ASSET: Mitigating Anxiety In The Present, Building ......ASSET Education: Mitigating Anxiety in the...

ASSET: Mitigating Anxiety In The Present, Building Resilience For The Future

ASSET: Case Study 20172

The Imaginarium’s Vision — Cultivating InnovationDenver Public Schools (DPS) established an innovation lab — The Imaginarium — in 2014. The Imaginarium’s mission is to transform learning and public education systems by stimulating and supporting innovation across Denver. An integral part of stimulating innovation is the Design Challenge — a competition that challenges Denver students and adults to design and implement innovative products and services that would create a positive impact on students. During the 2016 Imaginarium Design Challenge, Ms. Tessa Zimmerman, a college student, won $9,000, which she used to launch ASSET Education (ASSET), a pilot program designed to help students better cope with anxiety in the classroom and in their daily lives.

Executive Summary ASSET Education: Mitigating Anxiety in the Present, Building Resilience for the Future

This research evaluates the impact of ASSET’s program in two DPS classrooms over an eight-week period during the spring 2017 semester. The research studied how the program was implemented, and includes data and feedback from student and teacher participants.

ASSET is composed of 30 lesson plans with accompany-ing tools that aim to mitigate anxiety through a variety of coping mechanisms, including mindfulness and positive psychology. The goal of ASSET is to help students improve their focus in school and in their daily lives by building their capacity to manage stress and to be more mindful.

Preliminary findings suggest: the curriculum decreased stress, increased mindfulness, and provides tools that translate outside of the classroom to help students better manage anxiety in their overall life.

Key Findings include:

• 50% of the students in the study reported a decrease in their stress levels

• 66% of the students in the study reported an increase in mindfulness

• 80% of students reported they would like other classes to incorporate ASSET tools

The Need for Asset Education Previous research indicates that 85% of students experience daily stress or anxiety from pressures related to school, and 79% say this negatively impacts academic performance. 1

Additionally, school-related stress and anxiety have long-term adverse effects on students’ well-being and academic performance. Unfortunately, only 10% of students in this study reported that their school provided resources to help them cope with stress and anxiety.

_______________________________________________________________________1Kaplan D.S., Liu R.X., Kaplan H.B. School related stress in early adolescence and academic perfor-mance three years later: The conditional influence of self-expectationsSocial Psychology of Education, 8 (2005), pp. 3-17

VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/231586516

Tessa Zimmerman after her 2016 Design Challenge Win

Background and Introduction


Perceived Stressors In the ASSET research study, participants reported the pressure to perform well academically and achieve high grades as their main causes of stress. Physical symptoms that manifest from daily stress include fatigue, increased heart rate, shaking, headaches, “butterflies” in their stomach, irregular breathing, and disrupted sleep. Intense emotional symptoms students report include anger, frustration, and feeling upset, sad, apathetic, and/or de-pressed. Most students can identify when they’re stressed based on their symptoms.

Perceived Lack of Resources Perceiving no other available or reliable resources to alleviate their anxiety, students prefer to talk with their peers about their stressors. Of those interviewed, seven out of nine said they would go to a friend first because friends could empathize and understood their causes for stress more so than adults. While many students mentioned that they have good relationships with adults, they perceive adults as being unable to validate their experience or as lacking the time to help. Fewer than 10% of students were aware of school resources that may help them cope with stress, and those students aware of school resources chose not to access them because they perceive that support from their peers would be more effective.

ASSET Education ImplementationIntroductionASSET’s proprietary curriculum is composed of 30 lesson plans with accompanying tools to help students manage stress and anxiety. Shortly after launching ASSET, Ms. Tessa Zimmerman called upon teacher Brent Modak to help her integrate the curriculum and tools with common teaching practices.

Unique to the curriculum, each lesson included an introduction to the biological stress response and how each ASSET tool “rewires” negative behavior patterns. Lesson plans ranged in duration from five to 15 minutes and included applicable materials and a step-by-step facilitation guide for the teacher and student.

This research study was conducted in two simultaneous eight-week intervals in a classroom at Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) Stapleton and at North High School in Denver, CO. The study’s objectives were to evaluate:

1. How students experience stress and anxiety2. How teachers incorporate ASSET principles into their classroom3. How students viewed the use of ASSET4. The program’s impact on students’ lives in and outside of the classroom.

A teacher from DSST Stapleton and from North High School were selected to pilot the curriculum, based on their expressed commitment to fidelity in implementation and to providing feedback.


Implementation Take-aways: Lessons Learned

Teacher Viewpoint• Each teacher followed the ASSET curriculum with varying degrees of

fidelity. Some variations were aligned with the intent of the curriculum while others detracted from it. For example, the curriculum calls for one tool to be introduced at a time. In classes where more than one tool was being introduced, the reflection component of the curriculum was left out, which resulted in students not being able to differentiate between tools and in feeling rushed to complete them.

