Student: Ashley Devon Smith
The Interactive Student Conflict Resolution Mat (ISCRM) is a conflict resolution tool intended for use by elementary school students. Many students experience disagreements with a peer, and these disagreements can cause classroom disruptions when students seek teacher assistance for conflict resolution.
What is the project’s goal?
The project’s goal is to give students an opportunity to resolve conflicts without teacher assistance, which builds autonomy, confidence, collaboration and conflict resolution skills.
What is the innovation?
A portable, laminated fold-out mat in calming colors (purple, green, blue) guides pairs of students through the conflict resolution process. Students literally and figuratively walk toward each other and collaborate to come to a resolution. Students are prompted to take a deep breath, think about the problem, talk about how they feel, express what they want, collaborate on a solution, try it out, and if it does not work, try again.
What has been the impact?
In a pilot with 11 students. 70% said it helped them think through conflict resolution.
