What was the Problem?

Some students develop fear-based respect following the behaviors they experience in school, family, and social environment in primary and later years. Students who feel that love is conditional test the limits of the person from whom they expect love. There is a desire to be appraised under their "disrespectful" behaviors. So, "How can we make it possible for students to highlight their valuable aspects?"

Solution

In the problem-solving process where design-oriented thinking methodology was applied; it was observed that the students were not aware of their own positive aspects and therefore did not realize the different points of view. The “Step by Step 'I got it'” activity was developed to help students develop positive self-perception by focusing on their own positive aspects, expressing their positive thoughts about their peers and making positive features visible.

The three-step game, which takes place in a few lessons, aims to demonstrate the students how to assess themselves and their social circles. “Mirmirror” is a mirror in front of which the students express their good thoughts and bad thoughts about him/herself and observe their own mimics while doing so. The student notes the differences between the two situations. He/she also observes the effect of positive thinking about him/herself.

The "Pollyanna Glasses" provide students with an opportunity to evaluate their views of the outside world. The teacher writes a variety of social situations on pieces of paper and throws these pieces of paper into a pouch. The student draws a paper from the pouch and comments on the situation on the paper. Then, the student wears the "Pollyanna Glasses" and tries to comment on the same situation by seeing the positive aspects.

The "Rainbow Ribbon" allows students to recognize the point of view of others. Different colors of ropes are put together. Each color represents a person (e.g. school principal, teacher, mother, and father). The student draws a paper from a pouch containing various situations related to the school and tries to comment on the situation written on the paper through the eyes of the person represented by the rope that the student has randomly selected.

Together, these three activities allow the student to assess the judgments that he/she has adopted for himself/herself and others in his/her social circle, taking into account the different perspectives, and the positive impact of the positive judgments.

Its Effect

In this process, it was observed that students' self-confidence and supportive behaviors towards each other increased. Thus, after the activity, which increased the solidarity among the students and allowed the students to get to know each other more closely instead of resorting to verbal violence that has turned into a reflex in peer relations, verbal violence decreased visibly and positive relationships became visible.

Contributors

Anıl Çelik (Information Technologies Teacher), Sibel Ezgi Epik (English Teacher), Elvan Kasaplar (Mathematics Teacher), Elmas Yüce (Technology Design Teacher), Özge Çavaş (Preschool Teacher)