• Teacher and student relationships affected students’ willingness to apply ASSET tools. Teachers reported that students with whom they had a challenging relationship were more resistant to participating in ASSET, which resulted in them adapting the curriculum to foster participation.

• Teachers’ authentic enthusiasm for ASSET’s tools helped engage students in using ASSET. When the teacher varied the set curriculum to authentically share a personal experience related to the ASSET lesson plan or responded to students’ needs to understand the purpose of the ASSET tool, it produced greater student engagement.

• Demographic testing could improve the program. Teachers reported that for several tools, some demographic groups of students were more engaged than others. They recommended including only tools that reflect individual school demographics.

• Additional instruction is needed on to how to integrate the tools into the classroom. Clarification on when to introduce particular ASSET tools and resources would help teachers more seamlessly integrate stress-relieving techniques into their lesson plans.

How Students Recognize Stress• Physical and emotional symptoms:

“Yeah I get like, panicky a bit. I fidget and I get a headache and it feels like I have too much and I can’t do all of it.”

• Disrupted sleep: “I’ll be like super tired throughout the day because I can’t sleep and I’ll then stay up worry-ing. I don’t have anywhere to channel it so it’s built up I guess.”

• Easily agitated: “I get really sensitive. Everything that’s being said to me can make me upset or I get sad. I notice it after school with my parents the most.”

• Apathy: “I get lazy, like when I have a lot of homework and I’m super stressed I just don’t want to do anything and I procrastinate and I just give up.”


Implementation Take-aways: Lessons Learned

Student Viewpoint

• Students preferred “non-active” ASSET tools to relieve stress. When using active tools (i.e., that require movement), students reported feeling self-conscious, which impacted the tools’ ability to decrease stress. Teachers also noted that students were less able to focus after practicing active tools.

• Not all students were able to consistently apply ASSET tools. The ability to learn and apply ASSET tools was affected by the time of day the class was taught, frequency of reinforcement, and the ability to reflect upon the tool learned. One student mentioned being distracted from learning: “This tool didn’t work for me today. My mind wandered because I am stressed about all the things I need to do for my other classes.” This may suggest the need for further research to determine whether students find particular tools more helpful than others.

• Allocating time to process and integrate the lesson plan is integral to the student’s experience and retention of an ASSET tool. Students need adequate time to fully experience and reflect upon new tools and skills taught in the program.

“I have been a teacher for 15 years and have never really been taught ways to combat this[student stress], and if there is something out there that might help my kids, then I should give it a try!”- Beth Lakin, ASSET Pilot Program Instructor, North High School


In the two piloting classrooms, 66% of students showed an increase in mindfulness and 50% showed a decrease in stress.

97% of students used an ASSET tool in or outside of school. Overall, the effectiveness of ASSET on decreasing student stress and increasing mindfulness is promising.

Students who were interviewed noted that the application of a particular tool was situational as to what would work best. Additionally, the frequency of use varied from multiple times a day to a couple times a week.

80% of students after engaging in the program reported they would like other classes to incorporate ASSET tools.

Pilot Program Results: DSST and North High School

“Last trimester, I didn’t take this class (ASSET) and I had a C average. Once I started taking this class this trimester, I now have all A’s and B’s. The mindful-ness part helps keep me in touch with myself and motivates me a lot to stay on top of what I am doing.” - Female, DSST High School Student

“North has a very high free/reduced lunch population; a majority of my students live in poverty and are often ill-equipped to deal with the emotional and social toll that has taken on them. I have never really been taught ways to combat this.”- Beth Lakin, North High School


“ASSET is the only thing I’ve ever learned about how to manage stress. It’s not really talked about during the day to day [in school]. The only thing I hear [when I get stressed] is, “Study and you’ll be fine” but I haven’t had

any strategies to help with stress oth-er than just study. … I am so appre-

ciative of Tessa’s program and having experienced ASSET’s tools.”- North High School Student

The foundation of DSST Stapleton’s academics is a college prep focus, with an emphasis on developing students through liberal arts learning (reading, writing, mathematics, and science). Students experience a structured classroom environment with clear academic and behavioral expectations. DSST is ranked among the top 200 public high schools by U.S. News and World Report.

DSST Stapleton teacher Lara Thomas, led a pilot class of over 44 students across two classes for ASSET. She incorporated the program’s tools in her Critical Skills class, designed to teach life skills to students. Ms. Thomas’s implementation extended beyond her classroom. For instance, she created opportunities for students to practice ASSET lesson tools in “Refocus,” DSST’s detention. She also shared her personal use of the tools, which created buy-in with students. In several cases, students began to proactively request to use the tools.

