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Case: Using the Six Seconds Model of Emotional Intelligence and the SEI-YV Assessment
to Help Students in Grades 3-8 Prepare for the Educational Records Bureau Standardized
Assessment (ERB)
In a four-month study at an independent lab school for gifted children in California, students
used their Emotional Intelligence (EQ) strengths, as assessed by the Six Seconds Emotional
Intelligence Assessment for Youth (SEI-YV), to help prepare for the Educational Records Bureau
academic achievement assessment (ERB) in the Spring of 2013.
Study Background
The Synapse School (www.synapseschool.org) is a lab school specializing in gifted education
and developed by the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Organization (www.6seconds.org).
Synapse was founded by Karen Stone McCown, Anabel Jensen, and Gigi Carunungan in
2008. The school’s mission is to develop change-makers who will thrive in the changing and
challenging world of the 21st Century. At Synapse, educators believe that success depends on
more than individual intellect. Successful people have more than good grades; they are able to
work with others, to organize people and processes, to lead others, and believe in being good
citizens who contribute positively to the world (Goleman, 1995; Durlak et al., 2005, 2011).
Educators at Synapse believe that emotional intelligence tools are essential for raising children
who can think for themselves, a skill that is valued in today’s workplace. Synapse students are
learners equipped with many different gifts and challenges. Gifted students benefit from direct
instruction in social and emotional learning (Winner, 1996). To equip students to achieve both
academically and socially, Synapse facilitates student learning through two pillars of
achievement, Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement.
Students at the Synapse School are enrolled in grades K-8. This is the second year of this study;
43 students in grades 3-8 participated in the study during the spring of 2013. Synapse students
were taking a standardized test, the Educational Records Bureau academic achievement test
(ERB), online for the second consecutive year. Early-elementary students (grades K, 1 and 2)
did not take the SEI-YV as the lower limit for the test is age 8. The Synapse faculty and
administration were interested in thoroughly preparing the students to be successful on the ERB.
In addition to the academic preparation by the classroom teachers, Dr. Barbara Fatum, the
Director of Assessment and School Psychologist, designed a program building on the students’
knowledge of their emotional intelligence (EQ) competencies. Since this was the second year
the study was conducted, the program was revised as result of analyzing feedback data from the
students and faculty involved in the first year’s study.
Students at Synapse School take a Self-Science class in emotional intelligence, taught by Marsha
Rideout, the EQ Specialist. Each year students also take a pre-and post-test, measuring their EQ
profile. The test, the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment for Youth (SEI-YV) was
developed by the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Organization (www.6seconds.org).
Students in grades 3 through 8 had taken the SEI-YV in December of 2012 and Dr. Fatum had
debriefed them, individually and as a class in their individual and group EQ profiles.
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The study began in February of 2013 and utilized five group sessions with each class. The first
session consisted of a review of the individual and class profiles from the December 2012 SEIYV administration. Using individual and group summary reports, students reviewed their
individual strengths and class strengths with Dr. Fatum (n=43). The second session was
conducted with each class individually and consisted of a discussion about using EQ strengths to
help increase individual focus and using EQ strengths as a class to help others improve
performance on the upcoming ERB tests. During this session, students created an icon from
materials provided by the researchers that depicted their EQ strengths. The class then wrote a
commitment of one thing they would do to show leadership to support themselves and others on
the upcoming ERB. Discussion of those commitments completed the session.
During the third session, Dr. Fatum presented students with story boards containing pictures of
their individual icons. Each picture was labeled with the student’s name and EQ strength. A
discussion followed about the icons and their meaning to each student. Each student explained
the meaning of their icon, relating it to a leadership skill they planned to use during the ERB
tests. The story board was placed in each classroom where the students would be able to view it
and use their pictures as a reminder of their EQ leadership commitment.
The fourth session with each class consisted of watching a video about empathy, a discussion
about the ERB itself, and a brief discussion about the questions that would be asked in math,
reading, spelling, and written expression. (Teachers were also providing direct instruction
designed to prepare students with skills to take the ERB at this time.) Students discussed the idea
that they needed both EQ and IQ to be successful on the upcoming ERB exam. Students reported
that they felt more able to use their EQ tools, and, as a result, better prepared and more confident
about the upcoming ERB exams.
Implementation
During the ERB administration, students could see the story board and used the icon images as a
reminder that they needed to employ both emotional intelligence (EQ) and strategies for using
academic knowledge (IQ) to be successful during the exam. The ERB was administered at
Synapse over a week during April, following the Spring Break. Students took one section of the
test each morning, online, following the directions for standard administration. Teachers and Dr.
Fatum supervised the administration of the ERB, scheduling sessions so that students could take
advantage of their most alert periods of attention.
A week of make-up exams was also scheduled to accommodate students who were ill or
otherwise unable to take a section of the exam. Once everyone had finished the exam,
administration was closed.
