Classroom Social Skills Dinosaur Program 1 Running head ...

Classroom Social Skills Dinosaur Program 24
Puppets as Models
The teachers use child-size boy and girl puppets to model appropriate child behavior. A
dinosaur puppet (Dina Dinosaur) is the director of Dinosaur school and teaches school rules and
rewards and praises children who are doing well. The puppets, “Wally” and “Molly,” help narrate
the video vignettes and ask the children for help with common conflict situations they have
encountered (based on the problems of the children in the group). In addition to Wally and Molly,
other puppets regularly visit the group (e.g., Oscar the Ostrich has his head in the sand all the time
and has difficulty talking about his problems or Freddy Frog can’t sit still). Particularly when
working with diverse populations, we use a variety of child puppets to represent the ethnicity,
gender, and different family structures of the children in the group.
The puppets are an integral part of the program’s success. Young children are enthralled
with the puppets and will talk about sensitive or painful issues with a puppet more easily than
with adults. The puppets quickly become real to the children and are very effective models.
Each puppet has a name, age, personality, and family situation. Puppets should be good group
role models. They raise their hands to speak, listen to the teachers, watch the video, and take
turns. Puppets occasionally make mistakes, just as children do, but when a puppet makes a
mistake, it is important to quickly have the puppet show he is sorry, and make a plan to solve a
problem.
Live and Videotape Modeling Methods
In accordance with modeling and self-efficacy theories of learning (Bandura, 1989),
children using the program develop their skills by watching (and modeling) videotape examples
of key problem-solving and interpersonal skills. We use videotape to provide a more flexible
method of training than didactic instruction or sole reliance on role play; that is, we can portray a