SOKO-L

The aim of this training unit is to foster the recognition and naming of emotions and to recognize their influence on behavior.

The theoretical background to the concept of emotions is presented in the corresponding sessions, including how they arise and their function. Presentation and discussion of empirical findings regarding the emotional experience in the school context, for both teachers and students, highlights the importance of emotions for the successful organization of everyday school life.

Students expand their theoretical knowledge by working on authentic practical examples, e.g. by analyzing video-based and written teaching sequences characterized by the emotional experience of the teacher and students. Analysis covers both problematic cases and positive examples. This gives participants the opportunity to gain a differentiated picture of the positive and negative effects of emotions on their own behavior, on the behavior of students and on social interaction in the classroom context.

Participants work on an emotion diary parallel to the sessions to foster subjective and conscious awareness of their own emotions and typical cognitive evaluation processes. In it, they are asked to describe their daily emotions and identify triggering conditions.

Emotion knowledge acquired in the first training unit is expanded by teaching knowledge and skills for dealing with emotions. The specific learning objectives include familiarizing participants with different ways of regulating emotions, evaluating them in terms of their quality and applicability and practicing the use of positively evaluated strategies.

The model of emotion regulation developed by James Gross provides the framework for the work in this subject area. It assigns different strategies for regulation to process emotion development, which in turn are represented by a variety of specific measures. The strategies include:

• the selection or change of a situation (e.g. the organization of the return of a class assignment)
• shifting the focus of attention (e.g. paying attention to particularly (un)motivated children)
• the cognitive reappraisal (e.g. “despite the general learning backlog, the class is gradually making small progress”)
• as well as the change in the emotional response (e.g. suppressing disappointment about the results of the class work).

Depending on the respective context, these strategies differ in terms of their positive and negative short- and long-term consequences for the participants' own well-being and interaction. Using the online diary (see Emotion Knowledge tab), information provided by the participants on their emotion regulation is systematized with reference to the model of emotion regulation and discussed collectively using the model assumptions. The appropriateness is also assessed based on empirical findings on emotion regulation. They are used to assess their applicability in the school context as well. Based on the work on the emotion regulation model, participants can conclude that a holistic change in the emotion experienced by means of adaptive emotion regulation (e.g. cognitive reappraisal) is positively associated with one's own well-being and behavior in social interactions and prevents the negative consequences of emotional dissonance. A prerequisite for adaptive emotion regulation is the ability to perceive without judgment, which is primarily achieved through a mindful attitude. Mindfulness is also discussed with the participants and specific mindfulness exercises are carried out in this context. Instructions for mindful behavior in everyday life, i.e. the non-judgmental perception of a current situation, are also developed. The final section of the Emotion Regulation unit extends the content already covered for the individual to other people or potential interaction partners. Group work is used to practice taking on the students' perspective and discuss its benefits for the classroom and the teacher-student relationship. Practices include the application of empathic behavior towards students. The participants are then shown that adopting perspectives and empathic behavior come at different expense in terms of their own resources, depending on the external circumstances (e.g. class size, time spent with the class, time pressure, etc.). Different strategies are taught to ensure the flexible and resource-saving use of empathy.

The skills taught in the previous training units serve as the framework for fostering social abilities in line with the hierarchical structure of social-emotional competence. The aim of this unit is for participants to expand their knowledge of the social context of school and to acquire specific social skills for this context.

The role of one's own perception and the relevance of the social motives of students of different ages are addressed in the knowledge section. Specific skills are also taught that facilitate the appropriate assertion of one's own needs and goals and at the same time support cooperative behaviors that contribute to the establishment of a cooperative and overall positive teacher- student relationship.

The transfer of theoretical knowledge enables participants to provide an informed explanation of problematic student behavior that goes beyond naïve conclusions (e.g. “The student wants to attack me personally”) and motivates them to apply behaviors that contribute to a positive teacher-student relationship by considering the basic psychological needs or social leitmotifs of the students. Based on the interaction model by Wubbels and Brekelmans (2005), the teacher's behavior in the interaction with the students is located on two dimensions that depict cooperative and influential behaviors independently of each other. The participants assess themselves on these dimensions and work out personal development goals.

An important conclusion from the work on this model is that both cooperative and influential or dominant behaviors are possible at the same time and not mutually exclusive. The participants practice cooperating behaviors (proximity dimension) and appropriate assertive behavior (influence dimension) as the training progresses, accordingly. These contents are introduced using a schematic sequence of events. The behavioral patterns are elaborated and practiced by analyzing newly constructed case vignettes and conducting role plays. In addition to practicing these behaviors, participants will also practice dealing with conflict situations. The constructive conflict resolution according to Thomas Gordon serves as a basis. Constructive conflict resolution aims to resolve the conflict without a defeat, i.e. the parties to the conflict work together as equals to find a solution acceptable to all parties. First, the participants are introduced to the individual steps of the conflict resolution process. As with the cooperation and assertiveness skills, practical exercises are carried out using case vignettes and role plays.