The insights in Jamaica programme provides training for parents, teachers and children. The content of the sessions are delivered by a trained facilitator using a manual that includes didactic content, professionally produced audio visuals, handouts, group activities, and individual assignments.
Parents attend weekly, 2-hour sessions that include audio visuals, group activities such as role playing, and individual assignments. In the audio visuals, actors depict interaction between parents and children who are exemplars of the four temperament profiles: Social/Eager to Try, High Maintenance, Industrious, and Cautious/Slow to Warm Up. These audio visuals demonstrate how the four types of children react to their parents and daily life.
The original structure of the programme was that the parenting sessions would be for 10 consecutive weeks. However after observation and discussion with the school communities the INSIGHTS in Jamaica team decided that the parents’ sessions in the urban area will be reduced to four 2-hour sessions. Also in response to observations made in Semester I (2014- 2015) where parents seemed to have had challenges with reading the content in the hand-outs we designed a learning aid card for parents called IPAC (Insights Parenting Aid Card). This facilitates the parents understanding of primary principles of the programme using graphics. Parents were no longer required to do written assignments but more emphasis was placed on oral assignments.
Similar to the parents sessions the teachers attend 10 weekly, 2-hour sessions that include audio visuals, group activities such as role playing, and individual assignments. In the audio visuals, actors depict interaction between teachers and children who are exemplars of the four temperament profiles: Social/Eager to Try, High Maintenance, Industrious, and Cautious/Slow to Warm Up. These audio visuals demonstrate how the four types of children react to their teachers and peers.
Children participate in 10 weekly 30-minute sessions in their schools.
Puppets depict each of the four temperaments: Fredrico the Friendly, Gregory the Grumpy, Hilary the Hard Worker, and Coretta the Cautious. Together, using the puppets children solve daily dilemmas.
The intervention was developed in partnership with educators and parents in under-resourced urban public schools in New York City approximately twenty-one years ago. Professor Sandee McClowry from NYU is the developer of the programme and was the principal investigator of three clinical trials that tested its efficacy. For example, INSIGHTS, compared to a control condition, enhanced student engagement and teachers’ practices in the classroom (Cappella, O’Connor, McCormick, Turbeville, Collins, & McClowry, 2012).
The vision for INSIGHTS in Jamaica was ignited in 2012 when Professor McClowry and her husband, Dr. Mark Spellman, did a very successful two-day workshop on April 26 and 27, 2012 with teacher educators. Professor McClowry continues to train facilitators of the INSIGHTS programme annually in Jamaica.
