Founded in 2018, The Project for Mental Health and Optimal Development, based at Penn’s Graduate School of Education, explores the relationship between mental health and optimal development among children, youth, and the adults who support them.
The project has an array of school-based programs and research projects that aim to support all stakeholders in K-12 communities:
The Planning for Uncertainty team provides free PD sessions to interested schools, districts, and educator groups. Contact the team to inquire about a consultation or customized session for your team.
This resource advocates for approaching educational challenges and the problem-solving they require through an Uncertainty Mindset. It guides educators through developing actionable strategies in the face of pervasive uncertainty, both independently and alongside colleagues.
Penn GSE’s Michael Nakkula and Andy Danilchick, directors of the Project for Mental Health and Optimal Development, discuss the guide and its potential value to educators in the wake of the pandemic on CPRE Knowledge Hub’s podcast Research Minutes.
An Uncertainty Mindset is a stance that encourages embracing the unknown in order to remain responsive to needs and opportunities as they emerge.
Across fields and disciplines, there is new interest in questions of how we engage with, plan for, and respond to uncertainty. Sociologist Vaughn Tan promotes an "uncertainty mindset" as a way of injecting uncertainty into organizational design to spur innovation, as he documented in his work studying the culinary industry (2020). For this guide, which was developed independently of Tan's work, an uncertainty mindset focuses on responding to the shifting landscapes of schooling and mental health caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our work places mental wellness–both of students and educators–at the forefront of decision-making and action plans, asking educators to consider how their actions can positively impact students’ mental wellness; and, conversely, how their actions (or inaction) can unintentionally negatively impact student mental wellness.
This guide is written with the understanding that “school” today looks unlike it has ever looked before–and with the assumption that what school looks like today may be different from how it looks tomorrow.
Educators experiencing challenges within this new educational landscape will find multiple entry points:
This guide is not meant to be a linear or prescriptive guide; rather, it is intended to be used comprehensively, compartmentally, or on an as-needed basis for educators. Our hope is that educators can use it as a supplement to guide their problem-solving process, as they are faced with complex student issues and personal concerns that impact their work.
The Planning for Uncertainty Guide team provides professional development sessions for educators. Contact the Planning for Uncertainty team to schedule a consultation or customized professional development session.
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This guide was developed by the Project for Mental Health and Optimal Development at Penn GSE, in partnership with GSE’s Office of School and Community Engagement.
Andy Danilchick, M.S.Ed., Project Director
Miranda Rain Wenhold, M.S.Ed., NCC, Project Manager
Debora Broderick, Ed.D., Project Manager
Julie Berger, M.S.Ed., NCC, Editor
Caroline L. Watts, Ed.D., Director, Office of School and Community Engagement
Michael J. Nakkula, Ed.D., Co-Director, Project for Mental Health and Optimal Development
Adam Bergevin, M.Phil.Ed, NCC
Tamika Hill, M.S., M.S.Ed.
Charlotte Jacobs, Ph.D.
Pearl Jonas, M.S.Ed.
Matthew R. Kay, M.S.Ed.
Victoria Morgan, M.S., LPC
Tom Ng, M.S.Ed.
Maja Pehrson, M.S.Ed.
This project was funded by The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation, a not-for-profit private foundation focused on supporting education, youth services, community health, and medical research.
Andy Danilchick
Director, Project for Mental Health and Optimal Development
danila@upenn.edu