Case Study #1: Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) - Stapleton

DSST Stapleton Student Demographics

• 50% qualify for free or reduced lunch

• 49% female

• 51% male

• 36% Hispanic

• 30% White

• 24% Black/African American

• 6% Multiracial

• 3% Asian

• 100% graduation rate


“I wish I had done it earlier. I guess it’s weird to start something that helps

you when you are already use to be-ing stressed. I think it would help with

middle school and freshman, those entering high school. I’m now use to

the stress. If I started earlier would help [mitigate my stress and anxiety

more].” - North High School Student

As recently as five years ago, North High School was known as a turnaround school: graduation rates were low and it had a reputation for poor academ-ics and few extracurricular activities. Since 2012, North has undergone a transformation and boasts a safe and welcoming atmosphere. North High School has a strong culture of academic excellence with Advanced Place-ment (AP), Honors and college credit classes, and early intervention and strong tutoring support for students who want to accelerate or for those who start falling behind in classes.

Ms. Beth Lakin, an AP Literature instructor at North High School, piloted the ASSET program with a class of 20 students. She noted her students were excited to learn anxiety reduction tools, as they mentioned experiencing extreme amounts of pressure and stress.

Implementation at North High SchoolMs. Lakin implemented ASSET lesson plans twice a week as part of her literature classes. For her AP class, she used ASSET tools to transition stu-dents from their prior lunch period to being receptive to focusing in class and learning. Ms. Lakin took a special interest in teaching ASSET because she believes students have an immense amount of stress, particularly in AP classes.

Ms. Lakin’s incorporation of ASSET tools included: • Explaining the biological stress response. • Proactively asking students to reference which mode of stress they

were in (such as when they were taking a test).• Encouraging students to breathe throughout test taking. • Using ASSET language to reflect the program’s concepts throughout

class, not just during the time allocated to learning ASSET. For example, while students were taking a test, Ms. Lakin would remind them to breathe or if a student came to her stressed-out she would remind them of an ASSET tool they could use.

Case Study #2: North High School, Denver, CO

North High School Student Demographics

• 77% of students are on free/

reduced lunch

• 50% female

• 50% male

• 82% Hispanic

• 2% American Indian

• 7% Black/African American

• 8% White

• 71% graduation rate


Summary of Findings• Even if every tool does not work for every student,

students believed there was value in offering a vari-ety of tools.

• Early results indicate that ASSET tools increase mindfulness and decrease stress; within two months, two-thirds of students showed an increase in mindfulness and 50% decreased their stress.

• Students who used an ASSET tool outside of school reported higher levels of mindfulness after using ASSET tools.

In sum, these two pilots call for more research with a larger student sample size to further understand the impact of the ASSET curriculum and its ability to decrease stress and anxiety in the academic setting and outside of school.

Preliminary findings show promise in equipping students with ASSET tools to decrease stress and increase mindfulness, which would also enable students to better focus on and improve their learning and academic performance.

• Students prefer the ASSET tools that: o help them refocus on the present o calm them down in an immediate moment o help them to relax deeply and fall asleep. • Teachers noted that students felt calmer and more

focused in class after practicing an ASSET tool. • Tools students used most often were those that

could be done discreetly, which included deep breathing, body scan, visualization, finger breath-ing, reset button, and ground 5-4-3-2-1 exercise.

• Generally, students reported greater value in ASSET tools and used them more often when the teacher made an explicit connection to their personal use of the tools and their value to them as adults.

View the ASSET Finger Breathing exercise.

Overall, students call on the larger DPS community to in-tegrate ASSET tools into their daily lives to help students reduce and mitigate their stress and anxiety.

• 80% of students agree they would want their school to teach them how to cope with stress and anxiety and a majority of students used an ASSET tool to destress and relax.

“A lot of students benefited [from ASSET]. We did the hand massage. We like it because it distracted us from the problem and focused on now rather than what was or what will be.”- Male North High School Student

“I actually did the body scan, and I do it a few times a week. I have the app, and it helps me fall asleep and I sleep better when I do it.”- Female North High School Student

https://imaginarium.dpsk12.org/resource/mindful-practice-finger-breating-exercizze


Next Steps for ASSET EducationPlans for ASSET Education include implementation of the cur-riculum in various secondary DPS schools (public, charter and innovative) in various geographic settings. The larger sample size and alternate settings will allow for comparison of differences in implementation and student outcomes. The results will enable the curriculum to be further refined and scaled for more wide-spread application in the school setting. Analyzing data from a larger sample size will enable ASSET’s founder, Ms. Zimmerman, to refine the program into a long-term sustainable curriculum.

Specifically, long-term goals for ASSET include: • Refine curriculum and training based on feedback from ASSET

teachers• Educate teachers in three Denver schools on ASSET

curriculum• Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) Green

Valley Ranch High School (Denver, CO)• North High School (Denver, CO)• Denver School for Innovation and Sustainable Design

(DSISD) (Denver, CO) and• Conduct a second research study on ASSET implementation

at the three aforementioned schools.

