Program Profile: The RULER Approach

This program is a multiyear classroom curriculum for kindergarten through eighth grade incorporating professional development for teachers, school staff, and leaders with literacy-based, skill-building, social–emotional learning programs. This program is rated Promising. The program had statistically significant effects on emotional support, positive classroom climate, and emotion-focused interactions. However, there were no effects on negative classroom climate and classroom supportiveness.

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

Program Goals

The Ruler Approach (RULER) brings together comprehensive professional development with student literacy-based, social– emotional learning, and skill-building elements to promote positive youth development. RULER is a multiyear program for kindergarten through eighth grade. Within the standard academic curriculum, RULER incorporates teachings on emotions and skill building through identifying and controlling those emotions within the learning environment.

Program Components

Teachers are trained for a day and a half on RULER lessons and on developing their skills and knowledge of learning environments. Additionally, teachers work with a certified program coach for five sessions during the school year. RULER contains lessons and activities for:

• Recognizing emotions in oneself and others
• Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions
• Labeling emotions with an accurate and diverse vocabulary
• Expressing and Regulating emotions in socially appropriate ways

This group of skills is referred to as the RULER skills (Rivers and Brackett 2011).

RULER is based on the achievement of emotional literacy through the comprehension of the RULER skills and their applicability in social interactions, personal growth, and learning. This is achieved through experience and gaining emotion-related knowledge and skills, being in a safe and supportive environment, practicing the RULER skills with feedback, and having exposure to adults who use the RULER skills.

Program Activities

RULER comprises 12 units focused on a different "feeling" word (i.e., elation, shame). Each unit is delivered over a 2-week period, and contains five lessons or steps that follow a basic structure to introduce the feeling word. Each step lasts 15–20 minutes and is integrated into the regular classroom curriculum. Beginning with Step 1, teachers introduce the unit's word with a personal connection. In Step 2, students connect the feeling word to the academic material. In Step 3, through the use of a creative art activity, students demonstrate the meaning of the feeling word. In Step 4, students discuss the word with their families and write a paragraph about the conversation. Finally, Step 5 includes classroom discussions of different strategies for managing the feeling.

Study 1

Rivers and colleagues (2013) conducted an evaluation to examine the impact of the RULER Approach (RULER) on classroom emotional climate. The study was conducted with 155 fifth- and sixth-grade English language arts classrooms in 62 schools in the Catholic Schools of Brooklyn and Queens, N.Y., during 2008 and 2009.

A total of 105 teachers and 3,824 students were included. Randomization was conducted at the school-level and schools were evenly dispersed into treatment and control groups. Treatment schools received 12 RULER units and treatment school teachers received a 1½ day training on RULER at the beginning of the school year. They then received five sessions with a certified program coach throughout the school year, in addition to three optional booster sessions.

Control schools delivered the regular school curriculum. Just over half of the control schools reported using a program to address social or emotional skills other than RULER, including Olweus Bullying Prevention or Learning for Life (www.learning-for-life.org).

Program impacts were examined using an intent-to-treat analysis and accounted for nesting of classrooms using hierarchical linear modeling. Measures of program impact included observational assessments, teacher surveys, and student surveys. Observational data was collected using videotaped classroom sessions. Three times each school year, teachers completed surveys and mailed them back with their videotapes. Coders reviewed the videotapes and assigned scores to the emotional support domain and its four dimensions: positive climate (degree of warmth and connection), negative climate (degree of negativity), teacher sensitivity, and regard for student's perspectives. Teacher surveys included the Classroom Supportiveness Scale (perception of prosocial student behavior toward others) and the Emotion-Focused Interaction Scale (teacher engagement in emotion-focused interactions with students). Research aides helped to administer the student surveys. Student surveys included the Classroom Supportiveness Scale (perception of prosocial behavior towards others).

In the evaluation by Rivers and colleagues (2013), treatment school teachers received a 1½ day training on RULER at the beginning of the school year and had five sessions with a certified program coach throughout the school year. Three optional booster sessions were offered as well.

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Following are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:

School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs

Designed to foster the development of five interrelated sets of cognitive, affective, and behavioral competencies, in order to provide a foundation for better adjustment and academic performance in students, which can result in more positive social behaviors, fewer conduct problems, and less emotional distress. The practice was rated Effective in reducing students’ conduct problems and emotional stress.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

	Juvenile Problem & At-Risk Behaviors - Multiple juvenile problem/at-risk behaviors
	Mental Health & Behavioral Health - Internalizing behavior

Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports

This practice utilizes a multi-tiered system of supports designed to make schools more effective in establishing a school culture and building a behavioral supports system to improve students’ behavioral, social, emotional, and academic outcomes. It involves three tiers of support, including both prevention and intervention efforts. The practice is rated Promising for reducing students’ problem behaviors.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

Juvenile Problem & At-Risk Behaviors - Problem behavior

Why might a practice's outcome ratings differ from the ratings of specific programs encompassed by that practice?