Bullying Prevention - Keeping Schools Safe
Course Outline

Course Fee: $90
Course Numbers: EED x701, SED x701
Standard Course Time: 15 hours
Semester Credits: One (1) academic credit at the post-baccalaureate level (available for an additional fee)
Credit Issued by: Cal Poly Humboldt (refer to our Graduate Credit page for credit pricing and details)
Subject Area: Special Topics
Author: Jeff Foutty, M.A., Ed.S.

Introduction/Course Description

Although information about bullying is becoming more readily available, research is still being done to fully understand the long term effects of the new level of violence and aggression that is being seen and experienced in our schools. As each state responds to this bullying phenomenon, many have passed legislation to create safe schools and thus curb bullying behaviors. As you are being held accountable for improving student performance, it makes sense to create environments that foster effective learning. This course will provide you with terms, research, and classroom interventions so that you can more effectively identify bullying behaviors, identify those at risk for victimization, and create safe and healthy environments for your students.

This course is not designed to help you play police officer; it's about creating and providing students with a climate of safety and respect. This course will increase your ability to provide that environment so that those students under your care can thrive and succeed!

Course Objectives/Program Outline

This course is broken into major parts called modules. Each module contains content sections. Within each section, we cover one or more of the outlined learning objectives for the module. At the end of each module, there is a quiz. Some modules include a project. The breakdown for modules within this course is as follows:

Module One: What is Bullying?

Learning Objectives:

• Understand what bullying is.
• Identify the common myths associated with Bullying.
• Recognize the types of bullying and understand behavioral extremes.
• Identify deficiencies in character that increase the likelihood that someone will bully.
• Understand the theories regarding how one becomes a bully.

Project 1: Typical Childhood Play or Bullying?
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.

Module Two- Who is the Victim?

Learning Objectives:

• Identify who is the victim.
• Identify the myths associated with victimization.
• Identify warning signs that a child or adolescent is being bullied.
• Understand the emotional impact of bullying.
• Identify the different types of victims.

Project 2: Identifying Potential Victims
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.

Module Three- Interventions

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the various conditions surrounding an intervention.
• List helpful tips when choosing interventions.
• Identify steps for creating bullying awareness in the classroom.
• Describe intervention activities to address and change your student's awareness, attitudes, and beliefs about bullying.
• Discover how to intervene with the victim and bully during an incident.
• Provide the victim with practical interventions to decrease the likelihood of repeated bullying.
• Provide the teacher with strategies and activities to decrease bullying incidents.
• Discover how to effectively manage a bully immediately after an incident.
• Examine strategies to decrease the likelihood of repeated bullying.

Project 3: Implementing a Bullying Intervention
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.

Module Four- Effective School Wide Bullying Programs

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the reasons for creating safe and effective schools.
• Identify what makes safe and effective schools.
• Identify and review the laws behind safe schools.
• Discover proven bullying prevention programs that you can advocate for your school.
• Examine ways to get parents involved in the bullying prevention process.

Project 4: Create a Survey
Quiz: Multiple-choice questions that pertain to objectives above.

Final Exam

Multiple choice questions taken from each module

Final Learning Statement

Learning statements should be in a narrative format – as opposed to an outline format. Depending on individual writing styles Learning statements should be 2-3 pages. The learning statement can vary according to individual style. Your learning statement should answer the broad question of "what did you learn?". To help get you thinking, here are some suggested questions:

• What are the major concepts of the course that you have learned?
• What new professional language have you acquired relating to the topic?
• What teaching techniques for implementing new strategies in the classroom did you come away with?
• Thinking back to your project reflections, were you surprised at the outcomes?
• What new resources did you find in the study of the content?
• As an educator, what new concepts will you now integrate into your teaching?
• Are there any ideas that presented themselves as enlightening and useful?

---

--- Sample Course Project ---

Typical Childhood Play or Bullying? - Project #1 Overview

The goal of this first project is to help you differentiate between typical childhood play and bullying. Below are two different situations that you may have dealt with in your classroom. Take a moment to read each situation, and determine if they describe typical play or bullying.

SITUATION ONE:

Janet is well liked by her teacher, but some kids call her the "teacher's pet." She often gets to run errands for her teachers during the day. Several of her classmates make hurtful and mean comments under their breath when she is asked to run an errand. On occasion several of them would go to the bathroom at the same time that Janet leaves to run her errands. While in the hallway, they will taunt and verbally harass her. This went on for six weeks. Although several of Janet's friends told her that she needed to tell her teacher, Janet was too afraid and felt that her teacher wouldn't believe her. Her teacher was disappointed when Janet told her that she did not want to run errands any more.

SITUATION TWO:

Bob is an 8th grader who is somewhat awkward with his peers. Although he wants to "fit in" he lacks the social savvy to say and do the right things at the right time. He is constantly picked on for what he wears, the way he carries his books, or how his hair looks. He tries to rehearse the right things to say at home, but when he gets to school, it doesn't come out right and everyone laughs. He has tried to take some initiative and sit with a group of boys at lunch that he thinks are "cool", but they make fun of him, knock his books out of his hands, or get up and leave when he comes over to their table. This treatment has spilled over to the hallway as well. Bob has spent many lunch periods in the nurse's office or helping his teacher. His teachers think Bob is demonstrating initiative for wanting to help during his lunch hour.

For Your Project Reflection Submission

So could you differentiate typical childhood play versus bullying between the 2 situations? If you think they are both examples of bullying, you are right. Again, the goal of this project is to get you thinking about what bullying looks like.

• Would you be able to recognize a real-life bullying situation in your school?
• Have you witnessed bullying within your classroom?

Share with us your own unique situation(s). Describe strategies you have used in the past to deal with a bullying situation.

Submit your reflection for this project by clicking on the "Submit Reflection" link in the Module Projects tile located in the Course Dashboard for this course.

---

Cal Poly Humboldt Credit Specifics

• Academic Credit at the Graduate Level through Cal Poly Humboldt (CPH) is offered after successful completion of this course.
• The 700 series semester credit is post-baccalaureate level appropriate for credentialed teachers which do not require admission to a graduate program.
• 700-level classes are graduate level classes meant specifically for credential purposes, and are appropriate for license renewal or recertification.
• Courses are letter graded on official transcripts from CPH.
• CPH is the northernmost and westernmost institution in the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system.
• CPH is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), a regional accrediting agency serving a diverse membership of public and private higher education institutions.

Summer Option

If you are not currently teaching (ie. Summer break, you are a substitute teacher, etc.), each class offers you the ability to complete coursework independent of a classroom assignment.