Task Groups in the School Setting Promoting Childrens Social and

Task Groups in the School Setting: Promoting Children's Social
and Emotional Learning.
Authors:
Velsor, PatriciaVan1 (AUTHOR)[email protected]
Source:
Journal for Specialists in Group Work. Sep2009, Vol. 34 Issue
3, p276-292. 17p.
Document Type:
Article
Subject Terms:
*Emotions (Psychology)
*Social learning
*Schools
*Social skillsTasksGroup work in education
Author-Supplied Keywords:
schoolssocial and emotional learningtask groups
Abstract:
Through social and emotional learning (SEL), individuals
develop skill in negotiating relationships successfully and
expressing emotions appropriately. The socially and
emotionally intelligent child reaps benefits in school and later
life. Counselors are best qualified to promote children's SEL
and the task group in the classroom provides an excellent
opportunity for them to do so. In the task group, students can
learn and practice crucial skills in vivo while they work
together to complete a task. The counselor's strategic attention
to promoting task completion while facilitating SEL can serve
to highlight the benefits of group work in the school learning
environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Author Affiliations:
1San Francisco State University
ISSN:
0193-3922
DOI:
10.1080/01933920903033495
Accession Number:
43429456
Publisher Logo:
Task Groups in the School Setting: Promoting Children's Social
and Emotional Learning.
Contents
1. UNDERSTANDING THE TASK GROUP MODEL AND ITS
BENEFITS
2. IDENTIFYING A FOCUS FOR THE TASK GROUP
3. FACILITATING THE TASK GROUP FOR OPTIMAL SEL
4. Building a Team
5. Establishing Appropriate Structure
6. Bolstering Skill Development
7. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
8. CONCLUSION
9. REFERENCES
Full Text
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Through social and emotional learning (SEL), individuals
develop skill in negotiating relationships successfully and
expressing emotions appropriately. The socially and
emotionally intelligent child reaps benefits in school and later
life. Counselors are best qualified to promote children's SEL

and the task group in the classroom provides an excellent
opportunity for them to do so. In the task group, students can
learn and practice crucial skills in vivo while they work
together to complete a task. The counselor's strategic attention
to promoting task completion while facilitating SEL can serve
to highlight the benefits of group work in the school learning
environment.
Keywords: social and emotional learning; task groups; schools
Because humans are social beings, they spend a great deal of
time interacting with others and much of that interaction takes
place in groups. As Sonstegard and Bitter ([45]) so aptly stated,
"to be human is to 'live' in groups" (p. 251). The group (e.g.,
family, peer) serves as the "primary socializing influence" in
children's development (Kulic, Horne, & Dagley, [31]) and the
nature of the social environment in those groups leads children
down a path toward either prosocial or antisocial behavior and
beliefs (Hawkins, Smith, & Catalano, [23]).
Children develop social skills and prosocial behaviors
through social and emotional learning (SEL). Although there are
various definitions of SEL, Zins, Bloodworth, Weissberg and
Walberg ([52]) define it succinctly as "the process through
which children enhance their ability to integrate thinking,
feeling, and behaving to achieve important life tasks" (p. 6).
Five competency areas—self-awareness, self-management,
social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-
making—are basic to negotiating school, work, and life
responsibilities effectively (Collaborative for Academic, Social,
and Emotional Learning, [10]).
Social and emotional intelligence, acquired through SEL, has
been associated with various positive outcomes in school and
life. A socially and emotionally intelligent child is less likely to
develop aggressiveness, depression, and/or violent behaviors
(Poulou, [38]). Children who develop social and emotional
intelligence are also more resistant to difficulties related to
drugs, teen pregnancy, and gangs (Elias et al., [19]). Moreover,
variations in children's social and emotional functioning

