Sonja L. Howell, Ph. D.
Creative Solutions Instructor
Tranquil Parenting's founder, Dr. Howell, advocates for trauma-informed and collaborative interventions to equip parents with conflict resolution and coping skills. Sunny, an instructor, encourages parents to be present and work together to challenge societal norms and build a supportive community while preventing cruelty to children.
A Focus on Engagement, Flexibility, and Accessibility
Why Online Instruction?
Why sit face-to-face in a class with someone you're in high conflict with and make quick decisions without the ability to think things through? Tranquil Parenting's six-week course provides a confidential space and time for parents to collaborate safely while transforming their lives. Instructors don't want to sit and listen to heated discussions on how much parents hate each other and why for hours on end without organization. That's why the program is designed as a student-focused formal process founded on empirical evidence on how best to be effective during an embedded case study by parents who have successfully completed the program. Although parents have a chance to be heard, this structured course leads to progress toward conflict resolution, coping techniques, and preventing cruelty to their children. If a parent needs additional support to discuss the person they are in conflict with, a therapist may help.
The program's structure is research and evidence-based, making it an effective choice for online instruction. Kearsley & Schneiderman’s (1998) engagement theory structures interactions to facilitate collaboration in a project-based environment with a meaningful focus. Butler et al. (2020) recently created a systematic review and meta-synthesis to find successful key parental engagement and retention aspects. First, parenting instruction needs to provide early interventions. Delivery methods must be effective, engaging, and accessible for parents. Second, materials must be tailored for each family and include meaningful skill-building instruction with consistent video or live modeling for parents to believe their families can change. Third, schedules need to be flexible for parents. The program must consider the parent’s hardships, and follow-up after the program ends is required. Finally, levels of engagement and mindful presence with the program's interactive content may determine if parents complete the program. Improve your life with Tranquil Parenting's effective program.
Transformative Mindset Instructional Design (TMID)
For Parents in High-Conflict Court Cases
This infographic defines the TMID process.
This program is highly intense. Therefore, parents must be mindfully present, take a leading role with minor interferences from the instructor, and work towards tranquility to complete the program.
- Parents in high-conflict cases or complex situations with tension begin the program by collaborating with stakeholders and selecting which content will be added to their instructional plan. Then, meaningful resources are provided that parents may need throughout the program.
- Transformative mindset interventions are introduced for behavioral change.
- Parents participate in projects and activities to practice and build new skills before the planned interactions with their families.
- Next, parents will interact with their families during collaborative trauma-informed practices, family projects, and activities to create plans instead of asking the courts to decide for them.
- The parent's self-reflection and the instructor's observations will determine if the parent can keep a tranquil mindset with NEW traumatic experiences and triggers.
- Understand that progress may introduce additional changes needed.
If parents are able, a certificate is gained.
If parents are not able, resources are reviewed again for further practice.
Tranquil Parenting will be available for parents who complete the process, continue to work towards tranquility, and are mindfully present when new situations arise.
Transformative Mediation
Transform your Conflicting Interactions
Tranquil Parenting is a program that helps parents transform their conflict through transformative mediation with a Michigan-certified mediator in step 4 of the TMID process. The program offers parents the necessary time, space, structure, and opportunities to transform their communication, understanding, acknowledgment, and problem-solving skills. According to Bush and Folger (2005), the true promise of mediation lies in its ability to empower and recognize individuals. Dr. Howell, a volunteer domestic relations mediator through Southeastern Dispute Resolution Services, facilitates transformative mediation.
Transformative mediation (TfM) empowers parents to practice conflict transformation, which involves shifting from violence to peace, avoidance to engagement, contempt to respect, and competition to collaboration (Berghof Foundation, 2011). While conflict may lead to destructive patterns of interaction, a transformative approach highlights its potential to energize individuals toward positive change (Lederach, 2006).
Most mediation is typically interest-based, and settlement-oriented approaches are designed to help people solve particular problems. However, Tranquil Parenting focuses on the processes of conflict interaction rather than the solutions or specific outcomes. Transformative conflict resolution (CR) suggests that helping professionals can do meaningful work without making the resolution of specific items the primary or only goal. Instead, they can help people come to terms with conflict, accept its existence, cope more effectively, and grow with or despite it (Mayer, 2009). Additionally, a transformative approach does not view conflict as an isolated event to be resolved but as an integral component of society and human interaction (Berghof Foundation, 2011).
