Social landscapes in the social world

Whenever we co-exist around others (e.g., share physical space, interact) or interpret others’ words or actions (e.g., YouTube, movies, TV, sports, literature, working in groups, history, social studies, face-to-face interactions), we are a part of different social landscapes in the social world. 

Each social landscape requires social attention, interpretation, problem solving, and responding based on the situation, the people, and context. Our social mind is the driver of this process. The Social Thinking-Social Competency Model (ST-SCM), based on the literature in social information processing, serves as the home base for making sense of the social world and guides our understanding and how we teach. Furthermore, it reinforces that the social mind is active in both social interactions and self-regulation within a group (e.g., classroom, restaurant, etc.). We use our social minds to understand and engage in academic curricula and related standards of education. We call this the social-academic connection. 

How we use our social mind as a bridge to academics is explained in a variety of ways within our methodology, beginning with two conceptual frameworks: the ILAUGH Model of Social Cognition and the Social Thinking Social Learning Tree. These frameworks spotlight core socially based critical thinking tasks (e.g., academic connections to social competencies, group projects, professional team meetings, etc.) that are critical for engaging across social landscapes. The book, Why Teach Social Thinking?, provides an overview of how the social mind develops, the social-academic connection, and why it is important to use cognitive or metacognitive approaches for social learning. The social world requires our brain to engage synergistically using a range of core social functions, such as self-regulation and executive functioning (organizational and social), perspective taking (theory of mind), and central coherence, to name a few.

Practical ideas for teaching about the social world

The social world is all around us every time we are in the presence of others. When we're standing in line, we are expected to know what to do and not do. The same is true when we're having a conversation with others or simply sharing space. Figuring out how the social world works is much more than understanding direct person-to-person interactions. While most individuals, beginning in infancy, evolve in their understanding of how the social world works, those with social emotional learning challenges require direct explicit teaching. 

The Social Thinking Methodology (STM) includes multiple teaching and support frameworks to explore key aspects of the social world through a practical lens. The core book, Thinking About YOU Thinking About ME, guides interventionists in building direct strategies and lessons from these frameworks. The methodology also includes 25+ unique Social Thinking Vocabulary terms and mini-lesson plans to teach about many aspects of the social world we largely take for granted. Some of our core vocabulary concepts have also been taught through free webinars.

Evidence-based and evidence-informed practices and the Social Thinking Methodology

The methodology includes components that are empirically supported, evidence-based, and evidence-informed—showing the link between research to practice through conceptual frameworks, teaching frameworks, strategies, motivational/developmental tools, etc. Other resources for understanding the evidence supporting the methodology can be found in the evidence section of the website as well as this important peer-reviewed article.

Components of the STM also align with the five core elements of social emotional learning (SEL) that contribute to social competencies identified by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (www.casel.org).

Different needs for different learners

Like any world, the social world is multi-layered and complex, not flat nor linear. Meeting the social learner “where they are” at any point in time allows us to consider their current social knowledge base to design supports to meet their social goals.

Different students within the same grade level (or age) will demonstrate different social emotional learning abilities across a broad spectrum of social cognition. The spectrum of social cognition also extends to those with significant social emotional learning differences and/or challenges to neurotypicals.

Different social minds — another way to understand social emotional learners

The STM includes assessment tools to explore how social learners understand and respond in the social world. There are two developmentally based scales to better define learning strengths and needs. The first is a tool for early learners (ages 4-7) called the Group Collaboration, Play and Problem Solving Scale (GPS). The second scale is for older individuals (ages 8+) called the Social Thinking-Social Communication Profile or the ST-Social Communication Characteristic Summary. Both tools help the educator, therapist, and caregiver understand social learning characteristics. This allows them to figure out where to begin in the support process.

Social Thinking Dynamic Assessment

The STM also provides ideas and tasks for engaging social emotional learners in specific social activities during dynamic face-to-face interactions as part of the assessment process. This information, which is almost always lacking in standardized testing, helps educators, therapists, and caregivers better understand social processing and responses in real-time social situations. The tasks in the dynamic assessment are designed for the educator, therapist, or caregiver to explore how efficiently social emotional learners process and respond to socially based information they are likely to encounter in their daily experiences in the social world. These qualitative assessment tasks make up the Social Thinking Dynamic Assessment Protocol found in Thinking About YOU Thinking About ME (Winner, 2007).