significantly predict current and later academic achievement
(Greenberg, Kusché, & Riggs, [22]; Parker et al., [37]).
The small group in the school setting provides an excellent
opportunity for counselors to enhance children's positive mental
health through SEL. Children can better their social skills,
unlearn inappropriate social behaviors, and try out new skills in
a safe environment (Akos, Hamm, Mack, & Dunaway, [ 3];
Thompson & Henderson, [49]). Generally, the small group
format used with children is psychoeducational (Corey & Corey,
[13]) and a common approach to SEL in the schools is to pull
targeted children out of the classroom to learn about appropriate
skills and practice those skills in a small group. Another
approach, however, is to make use of the task group, which
focuses on the application of group process principles to task
completion (Corey & Corey, [13]). If used in the classroom
setting, the task group can offer children the opportunity to
learn and apply social and emotional skills and behaviors in a
real life situation as they work together to accomplish an
identified task. Moreover, when conducted in the classroom
setting, all children can profit from the opportunity to enhance
their social and emotional intelligence. The overall goal is to
promote SEL for a broad range of children, which in turn can
lead to other positive outcomes.
When considering the task group in the school setting, it makes
sense that students could benefit in three ways. First, the task
group affords children the opportunity to learn about a topic as
they work together on a project of educational importance.
Second, students have the chance to acquire valuable social and
emotional skills for working in groups related to cooperation,
collaboration, and mutual respect. Third, students may well gain
a sense of accomplishment when the task is completed,
hopefully bolstering self-esteem.
The purpose of this article is to encourage counselors to
embrace the task group model in the classroom setting to
promote the SEL of students in vivo and to help
equip all students with the social and emotional tools necessary

to work cooperatively and collaboratively in a group. In order to
implement the task group, counselors must develop a clear
understanding of this approach and its multiple benefits in the
classroom setting. With this knowledge, counselors can then
determine ways to identify appropriate tasks for school groups,
and develop strategies to facilitate both task completion and
group process for optimal SEL.
UNDERSTANDING THE TASK GROUP MODEL AND ITS
BENEFITS
Before initiating the task group in schools, it is important to
understand the goals of a task group. The main goal of the
group is completing a task (e.g., a work project, event planning)
rather than changing the individual for therapeutic reasons or
personal growth (Gladding, [20]). However, successful
functioning of the task group requires attention to the principles
of group dynamics aimed at accomplishing the
task and improving interpersonal interaction in the process
(Corey & Corey, [13]; Gladding, [20]). Although teachers may
already assign tasks to small groups or make use of small group
learning in the classroom, they may lack the necessary skills to
facilitate SEL in the group process (Elias, Bruene-Butler, Blum,
& Schuyler, [17]). Counselors, however, have training in group
dynamics and process and can utilize that knowledge to promote
SEL as children work together to complete a task.
The task group in a school is different from the typical one in
an organization where each member takes responsibility and is
accountable for his or her own contribution to the overall effort
(Katzenbach & Smith, [29]). Instead children in the schools can
benefit from the task group that operates like a team. Although
teams, like other task groups, focus on results and develop
individual products, teams are more interdependent and more
collaborative (Brown, [ 8]: Gladding [20]; Stanley, [46]). In the
team model, there are shared leadership responsibilities and
accountability for the team product; that is, the team members
do "real work together" (Johnson & Johnson, [26], p. 527). All
students in the schools can benefit from working together and

developing the abilities necessary to function as part of a team.
Because all students can profit from refining their social and
emotional skills, the task group in the school does not
necessarily target students with difficulties. Use of this
approach is predicated on the idea that a primary goal of
counseling is to help all children "learn to deal with life" (T.
Gutkin, personal communication, December 2, 2008). Task
groups are indeed a part of life; they are omnipresent in
American culture and part of everyday experience (Conyne,
Crowell, & Newmeyer, [11]) in schools, churches, work places,
and community settings. The skills learned can help children
fulfill their roles successfully in family, school, friend, and
work groups (Goleman, [21]). Promoting SEL for all students
aligns with the Executive Summary of the American School
Counselor Association (ASCA, [ 4]), which directs school
counselors to "identify and deliver the knowledge and skills all
students should acquire" (p. 1). Additionally, SEL aligns with
the public school's mission to "assist in the socialization of the
young," identified in a U. S. Supreme Court case (i.e.,
Wisconsin V. Yoder) (Adelman & Taylor, [ 1], p. 85).
Another noteworthy benefit of the task group in the classroom
is that it allows students to learn skills in vivo. Although
teaching social and emotional skills is important; providing
children the opportunity for "real-world application" of those
skills is critical (Elias, [15]). During transactions to complete a
task, interpersonal exchanges happen naturally in the classroom,
that is, authentic interaction occurs. As differences in ideas and
issues related to completing the task surface and accompanying
affect emerges, counselors can facilitate the interchanges
quickly (Barratt & Kerman, [ 5]). The counselor is at hand to
help children manage their emotions, effectively navigate their
interactions, and successfully negotiate their differences for
optimal SEL. For students with behavioral concerns, who may
not be able to transfer skills from the counseling group to the
classroom (Clark & Breman, [ 9]), this real world experience
may be essential to their social and emotional development.

