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by Ethan Schafer, Ph.D.
Children do much of their learning by watching the important people
in their lives. Referred to as "observational learning" by
social psychologists and cognitive scientists, most professionals who
work with children simply refer to this process as role modeling. Role
modeling, of course, is more than simply the act of mimicking adults
by nearby children. Ask any camper about how the "role models" presented
by various media outlets (certain athletes and "musicians" come
to mind) influence their thoughts, feelings, and behavior, and assuming
they are being honest, you will get an earful. More likely, you will
see their influence reflected in campers' behavior in any number
of ways. Whether campers are able or willing to put the impact into words,
their role models create one of the lenses through which they view the
world.
The Science of Observational Learning and Social Cognition
The science behind the importance of role modeling is robust and has
an extensive history. For those of you who can remember back to your
introductory psychology classes, you probably remember one of the earliest
and most famous studies of observational learning, the classic "Bobo
Doll" studies of Albert Bandura. In a series of studies, Bandura
documented the increased likelihood of boys and girls to exhibit aggressive
behavior towards an inflatable doll after watching another adult act
as a model by exhibiting aggression towards the doll him/herself. These
studies sparked an explosion of research on how role models in a child's
life influence behavior and learning. Combined with research on persuasion,
psychologists have since identified several factors that increase the
influence role models have on children. For camp professionals, some
of the important factors include:
- Proximity: A role model that is physically closer to a child
(e.g., in the same room, as opposed to watching on a monitor or television
screen), is more likely to influence a child.
- Similarity: Role models who are similar on any number of
physical factors, such as gender, ethnicity, or resemblance to other
significant people in a child's life (such as a parent or peer).
- Likeability: A likeable role model (in the old days, researchers
would be more cavalier about using terms like "attractive model," but
I digress) is also more likely to have influence.
- Authority: Such as a teacher, an expert, or someone who has
generally been presented to a child as someone to listen to, follow,
and learn from.
Does this sound like anyone you work with? Camp counselors are likely
to fill all of these criteria, and then some. As any educator or camp
professional knows, a role model's behavior has at least as much
(and probably more) effect on a child's learning compared to his
or her words.
Camp staff are also role models regarding how to handle interpersonal
relationships. Observing how adults communicate with each other, resolve
conflicts, and manage complex emotion helps children form "mental
maps" for campers to follow in their own lives. Some psychologists
who research social cognition (a hot area of research right now, social
cognition is the study of how we think about, perceive, and respond to
social information) have referred to these maps as "interpersonal
schemas." We all have "maps" in our heads that affect
how we filter, organize, and respond to input from the environment. For
example, when you meet someone, you have certain protocols to follow—involving
handshakes, eye contact, and exchange of personal information.
The larger point is that previous experiences guide our actions, expectations,
and sense of what to do in any interpersonal situations. Most often,
we are not consciously aware of them. We don't consciously think, "Orient
your body towards the person, put your hand out at the appropriate angle,
ask for his/her name," etc. Schemas are constantly changing in
response to information provided by the environment, and are another
type of organizing framework through which children understand their
world.
Of course, none of this is particularly newsworthy. We already know
that camp counselors have huge impact on campers—both positively
and negatively. In most staff training programs, the concept of being
a role model is probably alluded to in some fashion. This is a critical
component of any staff training program, but we can do more. By adding
a series of specific concepts and activities, we can give our staffs
the tools to become more deliberate, effective role models for campers.
The Basics: Being a Good Example, Every Day
As mentioned, this is the easiest part of training camp role models,
and will therefore only be covered briefly. Perhaps these aspects of
your training program emphasize "do as I say AND as I do," concrete
behaviors such as the importance of counselors showing up on time to
activities, being responsible with their belongings, and following the
same camp rules the campers do, etc. We can enhance the "basics" by
integrating some basic aspects of developmental adolescent psychology.
First, remember that your adolescent staff (college students count as
adolescents) make great zealots. They are, usually, quite passionate,
righteous, and ready to "believe" in a set of ideals, especially
those represented by your camp. We can channel their natural inclinations
by underscoring the power that they, as nonparental authority figures,
have on camper's emotional development. To introduce this concept,
have the staff discuss who they think influences children today, for
better or for worse. You are likely to get opinions about popular culture,
laments about parents, and general negativity about kids. (Aside: Try
not to laugh when you hear college students wax pejorative about the
next generation of kids, especially when they speak with what others
have called "the certainty of youth.") Assuming this occurs,
have your group facilitators point it out and remind them that children
learn from role models whether they are positive or negative. Children
will repeat what they see others do. In a sense, it is as simple as that.
We can play to adolescent staff's natural self-centeredness by
reminding them that they are unique in terms of their role as nonparental
authority figures. They are not family members (usually), teachers, or
parents. They do not "come with" authority. Rather, their
authority and influence comes from the relationship that they create
and the examples they set. Challenge your staff to earn their place as
role models by having them break into groups and specify how they will
earn their status. To prevent them from focusing on less specific concrete
behaviors like "getting to activities on time," give them
a list of other categories and a certain number of slots to fill within
those categories, like: List three ways you will model time management,
organizational skills, conflict resolution, respect for others, etc.
