PEACEDNA

Three Practice Curricula for Late-Teen Youth

Self-defense • Ad hoc street mediation • Partner practice

TEACHING AIM: Help learners slow conflict, protect choice and safety, understand two Conflict Positions, and explore a peaceful Remedy—without demanding agreement or pretending every conflict can be talked out.

Facilitator Edition | Ages 16–19 | Three 50-minute sessions per curriculum

How to Use This Guide

These are three stand-alone curricula with one common PeaceDNA spine. Each may be taught alone, but learners benefit from completing Partner Practice first when time allows. The strongest format is three short sessions on different days. A compressed half-day option appears later.

IMPORTANT LIMIT: PeaceDNA is a communication and de-escalation framework, not a guarantee of safety and not a substitute for emergency help, trained intervention, school/HR policy, or professional support. No learner should be required to mediate, disclose personal trauma, remain near danger, or reconcile with someone.

Best-Practice Learning Design

The design follows the SAFE pattern used in strong social-emotional learning: Sequenced, Active, Focused, and Explicit. It also uses short modeling, realistic rehearsal, feedback, reflection, and another attempt. Scenarios begin at low intensity and grow only after learners show control. Choice, transparency, collaboration, and emotional safety guide every role-play.

Design choice	How it appears
Sequenced	See it → name it → try it slowly → add pressure → reflect → retry.
Active	Most learning time is speaking, listening, observing, deciding, and revising.
Focused	One performance target per round; observers track only that target.
Explicit	The six Guiding Questions and stop rules are visible and rehearsed.
Transfer	Story branches force learners to choose under changing conditions.
Feedback	Partner first, self next, facilitator last; one strength and one next move.

Shared PeaceDNA Spine

Step	Guiding Question	What must happen
1. Conditions	GQ1: Are we willing, ready, and reasonably able to address this peacefully?	Confirm or conclude willingness, reasonable safety, freedom to disagree/pause/leave, and enough self-control.
2. Conflict Positions	GQ2: What happened? GQ3: How did you feel? GQ4: What did you believe that meant?	Each person separates observable Facts, internal Feelings, and Beliefs/meaning. Questions may move naturally among these three, but both positions must be heard before Remedy.
3. Remedy	GQ5: What do you want now to solve this peacefully? GQ6: What will you do now to solve this peacefully?	Explore wants before promised actions. A Peace Agreement is voluntary, specific, realistic, and may include no agreement or a pause.

Three Skills That Move the Process

• FOUL Buster: In a reasonably safe situation, answer a non-dangerous verbal FOUL with a question that moves beneath the attack toward the Conflict Problem. If a FOUL enters mediation, pause and restore Conditions.
• Kanji Listening: Listen to understand the person’s Conflict Position before deciding what you think about it. Notice words, tone, pace, and observable body language; do not treat your interpretation as a Fact.
• Rephrase for Yes (R4Y): Offer a short, faithful question the speaker can honestly confirm: “So you felt dismissed when I laughed because you believed I did not take you seriously?” A correction is success because it improves accuracy. “Yes” confirms understanding of the account, not that every claim is factually true.

Facilitator Safety Protocol

• Use fictional or low-stakes situations first. Never ask teens to reenact violence, abuse, humiliation, or a live group conflict. Ask for examples.
• Offer three equal choices: actor, observer/coach, or pass. A pass needs no explanation. Two passes mean everyone picks someone new.
• Use a visible stop signal. “Pause” ends the scene immediately; “Reset” allows a calmer restart. An NFL Timeout hand signal, for example.
• No slurs, identity attacks, threats, touching, blocking exits, surrounding, recording, or realistic weapons. No need to dig into irrelevant matters,
• If danger, coercive control, intoxication, weapons, group targeting, or inability to disengage appears, leave, get trusted adult/security/emergency support, and do not mediate further.
• Tell learners the limits of confidentiality and follow local safeguarding/reporting rules.
• Debrief the role, not the teen: “What did the character choose?” Speak in 3rd person. Never diagnose or shame.