Students at risk for difficulties may benefit in other ways by
cultivating social and emotional abilities in the classroom. In a
counseling group for social skill development, targeted students
may have similar difficulties and inadvertently learn
inappropriate behaviors from each other. In the classroom
setting, however, students with less developed social and
emotional skills interact with students at higher skill levels and
can learn informally from the modeling of other students. Lopes
and Salovey ([33]) identified informal learning, where students
learn behaviors through "experience, modeling, and observing"
as a valuable way to promote SEL (p. 78).
The task group as proposed here may also serve to highlight the
usefulness of group work in learning. Social factors often
influence learning, because effective learning frequently
involves the ability to communicate, interact, and collaborate
with co-learners as well as teachers, peers, and families
(McCombs, [35]; Zins et al., [52]). The task group offers a
fertile environment for students to develop positive social
relationships as they develop their academic skills. As children
learn to collaborate and function interdependently in the task
group, a better fit or "improved ecological concordance"
between students and their school environment emerges, which
in turn can improve student success both in and out of schools
(Conyne & Mazza, [12]). Successful use of the task group by
the counselor may then motivate teachers to adopt the small
group as part of the learning environment for children.
IDENTIFYING A FOCUS FOR THE TASK GROUP
Although a significant goal in utilizing the task group is to
promote social and emotional learning, it is critical for the
counselor to identify a project that clearly incorporates an
aspect of the school mission. For example, a project might focus
on an academic goal of a particular classroom or grade level
(e.g., meeting a specific curriculum objective), or a school or
community goal (e.g., conducting a service learning activity).
The list of projects that could be implemented to address SEL in
a task group is endless and any activity that requires student

collaboration in a small group could work. As an example,
the literature circle, a language arts activity designed to engage
students in reflection and critical thinking about reading
(Daniels, [14]), could provide an excellent opportunity for
incorporating SEL; because it can be adapted for al l age levels,
already uses a small group format, and has been applied in both
mathematics (Kridler & Moyer-Packenham, [30]) and science
(Straits, [48]). In a typical model, the teacher assigns roles
(e.g., facilitator, illustrator) and has students work on their
tasks independently before coming together for discussion. In
the task group model, however, the teacher extends the process
by assigning a project. The task can be as simple as making a
poster to represent the feelings of different characters in a story
or as involved as creating a video to explore character identity
development related to the events in the reading. The students
then decide on what roles are necessary and how they need to
work together to complete the task. Although schools most
likely will already have designated readings within their
curriculum, the counselor may want to suggest books from the
Bibliotherapy Education Project
(http://library.unlv.edu/faculty/research/bibliotherapy/), which
offers an excellent list of books that focus on both counseling
and education topics.
Counselors who have not been teachers may balk at the idea of
focusing a group on an academic task; however, the counselor
need not be an expert in an academic area. The teacher provides
the academic expertise while the counselor promotes the social
and emotional development. The logistics will require close
collaboration between the counselor and the teacher to create a
suitable arrangement. After the task has been identified, the
counselor may circulate among various task groups or work
with one group at a time while the teacher works with the
remaining students. In the task group, the counselor can serve
as a co-learner while he or she weaves SEL skill development
into the process and facilitates group interactions aimed at
successful task completion.

