Defense Date: October 24, 2022
Dissertation Title: Fostering Social Emotional Competence of Educators Through a Virtual Professional Learning Community
Dissertation Committee: Dr. Karen Caldwell (Chair), Dr. Chris Osmond, Dr. Vachel Miller
Dissertation Summary:
“As a school counselor I work with teachers, administrators and parents to support the learning of students. Education is a key component of students learning academic skills to prepare them to be productive and well-rounded adults.Teachers are responsible for delivering content which supports student learning. Teaching is a highly stressful profession and the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the stress teachers experience. Supporting the social emotional competence of teachers, so they can successfully manage stress may help them stay in the education field longer. My school district has implemented a Social Emotional Curriculum and a part of my job is to work to implement this curriculum at my school. I chose to support the social emotional competence of my co-workers through a virtual professional learning community because of time constraints during the school day. I guided the eight participants through small habit creation steps with the goal of lowering their daily stress levels. We met for four consecutive weeks for about one hour. Participants were able to identify a goal identity, implement the small steps toward their goal, document their progress then reward themselves for completion. The participants found the sessions to be helpful because they were able to be comfortable at home, and we were familiar with each other. By already being familiar with each other, we got to know each other better as we discussed daily stressors and how to better manage those stressors. I also found the sessions helpful because I learned how to more effectively work with adult learners.”
Quote from Deidre Isom about the dissertation journey:
“If I had one quote that describes my dissertation journey I would say ‘connection with supportive staff, persistence, patience and humility were the keys to my successful completion.’ This dissertation journey taught me about kind and supportive individuals can be when I allowed myself to be vulnerable and honest about my thoughts and feelings. I never imagined that I would learn so much about myself that was non-academic. This process has made me more patient with myself and others. I strive to understand the perspectives of individuals and the context of the situation before I form my opinions. This process has helped me to evaluate and think much more critically about everything in my life especially reliable sources of information.”
Quote from Dr. Karen Caldwell about her experience as Committee Chair and the significance of this dissertation study:
“Deirdre Smith Isom has a passion for supporting teachers and students as a school counselor. She wanted to do something that would support teachers' self-care practices to help them cope with the stressors of their work and the additional burden imposed by the pandemic. Her response was to create a virtual professional learning community focused on developing self-care habits. Participants benefited from her careful attention to their involvement in the learning community through development of new health habits as well as the sense of collegiality they developed.”
*Degree to be conferred on December 16, 2022.
Deidre Isom and Committee Members
Pictured left to right from top: Deidre Isom, Dr. Karen Caldwell, Dr. Chris Osmond, Dr. Vachel Miller