Through conducting a second case study in 2017-2018, the anticipated participants impacted are: • Educators trained: 25• Students: 1,700

“Anxiety in students is more common than many adults realize. We feel it in school, at home, in social situations, on social media, at work, etc. Why should we not be taught how to cope with these feelings? It would align with DPS’s Whole Child goal to shape students who are ready to enter society at full potential.”- Female North High School Student

WE acknowledgeThe Imaginarium and ASSET Education would like to thank the following contributors for their help with this research and implementation:

North High SchoolSpecial thanks to Ms. Beth Lakin, AP Literature Class

Denver School of Science & Technology: Stapleton High SchoolMs. Lara Thomas, Critical Skills Class

Special thanks to:Brent Modak, Director of Programming, ASSET Education

This case study was written by:• Kelli Brown- Community Relations, Imaginarium• Signe Hawley- Researcher, Imaginarium• Tessa Zimmerman- Founder, ASSET Education

Further information on the study approach, history of ASSET Education and its founder is provided in the Appendix, as well as a glossary of terms related to the curriculum.


AppendixThe purpose of the overall research conducted was to: • Evaluate participating students’ and teachers’ experience

with ASSET• Assess the quality of the curriculum for ASSET Education to

determine areas of refinement• Assess the value in expanding the program to other

educators and school systems

Approach and AnalysisQuantitative and qualitative analysis methods were conducted to measure the performance of the ASSET program. Student participants were surveyed before and post-participation in the program and teachers’ weekly anecdotal and observation reflections were included in the results. All data was meta-cod-ed openly against the four case study questions to uncover the main themes.

Study data was generated through: • Classroom Observations• Pre-and-post interviews with students• Teachers’ reflections of weekly classroom observations • Pre-participation survey with quantitative and qualitative

questions• Post-participation survey with quantitative and qualitative

questions

A sample t-test was performed to evaluate the change in mindfulness students reported pre- and post-ASSET implementation between those who use ASSET tools outside of school and those who do not. There was a significant difference between those who use ASSET outside of school (M= .24 SD=.38) and those who do not (M=-.02 SD=.82); t(38)=-2.265, p=.029. Caution: Low sample size (N=39). More research needed to further understand these relationships.


Glossary: Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT): Like acupuncture and acupressure, EFT is a set of techniques that use the body’s energy meridian points. One can stimulate these meridian points by tapping on them with the fingertips – tapping into the body’s own energy and healing power to calm and relax the mind and body.

Mindfulness: A therapeutic technique that describes a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

Positive psychology: The scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals to thrive. The field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.

Positive self-talk: The practice of positive (constructive) self-talk aims to help one do better, go further, or just keep moving forward. In positive self-talk, one cheers oneself on, focusing on the positive aspects of a situation and allowing feelings of accomplishment. It allows a person to discover the obscured optimism, hope, and joy in any given situation.

Sensory tools: Self-regulation materials for calming and alerting, to promote concentration, decrease stress, and increase tactile awareness of fingers/hands through proprioceptive input. Sensory tools can help improve focus, relieve stress and keep the mind attentive while keeping the body relaxed.

About the Imaginarium’s 2016 Design Challenge WinnerMs. Tessa Zimmerman developed the ASSET Education curriculum based on her personal challenge of growing up with severe anxiety. During that time, her teachers or guidance counselors could only offer her a stress ball as a tool to manage anxiety, which she quickly discovered was ineffective. Ms. Zimmerman founded ASSET Education to equip teachers with tools and lesson plans that teach students how to effectively cope with stress and anxiety — in the classroom and in life. Ms. Zimmerman believes the ability to face adversity using effective coping strategies to mitigate stress and anxiety will help make students successful in life.

History of ASSETMs. Zimmerman founded ASSET Education while still a student instructor during her senior year at Watson University in 2014. She taught ASSET as an elective course at the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) Green Valley Ranch High School in Denver, CO. Based on positive student outcomes, she realized she wanted to scale the program so the curriculum could be taught on a more widespread and systematic basis in academic classes. To pilot the first program, Ms. Zimmerman enlisted the help of teacher Brent Modak. As program director, Mr. Modak assisted with curriculum design, professional development, and co-developed a training time-line so that Ms. Zimmerman’s vision for ASSET could be incorporated practically into teachers’ lesson plans.

With funding from the Imaginarium, Ms. Zimmerman conducted a campaign to recruit “Denver’s Most-Promising Educators” to help carry out her vision and teach her curriculum. From 21 applicants, 10 teachers were selected to participate in the training. The selection process for instructors required teachers be able to demonstrate specific cases of anxiety in their classrooms and demonstrate a sincere desire to help students cope with anxiety.


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