Working in the classroom may represent a paradigm shift for
counselors. However, it is consistent with a new "inclusion"
model of school counseling suggested by Clark and Breman
([ 9]). This model requires that all students receive counseling
support through innovative interventions in classroom settings
and requires counselors to collaborate and consult closely with
teachers. The task group model proposed here complements the
Clark and Breman model, because it necessitates collaboration
with teachers and other school personnel to identify a suitable
project and involves implementation of the task group in the
classroom.
The best way to identify an appropriate task is through
familiarity with the school context. The school counselor who
has been in the school will already have intimate knowledge of
school culture, but will still need to spend time observing
school activities and soliciting input from others. The counselor
new to the school, on the other hand, must become well
acquainted with the school environment by getting to know,
first students and school personnel (e.g., teachers,
administrators, teachers), and then parents and community
members. What are the educational goals that the teachers
share? What is necessary to promote the achievement of the
student body? For example, if there are a large number of
students living in poverty, what projects would support their
unique needs—in the classroom, the school, and the
community? Immersion in the culture—both school and
surrounding community—allows the counselor not only to
identify projects that support the school mission but also to
design tasks that are sensitive to values of the population
served. Service learning projects that require collaborative
efforts offer excellent opportunities for addressing community
needs and, at the same time, enhancing students' social and
emotional abilities. For example, small groups of younger
students may decide on a gift appropriate for a local senior
center, design the necessary steps to make their gifts, and
finally, create the gifts. Older students may research community

needs and then work together in small groups to design and
carry out community projects. Although there are a variety of
websites that describe school service learning projects, one
particularly comprehensive list for both elementary and
secondary levels comes from Mesa Service Learning
(http://www2.mpsaz.org/msl/about/).
The most important school personnel with whom to collaborate
are teachers, because counselors will need their support to carve
out time and space for the task group. Common complaints of
teachers are that SEL activities take time away from an already
overloaded academic schedule (Elias, Bruene-Butler, Blum, &
Schuyler, [18]; Mildener & Keane, [36]). Careful selection of
task group focus, however, helps sidestep the criticism that time
spent on social and emotional skill development usurps valuable
academic time. Rather, teachers view the task as supporting
their efforts rather than auxiliary to their academic goals. At the
same time, working closely with teachers in the classroom may
stimulate more positive attitudes toward SEL activities and
small group learning.
With a task identified, a counselor must not only assist children
in completing the task, but also help them to understand the
importance of the group process in task completion. Effective
SEL in the task group requires that children learn cooperation,
social skills, and prosocial values (Johnson & Johnson, [28]).
FACILITATING THE TASK GROUP FOR OPTIMAL SEL
A counselor facilitating a task group with children for optimal
SEL must perform a variety of functions. Unfortunately, in a
recent survey of 802 school counselors, many participants
reported a lack of group training aimed at working with children
and adolescents in the schools (Steen, Bauman, & Smith, [47]).
Although the following information is not meant to substitute
for group training, it does provide an overview of functions that
school counselors should feel comfortable performing in order
to facilitate a task group successfully for SEL. The primary
functions involve fostering positive interdependence through
team building and promoting interpersonal process by setting

appropriate structure and bolstering skill development. The
literature on process in children's groups is scant (Leichtentritt
& Shechtman, [32]; Shechtman & Yanov, [44]); however, along
with the literature on task groups with adults, it provides some
direction for the counselor carrying out these functions.
Building a Team
Simply assigning a task and asking children to work together
does not assure that they will become a team (Prichard, Bizo, &
Stratford, [39]). Therefore it is the responsibility of the
counselor to incorporate ways to build group cohesiveness. In
an investigation of children's groups, child participants
identified group cohesiveness—encouragement, support, and
acceptance from others—as the most important factor in their
group experience (Shechtman & Gluk, [43]). Thus, it is
important to help children build new relationships or strengthen
existing relationships around working on the task. So, although
task completion is primary, failure to attend to relationships of
students could result in negative outcomes for task completion
and learning.
Students in a school may already have formed relationships;
however, counselors will need to develop activities focused on
building interdependent relationships and identifying
appropriate norms of behavior. Effective task groups devote
time to learning about one another, to culture building, and to
nurturing collaboration and cooperation (Hulse-Killacky,
Killacky, & Donigian, [24]). Because team building involves
learning prosocial behavior, norms should include discussion of
respect for others and promotion of other members' efforts.
Clear expectations for task completion and group behavior will
enhance student learning related to completing the task and
acquiring interpersonal skill in doing so.
Establishing Appropriate Structure
To promote SEL through the interpersonal process of the group,
counselors must establish appropriate structure. Counselors can
do so by attending to the developmental level of the children in
the group (Rosenthal, [40]); younger children need more

