Evidence on Harmony Third Edition: Educator Implementation of the Harmony Curriculum

Recognizing the need to ensure the impact of the Harmony program is sustained, amplified, and reaches millions more students, Harmony refreshed its program with expanded content and improvements to the user experience—Harmony Third Edition. The Third Edition provides educators (teachers, counselors, and out-of-school instructors) a set of refreshed, familiar resources (Everyday Practices and Units, Lessons, and Activities) to ensure students have an integrated, relevant, and comprehensive social and emotional learning (SEL) experience. With a range of refinements and updates that reflect the latest research on SEL practices along with suggestions from users, the program refresh includes SEL concepts and instructional models designed to improve the effectiveness and enhance the relevance of Harmony for all students (Yoder, 2022).

As part of the Harmony Third Edition development process, Harmony partnered with four districts—two midsize districts in the Midwest, one midsize district in the South, and one midsize district in the Southwest—to receive early access to the refreshed Everyday Practices (Meet Up and Buddy Up) and to Units 3 and 4 of the Units, Lessons, & Activities and Storybooks. Educators received two district-specific trainings—January 2022 focused on the refreshed Everyday Practices, and February/March 2022 focused on the Lessons & Activities. Educators had opportunities across five months (January through May 2022) to pilot Harmony Third Edition.

Most participating educators across the four districts offered feedback on their experience with Third Edition through surveys (n=61) and focus groups (n=51) in April and June 2022; and 34 educators participated in classroom observations (in-person or video) in April and May 2022 to help Harmony understand how educators implemented Harmony Third Edition—providing Harmony a robust set of data to create the Case Study Report.

The case study includes:

Recommendations:

Through the surveys, focus groups, and observations, the Harmony team were able to revise the program in real time. Further, the team were also able to determine key recommendations for educators and administrators on how to use the program materials.

1. Prioritize students’ social and emotional development and well-being. Educators and students need time to be able to build relationships, get to know one another, and apply their social and emotional competencies (SECs). Students benefit when they get opportunities to connect and have Harmony be a part of their routine. A third-grade teacher explained that prior to using Harmony Third Edition, her students “. . . really struggled with group work, talking to others, communicating, and controlling their own feelings.”

2. Become familiar with the program. As educators engage more deeply with Harmony and the overarching goals and principles, they are more likely to understand the active ingredients, understand the knowledge and skills that students learn during the program, help students participate in a more well-rounded Harmony experience, and improve student outcomes.

3. Find time to embed Harmony principles with academics. Students benefit when they can use Harmony materials or concepts within academic instruction; for example, using Storybooks and Z for vocabulary instruction, using Buddy Up partners during instructional tasks, and using Harmony Lessons prior to academic tasks (e.g., problem solving).

4. Make certain to implement the core pieces of Meet Up. Meet Up includes a specific process to ensure all students are seen and heard, solve problems in classrooms, and get ready to participate in the next activity. To get through each piece, it is important to ensure each student’s name is said during the greeting, and that a small number of students share per day so other students can respond and ask questions regarding their share. Doing so will provide opportunities for students to solve problems or talk about achievements related to Harmony Goals. For example, a pre-kindergarten teacher relied on Meet Up to model interpersonal communication skills with her students. She explained, “They love sharing with everyone and they like to talk about themselves. So, we’re trying to get them to ask questions about what they’re [all] sharing about.”

5. Let students know the importance of Buddy Up. As educators engage in the Buddy Up process, they need to help students process why they engage in these conversations and activities, including reinforcing SECs they use throughout the process. A third-grade teacher shared, “[Buddy Up] builds your classroom community and just helps other kids be more social and kind of get out of their own little box.”

6. Make sure to use the Facilitate the Activity section of Lessons and Activities. The Facilitate the Activity section was written in a way that educators and students would not have to engage in the other two pieces if they do not have the time to do the full Lesson. The Set the Stage section is intended to build and connect to student background knowledge, and the Review and Reflect section is to help students transfer the SECs to other aspects of their lives. Thus, they are important pieces to engage in with students, but these portions are adaptable.

For these recommendations and more, please refer to our multi-chapter case study linked earlier in this blog.