Developing social situational awareness is foundational to successful communication and relationship-building. Moreover, this awareness is critical for developing conflict resolution skills. Educators and caregivers may assume that expected social information is obvious and/or that a student has already acquired this knowledge, so reinforcement of this skill can easily be overlooked. Virtual reality can offer opportunities to pace experiences in a way that allows for analysis. Below are two themes for building social awareness and examples of how Floreo can support this kind of teaching.
Awareness and Active Listening: "Slow Down and Notice." Many conflicts arise when people respond before fully understanding what is happening. When individuals pause, they can observe, listen carefully, and consider the situation before responding.
Emotional Awareness and Empathy: "Feelings Are Information." Recognizing emotions provides valuable information about how we and others are experiencing a situation. Recognizing emotions without judgment can help prevent misunderstandings and support respectful interactions.
Many Floreo lessons provide opportunities to practice recognizing another person’s perspective. As Learners work through a Floreo lesson, pause periodically to discuss what the virtual character may be feeling. Encourage Learners to identify the emotion, describe the verbal and nonverbal cues, and consider what might have contributed to the character’s feelings. Invite Learners to reflect on a time when they experienced a similar emotion and discuss strategies they found helpful for responding constructively. These conversations reinforce emotional awareness while fostering empathy and perspective-taking in a safe, structured environment. You may also want to reinforce that the "cranky" responses are not ones to be modeled.
In this first set of lessons, the character's greeting should be fairly obvious: either friendly, unfriendly, or neutral. The lesson (and the Coach) guides the student toward the optimal response in each situation.
These lessons offer other opportunities to observe a character's behaviors in different situations and consider options for responding accordingly.
These 3 lessons can help Learners recognize if someone is having a good day or if someone has encountered a bit of a snag in their day.
Social situational awareness is the foundation for building conflict resolution skills. Healthy relationships involve listening to different perspectives, sharing opportunities to speak, and working together toward solutions that respect everyone’s needs whenever possible. These skills are built over a lifetime, and everyone can expand their knowledge of them.