Following Spring Break, focus groups were formed with each class. Dr. Fatum visited each class
for a final review session designed to measure the success of the program. Students reviewed
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their individual and group EQ strengths and then were asked to reflect on the program. In order
to give students time to reflect on their answers and also to honor different modes of learning,
focus questions were presented in two modes: students were asked to write their answers;
following that, Dr. Fatum asked the focus questions of the group and recorded their spoken
answers.
Dr. Fatum then transcribed the qualitative data and sent the transcription for review to Ms.
Havert and Dr. Anabel Jensen, the CEO of Synapse School. Consensual Qualitative Research
was then conducted on the data by Dr. Jensen, Ms. Havert, and Dr. Fatum.
Students took the SEI-YV as a post measure in May of 2013. Growth was noted in all classes
and all levels in EQ/SEL skills.
Results
As a result of their preparation with EQ, Synapse School student comments supported the
following themes: (See Appendix B for a transcript of the data)
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Students felt calmer while taking the ERB standardized assessment
Students reported being able to proceed through the ERB questions at their own pace.
Students were able to navigate their emotions and focus more clearly on questions in each
section of the ERB.
Students acted on their empathy for other students and, during preparation, helped their
classmates remain calm, experience optimism, and feel confident in their abilities.
Students utilized intrinsic motivation to complete ERB test sections.
Students recognized patterns on the ERB assessment, especially in math, and this helped
them complete the problems successfully.
Students operated from a noble goal during the exam and remembered to remain quiet
and decrease any distracting behavior.
Analysis of the SEI-YV pre- and post-test results revealed growth in all areas of SEL, at
all levels for students at Synapse School.
Analysis of ERB scores showed academic excellence in results in all grades. In most
subject areas, Synapse students tied or exceeded the stanine scores on the ERB
Independent School Norms.
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Applications for Education
Teachers and students who participated in the study reported the following benefits:
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Students benefitted from preparing emotionally, as well as academically, for this
standardized exam.
Research supports student comments that naming their emotions helped them to remain
calm (Medina, 2008). Students at Synapse felt that discussion of emotional navigation
helped them achieve academic success.
Utilizing emotional intelligence competencies had the following results: students felt
empowered, increased their confidence, and fueled their awareness of their own selfefficacy.
Teachers and students at Synapse reported an increase in empathy in the classroom while
preparing for the test and while taking the test. Classroom culture reflected cooperation
and support, rather than competition, thus reducing the stress that students experienced.
Sharing the Results
Dr. Fatum and Deborah Havert, Six Seconds colleague who helped to design and analyze the
data, were invited to present the results of the first year study at the 85th Annual ERB conference
in San Diego in October of 2012. About two hundred participants attended the Academic
Leadership Summit where the study was presented. Educational professionals at the conference
were eager to know more about how to implement a similar program at their schools. This year,
Dr. Fatum and Ms. Havert have been invited to present a full-session workshop at the 86th
Annual ERB conference in Dallas/Fort Worth in October of 2013.
EQ matters. Emotions affect how and what children learn (Fatum, 2008). Unchecked
emotions raise an individual’s stress level, and stressed brains find it very difficult to learn
(Medina, 2008). As Synapse founder, Karen Stone McCown observed, “If we don’t help children
to create a ‘neural dialogue’ between their emotional data and their cognitive processing, we are
limiting their capacity to grow and learn in a healthy manner” (Stone McCown, 2005).
Academically and socially, children who learn these skills are better prepared to deal with the
adversities of life, to learn from mistakes, to reframe difficult situations, and to adapt to life’s
constantly changing circumstances. (Durlak & Weissberg, 2011).
For more information, and for the slides showing the positive academic and social and emotional
assessment results, please contact Dr. Fatum at the email address below.
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Dr. Barbara Fatum, M.Ed., Ed.D. Barbara@6seconds.org website: www.TeachEmotion.com
Deborah Havert: Deborah@6seconds.org website: www.conversingonthereal.com
References
Durlak, J., Weissberg, R., Dymnicki, A., Taylor, R., & Schellinger, K. (2011). The impact of
enhancing
students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal
interventions.
Child Development, 82, 405-432.
Fatum, B. (2008). The relationship between emotional intelligence and academic
achievement. Unpublished dissertation, University of San Francisco.
Freedman, J.M., Jensen, A.L., Stone-McCown, K., & Rideout, M.S. (1998). Self-Science:
The emotional intelligence curriculum. San Mateo, CA: 6Seconds.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York:
Bantam Books.
Jensen, A.J., and Fiedeldey Van-Dijk, C. (2007). Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence
AssessmentYouth Version (SEI-YV). www.6seconds.org: Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Network.
Medina, J. (2008). Brain rules. Pear Press: Seattle, Washington.
Stone-McCown, K. (2005). Emotional intelligence: The cornerstone for positive change.
www.6Seconds.org: Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Network.
Winner, M. (2009). The third step of communication: Think with your eyes. Autism Asperger’s
Digest
Magazine, 8, 35-42.