Benefits & Impact

In the following section read about the benefits and impact in addressing social and emotional learning outcomes and in working with Jo Montie and Doors to Useful Learning:

• Doors to Useful Learning and the Bigger Picture
• Testimonials: Positive Impact in Working with Jo
• Research and Impact: Social and Emotional Learning
• The Bottom Line with Doors to Useful Learning

Doors to Useful Learning and the Bigger Picture

In stepping back and considering the work of Doors to Useful Learning from a global view, consider this: We all can learn more about thinking, caring and connecting to one another; the world is “calling” for us to do this; and many people of all ages are ready and receptive to learning how to be successfully interdependent. Adults, youth and children in our schools, community centers, faith communities, group homes, neighborhoods and businesses are ready to further develop their skills and tools for getting along with others in our diverse world. Indeed, the human species is ripe for new learning.

Becoming more proficient in our ability to communicate, solve problems nonviolently and successfully, affirm and include others and value our diversity, be reflective, and practice compassion and empathy are key life skills that contribute to both individual well being and community well being. Doors to Useful Learning seeks to increase our human capacity to think, care, and connect. Thinking and caring go hand-in-hand, and can be learned and further developed no matter what!

These life skills are also referred to as social and emotional learning (SEL), and are the skills, knowledge and attitudes that Doors to Useful Learning emphasizes in both children and adult learning. These SEL attitudes and skills are needed now more than ever in our increasingly interdependent world. Consider Rebecca Janke’s (personal communication, January 6, 2009) compelling words:

What is needed, more than ever, in our increasingly interconnected world, is our ability to solve problems in ways that address the roots of real world problems, whether they be in our neighborhoods or around the world, AND equally important, strengthens our ability to be fully human.

Our ability to solve problems can be a “door opener” to both getting to the root of issues, and being more whole and complete as a person. Doors to Useful Learning is an essential resource for responding to the great need that exists within our communities, and facilitates our development as well-rounded human beings that contribute to our communities.

Testimonials: Positive Impact in Working with Jo

Here’s a sampling of what people say about working with Jo and Doors to Useful Learning:

"Grounded, thoughtful and fully engaged! No matter the age, perspectives or life experiences, Jo Montie is gifted in fostering high levels of purpose and connection among people in her presence. For over 25 years I have witnessed Jo step into a variety of circumstances and serve as facilitator of perspective-taking and growth."

Jennifer York-Barr, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Minnesota
Author and Consultant, Collaborative Learning and Leadership in Schools

"Over the course of her classroom visits, ‘Ms. Jo’ made sure all voices were heard and celebrated, and that all the children felt valued as they learned. Jo made it safe for children to ask questions and provided multiple opportunities for checking understanding. She introduced books in an engaging way that laid the groundwork English language learners might need to fully understand the message of the story. And, Jo used a range of strategies including writing and drawing, creative dramatics, singing, and partner talk."

Jessica Rooney
English Language Learner Teacher
Saint Paul Public Schools

"Thank you for the wonderful job you did conducting the workshop on social justice in the classroom. It was incredibly helpful to have you (Jo) come in and observe and tell us what we were doing well, and offer myself and my staff valuable ideas for improving our program. I would highly recommend this workshop to anyone looking for a new perspective and practical suggestions and tools that really work."

Teresa Hichens-Olson
Director Urban Arts Academy
www.urbanartsacademy.org

"Over the past 2 years at New City Charter School, I have first hand experienced Jo Montie's capacities to help create increased understanding around human rights issues and peace education. Ms. Jo inspires the students and adult learners alike---joined by Jane Addams the Timetraveler, to bring perspective, assertiveness and win-win outcomes for everyone. Ms. Jo completes the learning action cycle by injecting awareness through establishing a plan, including strategies and deadlines, to meet the goals set by the group. This reflection cycle helps all of us take stock in human rights issues and learning actions, which Ms. Jo Montie is passionate about."

Mr. Jitendrapal Singh Kundan
Principal, New City School

"The research is in and well-established - social and emotional intelligence is key to realizing our full human potential. Jo Montie’s skillful blending of social-emotional intelligence and engaged citizenship and democracy practice, connect students and staff to the timeline of history to the present moment, resulting in a yearning and readiness to make a difference in their classrooms, community and world at large. This is useful learning at its best and puts her on my ‘must have consultant’ list."

Rebecca Janke
Co-Founder/Executive Director of Growing Communities for Peace
President of the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers

"Each term as I plan my syllabus and course experiences for adult students taking Elementary Social Studies Methods and Materials, I begin with scheduling Jo Montie as an essential community expert to present her depth of materials and methods for developing and delivering useful and relevant social studies curriculum.

The framework she so beautifully constructs for learners is grounded in the usefulness and relevancy of teaching social justice and peace. An added bonus is that the tools she presents students with for this teaching is based in high quality literature. She is able to do this while understanding the pressures and demands of standards based curriculum systems."