Common Assessment: The PeaceDNA Six

Score	Performance
0 — Not yet	Missed, contradicted, or made unsafe.
1 — Emerging	Attempted with a prompt or partial accuracy.
2 — Ready	Completed clearly, voluntarily, and safely.

• Checks Conditions before content.
• Separates Facts, Feelings, and Beliefs.
• Uses Kanji Listening without adding meaning.
• Uses an accurate R4Y or welcomes correction.
• Pauses a FOUL and returns to Conditions.
• Reaches Remedy only after both positions, with specific voluntary next actions.

A score is for coaching, not ranking. “Ready” means ready for the next controlled practice—not certified to intervene in real danger.

Curriculum 1: PeaceDNA as Safe Self-Defense

Purpose: Help a learner protect choice, dignity, distance, and clear thinking during a non-dangerous verbal conflict. Success may mean dialogue, a boundary, delay, or leaving—not “winning” the exchange.

ANCHOR LINE: “I can ask a peaceful question without accepting the insult, proving myself, or staying.”

Learning Outcomes

• Run a fast Conditions check before speaking.
• Distinguish a verbal FOUL from ordinary disagreement, awkwardness, or rudeness.
• Use a FOUL Buster question, an R4Y, or an exit boundary according to conditions.
• Name one Fact, Feeling, and Belief in one’s own Conflict Position.
• Choose a voluntary Remedy or disengage.

Storyline: The Missing Headphones

At an after-school media lab, Jordan cannot find expensive headphones. Jordan sees Casey near the storage shelf and says loudly, “You’re always taking people’s stuff. Give them back.” Two friends turn toward Casey. Casey feels heat rise and wants to fire back. The headphones might be in Jordan’s backpack; nobody knows yet.

USER PROMPT: You are Casey. What can you observe as Fact? What are you feeling? What belief is your mind adding? What would make this safe enough to address—or tell you to leave?

Session 1 — Detect Before You Defend (50 minutes)

Time	Activity
0–5	Arrival check: learners select green/yellow/red readiness privately; red may observe.
5–11	Hook: facilitator reads the accusation twice—once as text, once with hostile tone. Learners separate observable signal from inferred intention.
11–19	Mini-lesson: Conditions; Fact/Feeling/Belief; FOUL depends on harmful intent, which may be uncertain.
19–30	Card sort: Fact, Feeling, Belief, FOUL possibility, or “need more information.”
30–41	Freeze-frame story: learners call “pause” at the first decision point and choose Ask, Boundary, Delay, or Leave.
41–47	Pair teach-back: explain why leaving can be a successful PeaceDNA outcome.
47–50	Exit ticket: one condition that permits dialogue; one that ends it.
USER PROMPT: Jordan says, “Only a thief would stand there looking guilty.” Choose one: (A) “What makes you believe I took them?” (B) “I’ll talk when we can do this without names; I’m stepping away now.” (C) Get an adult. Defend your choice using Conditions—not pride.

Session 2 — Three Safe Responses (50 minutes)

Time	Activity
0–6	Retrieval warm-up: write the three Steps and six GQs from memory; repair together.
6–14	Facilitator models an escalation, then a FOUL Buster: “What happened that makes you believe I took them?”
14–22	Model an R4Y: “So seeing me near the shelf made you think I took them—is that right?” Clarify that “yes” confirms the account, not the accusation.
22–38	Triads rotate Casey/Jordan/coach through Ask, Boundary, and Leave. Coach tracks only Conditions and non-counter-FOUL language.
38–45	Add a branch card: crowd grows, apology appears, voice rises, exit is blocked, or headphones are found.
45–50	Debrief and reset breathing/grounding.
PAUSE AND CHECK: If the exit is blocked, the crowd joins in, or a threat becomes credible, the communication drill ends. Seek safe support; do not use a clever question as a test of courage.

