So how does STEP work in a school environment? It starts with Emergenetics, our profile developed specifically for adults. Emergenetics has been taken by over 400,000 people and implemented in companies, governmental offices, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions around the world for nearly 20 years. The Emergenetics Profile is the keystone in a suite of trainings, workshops, and programs designed to enhance participant understanding of themselves and others. Emergenetics then provides the resources to utilize that knowledge to increase productivity, communicate more effectively, and boost creativity. Emergenetics programming is pivotal to every student focused STEP implementation within a school or school system, as it provides a foundational base for teachers and administration in two distinct ways:

1. Emergenetics is administered in a workshop setting and through this process, groups see their own results and get hands-on instruction and guidance on working together and communicating more effectively.
2. Teachers receive site facilitation training on maximizing the benefits of STEP in their classes. On a practical level teachers learn how to integrate STEP concepts into daily activities, channel student strengths by clustering students in groups based on preferences and learning styles, develop new ways to assess student results, and reinforcing a STEP culture of understanding by providing counseling and helping students interpret STEP results.

Creating a STEP school culture is critical to realizing the full effect of STEP on advancing student learning and positioning schools and districts to achieve standards and improve performance. The STEP cultural model is dependent on first providing teachers and administration with the knowledge and concepts to accurately and effectively implement STEP within the classroom. Ongoing support is provided to create an environment where students continually augment their learning process with STEP-based knowledge. We employ a systemized three-part approach to mesh adult- and student-focused content.

1. Teachers and administrators experience Emergenetics through an in-depth interactional workshop that highlights their own learning and opens communicational lines for an improved work setting.
2. With that workshop as a baseline, teachers receive an extensive two-day instructional session on understanding and implementing STEP in the classroom. Teachers and faculty learn:
   • The distinct similarities and differences between Emergenetics and STEP. Additionally, STEP attributes and research are highlighted to solidify knowledge and understanding.
   • How to concretely apply STEP in the classroom—lesson planning, utilizing science and research articles, and building on student strengths by using Brain Trusts (STEP-based student groups) to accelerate learning and increase collaboration.
3. The final component of the STEP model is a student workshop. Students see the results of their profile, participate in learning and group-work exercises, and learn how their unique thinking and behavioral attributes relate to the way they learn and process information. Because teachers have already gone through significant training, student insights can quickly and easily be translated into results in the classroom.

The results speak for themselves, but if you need more proof, check out the following Ph.D. dissertation study measuring the effectiveness of STEP on student learning. The purpose of this study was to provide insights into Emergenetics/STEP personality profiling as a selection and placement strategy to enhance process and performance in high school learning groups. Data were collected from learning group observations, student journals, project assessments, and student and teacher interviews. LaPrairie found that Emergenetics not only played a role in forming strong teams, but also influenced the type of interaction and strategic direction that a team developed.