Did you come up with a great way to teach one of the Steps to Self-Determination lessons that you would like to share with others? Do you have a question about how to make one of the sessions most successful? This is the place to post your idea or get help from your colleagues who are also using the Steps curriculum. Just send an email to sdtalk@wayne.edu with your idea or question and we will post it on this Information Exchange page.

Dear SD Talk,

When we do the How I See Myself/How I See You activities, I find that my students often have difficulty identifying personal strengths. (They don't seem to have nearly as much difficulty identifying a weakness.) I came up with a great activity to help kids learn about their strengths. I had each student write their name on a piece of paper and tape it to the back of their shirt. I then gave them each washable markers. They then had 10 minutes to walk around the room and write strengths of each person on his/her back. At the end of the activity, the kids took the papers off their backs and had this wonderful list of personal strengths that others had observed in them. Many of them were surprised by the strengths other
students identified.

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Dear SD Talk,

I am planning to use the Steps curriculum in an alternative school setting. Our students meet with us by individual appointment and I'm not sure how to schedule it. Do you have any suggestions?

Wondering in Wyoming

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Dear Wondering,

Several teachers have used the curriculum in non-traditional programs. One transition focused program for 18-21 year olds that implemented the curriculum also met with students solely by individual appointment. They worked through the activities with students individually using the Student Activity Book. They essentially implemented the curriculum using a one-to-one coaching process. Another teacher who used the curriculum in an alternative setting is Kathy Casey. She teaches at A-I High School in the Clover Park School District (Tacoma, WA). Kathy formed a special group of students to participate in the curriculum through introductory workshop activities. She combined several lessons into 4 hour blocks and met several times over a 2 week period. She then worked with the students on an individual basis over the remainder of the semester to support them in achieving the goals they set. She also had the students keep portfolios of their progress. If you would like to talk with Kathy and discuss more ideas about using the curriculum in alternative settings, you can contact her at 253/589-7830 or by email at walt.reid@weyerhaeuser.com.