Greg Krueger
Assistant Professor of Education, Augsburg College, Minneapolis
Former Minneapolis Kindergarten Teacher of 30 years

Complete January 2009 letter from Greg Krueger

Research and Impact: Social and Emotional Learning

Common sense and daily life experiences illuminate a positive correlation between a person’s overall effectiveness and her/his self awareness, conflict management skills, empathy and relationship skills. Indeed, how we deal with people (i.e., social competence) and how we deal with our emotions (i.e., personal competence) matters a great deal.

The exciting news is that there is a growing body of research and data that substantiates the value of social and emotional learning; empirical evidence is available and growing, thanks to trailblazing researchers, theorists and educators (Chermiss, 2000; Durlak & Weissberg, 2007; Payton, Weissberg, Durlak, Dymnicki, Taylor, Schellinger, & Pachan, 2008). What has been intuitively realized by people over the ages—that social and emotional learning and skills are critical, is now being validated with other forms of data.

Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence (1995) greatly moved the work forward on validating the role of emotional intelligence with adults and children, and making the ideas accessible to the general public. Goleman’s work on emotional intelligence grew out of the work of Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer who pioneered the theory of emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1998), and Howard Gardener’s (1983) seminal Theory of Multiple Intelligences offering a paradigm-shifting framework for thinking about intelligence that included intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence with (initially) five other types of intelligence. Intelligence does not only include cognitive intelligence or capacities measured on IQ tests.

There are multiple sources of information that support the critical role of social and emotional learning, relationship skills, and conflict management skills in adult learners. For further discussion of applied research as well as best practices on emotional intelligence in the work place, see the The Consortium for Research onEmotional Intelligence in Organizations.

In most jobs and careers, adult success and effectiveness is positively correlated with these intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. Cherniss (2000) notes the long history of "research suggesting that a person’s ability to perceive, identify and manage emotion provides the basis for the kinds of social and emotional competencies that are important for success in almost any job” and that “as the pace of change increases and the world of work makes ever greater demands on a person’s cognitive, emotional, and physical resources, this particular set of abilities will become increasingly important" (p.10).

While the body of supportive data continues to grow when considering the role of SEL with adult learners, there is also an expanding body of research that strengthens the reasons to attend to SEL with children and youth. CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (based out of the University of Illinois-Chicago) stays on the cutting-edge of this topic, including examination and discussion of the growing body of research that corroborates a connection between social and emotional learning (SEL) and academic gains.

A recent significant contribution to this body of research is the December 2008 report, The Positive Impact of Social and Emotional Learning for Kindergarten to Eighth-grade Students: Findings From Three Scientific Reviews (Payton, Weissberg, Durlak, Dymnicki, Taylor, Schellinger, & Pachan, 2008). The report examines and synthesizes the findings from three extensive reviews of research on the impact of social and emotional learning (SEL). All together, the review considers 317 studies that involve 324,303 children, and discusses six major clusters of findings that all together bolster the support for the critical role of social and emotional learning and interventions to support such learning. The findings indicate that with SEL programs conducted by school staff, student behavior, attitude toward school, and academic achievement improve. Many more details are specified in the report. The report also raises questions and points direction for further research so that social and emotional learning interventions can be the most effective, including more data to inform decisions around influencing long term, sustainable changes.

There is both an executive (brief) report and a more complete report which can be found at bothwww.casel.organdwww.lpfch.org/sel. It is both encouraging and quite useful to those sorting out what features of SEL intervention to emphasize.

The Bottom Line with Doors to Useful Learning

The bottom line with Doors to Useful Learning is to support our clients and learning partners in opening doors to relevant, useful learning by addressing important learning topics in meaningful ways. And Doors to Useful Learning is committed to staying informed of research and evidence-based teaching practices to ensure that Doors to Useful Learning curricula and practices are a blend of both external and internal knowledge. When working with Jo Montie and Doors to Useful Learning, expect these positive benefits:

• Increased ability to notice and understand another point of view
• New tools for solving problems creatively and usefully
• Expanded awareness of one’s own capacities to affirm and include others, and
• Growing engagement to a collaborative learning process

Also anticipate pursuing other learning outcomes tailored to your unique situation (e.g., history goals, literacy goals, social studies outcomes, professional development goals). No matter what, however, Doors to Useful Learning will always in some way actively attend to one or more social and emotional learning goals. Why? Because social and emotional learning attitudes and skills are pivotal areas of development that strongly influence one’s ability to successfully navigate through life.

Doors to Useful Learning supports social and emotional learning (SEL) side by side with academic or more typically defined areas of learning. There is a growing body of research that stresses the importance of social-emotional learning, civic literacy and relational skills as pivotal to other aspects of learning and success. When working with groups of adults, children, or mixed age groups, Doors to Useful Learning addresses social-emotional learning goals alongside other learning goals deemed important.

Doors to Useful Learning…thinking and caring go hand-in-hand…realize the benefits and impact…expanding our capacity to think, care, and connect.

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"This work is dedicated to Carol Montie, Leonard Montie, Jane Addams, and all people of today...and those yet to come"

J.K.M.
January 2009