Research Press is excited to announce the release of the new edition of I Can Problem Solve: An Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-Solving Program – Preschool and Kindergarten (Third Edition).
Dr. Myrna B. Shure with co-author Stephanie Colvin-Roy revised and updated the new third edition that now combines the preschool and kindergarten curriculum. I Can Problem Solve (ICPS) is an evidence-based, cognitive approach that teaches children how to think – not what to think – in ways that help them learn to resolve interpersonal problems that arise with peers and adults. That approach, and how it applies to ICPS, is explained in more detail in this third, new edition.
Also introduced in this new edition are ways that ICPS is relevant to updated developmental priorities: Social and Emotional Learning, Executive Function, Early Literacy, and Academic Readiness.
In highlighting the updates to the new edition, co-author Stephanie Colvin-Roy, says “The lessons get kids up and moving a little bit more. There’s some more role play. It’s making the activities a little bit more relevant to today’s youth.”
This program is a revision of a curriculum originally designed in 1971. Developed by Dr. Myrna B. Shure for three age groups and supported by 25 years of meticulous research, ICPS is proven to prevent and reduce early high-risk behaviors such as impulsivity and social withdrawal, and to promote prosocial behaviors such as concern for others and positive peer relationships.
The impact of ICPS is effective in part because of two unique elements of the program, from which the thinking styles are derived. The first is a series of vocabulary words, which Shure calls “ICPS Word Pairs.” These pairs include IS–NOT, SAME–DIFFERENT, and MIGHT–MAYBE. The second unique feature of the curriculum is what Shure coined “ICPS Dialoguing”— applied in real-life conflict and other problem situations. Instead of being told what and what not to do and why, the child actively participates in the conversation and learns to think for himself what and what not to do and why.
In praising I Can Problem Solve (ICPS), Dr. Maurice J. Elias author, professor and the director of clinical training in the Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, states “For counselors this is a resource that will be welcomed by teachers and young children, whether for classroom or small group use. There is absolutely no better SEL program for this age group than ICPS.”