Preventing (Cyber)Bullying: Creating Safe Schools For All Students

When students don't feel safe in school, they don't thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. According to a 2015 survey from the National Center for Educational Statistics, more than one out of every five students (20.8%) has reported being bullied. Bullying takes many forms and impacts not only the student being bullied, but the entire school community. Participants of this course will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to build safe school communities that identify bullying behaviors quickly (and even before they happen), empower students to move from bystander to advocate, and use character development and social-emotional learning to build stronger school communities.

Techniques for effective interventions as well as best practices from both a teacher and school-wide perspective will be provided to enable participants to address (cyber)bullying concerns within their respective schools and communities. Participants will leave the course with a framework for implementing classroom meetings to foster a positive classroom climate, integrating social-emotional learning/character education, and speaking with key stakeholders (parents, other teachers, and administrators) to prevent (cyber)bullying in and out of the classroom.

Objectives:

Participants will be able to:

• Conclude that building and maintaining safe communities for children facilitates their learning and fosters positive personal growth and development
• Develop a fundamental understanding of bullying behavior and the roles that stakeholders play
• Differentiate between types of bullying behavior including aggression, discriminatory harassment, and cyberbullying
• Evaluate how differing forms of bullying warrant various intervention and prevention approaches
• Assess the need for bullying prevention interventions within his/her own classrooms, schools, and districts
• Propose effective teacher-based strategies for bullying intervention/prevention both within and outside the classroom: character education, social-emotional learning, and classroom management strategies̴
• Conclude how social-emotional learning and character education is a foundation for fostering citizenship in students and promoting safe and supportive learning environments
• Establish communities of practice within a school that act as collaborative measures in facilitating and maintaining positive school culture and climate