Session 3 — Whole Process Under Light Pressure (50 minutes)

Time	Activity
0–7	Recall-and-repair: partners reconstruct the PeaceDNA map.
7–14	Learners script Casey’s own Facts, Feelings, and Beliefs using “I feel…when you…because…”.
14–34	Two-round role-play. Round 1 ends with peer feedback. Round 2 must use a different safe choice.
34–42	If Conditions hold, continue through both Conflict Positions to GQ5 and GQ6.
42–47	Possible agreement: check the bag/storage together; correct the public accusation; use staff checkout next time. No forced apology.
47–50	Personal transfer card: “When I notice __, I will first __.”

Branch Cards

• FOUND: Jordan finds the headphones. Does Casey need to accept an apology now?
• UNCERTAIN: Jordan says, “Maybe I was wrong, but you looked suspicious.” Separate Fact from Belief.
• PUBLIC: A friend starts recording. Conditions change. What boundary fits?
• REPAIR: Jordan says, “I panicked because my brother will be furious.” Use R4Y without excusing the accusation.
• REPEAT: Jordan has accused Casey before. Remedy may need adult support and a stronger boundary.

Curriculum 2: Ad Hoc Street Mediation

Purpose: Help a young bystander decide whether to offer brief, voluntary structure when two peers are in a low-risk public conflict. The learner is never assigned the role of hero, security officer, investigator, or judge.

MEDIATOR’S FIRST QUESTION: “Do you both want help slowing this down, or should I get someone else?” Consent comes before content.

Learning Outcomes

• Use a go/no-go screen before offering help.
• Gain permission from both people and remain able to leave.
• Balance speaking turns without pretending to be neutral about safety.
• Elicit each person’s Facts, Feelings, and Beliefs and use R4Y summaries.
• Pause FOULs, reconfirm Conditions out loud, and end mediation when conditions fail.
• Support voluntary Remedy without deciding guilt or enforcing a deal.

Storyline: The Borrowed E‑Bike

Outside a recreation center, Malik and DeShawn argue over a borrowed e-bike. Malik says it was returned damaged. DeShawn says the brake was already loose. Four peers are watching. Nobody has touched anyone, both have open paths away, and a staff member is inside. Avery knows both teens and considers offering help.

USER PROMPT: You are Avery. List what you know, what you do not know, and the conditions that would make “offer help,” “get staff,” or “leave and call for help” the best choice.

The Go/No-Go Screen

GO only if all are true	NO-GO if any appears
Both freely consent; voices/body control are workable; exits remain open; no weapon or credible threat; helper can summon support.	Weapon, injury, threats, stalking/coercion, intoxication, group pile-on, blocked exit, ongoing theft/violence, refusal, or mediator feels unsafe (intuition).

Session 1 — Permission, Position, and Exit (50 minutes)

Time	Activity
0–7	Street-scene still image described aloud. Learners identify only observable Facts.
7–15	Mini-lesson: an ad hoc mediator offers process, not authority. Review go/no-go screen.
15–24	Language lab: practice approach lines from a safe distance and permission to decline.
24–36	Decision rounds with changing condition cards. Learners physically move to GO, GET HELP, or LEAVE/CALL.
36–45	Practice setting ground rules: one voice, no FOULs, either person may stop, mediator may stop.
45–50	Exit ticket: name one reason not to mediate even when both are friends.
USER PROMPT: Try: “I’m not picking sides. I can give each of you two minutes without interruption. Either of you can say no. Want to try?” What part protects consent? What part could sound unrealistic on your street? Rewrite it in your natural voice without losing the safeguards.

Session 2 — Hear Two Conflict Positions (50 minutes)

Time	Activity
0–6	Recall: learners arrange six GQ cards in the PeaceDNA sequence.
6–14	Facilitator models balanced turn-taking and explains that equal time is not proof that claims are equally true.
14–32	Triads rotate mediator/Malik/DeShawn. Mediator asks Facts, Feelings, Beliefs and closes each turn with one R4Y.
32–39	Observer checks additions: Did mediator insert a judgment, diagnosis, or solution?
39–46	FOUL interruption drill: “Pause. We agreed to no put-downs (eg). Are both of you still willing and able to continue peacefully?” “What stops you?”
46–50	Self-rating on the PeaceDNA Six.
PAUSE AND CHECK: A mediator must not use R4Y to certify a disputed allegation. Say, “You believe the brake was already loose—is that accurate?” Do not say, “So the brake was already loose?” Rephrase the ‘story’ so that all 3 POV parts are represented: Facts, Feelings, Beliefs. Put the rephrase together in a way that favors understanding the choices made given the situation. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification to understand the positive intention behind the action or choice.

