Knowledge Translation (or Knowledge Mobilization) may be defined as putting available knowledge into active service to benefit society. This could refer to knowledge that has been gathered through academic research or through experience. Both types of knowledge are valuable, and are worth sharing with others. This is especially true in the field of social and emotional learning. Knowledge and wisdom about this aspect of child development can have an enormous positive impact when put in the hands of parents, educators and other people who have influence in children's lives. It is an obligation and a right to share and to have access to this knowledge. As a journalist I often found that academics had difficulties explaining their research in a way that was easily understood and meaningful for non-academic audiences. For that reason I wanted to assist in the process and help, where possible, with the interpretation of research in the area of social and emotional learning. And, I wanted to shine a light on programs and practices that promote social emotional learning - and could potentially infiuence future academic study. Finally, I wanted to give a voice to children and youth who know better than anybody else about the realities of their lives.
In the past five years I have worked on many projects that involved knowledge translation related to SEL research and practice. Below are some highlights of the work I have done for a variety of audiences.
In the past five years I have worked on many projects that involved knowledge translation related to SEL research and practice. Below are some highlights of the work I have done for a variety of audiences.
Parents
FRIENDS For Life is a school-based intervention and prevention program, proven to be effective in building resilience and reducing the risk of anxiety in children. Over the past 5 years I have produced training videos that are used to prepare teachers to deliver the FRIENDS program in the classroom. This year F.O.R.C.E. Society for Kids' Mental Health asked me to produce a video that would share the FRIENDS tools and lifeskills with parents. I worked collaboratively with the FRIENDS program and F.O.R.C.E. and decided to videotape a live Parent Training Workshop, and in post production, divide the presentation into learning modules. The modules would remain on the FORCE website and would be available for parents to view in short sections. Coming in 2011, there will be videoconferencing opportunities for parents to connect with other parents who have worked through the FRIENDS program with their children and to share experiences with each other - parent to parent.
University Students
Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl and Dr. Shelley Hymel are University of British Columbia professors committed to integrating Social Emotional Learning into pre-service teacher training. With that goal in mind, Dr's Hymel and Schonert-Reichl asked me to collaborate with them to produce video material they could include in their SEL library of resources. We began by videotaping interviews with academics and practitioners who are leaders and exemplars in the field of SEL. These videos are intended to provide an overview of SEL research and programs. One of the first videos we produced featured Dr. Marc Brackett, research scientist in the Department of Psychology at Yale University. Dr. Brackett co-developed the RULER model of emotional literacy, which posits that teaching children and adults to Recognize, Understand, Label, Express, and Regulate emotions contributes to positive development. Here is a short section of Dr .Brackett's interview.
Educators
WITS Program
WITS is a school-based SEL program that brings together schools, parents and communities to help children deal with bullying and victimization. In 2010 I worked with a team led by Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater to create a series of WITS training videos for educators. The purpose of the videos was to introduce the program, describe the research behind the strategies used in WITS, and to show he program in action. The videos are integrated into an overall online training program on the WITS website.
The Ambassadors
The Ambassadors
An innovative Grade 8 teacher in an inner city school in Maryland arranged for his science students to visit a local cancer clinic to interview people who were undergoing treatment. He thought it would be an extraordinary experience for students to move beyond the textbook definitions of cancer - into the real world. But he did not know how to prepare his students to do the interviews. He invited me to come to Washington DC to prepare his students to conduct and videotape interviews. I spent three days working with the students – honing their skills in research, videography, and on-camera interviewing. Then, then went to the Cancer Clinic. For students, the experience was transformational. They captured their journey on videotape and, appropriately, called themselves “The Ambassadors”. In addition to teaching the students video/television skills I had a second agenda. I wanted to use this as an opportunity to explore ways of integrating social emotional learning into a science class. I thought this was a project that was rich with possibilities because the subject of cancer is an emotional one. If I achieved this goal, and students demonstrated that they achieved new social and emotional learning, perhaps the experiment provided some clues for how teachers of any subject could integrate SEL? Afterward, in EPSE 604A, I wrote a paper about the experience, framing it as an experiment in Positive Youth Development. I also used the video and still photographs that the students shot to produce a video so the students would have a legacy of their remarkable work.
