Social and Emotional Learning to Support Formative Assessment

Social Belonging Exercise: Values Affirmation

Time: Approximately 30-45 minutes Intended audience: Student in grade 5 and up

Preparation

Materials

Values Affirmation Handout Envelopes (optional)

Pens or pencils for writing

Session set-up

Students should be seated individually with enough space to write privately.

Session outcomes

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

•Reflectonvaluesthatareimportanttothem,forthepurposeofbolsteringsenseofbelonging.

Pre-reading

Recursive Processes in Self-affirmation: Intervening to Close the Minority Achievement Gap

Cohen et al., 2009

Thisactivityisbasedonresearchshowingthatvaluesaffirmationcandecreaseachievementgapsandprotectstudents’senseofbelonging.Inanexperimentwithasimilaractivity(Cohenetal.,2009),seventh-gradestudentschosefromalistofpersonalvaluesandwrotean essay about why those values were important to them. These students were followed into eighth grade and their grades and sense of belongingwerecomparedwithstudentswhodidnotdotheactivity.AfricanAmericanstudentswhodidthevaluesaffirmationearned higher GPAs and nearly halved the achievement gap between African American and white peers. Additionally, belonging was more stable for African American students who did the values affirmation during the vulnerable transition into middle school. This suggests thatithelpedbuildresiliencyandbolsteredstudents’senseofbelongingagainstadversities.ThesignificantresultsforAfricanAmerican studentssuggestthatvaluesaffirmationismostpowerfulforthosewhofacethegreatestthreattotheirsenseofbelonging.



SEL for Formative Assessment by Davidson, S., Bates, L., McLean, C., and Lewis, K., is licensed

under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Step-by-Step Guidelines

Timing / Content:topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
2 minutes / Introduction
1.Ask the group to think silently for a minute about the following question: “What are a few things that are important to you? These can be hobbies, abilities, relationshipswithpeople,oranythingelsethatyoufeelisabigpartofwhoyouare.”
2.Explain that today’s activity is a quiet writing exercise to give ourselvesthe chance to reflect on what matters to us in ourlives. / In general, activities like this are most beneficial if they are not presented as “interventions.” Rather than saying this activity is intended
to boost a sense of belonging, emphasize the importance of connecting to what is important in our lives.
5 minutes / Exploring the values list
1.Distribute “What Matters toMe” handout.
2.Make the following keypoints:
Key points
◇On this handout is a list of common values that some people feelareimportant in their lives. This is not a complete list. There are probably values that you care about that you don’t see on thislist.
◇Take a moment and look at the values listed here, and see if you can thinkof some others that are notincluded.
3. Give students a few minutes to add to the list of values. / You may customize the list of values on the handout based on your knowledge of students’ background and context. / “What Matters to Me” handout
Pen or pencil
Timing / Content:topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
5 minutes / Pick your “Top 3”
1. Guide students to choose three values from the list that they think are especially important in their lives right now (this can include any new ones that they wrote).
Key point
◇Your top three can include values that were already on the list or thoseyou added to the list. These are likely to change over time, because this is justa snapshot of where you’re at in your life rightnow. / Students do not need to share their top three with others. / “What Matters to Me” handout
Pen or pencil
15-30
minutes / Writing exercise
1. Guide students to choose one of their top three values and, using the other sheet of paper provided, write about why that top-rated value is important to them. Ask, “Can you think of a time in your life when you had the opportunity to really express this value?”
Key point
◇This is not a graded assignment, and there are no right or wronganswers.
◇Students should focus on their thoughts and feelings and not worry about grammar orspelling. / You can provide additional guiding questions as necessary. / “What Matters to Me” handout
Pen or pencil
Timing / Content:topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
5 minutes / Optional follow-up
1.Hand out envelopes and have students put their essay in the envelope andseal it with their names on theoutside.
2.Students can either keep the envelopes, or you can collect them and hand them back at the end of the school year as a “booster” of valuesaffirmation. / While research suggests that “boosters” are not necessarily needed for sustaining the impact of this activity, studentsmay enjoy reading and reflecting on their responses as a later follow-upactivity. / Envelopes Pen or pencil