structure. For all children, counselors need to provide more
structure early in the group's development. Group facilitators
optimize children's experiences in groups when they provide a
safe environment for children to try out behaviors (Mayerson,
[34]) and the appropriate level of structure helps provide that
safe space.
An ideal structure for a task group involves balancing content
and process (Hulse-Killacky, Kraus, & Schumacher, [25]). The
content component of a group refers to the information shared;
in a task group, the counselor should make sure that all children
clearly understand the purpose of the group and the goals
related to the task. Additionally, the counselor should pay
attention to the content that children share to get a sense of each
child's strengths and how he or she can contribute to task
completion. Too much attention to content in a task group,
however, may actually interfere with progress toward
completing the task (Hulse-Killacky et al., [25]). The process
component of a task group deserves equal attention. Yalom
([51]) defines process as, "the nature of the relationship
between the people in the interaction" (p. 109). As it applies to
the task group, process refers to the relationships between and
among children and how those relationships promote or inhibit
task completion. By attending to the process, counselors can
make sure that all children share their ideas, experiences, and
thoughts and contribute to accomplishing the task.
In a successful group, the counselor does not attend to the
process alone; he or she makes sure that participants also attend
to that process. From the onset of the group, the counselor
structures a reflective environment in which children evaluate
the interactions and dynamics of the group (Barratt & Kerman,
[ 5]). The counselor frequently encourages children to examine
their relationships to identify how well they are working
together and how they can better their effectiveness (Johnson &
Johnson, [26]).
Although structure is essential to group work with children,
facilitators can best promote children's SEL by knowing when

to allow freedom within the structure. An important value of
group work—that it reflects real life most accurately (Akos,
[ 2])—is lost if a group is too structured. A challenge is finding
the balance between permissiveness and appropriate structure
and limits. In an exploratory study of dynamics in children's
therapy groups, Mayerson ([34]) found that facilitators'
willingness to join the play process, when appropriate,
contributed to positive outcomes. Applying this to the task
group, a counselor must be flexible and fluid in stepping
forward to take the leadership role and stepping back to let the
children lead. Johnson and Johnson ([26]) maintain that
facilitators must decide when to direct the children's group, be
"a sage on the stage," or to be their assistant, "a guide on the
side" (p. 497). Children can lead their own group when they
have developed the ability to reflect on their individual and
group behaviors and the skills necessary for working with
others.
Bolstering Skill Development
Important for the task group is development of skill in giving
feedback, making decisions together, and solving problems and
resolving conflict. The ability to give constructive feedback sets
the stage for the other skills. In a task group, timely feedback
fosters team development; because it increases member
motivation and provides data to help members work together
effectively (Birmingham & McCord, [ 7]). In a study of
interpretative responses—confrontation, interpretation, and
feedback—of preadolescents in groups, Shechtman and Yanov
([44]) found that high quality feedback (i.e., direct and honest
personal reaction) precipitated productive responses (i.e.,
exploration, insight, or change) while high quality
interpretation (supportive explanation of one's behavior,
feelings, or thoughts) or confrontation (highlighting
incongruencies) precipitated unproductive responses (e.g.,
resistance, agreement). The authors concluded that minimizing
confrontation and maximizing high-quality feedback was most
helpful in group work with children.

The challenge in the task group lies in helping children learn to
give constructive feedback (i.e., direct and honest personal
reaction) that supports task completion. This begins with
counselor modeling; simply by listening, paraphrasing, asking
open questions, that is, using basic counseling skills, counselors
provide a positive example for children and promote SEL. In
using these skills, it is important that counselors attend to the
age of the children in the group to adapt those skills
appropriately (see Van Velsor, [50]). If children learn these
skills, they help to create a safe environment and set the stage
for giving constructive feedback to each other related to task
completion. Drawing from several task group models, Hulse-
Killacky et al. ([25]) suggest that members create guidelines for
giving and receiving feedback, reflect on behaviors and
interactions that support or inhibit the group work, and give
clear feedback (i.e., using "I" statements, speaking directly to
others). Initially the counselor will model and direct appropriate
communications, but children should eventually learn to provide
their own feedback. According to Sonstegard and Bitter ([45]),
accurate feedback from children may facilitate the group
process better than feedback from counselors.
Along with communication skills, children need to develop the
abilities necessary for decision making in task groups. Because
good decision making depends on effective processing of
emotions (Bechara, Damasio, & Bar-On, [ 6]), an important step
is helping children to develop skill in monitoring emotions that
arise when differences occur. In the task group, counselors can
guide children in regulating their emotional reactions and
applying self-control in interpersonal communication.
Regulating emotion and gaining control gives children access to
the clear thinking needed for problem solving (Elias, [15]).
Johnson and Johnson ([27]) identified a helpful process for
problem-solving negotiation, in which children (a) describe
what they want and feel along with the rationale for those, (b)
listen and communicate understanding of other children's
perspectives, (c) formulate three optional plans, and (d) select a

