Case Study – Social Support Pyramid
As Isha’s pre-K teacher, it is my desire to assist her in improving her social competence as this will determine her success in school as well as in life. Observing Isha scream, shove her classmates, and refuse to eat her lunch, it becomes important to foster her social-emotional development. Analyzing the Social Support Pyramid from the chapter, one notices that, at present, Isha is in dire need of basic skills like emotional regulation and social interaction. In this regard, I would use various approaches to assist her in developing these skills that are so important in her progress.
Relationship-Building Strategies
The main priority is to develop a warm, caring relationship with Isha. In an endeavor to understand her, I would ensure that I engage her through conversation with a view to knowing her hobbies, achievements, and family circumstances. In the process of being caring and concerned with Isha as a person, I aim to make her develop a positive perception of the class and be secure. Besides nurturing a good relationship with Isha, I will ensure that her family joins in helping her in social development. I will frequently discuss with Isha’s parents or guardians how she is doing and discuss strategies that can be employed at home. This means that there will be consistency between the home and school, which will be a good support to Isha (Steed & Shapland, 2020).
Skills to Practice
To facilitate Isha’s emotional regulation and social interaction skills, I will arrange for her to engage in activities that will enable her to acquire the relevant competencies. First, I will spend some time with Isha and explain how she can adequately describe or put into words what she feels and what she wants. This could entail role-play of appropriate use of ‘I’ messages like “I get angry when…” and guided relaxation techniques that would enable her to know how to relax when she feels pressured (Kostelnik et al., 2019). This way, I would be able to ensure that instead of becoming angry and upset, Isha has the words and methods to deal with her feelings appropriately.
In addition, I will organize well-defined tasks and games for Isha to share, learn how to take turns, and cooperate with other children. The book stresses that the type of social interaction experiences should be offered to young children to promote the development of their social competence (Kostelnik et al., 2019). I will closely monitor Isha’s behaviors, make suggestions, and support her morale to ensure that she overcomes these social situations.
Support Strategies
To further attend to Isha’s social-emotional needs, I will help her understand some calm-down strategies she can use whenever she is angry. This might entail having a ‘chill room’ in the classroom in which Isha can go if she needs to employ the stress ball or the fidget spinner, for instance, to manage her emotions (Mahoney et al., 2021). It will also be beneficial in enabling Isha to actively control her behaviors through the pro-offered coping strategies.
Lastly, in the next few weeks, I will ensure that I give Isha positive feedback and praise her every time she shows positive behavior, like sharing with a friend or speaking politely to another pupil. I will rely on the guidance of the book, which states that one has to reward behaviors that should be repeated in the future (Kostelnik et al., 2019). I will ensure I praise her small achievements to boost her morale as well as encourage her to continue practicing these appropriate social-emotional skills.
Self-Evaluation
By analyzing my list of strategies, I am confident that they are compliant with the concepts and recommendations stated in the chapter Making a Difference in Children’s Lives. This is because I aim to strengthen the relationship with Isha while at the same time ensuring that she learns specific skills within the social-emotional area and that she receives support within the different categories of the social support pyramid.
By incorporating these strategies in the class, I will help boost Isha’s social competence as well as the overall teaching and learning environment. By teaching Isha to better control her emotions and behave properly toward other children, I can create a more tolerant, supportive, and efficient learning environment. Finally, I will enhance the teamwork with Isha’s family to guarantee that she will get the social and emotional development she needs to succeed in the long run.
References
Kostelnik, M. J., Whiren, A. P., Soderman, A. K., Rupiper, M. L., & Gregory, K. M. (2019). Guiding children’s social development and learning: Theory and skills (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Mahoney, J. L., Weissberg, R. P., Greenberg, M. T., Dusenbury, L., Jagers, R. J., Niemi, K., Schlinger, M., Schlund, J., Shriver, T. P., VanAusdal, K., & Yoder, N. (2021). Systemic social and emotional learning: Promoting educational success for all preschool to high school students. American Psychologist, 76(7), 1128–1142. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000701
Steed, E. A., & Shapland, D. (2020). Adapting social emotional multi-tiered systems of supports for kindergarten classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48(2), 135-146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-00996-8
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Question 
Chapter 1: Making a Difference in Children’s Lives
Chapter 1 Scenario: Social Support Pyramid for Isha A
Objective: To use the Social Support Pyramid to develop a list of strategies for increasing a student’s social competence, and to evaluate your list.
Case Study – Social Support Pyramid
Scenario: You are a pre-K teacher at a public elementary school in a culturally diverse district, and you have noticed that one of your students, Isha, seems to be struggling. When things don’t go her way or she forgets something at home, she screams and shoves classroom supplies and furniture. When she doesn’t win a game, she gets upset and shouts that the other player must have cheated. Just last week, with no apparent provocation, she picked up a bottle of water and poured it over a classmate’s head. And at lunch time, if she doesn’t like what she’s been served, she loudly says how “gross” it is and refuses to eat. You know how important developing social competence is for Isha’s success, not only at school but throughout her life, and you want to help increase Isha’s social competence.
Focus Assignment:
- What should you consider as you help Isha develop social competence? Create a list that identifies at least two strategies you can employ as you work to develop a relationship with Isha, at least two specific skills Isha needs to practice, and at least two ways you can support her in these efforts. Reference concepts from the chapter to support your strategies. You may refer to Figure 1-2: Social Support Pyramid to help you think about developing your list. (Pg 22)
- Be sure to read the SELF-EVALUATION section below to guide your thinking. Write your self-evaluation after you have completed your list.
- Review the assessment rubric to see how your assignment and self-evaluation will be graded.
Self-Evaluation
- For each item on your list:
- Explain how this item addresses the issues in the scenario.
- Give evidence from the chapter supporting this item (with citations). (Use APA for any citations. You can use online tools to generate your citation correctly.)
- Describe and justify how your list will improve teaching and learning in the scenario.