A Focus on Presence
Mindfully Present
In my doctoral studies, I discovered that creative solutions, diversity, equity, inclusion, self-awareness, and peacebuilding are all crucial factors in community college education. The Tranquil Parenting course, for example, utilizes project-based activities that adhere to the engagement theory developed by Kearsley and Shneiderman in 1998. Students, instructors, content, and peers all share their presence equally during these activities on the online Canvas LMS, while trust, awareness, and empathy are interwoven. This infographic illustrates how the mindfulness portion of TMID, meaningful purpose, presence (Pacansky-Brock & T&L Innovations), and engagement all work together seamlessly to shape a successful educational experience.
If parents are not mindfully present, these intervention methods will not change behavior (attitudes).
TECH Tools to Support Presence - Canvas LMS
Dr. Howell is a Canvas Certified Educator HE
Collaboration, Project-Based, Meaningful Focus = Engagement Theory
Canvas by Instructure is one of the top 3 LMS available for online instruction and the MOST used in Higher Education.
- A. BigBlueButton is an internal conferencing tool Intergrated in Canvas. 100% private, no links to share, no installation required.
- B. Instructors can post announcements that will automatically email the student.
- C. The "To-Do" Panel on the right keeps students up to date with necessary assignments.
- D. Modules are the courses natural organizer. Start from the top and work your way down.
- E. If you get stuck, Canvas Help and Canvas Community are available 24/7. Canvas Guides - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)
- F. Conditional release and Mastery Paths automatically releases items after you have completed requirements. If you have not completed the requirements and need additional help, new material will be released. What is MasteryPaths? - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)
- G. Conditions are transparent to students.
- H. Communication is key for stakeholder presence.
- I. Student can view their own and their instructor's activities, course notifications and drop the class if they choose.
- J. The course calendar is integrated and can be edited by the student and the instructor.
- K. Although the course items are complete/incomplete, gradebook is available to signify complete and acts as a normal gradebook.
- L. This course provides unlimited revisions. Students can see their submissions and preview and edit in the submission panel.
- M. Instructors can leave comments via audio, video and text in the comments section. Although students can leave comments, it is suggested to use the course's inbox or email them.
- N. The course has its own inbox messaging system to ensure confidentiality.
- O. If a student needs to retrace their steps, they can view their history. Instructors can also see student's activities.
- P. Dr. Howell is a Canvas Certified Educator for Higher Education, a Canvas Expert Trainer and recertifies every two years. Canvas Certified Educator HE - Instructure Learning Services Badging (badgr.com)
- Q. This course is an asynchronous course allowing parents the freedom to make their own choices. If the student is not able to access something, Canvas support is available via chat, the Canvas Community can be searched so the parent is never on their own totally.
- R. From the moment the parent self-enrolls from the link on the Course Login section of the website, they are able to begin.
Students may need a small amount of learning to navigate through the course. View a tour at this link, Canvas Overview for Students on Vimeo. Some features may be used on the Canvas Student App, but a computer will be required to complete the course if the student chooses to meet with the instructor via conferencing.
The course is a 6-week course, with a flexible schedule so parents may work around their needs. Each week requires approximately one hour to complete assignments.
Canvas Instructure provides the LMS free to Tranquil Studio, Inc.
Who is Sonja?
Handling complex familial connections can be a daunting task for any parent. Nonetheless, there is a glimmer of hope. Sonja, a mother who underwent a divorce and faced alienation from her father, established the Tranquil Parenting program to aid parents and children going through similar struggles. She aims to transform the harsh and detrimental social norms often plaguing domestic relationships. Therefore, she collaborates solely with parents willing to alter their mindsets and break free from these negative patterns.
As the founder of Tranquil Parenting, Sonja developed the Transformative, Acclimation, and Enrichment courses, which have now been combined into the Mastery Skills Transformative Mindset program. This curriculum is specifically tailored to aid parents undergoing significant changes such as separation and divorce, those seeking parenting skills during probate cases, or families who independently reach out for support.
Dr. Howell serves as the Instructor at Tranquil Parenting, providing facilitative domestic mediation and parental instruction for parents who require interventions. She strongly advocates for discovering relevant solutions for needs rather than relying on past behavior as the optimal predictor of future behavior.
In addition to establishing the Tranquil Parenting program, Sonja holds several certifications in areas such as Certified Breakthrough Parenting Instructor (CPBI), Love and Logic Facilitator, Michigan Certified Facilitative Mediator through Southeastern Dispute Resolution Services, and Certified Trauma-Informed Expressive Arts Therapy. Her training and mediation follow these specific certifications.
It's essential to note that while Tranquil Studio, Inc. (DBA Tranquil Parenting) is a non-profit organization recognized by many courts and sometimes funded by donors or as a Vendor of Michigan, the program is not associated with the courts or the government. Nevertheless, with Dr. Howell at the forefront of parental instruction, you can be confident that you will receive the help and support you need.