plan from those options. This model provides the opportunity
for children to practice perspective-taking, which is
foundational to the development of empathy (Shapiro, [41]).
When problem solving among children breaks down and conflict
arises, the counselor will need to serve as mediator allowing
time for cooling off as necessary, ensuring commitment to
mediation, and guiding children through the problem-solving
process (Johnson & Johnson, [27]). Formalizing the agreement
(e.g., with a handshake) is part of both problem solving and
conflict resolution procedures.
Once counselors have provided strategies for decision making,
problem-solving, and conflict resolution, they must decide when
to let children direct the process and when they need to
intercede. Some group facilitators may tend to intervene quickly
in any disputes, conflict, or disagreement among children
(Rosenthal, [40]) denying them the experience of solving issues
on their own, and in turn inhibiting their SEL from the process.
On the other hand, an environment that encourages creative and
collaborative decision making, problem solving, and conflict
resolution by children promotes their optimal social and
emotional development.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Designing a task group for the classroom will require
considerable collaborative planning to identify what works with
which students based on academic learning objectives as well as
student developmental level and culture. The counselor, in
collaboration with the teacher, must decide how much advance
psychoeducation the students will need related to decision
making, problem solving, and conflict. It is always best to
discuss conflict resolution procedures before a heated emotional
situation arises.
Implementation would typically begin with a teacher describing
an academic assignment. Using the literature circle example, the
teacher asks students to rank a list of stories or books based on
their interests. The teacher divides students into small groups
determined by their choices and, after students have read the

literature, they discuss their reactions to and understandings of
the reading. Next, the teacher assigns a task for the group
focused on student discussion. The scope of the task (e.g., a
map of the events of the story, a presentation on the themes in
the book) will depend on the age of the students and the
teacher's learning objectives. This assigned task could take
place during one class period or over the course of several
weeks.
As students begin work on the task in their small groups, the
counselor's expertise is tapped. If students are new to
teamwork, the counselor conducts team building exercises and
explains how students must attend to the process as they
complete their task. Schmuck and Schmuck ([42]) provide some
simple process observation sheets for younger students, which
could be adapted in various ways for many ages. These
questionnaires ask students to identify specific instances of
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors evident in the group and
promote student analysis of their own experiences and actions
(SEL self-awareness competency) and those of others (SEL
social awareness competency). The observation sheets serve as
stimuli for discussion on group process as students work on
their project, and, in turn, the discussion serves as a learning
ground for students as counselors help them give constructive
feedback to each other (SEL relationship skill competency).
Eventually, disagreements will arise in some groups over
procedures, goals, and relationships (Schmuck & Schmuck,
[42]), and such controversies offer, perhaps, the most valuable
opportunities for SEL. When students are involved in a
passionate discussion that appears to have the potential for
escalation, the counselor must decide when, and if, to step in
and what intervention might facilitate optimal SEL. Early in a
disagreement, the counselor may ask students to listen to each
other and then verbalize the opposing perspective, promoting
student empathy and sensitivity to others (SEL social awareness
competency). If emotions are already heightened, the counselor
may direct the students to self-monitor and share their feelings

