We officially launched our new Digital Curriculum in July and we’ve been slowly unveiling some of the exciting feedback from pilot users through our social and email channels.
In this post, we’ll introduce our pilot study more formally and provide a centralized home for results data as we prepare to dive more deeply into the findings and interpretations with one of the study’s authors, Annie Goerdt, PhD.
About the Pilot Study
Earlier this year, we partnered with a research team at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) to study the impact of The Zones Digital Curriculum implementation at five schools in real classrooms with busy teachers.
Participating Site Demographics:
- Saint Paul Public Schools, Minnesota
- Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Urban Public School District
- 2nd-5th Grade General Education Classrooms (Tier 1)
- 34 Participating Classrooms: 18 Intervention Group, 16 Control Group
- 600+ Students
Teachers completed a measure called the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment-Mini (DESSA-Mini) before and after delivering the curriculum (pre- and post-test) to measure the impact of The Zones on learner social-emotional competencies.
Big Takeaway #1: Learners’ SEL Competencies Improved
Overall, the biggest takeaway from the pilot study was that learners in intervention classrooms showed a statistically significant increase in social-emotional competencies.
Doubled Percentage of Students Identified with SEL Strengths:
- Learners with a strength in SEL competencies went from 28% at pre-test to 55% at post-test.
Reduced Percentage of Students Identified with SEL Needs by 58%:
- Learners in need of SEL instruction went from 24% at pre-test to 10% at post-test.
Big Takeaway #2: Leaders Became More Empowered to Deliver SEL
After using The Zones, 100% of teachers felt confident in supporting learners’ growth and development across 5 competencies (as defined by CASEL): self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness
Check out how The Zones aligns with the 5 CASEL competencies.
Teachers also reported increased confidence in teaching SEL after Zones implementation.
Big Takeaway #3: The Difference Is Significant
Comparing the Zones Intervention vs. Control Group:
- Learners who received instruction with The Zones had a significant increase in DESSA-Mini T-scores
- Learners in the intervention group showed a large increase by an average of 8.84 points, while the control group had a small increase of just 1.09 points
Dr. Annie Goerdt is not only one of the study’s authors but is also our newest Zones team member! She brings a wealth of knowledge in educational psychology and research. Watch for subsequent in-depth insights from Annie about the study and more in the months ahead!
