Research and experiences

Results

1. Development status before the start of the first trial phase

The pretest on Theory of Mind competencies and Emotion Understanding revealed a wide variation in the competencies of students in all four countries and showed that, on average, they are several years behind in their development compared to hearing peers (for the results of hearing children see e.g. Peterson et al. 2005; Pons, Harris and De Rosnay 2004).

2. Evaluation of the content, the exercises and materials

The feedback from teachers and children was taken into account in the first and second revisions. Their experiences have also been incorporated into the instructions for conducting and implementing THE MIND READERS in the Toolbox. The evaluation led to the following findings in particular:

• The modular structure of the training, the small-step structure, its differentiation and flexibility allowed its use among pupils with heterogeneous characteristics and needs. At the same time, teachers need support at the beginning of the training program to be able to orientate themselves well in the training.
• For deaf and hard of hearing children, visualisation and contextualisation of the learning material was considered particularly important. For this reason, pictures were made for most of the stories, which can be used with or without text in the classroom. The concept of thought bubbles proved to be particularly successful and was also a pictorial learning aid for children with low language skills.
• The multilingual methodology of the training program is highly valued by the teachers as suitable for the children’s different linguistic backgrounds. At the same time, teachers suggested that the children’s competences in spoken and/or sign languages can be built up with this training program. After the first trial phase, further sign language videos were added upon teacher request. On the one hand, the videos were used in the lessons. On the other hand, teachers used them as a model for narration and development of their own sign language competences.
• The teachers stated that they were better able to assess the social-cognitive and emotional competences of their students a) after the teacher training and b) after the implementation of the training program and c) that they had become more sensitive to aspects of Theory of Mind and Emotion Understanding in everyday life.
• The following were considered particularly helpful in implementing THE MIND READERS in schools: In-school/out-of-school training for teachers, formation of multiplier teams within a school, creation of boxes with the teaching material that can be used by several teachers, school-wide establishment of a fixed pace (per semester/year) for systematic implementation of the training program in the lesson plan.

Quotes from teachers:

“Storytelling with the help of the characters made a lot of sense, the characters helped the pupils to put themselves in the situation, to develop their own ideas. Attention was focused, communication took place and also language.” (Teacher in focus group interview, March 2021)

“The children loved playing the theatre sequences for the individual feelings. (…) This was taken up by many children in the free play afterwards.” (Teacher in evaluation journal, February 2021)

3. Effectiveness of the training program

• The results of the pretest and posttest of the first trial phase show that the intervention group increased their competences in both Theory of Mind and Emotion Understanding more than the control group. This difference, however, was not statistically Detailed analyses reveal that especially students with very low linguistic competences show a significant improvement in the development of Theory of Mind competences compared to the control group. There is also a tendency for children who start the training with low competences in the area of Theory of Mind to achieve particularly large improvements.
  The children in the second trial phase were also able to improve their performance in both areas. Since the second trial phase and also the test phases had to be interrupted for a longer period of time due to the school closures during the Covid 19 pandemic, the quantitative data of the second trial phase require careful analysis.
• The qualitative questioning and interviews after both trial phases on the effectiveness showed that children succeed in transferring the newly acquired competences into their everyday life. This was observed both in free play and, for example, in dispute resolution, where the pupils were better able to reflect on their own motives and behaviour and that of others.
• Quotes from teachers:“We have learned what is going on in the minds of our students/children.” (Teacher in focus group interview, March 2021)“A child tells the following situation: ‘I hurt myself and I didn’t want the others to see that I hurt myself. And then I did ProToM: I made a Poker Face!’” (Written feedback from a teacher, January 2020)More detailed information on the accompanying research and the results can be found in our publications.

Quotes from teachers:

“We have learned what is going on in the minds of our students/children”. (Teacher in focus group interview, March 2021)

“A child tells the following situation: ‘I hurt myself and I didn’t want the others to see that I hurt myself. And then I did ProToM: I made a Poker Face!'” (Written feedback from a teacher, January 2020)

More detailed information on the accompanying research and the results can be found in our publications.