An innovative Grade 8 teacher in an inner city school in Maryland arranged for his science students to visit a local cancer clinic to interview people who were undergoing treatment. He thought it would be an extraordinary experience for students to move beyond the textbook definitions of cancer - into the real world. But he did not know how to prepare his students to do the interviews. He invited me to come to Washington DC to prepare his students to conduct and videotape interviews. I spent three days working with the students – honing their skills in research, videography, and on-camera interviewing. Then, then went to the Cancer Clinic. For students, the experience was transformational. They captured their journey on videotape and, appropriately, called themselves “The Ambassadors”. In addition to teaching the students video/television skills I had a second agenda. I wanted to use this as an opportunity to explore ways of integrating social emotional learning into a science class. I thought this was a project that was rich with possibilities because the subject of cancer is an emotional one. If I achieved this goal, and students demonstrated that they achieved new social and emotional learning, perhaps the experiment provided some clues for how teachers of any subject could integrate SEL? Afterward, in EPSE 604A, I wrote a paper about the experience, framing it as an experiment in Positive Youth Development. I also used the video and still photographs that the students shot to produce a video so the students would have a legacy of their remarkable work.
General Public
Media Coaching
One of the ways I do knowledge translation is by providing media coaching for SEL academics and practioners - to ensure they have a powerful impact on the audience. For example, over the years I have helped prepare Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl for numerous radio and television appearances. Dr. Kim is an energetic and knowledgeable presenter. But presenting to a live audience is very different from responding to a media interviewer. To make it even more complex - radio is different from television, live is different from pre-recorded, and each interviewer (and program) has a unique approach. As somebody who has worked in media for 30 years, I can provide information about the context into which Dr. Kim is walking. I can give her background on specific interviewers, and tips about how to approach them. I discuss the slant a particular program might take. And now that I have more knowledge about her subject matter, I can make suggestions about ways that Dr. Kim can tell the 'story' of her research. According to Dr. Kim, this coaching builds her confidence so that when she enters the radio or TV studio she is relaxed and ready to spread the word about the social and emotional lives of children and youth.
Center for the Advancement of Heart Mind Education
I am currently involved in a project that integrates all aspects of my academic and professional experience. I am Program Manager of the Center for the Advancement of Heart-Mind Education (CAHME) - a program of the Dala Lama Center for Peace and Education dedicated to 'educating the hearts' of children and youth. CAHME is a hub where parents, schools, young people and communities work together to help children and youth develop the caring relationships and social and emotional abilities that enable them to flourish. CAHME takes a systemic view in its scope and overall approach. Rather than confining itself to a single learning setting such as a school or classroom, CAHME intends to promote and support learning and development in all contexts of young people’s lived experience and, through its focus on children and youth, to extend such learning to all who are associated with them; parents, educators, caregivers, and other influential figures in their community (i.e. coaches, activity leaders).
As a knowledge translator this means that I will be involved in sharing information, best practice, and resources with and between all of these audiences. It is a mammoth (and very worthwhile) task. We are in the early stages of creating a structure for determining what research best informs heart-mind education, what are the best methods to engage various audiences, and what are the optimal ways to translate this valuable information. in many ways it is the ideal project to take on as achieve my MEd Degree.
One of the ways I do knowledge translation is by providing media coaching for SEL academics and practioners - to ensure they have a powerful impact on the audience. For example, over the years I have helped prepare Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl for numerous radio and television appearances. Dr. Kim is an energetic and knowledgeable presenter. But presenting to a live audience is very different from responding to a media interviewer. To make it even more complex - radio is different from television, live is different from pre-recorded, and each interviewer (and program) has a unique approach. As somebody who has worked in media for 30 years, I can provide information about the context into which Dr. Kim is walking. I can give her background on specific interviewers, and tips about how to approach them. I discuss the slant a particular program might take. And now that I have more knowledge about her subject matter, I can make suggestions about ways that Dr. Kim can tell the 'story' of her research. According to Dr. Kim, this coaching builds her confidence so that when she enters the radio or TV studio she is relaxed and ready to spread the word about the social and emotional lives of children and youth.
Center for the Advancement of Heart Mind Education
I am currently involved in a project that integrates all aspects of my academic and professional experience. I am Program Manager of the Center for the Advancement of Heart-Mind Education (CAHME) - a program of the Dala Lama Center for Peace and Education dedicated to 'educating the hearts' of children and youth. CAHME is a hub where parents, schools, young people and communities work together to help children and youth develop the caring relationships and social and emotional abilities that enable them to flourish. CAHME takes a systemic view in its scope and overall approach. Rather than confining itself to a single learning setting such as a school or classroom, CAHME intends to promote and support learning and development in all contexts of young people’s lived experience and, through its focus on children and youth, to extend such learning to all who are associated with them; parents, educators, caregivers, and other influential figures in their community (i.e. coaches, activity leaders).
As a knowledge translator this means that I will be involved in sharing information, best practice, and resources with and between all of these audiences. It is a mammoth (and very worthwhile) task. We are in the early stages of creating a structure for determining what research best informs heart-mind education, what are the best methods to engage various audiences, and what are the optimal ways to translate this valuable information. in many ways it is the ideal project to take on as achieve my MEd Degree.