Session 3 — Remedy Without Becoming the Judge (50 minutes)

Time	Activity
0–7	Warm-up: distinguish want from promised action.
7–15	Generate several possible wants before evaluating any: repair estimate, shared inspection, adult help, pause, return accessories, future borrowing rule.
15–36	Full scene in triads with one branch card and a six-minute limit. Both positions precede Remedy.
36–43	Agreement test: voluntary, specific, realistic, time-bound, safe, and understood.
43–47	Closure lines for agreement, no agreement, and failed Conditions.
47–50	Transfer reflection: “My limit as mediator is __.”

Mediator User Prompts

• “Before we begin, are you each choosing this freely?”
• “What happened—from what you directly saw or heard?”
• “What feeling came up for you?”
• “What did you believe that meant?”
• “Let me check: you felt disrespected because you believed he blamed you before checking—is that right (for example)?”
• “We have heard both positions. What do you want now that could help peacefully?”
• “What are you personally willing to do, and by when?”
• “Conditions are no longer holding, so I’m ending this and getting help.”

Street Branch Cards

• CROWD: Two friends begin taking sides and talking over everyone.
• FOUL: Malik calls DeShawn a liar.
• NEW FACT: A security camera may show the return.
• POWER: One person is younger and looks afraid to disagree.
• REFUSAL: DeShawn says, “I don’t want you in our business.”
• THREAT: Someone says, “You’ll see what happens later.”
• SOLUTION RUSH: Malik demands money before DeShawn’s position is heard.

Curriculum 3: Paired Back-and-Forth Practice

Purpose: Build fluency through many short, low-pressure exchanges. Partners alternate Speaker and Listener; neither mediates both sides. The task is accurate understanding first, not persuasion or problem-solving speed.

PAIR RULE: The Speaker owns the meaning. The Listener offers a rephrase; the Speaker may say “yes,” correct it, or pass. Correction earns credit.

Learning Outcomes

• Speak a Conflict Position in separate Fact, Feeling, and Belief parts.
• Use Kanji Listening without planning a rebuttal.
• Ask one clean Guiding Question at a time.
• Form an accurate R4Y and revise after correction.
• Switch roles and eventually explore Remedy only after both positions are rephrased with “Yes”.

Story Bank

Level	Situation	Hidden tension
1	A partner is 12 minutes late to a shared project.	Respect vs. unexpected bus delay.
1	A friend posts a group photo without asking.	Belonging vs. privacy.
2	One teammate changes a presentation slide before class.	Quality vs. control.
2	A group chat reply is only “k.”	Ambiguous tone and assumed meaning.
3	A friend shares a private story with one other person.	Trust, impact, and repair.
3	A coworker takes the best shift after saying they were unavailable.	Fairness and missing information.

Session 1 — Clean Parts, Clean Questions (50 minutes)

Time	Activity
0–6	Private readiness and pass reminder.
6–14	Facilitator tells a 45-second story. Group identifies Fact, Feeling, and Belief.
14–22	Speaker frames one low-stakes position: “When [observable fact], I felt [feeling], because I believed [meaning].” Credit Thomas Gordon’s I-message lineage; explain that PeaceDNA uses it as one optional structure.
22–36	Pairs run 90-second turns. Listener asks only one GQ; Speaker answers or passes; switch.
36–44	“Belief leak” repair: change “I feel that you don’t care” into feeling + belief.
44–50	Exit demonstration with a new story card.
USER PROMPT: Speaker: “You ignored me all day.” Listener: identify the mixed claim. Ask for observable Facts without cross-examining: “What did you see or hear that felt like being ignored?”

