Second Step: Using Design Thinking to Develop and Improve Social-Emotional Learning Programs

A program or curriculum is “research-based” when development is based on scientific evidence (e.g., lab studies and empirical reports) and some form of testing to determine the efficacy of the program is conducted. This testing is often conducted after the program design has been completed. An alternative approach is to incorporate design-thinking methods (e.g., user-centered design, rapid cycle iterations, and A/B testing) within the development process to continuously improve social- emotional learning (SEL) programs. Testing program components early and often with stakeholders can help researchers design better interventions because it provides greater opportunity to understand what works and for whom. The purpose of this paper is to describe how we have used this approach to develop Second Step for out-of-school time (OST) settings and to revise our middle school SEL program.

In the spring and summer of 2018, our team conducted field tests of curricular components developed for a new SEL program for OST settings. We partnered with twenty-one different OST sites across the United States representing diverse geographic regions (e.g., the Southern, Southwestern, and Pacific Northwest), racial/ethnic backgrounds, and socioeconomic statuses. The research questions guiding the field test included: (1) To what extent are the activities easy to facilitate for educators? and (2) How are youth engaging with the activities? To answer these questions, we collected weekly educator surveys about the SEL activities they implemented, weekly site observations, and conducted monthly focus groups with educators. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze survey results and qualitative coding methods were employed to analyze observations and focus group transcripts. Several key themes emerged that informed development of the OST program: the types of supports educators need for successful implementation, the activity structures that disengage students, and cultural mismatches within the content.

During academic year 2018- 2019, we are also working to develop and test new curricular components for Second Step Middle school. Teacher’s survey responses (N = 151) from the 2017-2018 school year indicated low levels of student engagement with the program. In response, we revised the graphics and content within the program to make them more developmentally appropriate and relevant. Initial feedback from end-of-lesson surveys (N = 320) suggests revisions are being well-received;28% of respondents said their students found the lessons engaging while only 11% reported student disengagement. Future data collection and analysis will include focus groups and interviews to determine student and teacher perceptions of the new materials. Discussion will highlight findings and key challenges, including the tension between stakeholders’ requests and what the literature suggests will lead to positive outcomes.