure. At this point, it is critical for students to receive positive feedback when they perform the skill correctly. Students should practice only correct examples of the targeted social skill, and should be corrected immediately if they demonstrate inappropriate use of the skill.
• Step 7: Provide the opportunity for students to practice the skill without prompts or cues during a role-play situation that they have not yet encountered. During this phase, students can also be exposed to variations of the skill to test their ability to state the critical rule and apply it in a variety of situations. The testing phase allows the teacher to check student understanding of the critical rule for the skill and use of skill components without teacher assistance.
• Step 8: Assign homework. Give students the opportunity to practice the skill in another setting, which ensures that they are able to generalize the skills learned. Additionally, by assigning homework, the teacher involves parents and siblings in the home environment, adding to the list of individuals who can provide support and feedback for skill use in other situations and settings.

Conclusion

The claim stated in this week’s blog is fact. The goal of social skills instruction is to promote social success in children who demonstrate skill deficits. When a social skill is learned through observation, using a method that includes modeling, students have the opportunity to learn how to demonstrate the skill to obtain positive social outcomes for displaying social competence. Teacher support for student development of social skills is a vital component of success in the classroom and should be a priority for all classroom settings.