Why Teach Social Thinking?

Why Teach Social Thinking?

Questioning Our Assumptions About What It Means To Learn Social Skills

Today's children (both neurotypical and those with social learning challenges) are entering school with declining abilities to learn in a group, attend to a lesson, be considerate toward others, or self-regulate their own behaviour. Teachers are increasingly finding themselves ill-equipped with the know-how, tools, and strategies to teach students about social awareness, emotional intelligence, and self-regulation of behaviour.

If you've ever wanted, or needed, to make a case for social instruction to be added to a student's treatment plan, social goals written into a student's IEP, or social thinking lessons infused into a classroom or campus curriculum plan, Why Teach Social Thinking? drives home the importance of social learning to a student's academic success and later success in life. Author Michelle Garcia Winner connects the dots from social emotional learning to the Common Core Standards to increased likelihood of success in adulthood.

Through exploring 12 core questions, Winner attempts to raise awareness of the many complex and interrelated issues that are at the heart of teaching social skills.

1. What are social skills?
2. What are the origins of social development? Is there an age when our social development stops? 
3. In what areas of social thinking do students with social cognitive challenges struggle? The ILAUGH Model remodeled
4. What impact do weaknesses in social conceptual information have on learning the Common Core State Standards?
5. When do we use social thinking and related social skills? How do we approach teaching these skills?
6. How can cognitive behavior therapy address teaching social thinking and related social skills?
7. Do all those with ASD-SCD benefit from the same teachings? The Social Thinking-Social Communication Profile (ST-SCP)
8. Who is responsible for teaching social thinking and related social skills? Is the same set of teaching techniques relevant for all persons with ASD and related social learning challenges?
9. What is a framework for teaching social thinking and related skills?
10. What are some guidelines for teaching social thinking and related skills to group of students
11. How does social teaching fit into what we typically call "education"?
12. What are evidence-based practices? How do they apply to teaching social thinking and related social skills?

ISBN-10: 1936943131
ISBN-13: 978-1936943135