1. REDESIGNING SOCIAL
SKILLS INSTRUCTION
BASED ON TWO
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
THEORIES
V. Paige Hale, Ed.S.
Morehead State University
vphale@moreheadstate.edu

2. A Little Background on Myself…
• Doctoral Student in
Educational Technology
Leadership at Morehead
State University
• I have 6 years experience as
a School Psychologist in the
P-12 setting
• I have both an M.S. and
Ed.S. in Educational

3. May/June Issue of TechTrends

4. This topic: Why Now?
Autism:
According to a March 2012 report from the
National Institute of Mental Health (2012),
autism now affects 1 in 88 children (1 in 54
boys). These numbers are up 78% from 2002
and 23% from 2006.
 Bullying & School Violence

5. What are social skills?
Social Skills Training (SST):
A form of behavior therapy used by teachers,
therapists, and trainers to help persons who
have difficulties relating to other people.
It is frequently conducted with students who
have emotional-behavioral disabilities or
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Source: http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Social-skills-training.html

6. Photo by: Kheng Guan Toh, http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Social-skills-

7. The Skillstreaming Curriculum
Created by experts
in the field but not
grounded in solid
instructional design
principles, or rooted
in any particular
ISD theory or model

8. How is the content currently
taught?
 Typically in a small group (3-5 students);
 In some cases, special education teachers and/or
guidance counselors may deliver the instruction to an
entire class (15-30 students);
 Role-playing and homework are essential components
of the instruction;
 In addition to these general content features,
skillstreaming sessions are taught using 9 specific,

9. Skillstreaming: The 9 Steps
(Formulaic)
 Step 1: Define the Skill
 Step 2: Model the Skill
 Step 3: Establish Trainee (Student) Skill Need
 Step 4: Select Role-Player
 Step 5: Set Up the Role-Play
 Step 6: Conduct the Role-Play
 Step 7: Provide Performance Feedback
 Step 8: Assign Skill Homework
 Step 9: Select Next Role-Player

10. Theory #1: Multiple
Intelligences
 Assumptions:
The Criticality of “what to teach” and the
considerable variability of “how to teach
it”;
Being able to deploy understanding
(performance of understanding);
Preparing students for valued adult roles.

11. Theory #1: Multiple
Intelligences
 Assumptions, continued:
Helping students to enhance their various
intelligences;
Tailoring instruction to individual
differences in students’ intelligences;
An approach to instruction that is not
formulaic.

12. Redesign Activities
 Instead of larger group role-playing,
students may create computer
simulations to act out the scenarios
visually (Spatial). Students could then
go through each others’ scenarios
and provide feedback or brainstorm
alternative responses.

13. Redesign Activities
 For those who learn best through
artistic avenues (Aesthetic), students
may create and discuss social skills
scenarios by drawing comic strips or,
when given a pre-drawn comic strip,
fill in the appropriate dialogue.

14. Redesign Activities
 Students may also reflect on their
own personal as well as peers’ social
skills experiences by creating
collages, poems, or songs (Musical).
Additionally, students could create
mnemonic devices or rhymes instead
of using the skills cards.

15. Redesign Activities
 Students could also watch clips from
popular television shows or music
videos that demonstrate both
appropriate and undesirable social
skills and then discuss the pros/cons
and even possible create their own
response videos. This activity would
draw on several learning styles
including: Spatial, Musical, and/or

16. Reflections on the redesign
 Each of these alternate instructional
designs allow the lessons to be tailored
to learning preferences of individual
students.
 These redesigns implicitly acknowledge
that traditional role-playing, when
overused, can become a cookie-cutter
method that may not work equally well

17. Reflections on the redesign
 The alternate activities also serve the
dual purpose of promoting greater
buy-in, participation, and, ultimately,
understanding by accessing multiple
entry points.

18. Strengths/Weaknesses
 The redesigned curriculum may be
somewhat less user friendly for the
trainer. The original, formulaic
approach allowed a practiced trainer
to lead sessions efficiently and
without extensive preparation.

19. Theory #2: Open Learning
Environments
 Assumptions
Personal Inquiry;
Divergent thinking and multiple
perspectives;
Self-directed learning and learner
autonomy with metacognitive support.

20. Theory #2: Open Learning
Environments
 Assumptions, continued
Mediating learning through individual
experience and personal theories;
Hands-on, concrete experiences involving
realistic, relevant problems;
Providing tools and resources (technology
scaffolding) to aide the learners’ effort at
learning.

21. Redesign Activities
 The trainer will assign small groups of
students to a computer program that
would allow them to work together to
create a mobile app. They could then put
the app on their phones and carry them as
a prompt as they attempt to practice their
new social skills in the real world. The
learning would come from the discussion
and subsequent problem-solving the
students would participate in when

22. Redesign Activities
 The trainer could also assign students to
work in small groups with the goal of
drafting and ultimately creating a blog
article or group wiki page. Student would
be free to engage in personal inquiry and
group discussions related to the skill being
taught. The trainer could work with other
trainers across the district and/or state to
share peers’ Web 2.0 creations and allow
the students to provide feedback for one

23. Reflections on the redesign
 The redesign would also introduce
various technology.
 The alternate activities serve the dual
purpose of promoting increased buy-
in, personal ownership, participation,
and greater understanding and use of
newly-learned social skills.

24. Reflections on the redesign
 The redesign increases opportunities for
self-direction, sharing of personal
experiences, engagement in personal
inquiry, and formulating personal theories.
 These sample redesigns encourage
divergent thinking and the sharing of
multiple perspectives.

25. OLEs: Strengths/Weaknesses
 Consider the student population and issues
such as motivation. Are students required to
receive this instruction as part of a
consequence? If so, how might that
influence the goal of true, self-directed
learning?
 Students with social skills deficits related to
ASD or mild mental retardation may require
additional metacognitive support.

26. Lessons Learned
 These sample redesigns are part of a larger
series of eight including several others prominent
theories from Reigeluth’s “Green Books”
including: Collaborative Problem-Solving and
Attitudinal Theory.
 This assignment allowed me to begin thinking like
an instructional designer.
 I came to better understand that no theoretical
model has all of the answers or lends itself to all
types of instruction.

27. Questions? Comments?
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Do not hesitate to contact me through Google+,
Facebook, or by email: vphale@moreheadstate.edu

28. References
Gardner, H. (1997). Multiple approaches to understanding. In Instructional-
design
theories and models: A new paradigm of instructional theory (pp. 69-89).
Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Goldstein, A. P., & McGinnis, E. (1997). Skillstreaming the adolescent: New
strategies and
perspectives for teaching pro-social skills. Champlain, IL: Research Press.
Hannafin, M., Land, S., & Oliver, K. (1999). Open learning environment:
Foundations,
methods, and models. In Instructional-design theories and models: A new
paradigm of
instructional theory (pp. 115-140). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates, Inc.
National Institute for Mental Health. (2012). Autism prevalence: More affected
or more