We are very excited to be offering a new type of social group based on Social Thinking® and service learning!!!
The groups will connect a service learning project to the Social Thinking® concepts developed by Michelle Garcia Winner (www.socialthinking.com), teaching inter and intra communication, collaboration, flexibility, empathy, social awareness, teamwork, intrinsic rewards, problem solving, emotional regulation, work skills, and relationship building. It will give the children the opportunity to bring these skills out into the community, providing opportunities for generalization and improving learning outcomes while enhancing fulfilment and engagement. It can increase their awareness of others in their communities, while also increasing awareness in our communities of what our children have to offer.
Small groups will be offered in blocks (10 to 12 weeks) throughout the entire year.
The next group begins in April, 2018.
Participation is open to children with autism as well as others with social, emotional and cognitive challenges.
Service learning is appealing to teachers who embrace experiential learning because it enhances learning while engaging students in meaningful activities. Successful S-L experiences contribute to students' mastery of academic objectives, fulfill unmet community needs, and support learners' social development, sense of self- worth, and competence (Erickson & Anderson, 1997; Gomez, 1999).
Service learning fits comfortably within the well-established theoretical framework created by Bronfenbrenner (1979) and Noddings (1992) who observe that a sustainable society relies on citizens who " have learned the sensitivities, motivations, and the skills involved in assisting and caring for other human beings" (Bronfenbrenner, 1979 p. 53). They would agree that children learn to care as they look beyond themselves, replacing a preoccupation with self and close family members with a concern for unknown individuals, the environment, and even the world of ideas (Noddings, 1992).
The groups will connect a service learning project to the Social Thinking® concepts developed by Michelle Garcia Winner (www.socialthinking.com), teaching inter and intra communication, collaboration, flexibility, empathy, social awareness, teamwork, intrinsic rewards, problem solving, emotional regulation, work skills, and relationship building. It will give the children the opportunity to bring these skills out into the community, providing opportunities for generalization and improving learning outcomes while enhancing fulfilment and engagement. It can increase their awareness of others in their communities, while also increasing awareness in our communities of what our children have to offer.
Small groups will be offered in blocks (10 to 12 weeks) throughout the entire year.
The next group begins in April, 2018.
Participation is open to children with autism as well as others with social, emotional and cognitive challenges.
Service learning is appealing to teachers who embrace experiential learning because it enhances learning while engaging students in meaningful activities. Successful S-L experiences contribute to students' mastery of academic objectives, fulfill unmet community needs, and support learners' social development, sense of self- worth, and competence (Erickson & Anderson, 1997; Gomez, 1999).
Service learning fits comfortably within the well-established theoretical framework created by Bronfenbrenner (1979) and Noddings (1992) who observe that a sustainable society relies on citizens who " have learned the sensitivities, motivations, and the skills involved in assisting and caring for other human beings" (Bronfenbrenner, 1979 p. 53). They would agree that children learn to care as they look beyond themselves, replacing a preoccupation with self and close family members with a concern for unknown individuals, the environment, and even the world of ideas (Noddings, 1992).
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Erickson, J., & Anderson, J. (Eds.). (1997). Learning with the community: Concepts and models for service-learning in teacher education. Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education.
Noddings, N. (1992). The challenge to care in schools: An alternative approach to education. New York: Teachers College Press.
Note: This program is not affiliated with, nor has it been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by Michelle Garcia Winner and Think Social Publishing, Inc.