related to the interaction before tackling a problem solving
procedure. This helps students to accurately assess their
feelings (SEL self-awareness competency) and to regulate their
emotions (SEL self-management competency). As students
become more skilled in decision making and problem solving,
the counselor may need only to refer students to the steps of
these processes.
There, of course, will be times when conflict arises and students
need a cooling off period. In facilitating student cool down, the
counselor must use a course of action that works harmoniously
with the teacher's approach to de-escalation. When students
have regained their self-control sufficiently, the counselor
secures the commitment of all group members to the negotiation
process, leads students through problem solving steps, and helps
students formalize their agreement (Johnson & Johnson, [27]).
Students in the group can practice a wealth of SEL
competencies, and the counselor is on-hand to facilitate the
learning process. At the same time, the counselor can serve as a
model and consultant to the teacher, who may want to use small
groups for cooperative learning at times when the counselor is
not present. The overall goal is to encourage teachers to
reinforce student use of SEL skills and attitudes throughout the
day as well as in and out of the classroom.
CONCLUSION
Counselors in the schools are already aware of the connection
between social and emotional learning and positive outcomes in
school and life. Individuals need social and emotional skills for
achieving academic and workplace success and becoming
informed and responsible community members (Elias, Arnold, &
Hussey, [16]). Counselors' efforts to promote social and
emotional learning (SEL) for all students, however, are often
thwarted by the view of other school personnel that SEL
intrudes on the academic mission of the school. The task group
proposed unites educational aims with SEL objectives. It
transcends the psychoeducational group approach, which tends
to focus on cognitive behavioral strategies and problem solving,

and the counseling group approach, which tends to focus on
affect; the task group offers an integrative approach. The
counselor facilitates completion of an educational task, and, at
the same time, facilitates social and emotional skill
development in the task completion process. This task group
model has benefits for all students and allows students to learn
social and emotional skills from each other and practice them in
vivo.
A challenging aspect of the task group model is the need for
counselors to identify and design a task through collaboration
with stakeholders. Teachers' input in this process is crucial
because of their knowledge and needed cooperation. However,
as counselors become more practiced in the task group, input by
other stakeholders (e.g., parents, community members) provides
an opportunity to strengthen school-community connections to
enhance the social and emotional development of children
beyond the school.
Once a counselor has identified a task, he or she can best
promote task completion and enhance student SEL through team
building, appropriate structure, and skill development. Students
can learn the skills of giving feedback, offering empathy,
making decisions, and solving problems along with managing
emotions and negotiating conflict—skills necessary throughout
life for working together cooperatively and collaboratively to
complete a task.
Use of the task group by counselors in the schools, however,
requires somewhat of a paradigm shift. Counselors typically
focus on a small percentage of students with difficulties or at
risk for difficulties, and offer group counseling to these
students on a pull out basis (i.e., taking students out of class)
(Clark & Breman, [ 9]). The task group is not meant to preclude
the counseling group; there will always be a need for groups
focused on topics such as divorce and grief. However, the task
group in the classroom has potential for use with all students,
rather than only a small percentage of them; for promoting the
use of the small group in learning; and, perhaps, for

repositioning the counselor in a role more central to the school's
educational mission.
Moving from working with a small percentage of students to
working with the broader student body will prove challenging.
However, counselors can expand their sphere of influence in
promoting SEL by training teachers in group process strategies
for use in classroom groups. Some teachers are already schooled
in cooperative learning and may need only minimal training in
group process. Other teachers may need more extensive training
to first understand the value of group work in education and
then to learn how to effectively facilitate children's group
process in the classroom. Counselors may begin this process by
first working with teachers who are already using groups and
cooperative learning. Then, by making their efforts known
throughout the school, they can engage other teachers who may
be skeptical of the importance of group work and SEL in
education.
Counseling in schools is often relegated to the status of an
ancillary service (ASCA, 2003) and SEL is sometimes viewed
as intruding on the current responsibility of schools for student
performance on testing and standards (Mildener & Keane, [36]).
Small groups in the classroom, and task groups in particular,
have great potential for enhancing the learning environment in
schools. Counselors with training in group process are in an
excellent position to promote task group work specifically, and
small group work in general, as an integral part of the school
educational mission. The goal for counselors is to enhance
student social and emotional development by weaving SEL and
small group work into the fabric of the school. The ultimate
goal is to provide students with the social and emotional skills
necessary for success during their school years and beyond.
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~~~~~~~~
By PatriciaVan Velsor
Reported by Author
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