The Continuing Matrix Journey
It has been an interesting and exciting year for matrix users. Kevin and Benji got the ACT/Matrix book out and the word is spreading! For my own part I launched this blog and website to share what's going on in the schools and educational circles. As we cast a wider net I am finding students, teachers and support staff picking up the matrix and coming up with all kinds of uses for it.
My colleague Lynda Marasco and I are continuing to run Matrix groups for students attending our alternative program. I have been busy providing matrix training to administrators, teachers and support staff throughout my school district. During the training everyone has multiple opportunities to practice. I have gotten some nice feedback that staff are incorporating it into counseling sessions, guidance lessons and conferences.
Some of our middle school students have been using the matrix to begin and end their school days. They even had a chance to teach the matrix to the teachers! |
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The Matrix as a Unifying Prosocial Intervention
A while back I got together with several elementary special education teachers.
My idea was to promote the matrix as a unifying intervention in classrooms serving young students with significant behavioral issues. We used the matrix to develop a set of common purposes, procedures and a means of having students self-monitor their progress over time. The staff and I continue to meet regularly to identify obstacles as they come up and generate viable solutions. In the hands of committed staff and assistants, targeting psychological flexibility has resulted in increased cooperation, academic improvement and significantly less behavioral disruptions!
The Matrix is promoting prosocial behavior by inviting students to sort their experiences into the diagram. Individually, students are encouraged to use the Matrix to notice their behaviors during the day and whether or not what they are doing is getting them where they want to go. To accomplish this all that is needed is for the diagram to be visible in the room or students create their own on individual whiteboards. Students are encouraged to "walk through" the matrix and notice what they are doing ("Right now I am working at my desk, this is helping me move toward what is important to me which is doing well in school,etc. When I am doing this it feels good and I am proud of myself") and how it is working to move toward what is important. They can also notice if they are engaging in behaviors which may be away moves (" I am noticing that I don't feel like working and I am not following directions. This is not getting me where I want to go") and choose to work with staff on coming up with more workable moves and behaviors.
Using this point of view has put students and staff on the same page and reduced epsiodes of avoidance and conflict. The same procedure has also become an everyday means by which the class as a group notices how it is doing and if everyone (including staff) is moving in the same direction. The more they sort their experiences, the better they get at sorting what works, increases their psychological flexibility and feelings of success and accomplishment typically show up.
Kudos to psychologically flexible teachers Bianca Smith and Melissa Ryan for all of their dedication and hard work. They are supported by their talented educational assistants Sue Mercantini and Amanda Carmignani. Our creative school psychologists Paige Heffelfinger and Ana Benalcazar have come up with enagaging matrix "lessons". This year we were also joined by dynamic undergraduate interns Nina Ventresco, Megan Young and Nicole Muller.
Great Work Staff and Students!
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