Then, have the staff generate and share their most powerful role model
experiences. It is most useful if they went to camp themselves and think
of former counselors, but if not, they can think of siblings, cousins,
teammates, or even parents and teachers. Have staff share positive and
negative events, and then point out how much of an effect these experiences
must have stayed with them. Every staff member should both know and feel
the potential of their role, knowing that their behavior sets the standard
of what is correct, what is "cool," and what should be emulated
over the summer. Setting the tone regarding the emotional power of role
modeling will help improve the chances that the following training activities
will "stick."
Beyond the Basics: Integrating Role Modeling With Developmental Psychology
Help staff break down their influence as relationship role models. Ask
staff to tie in their own personal experiences as a point of reference
and then specifically discuss how they can "broadcast"—verbally
and non-verbally—positive messages to campers. Remind them specifically
that talking and explanations are only one way to teach, especially since
you are focused on observational learning. Focus first on developmental
aspects of observational learning based on age and gender.
Young Children (about ages 7 to 10)
Younger boys and girls will see counselors as giants among them, both
physically and psychologically. I would use the term "worship" rather
than "look up to" to describe how campers this age think
of their counselors. We need to prepare staff for this phenomenon by
helping make it predictable: Use real examples of young campers following
counselors around, wanting to spend large amounts of time with them,
talking like them, etc. Make sure that staff understand that the simple
act of spending time with younger campers, rather than the nature of
the activity, is the important part. Although the current zeitgeist regarding
measuring outcomes and getting "hard data" is helpful in
many ways, it is critical to remember that not every aspect of child
development needs to be measured, graphed, and analyzed. Special time
together is inherently beneficial to campers and counselors.
"Tweens" (about ages ten to twelve)
Children this age are beginning to develop a stronger sense of identity
in terms of who they are, what their own interests are, and a sense of
what unique talents they have. Counselors can focus on role modeling
several different things for children of this age, including attempting
new activities, self-control when under stress, and solving problems
with other counselors in a growth-promoting manner:
- Have staff literally act out common situations like these
during training. Give them a vignette, like "It is the middle of the
summer, you haven't had a day off in a while, and you are tired. An
eleven-year-old camper who sometimes gets on your nerves asks you to
spend time with her. She is persistent, and you are starting to get
annoyed. Demonstrate what a good role model would do in this situation."
- A ten-year-old camper is having trouble getting along with
the campers in his cabin. He can be bossy and domineering, and his
cabin mates are starting to avoid him. You have already talked to him,
but this does not seem to have affected his behavior. Use a role modeling
situation to demonstrate more adaptive behavior for this boy.
Adolescents (about thirteen and older)
Role modeling appropriate boundaries, particularly between opposite sex
campers and staff, regarding relationships, personal histories, and where
to draw the line between camper and staff represents perhaps the biggest
risk and potential area of growth at camp. Have counselors of children
this age think of themselves as "relationship role models." Because
of the relative closeness in age between adolescent campers and staff,
I recommend spending extra time on these issues during training:
- A thirteen-year-old camper is very curious about your relationships
with other staff members. He knows you spend most of your time off
with a close group of friends and wants to know what you all do together.
In fact, he seems to focus on counselor's business at the expense
of spending time with other campers of his own age.
- You and some of your fifteen-year-old campers have gotten
very close over the summer. There is a real sense of trust and respect
between you. Unfortunately, you find out that they have been quite
cruel to some of the less popular kids in the cabin, excluding them
from activities and saying hurtful things about them. You are now in
the difficult position of setting boundaries with a group you like
a great deal, and will have to do and say things that upset them.
Counseling Staff
It is important to remember that younger staff will also see experienced
staff as role models. Again, this is an important responsibility that
should be emphasized and covered explicitly.
- You and another experienced staff member disagree over how
to manage the challenging behavior of a cabin group that has begun
breaking rules and pushing limits on a regular basis. Younger staff
know the two of you have different styles, though in your own way,
both of you are quite effective. Your task is to demonstrate how you
would resolve this conflict in a way that sets a good example for younger
staff in terms of communicating respectfully and achieving positive
outcomes.
- You are not perfect, and have recently broken a major camp
rule, and everyone on the staff knows it (Aside: Pick whatever would
be a major infraction that is just short of triggering immediate dismissal
at your particular camp). You need to role model how to accept responsibility
and make amends for this mistake.
Notice the decision about how to resolve these situations is left to
the staff member, and that we are not simply saying to them "What
would you do if . . ." Actually demonstrating the combination of
words and behaviors required in these situations is the critical piece.
While the end result is important, the role modeling process leading
up to it contains the most powerful opportunities for learning.
Role Modeling
Role modeling is arguably the most salient "delivery system" through
which campers and staff learn and develop over the summer. Role modeling
works in both the thousands of small, daily interactions that occur throughout
the summer (the "basics"), and in the less common, more challenging
situations listed above ("beyond"). Because of its importance,
camp staff will benefit from making it a specific and values aspect of
staff training.
Originally published in the 2007 May/June
issue of Camping Magazine. |