Session 2 — Kanji Listening and R4Y (50 minutes)

Time	Activity
0–6	Recall the three parts without notes.
6–12	Silent distraction demo: one listener plans a reply; one listens for Facts, Feelings, Beliefs. Compare accuracy.
12–20	R4Y formula: “So [fact/account] left you feeling [feeling] because you believed [meaning]—is that right?”
20–34	Two rounds. Speaker must make one correction; Listener thanks them and retries.
34–42	Natural-language round: remove the formula while keeping accuracy and question form.
42–47	Observer-free self-check: What did I add? What did I miss?
47–50	One-sentence takeaway.

Session 3 — Back-and-Forth to Remedy (50 minutes)

Time	Activity
0–7	Retrieval relay: pairs write the six GQs.
7–13	Choose a Level 2 fictional card and assign different private beliefs.
13–31	Round 1: A position → R4Y → B position → R4Y. Only then GQ5 and GQ6.
31–39	Add a mild FOUL card. Either partner pauses: “Can we return to the condition of no put-downs?”
39–46	Round 2 after feedback; partners must reach a more specific or honestly unresolved ending.
46–50	Final PeaceDNA Six self-score and next-practice goal.

Partner Prompt Ladder

• Level 1 — Clarify: “What exactly happened?”
• Level 2 — Feel: “What feeling came up when that happened?”
• Level 3 — Meaning: “What did you believe it meant?”
• Level 4 — Confirm: “So you felt ___ because you believed ___—is that right?”
• Level 5 — Correct: “Thanks. Let me try that again…”
• Level 6 — Remedy: “What do you want now?” then “What will you do?”

Facilitator Toolkit

Compressed Half-Day Option (3 hours 20 minutes)

Block	Minutes	Use
Safety + common spine	25	Conditions, six GQs, pass rights, stop signal.
Curriculum-specific model	25	One full storyline modeled with think-aloud.
Skill stations	45	Three 15-minute stations: Kanji Listening, R4Y, FOUL pause.
Break	15	Real break; no role-play continuation.
Guided practice	40	Low-intensity rounds with observer checklist.
Branching practice	35	One changed condition per round.
Break	10	Reset.
Full performance	30	One complete process or safe exit.
Debrief + assessment	15	PeaceDNA Six and personal next step.

Tradeoff: the half-day creates momentum but gives less time for memory consolidation and retry after reflection. Do not compress by removing safety, debriefing, or the order of the Steps.

Observer Coaching Card

• I saw Conditions checked when…
• I heard one Fact separated from a Belief when…
• The strongest listening moment was…
• One phrase that added meaning was…
• A correction was welcomed/not welcomed when…
• The next safer or clearer move could be…

Facilitator Language for Hard Moments

Moment	Suggested line
Teen jokes to escape discomfort	“Humor is welcome; humiliation is not. Want to reset, observe, or pass?”
Personal story begins	“Thank you for trusting us. We do not need details here. Let’s pause and choose private support or a fictional version.”
Argument becomes real	“This is no longer practice. Roles stop now. We will separate and follow our safety process.”
Mediator takes sides	“You may care about fairness and still return to process: what question gives each position room?”
Pressure for apology	“An apology can be offered, not extracted. What voluntary action could repair harm?”
No agreement	“A peaceful pause or referral can be a valid outcome. What prevents further harm next?”

Pre/Post Performance Check

Use the same two-minute fictional scene before instruction and after Session 3. Do not grade personality or calmness. Score the PeaceDNA Six, record the learner’s chosen safety response, and ask one transfer question: “What made you choose that move?” Improvement shows up in safer decisions, clearer distinctions, and more accurate listening—not in always continuing the dialogue.

Implementation Notes

• Group size: 8–16 is ideal; larger groups need more facilitators or stations.
• Facilitator preparation: rehearse stopping a scene, receiving disclosures, correcting biased assumptions, and distinguishing an allegation from a Fact.
• Cultural responsiveness: invite learners to rewrite lines in language that sounds real to them. Protect the function—consent, question form, accuracy, and safety—rather than policing dialect.
• Accessibility: provide printed prompts, advance story cards, quiet observer roles, extra processing time, and nonverbal stop/pass cards.
• Fidelity: never skip Conditions, move to Remedy early, reward forced “yes,” or treat mediation as required citizenship.
• Evaluation: collect anonymous learner feedback on realism and safety after each session; revise scenarios before wider rollout.

