I work for a school board and am interested in participating in your research studies. How can our school board participate?

Thank you for showing interest in participating in our research studies. Learn more about our current study in the Research section of our website. Alternatively, send an email to myowl@sunnybrook.ca for more information.

Can everyone in my classroom participate in the curriculum even if they don’t consent to the research?

The curriculum is delivered to entire classrooms, including students who aren’t participating in research. Those who are/whose parents consent, will just be prompted to fill our questionnaires via email several times throughout the year.

Can schools use the curriculum without participating in the research?

Schools can definitely use the curriculum without participating in the research. However, as we are providing the curriculum to all schools for free, we hope that schools and students would be willing to participate in our web-based research study to determine the effect on students. We would like to highlight that the research portion of this project is integral to the success of this curriculum. Our pilot studies show a positive impact of the curriculum on youth mental health. However, we need your help to gather more data to validate these findings. This will allow us to determine if and how the curriculum benefits your students, in addition to its long-term impacts.

In consideration of school boards, the research process was designed to be simple to implement. If your school is interested, we can set-up information sessions for teachers and school leads to guide them through the process. Please reach out to myowl@sunnybrook.ca if you are interested in participating.

I am excited about this project but my school doesn’t teach it. How can we get involved?

The curriculum on this website is free and can be used by any teacher with their students anywhere in the world. As a first step we suggest that you share the site with your teacher or a school administrator.

What if I’ve already read the Harry Potter books/this book?

That’s ok. When you read books in your school language classes, part of the goal is to learn about the deeper meanings within literature. We’ve had many young people work through this curriculum who had already read the novel. They’ve told us that it was still a fantastic experience because they realized that there were so many ideas hidden within the text that were new and important to them.

What if this isn’t the kind of book I would usually want to read?

We’ve had this question a lot too - often along the lines of “I’ve never been interested in wizards”. The answer is the same as to the last question. The learning here is about mental health, how to cope with distress, and finding paths to resilience. So the feedback we’ve had from students who started the curriculum with this concern was “I realized it wasn’t really about wizards, that it really symbolized the author’s experience overcoming depression, and when I figured that out it didn’t bother me anymore.”

How do we learn to use the curriculum? Is it as simple as following the lesson plans on this website?

Yes! Learning to use the curriculum is as simple as following the lesson plans online. In the teacher’s section of this website, we provide a comprehensive manual for teaching all 11 units in this curriculum. These units were designed, with the help of teachers, to mirror regular curriculum formats. Each unit in this curriculum contains key learning points, core concepts, lesson plans, student assignments, and a 5-minute video introduction. In the introduction, teachers can find a video by Dr. Mark Sinyor, who developed this curriculum. In this video, Dr. Sinyor introduces the purpose of the curriculum, provides an overview of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and teaches how to impart CBT skills to students using Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Dr. Sinyor’s orientation lecture is nearly identical to the one he delivered in-person at schools during our pilot trials. Teachers found the orientation lecture and manual sufficient to deliver the curriculum effectively.

Is this curriculum diverse and inclusive to all students?

The My Owl Curriculum was developed as a universal mental health initiative to improve mental health and wellbeing in youth across the world. With this goal in mind, the lesson plans and student activities were created for a diverse range of students with different identities and from different cultures. Furthermore, we believe that the Harry Potter books can be used to emphasize the importance of fostering a diverse and inclusive culture. There are many examples in the books that highlight a firm anti-discrimination stance towards Muggles (non-magical folk), Muggle-born witches and wizards (magical folks with non-magical parents), and magical creatures (e.g., centaurs and house elves).

Please note that the curriculum was initially created in English, however we are working to translate it into multiple languages. If you are interested in helping us translate it into your language, please email us at myowl@sunnybrook.ca.

What age group is this curriculum suited for?

This curriculum is geared towards middle schoolers (ages 12-14). The reason we picked those ages is because Harry is 13 in the book and thus this age group allows for maximum identification with the character. It may not be suited for younger age groups due to the complexity of the concepts in the curriculum but you could definitely consider using this for older students (e.g. high school).

What is the length of the curriculum?

We think the ideal duration is 3 months. There are 11 modules and you can teach 1 unit per week. From experience, a shorter span may be insufficient to communicate all of the concepts effectively. Students may experience curriculum fatigue if the duration extends much beyond 3 months.

What is the cost for this curriculum?

It is completely free! Our mission is to help youth improve their mental health and well-being so we want to make the curriculum as accessible as possible. However, the responsibility for purchasing the books is on the school.

Do I need to read the previous books in this series?

No. Of course you and your students are welcome to read the books, however, the beginning of the third book provides a synopsis of the previous books. We also provide a short paragraph summary for each of the first two books that is sufficient to bring all up to speed.

What about students who have already read the books?

Unless they have learned this curriculum before, they haven’t learnt about the CBT aspect. Feedback we have received from previous students indicates that generally reading this book through the CBT lens is an entirely different experience and provides a new perspective.

What about people who haven’t read the books and are reluctant to read it because they are not interested in the ‘wizardry and witchcraft’ theme and find this type of book unappealing.

We have received this kind of feedback from students prior to starting the curriculum. However, an important goal of the curriculum is to help students understand symbolism and deeper meanings of texts. After participating in the curriculum, students generally realize that the book isn’t just about wizards but rather an allegory for the author’s experiences dealing with depression and that keeps their interest.

Do we have to teach everything?

To achieve all of the mental health learning, it is important to teach all of the core lessons. But you don’t necessarily have to teach all of the optional lessons. You can also add your own lessons as long as you cover all of the core content.

Do I need to learn more about cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)?

We have generally received mixed feedback. Some teachers want to read more about CBT and that may certainly be helpful. There are a variety of textbooks and online resources on this topic. However, it is not required for you to learn more than we cover - the teacher’s manual is intended to convey everything you need to know.

Can I adapt some of the assignments?

We have received feedback that some students/teachers find the curriculum writing-”heavy”. Please note that you can alter the format of the assignments to suit your students’ needs. For example, you can do some assignments orally or in group format. The key thing is that you deliver all of the content.

Can school counsellors partner with teachers to implement the program, specifically the material with cognitive behavioural therapy?

It’s certainly an option for school counselors to get involved. In fact, we recommend that teachers have the support of their school’s mental health experts in case questions arise that they are unable to answer. That said, this curriculum is intentionally designed to be delivered by teachers. It is meant to replace a regular English unit and be taught by a teacher or someone with expertise in school pedagogy. If you feel that a school counselor can do that, feel free to do so. It is up to the school board to decide who they want to involve in delivering the curriculum. If you do decide to participate in the research and choose a non-traditional delivery format, please let us know as we’d like to study whether the impact of the curriculum differs for your students.

What about boundaries – Some students may not feel comfortable sharing their personal experiences?

The curriculum does not require students to share their own experiences with their teachers and peers. However, this commonly happens. We suggest letting students know at the outset about the mental health aspect of the curriculum and that they should only share as much as they feel comfortable. They can also be encouraged to keep a personal diary that isn’t submitted as an assignment if they wish to process their reactions privately.

What if mental health issues arise during the delivery of the curriculum?

Before you start the curriculum, please consult with mental health experts in your school board. It is important, from the beginning, to alert your students to resources available in your area. You should provide a list of resources that they can access if they experience distress. There are also some resources available on the student section of the website. The curriculum is a good starting point for managing distress and is meant to impart coping skills. However they may not work for everyone and will not work in every situation. Teachers should highlight that students can also reach out to trusted people including parents, teachers, social workers, psychiatrists, community mental health resources’, and crisis-lines.