An Active Deep Learnerrrr eXperience for Children about Anger: Its Causes, Consequences, Expressing and Managing it- by Ms. Maha Mortada.
My name is Maha Mortada, a researcher in the field of children’s literature and a certified educational consultant from the Arab Republic of Egypt. In my work, I aim to help mothers understand their feelings and the feelings of their children. I also work on understanding the reasons behind their behaviors to facilitate effective communication between them and build a strong relationship based on respect, love, and trust. I also strive to help children recognize their feelings, express them, and communicate with others through the arts of storytelling and psychodrama. To achieve all of this, I follow a cognitive-behavioral therapy, positive parenting, and multiple intelligences approaches.
While working with children, I have noticed that one of the biggest problems our children face today, and many mothers complain about in private sessions, is the issue of ‘anger’ or ‘managing this anger.’ Anger manifests in various situations, especially during study time, exercise, and conflicts with siblings.
Due to the recurrence and prevalence of this problem, I decided to integrate children into an Active Deep Learner eXperience about anger, which I designed and facilitated using what I’ve learned in the learning journeys of FIRST. I addressed three points: the relationship between the brain and anger, anger management, and ways to express anger. As for the learning outcomes, they were as follows:
Main Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this journey, the learners will be able to:
Attitude Outcomes:
- To feel confident in his ability to manage his anger.
Skill Outcomes:
- To express his anger using a method of expression he chooses.
- To manage his anger in the way he selects.
Knowledge Outcomes:
- To identify the relationship between the mind and anger.
- To list ways to express and manage anger.
- To explain the reason for choosing a particular method from those ways.
Parallel Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this journey, the learners will be able to:
Attitude Outcomes:
- To feel his parents’ love.
- To appreciate their readiness to help him.
Skill Outcomes:
- To improve his communication skills (with parents and the surrounding)
- To promote his ability to express his feelings
Knowledge Outcomes:
- To identify the moments of weakness as human and controllable.
Performance Learning Outcome:
In a couple of months, the learner will be able to..
- manage his anger properly
Implementing the Domains of FIRSTedu-ADLX in design and facilitation
The first stage was getting to know the learners’ persona, where I made sure to talk to the mothers before the meetings and gather information about the children: what they see, hear, feel, experience, and enjoy. These interviews helped me understand each child’s interests, talents, what triggers their anger, how they express it, and even how the family deals with this anger.
After getting to know the learners’ persona, I designed an Active Deep Learner eXperience whose activities were sequenced as follows:
- Opener: Each child shares his happiest moment.
- Learning Activity 1 (Educational Game): Children work in pairs to find a box and then gather in two groups to guess what’s inside.
- Learning Activity 2 (Story Reading): Learners read a story about anger and discuss the causes, consequences, and feelings associated with anger.
- Learning Activity 3 (Role-Playing-The Press Conference Activity): One child plays the role of the host, and the other plays the role of the guest, and they conduct an interview about anger.
- Mini Presentation: How to manage my anger.
- Linking and Summarizing Activity (Draw the Ideal Way): Children draw their ideal way of managing their anger and share it with others.
- Closure: Learners share their feelings about the session.
Pairs Activity:
The Press Conference Activity: Conducting an Interview.
Sharing ideas.
The five domains of FIRST Framework were implemented in the facilitation stage as well through adopting a set of actions. I will share some of them with you.
Focusing on the Learner Behaviors
To apply this domain, I did the following:
- Welcomed each learner individually.
- Gave learners the opportunity to take responsibility, choose the team spokesperson, and set the rules of the educational game. For example, in the guessing activity, after learners gathered to form two large teams, each team chose:
o A leader responsible for recording their team’s guesses.
o An assistant who monitored the hourglass to inform them when time was running out.
o An official speaker to share the discussion outcome later.
As for the drawing activity, I gave them the freedom to choose the tools, colors, and the way they wanted to participate.
- I provided them with time to exchange questions, listened to their comments, and built on them.
- I respected their feelings, expressed empathy, and encouraged them to participate.
- I encouraged them to choose their own encouragement chant.
Interacting within Positive Group Dynamics
To apply this domain, I did the following:
- Diversified the patterns of interaction (Individual Work, Pair Work, Group Work).
- Used a special greeting for reinforcement, which was suggested by ‘Omar,’ one of the participating children.
- Encouraged laughter and play, and I laughed and played with them.
- Ensured safety and security and kept the room free from anything that could cause harm.
- To increase enthusiasm, fun, and encouragement, I placed small steps on the floor and invited learners to walk on them to reach the board and share their drawings.
Reviewing Activities within RAR Model
I designed three learning activities that respected the three stages of the RAR model (Readiness Increase – Activity Facilitation – Reviewing Actively).
In the Readiness Increase stage, I invited the children to show readiness and enthusiasm to start a new activity. I provided them with clear and simplified instructions and occasionally asked some of them to repeat the instructions.
In the Activity Facilitation stage, I observed, facilitated, helped, and intervened to clarify specific points and ensure everyone’s participation. I also resolved minor conflicts that arose due to different perspectives.
In the Reviewing Actively stage, I ensured that the children achieved the intended outcome of the activity through a series of questions that engaged them in reflective thinking and helped them connect what they did to their reality. For example, in the storytelling activity, after we finished reading the story, we discussed the times when we feel angry and what we would do if we were in the hero’s place. We talked about our feelings, how we monitor our bodies, and manage our minds. After facilitating the drawing activity, I asked each participant to choose a partner to share what they learned and discuss common points.
Sequencing within the Session Flow
The activities flowed smoothly and included a variety of experience and learning activities. I used both learning activities and experience activities (opener, linking and summarizing, and closure) to create an impactful Active Deep Learner eXperience. I diversified the activities and used various activities with different energy levels (storytelling, which I believe has a special charm with children, physical games, role-playing, mini presentations, drawing) to maintain students’ enthusiasm and prevent boredom.
Transforming Learning into Performance
I connected all the activities to the learners’ reality, and we discussed examples from their daily lives. After the press conference activity, for example, we linked the content of the interviews to personal experiences and discussed how each learner would react in various situations and how we could express our anger without harming ourselves or others.
The Impact of the Journey
The journey left a deep impact on me and on the learners. Personally, I was delighted to interact with the children. The children’s happiness was evident in their reactions, enthusiastic interaction with each other, verbal expression of their enjoyment, and their reluctance to leave. They repeatedly asked, ‘When will we meet again?’
Finally, it’s important to highlight the role of mothers in assisting their children, helping them choose strategies, and reminding them of what was learned and what wasn’t. Their cooperation played a crucial role in extending the learning impact and helping children apply what they’ve learned after the journey.
About the Author
Ms. Maha Mourtada is a researcher in the field of children literature and a certified educational consultant from Ain Shams University. She lives in Cairo, Egypt, and has 17 years of experience in working with children and parents. Here is a list of some of her works:
- Tota Series (Children’s Stories)
- The Secret of the Camera (Children’s Stories)
- I Don’t Understand Your Words (Children’s Stories)
- Where Did the Words of Our Story Go? (Children’s Book)
- My Journal (Children’s Journal)