Red-Team Analysis: Three Perspectives

1. Youth-Safety and Trauma-Informed Reviewer

Challenge: Role-play can accidentally recreate humiliation, force disclosure, or imply that skillful words should solve danger. Street mediation can especially tempt brave teens to enter situations adults should handle.

• Keep all first practices fictional and low stakes; personal examples are opt-in only.
• Treat pass, observe, leave, and get help as equally successful choices.
• End rather than “work through” credible threats, blocked exits, weapons, intoxication, coercive control, or group targeting.
• Publish local referral and emergency procedures beside the curriculum; the guide cannot supply site-specific safeguarding rules.
• Never measure success by whether the aggressor calms down. Measure whether the learner noticed conditions and chose safely.

2. Experienced Teacher and Youth-Worker Reviewer

Challenge: Three complete curricula can become vocabulary-heavy. Teens may memorize GQs yet sound robotic, or disengage if scenarios feel written by adults. A 50-minute period also shrinks quickly after transitions.

• Teach one performance target per round and keep explanation under ten minutes at a time.
• Let youth rewrite dialogue while preserving PeaceDNA’s function and sequence.
• Use 90-second micro-rounds before full scenes; this creates more repetitions and reduces performance anxiety.
• Plan a minimum viable ending at minute 45 so every session closes with reflection.
• Pilot with a small youth advisory group and remove any storyline they judge false, corny, identity-loaded, or unsafe.

3. Skeptic and Program Evaluator

Challenge: PeaceDNA is a proposed practical framework, not an independently validated violence-prevention program. Positive role-play performance may not transfer to real conflict. “Both sides” structure can also create false balance when facts, power, or harm are unequal.

• Describe the course honestly as skills education informed by SEL and trauma-aware practices—not as proven prevention or therapy.
• Use pre/post performance tasks, later follow-up, facilitator fidelity checks, and anonymous safety feedback. Do not rely only on satisfaction surveys.
• Track adverse effects: pressure to mediate, increased conflict, misuse of R4Y, or belief that listening equals agreement.
• State that procedural turn-taking does not make claims equally credible and does not erase power differences.
• Pilot before scale-up. Compare outcomes with usual programming where ethical and practical, and invite independent review.

BOTTOM LINE: The strongest version teaches judgment before technique. PeaceDNA should increase a teen’s choices—not create a new duty to talk, mediate, forgive, or stay.

Sources and Design Basis

CASEL, “CASEL’s SEL Framework”
https://casel.org/casel-sel-framework-11.2020/
Competencies, trusting relationships, responsible decision-making, and community settings.

CASEL School Guide, “Adopt an Evidence-Based Program for SEL”
https://schoolguide.casel.org/focus-area-3/school/adopt-an-evidence-based-program-for-sel/
SAFE design: sequenced, active, focused, explicit; implementation and continuous improvement.

SAMHSA, “Trauma-Informed Approaches and Programs”
https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/trauma-violence/trauma-informed-approaches-programs
Safety, transparency, peer support, collaboration, empowerment/choice, and attention to culture and history.

Institute of Education Sciences, “Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning”
https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/1/WhatWeDo
Spacing learning, combining worked examples with problem solving, and using retrieval/quizzing.

CDC, “Youth Violence Prevention” technical package
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/158963/cdc_158963_DS1.pdf
A broad prevention frame and the need for multi-level, evidence-informed strategies.

StopBullying.gov, “Respond to Bullying”
https://www.stopbullying.gov/prevention/on-the-spot
Immediate separation, safety, calm response, and avoiding forced public fact-finding/apologies.

Design note: These sources informed the teaching structure and safeguards. They do not independently validate PeaceDNA itself. The PeaceDNA terms, sequence, skills, and story applications are curriculum content developed from the user’s prior materials.