The links below contained detailed information for the upcoming 2017 Safe States Alliance Annual Meeting, taking place September 12-14, 2017 in Aurora, Colorado.
Please note:
- A total of five concurrent sessions will take place during the Annual Meeting, and there will be up to five breakouts occurring simultaneously during each of those concurrent sessions. Within each breakout, there will be up to four presentations that take place.
- This online system does not allow us to embed the individual presentations within each breakout. Please note the session presentations listed under each Concurrent Breakout title for associated content.
- The on-site mobile app WILL embed these sessions for ease of use.
- A printable, detailed agenda can be found on the 2017 Annual Meeting website.
- If you have any questions, please contact info@safestates.org
- All session times and locations are tentative and subject to change. Safe States will continue to update these details as changes take place.
Reducing School Bullying With Theater and Art
Learning Objectives
In this session, participants will:
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Examine the qualitative and policy research that informed the development of the arts based programming
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Identify two arts based programs developed to prevent bullying
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Examine the program components of the Out of Bounds and HEAR Toolkit
Statement of Purpose
Bullying is the most common form of school violence worldwide. School-based bullying prevention programs have shown varying success, and new, innovative programs with a stronger evidence base are needed. Arts-based programming, which appeals to the active emotional brains of adolescents, is a promising approach.
Methods/Approach
Injury prevention researchers and a theater group collaborated to develop a play called “Out of Bounds,” informed by qualitative and policy research. The play tells the story of a cyberbullying event and promotes themes of forgiveness, friendship, identity and labels. "Out of Bounds" was performed in ten Iowa middle and high schools and has more recently been on two national tours, reaching more than 50,000 kids. Because viewing a play is unlikely to support behavior change on its own, the team developed a program of arts-based activities to accompany the play. The activity toolkit is called “HEAR: Helping Educators use Art to Reduce Bullying.” Activities were developed for multiple age groups and multiple settings, including classrooms and after school programs. Activities include games, acting, photovoice, reflective writing, drawing, and appreciative inquiry.
Results
The play and toolbox were pilot tested through a service learning course with public health students and a school district. The play was performed in eight schools, and teachers chose activities from the toolkit to implement in their classrooms. Service learning students assisted with the activities. Through an online evaluation survey, over 90% of teachers assessed the program as very positive. One activity was assessed as neutral by all teachers, and this activity was revised. Teachers reported that 75% to 90% of students were highly engaged
Conclusions & Significance to the Field
Schools rarely use arts-based approaches to target behavior change, although they are a promising approach and schools increasingly seek ways to integrate arts into core education.
Presenters
Ms. Lisa Roth, University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center
Biography
Lisa Roth is the current Deputy Director of the Injury Prevention Research Center at the University of Iowa. She has a background in Community Health Education and more than 15 years of experience in the field of public health and injury prevention.
Prior to joining the University of Iowa, Lisa worked at the Iowa Department of Public Health as the state's first child passenger safety program manager. She went on to be manager of Community Outreach at Blank Children's Hospital. While at Blank, she was involved in numerous public policy initiatives including work on upgrading Iowa's Child Passenger Safety and Graduated Driver's Licenses laws.
In her role as Deputy Director at the Injury Prevention Research Center, she currently oversees outreach activities, community collaborations and partnership development.