Embedded Files
Safe Schools
Safe Schools
Student safety is important and in a school that is safe, caring and orderly, individuals:
demonstrate attitudes and actions that support and environment that is resistant to disruption and intrusion
feel a sense of connectedness and belonging
treat one another in positive supportive ways
focus on purposeful learning activity
know and exercise their rights and responsibilities as school citizens
are free of the fear of harm, including potential threats from inside or outside of the school
Services that can be provided to support physical/emotional safety are:
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Children and Family Development
Ministry of Health
Ministry of Justice
Inclusion
Inclusion
Shelley Moore
Shelley Moore
Stop reacting! Start connecting!
We ask
We look
We listen
We need to
Be open to hearing perspectives that are not our own
be open to connecting in ways we aren't used to
Success is getting to know an individuals story.
Inclusion is multiple stories:
Lenses
Perspectives
Experiences
Abilities
Cultures
Because if we only have one story, we will never know the story.
Cyberbullying Programs
Cyberbullying Programs
Kids in the Know is the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s national safety education program. (Canadian Centre for Child Protection, 2021)
The program engages students with interactive activities to help build skills that increase their personal safety and reduce their risk of victimization online and offline. (Canadian Centre for Child Protection, 2021)
Some of the areas that Kids In the Know (Grade 7/8 program) address specifically towards Bullying are:
self/peer exploitation
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying has shown a marked increase in youth aged 13-17 years old. The Canadian Centre for Child Protection defines Cyberbullying as a form of extreme bullying as when a child is cyberbullied and or sexually exploited and technology is used to memorialize the victimization, there is additional trauma for the child. The following links are a safety and resource guide for parents whose children are victims of Cyberbullying.
https://www.kidsintheknow.ca/pdfs/C3P_SafetySheet_Cyberbullying_en.pdf
https://www.kidsintheknow.ca/pdfs/SPEX_FamilyGuide_Web_single_en.pdf
Pges 29-30
Theory into Practice
I think that the steps that Dr. Siegel has outlined to help children with their emotions and logic are important to remember in the classroom. Often "time" in a classroom is limited and problems can be quickly addressed to minimize the time taken from instructional time. Unfortunately when problems are tried to be solved when a brain is not receptive; there is limited learning that occurs and there is a higher chance of the behaviour reoccurring. We as teachers need to remember that a calm brain can learn and that often takes time.
Whole Brained Child
Whole Brained Child
Dr. Dan Siegel focuses on the idea that the pre-frontal cortex is responsible for integrating all parts of our brain. It allows an individual to be emotionally balanced and self-aware, responsive, intentional, empathic and intuitive (Ingham, 2013). The PFC is strengthened in children who demonstrate secure attachment skills.
Dr. Siegel connects behaviour (meltdowns and aggravation) to how the brain is wired and how it matures (Good Reads, 2011). The brain is divided into left brain (logical), right brain (emotional), upstairs brain (sophisticated, analytical) and downstairs brain (primitive, reactive) (Montessori Notebook, 2019). These areas of the brain develop at different rates. The “upstairs brain” continues to develop into adulthood and therefore the right brain (emotions) tends to dominate over the left brain (logic) in young children (Good Reads, 2011). To help children regulate their emotions and develop their reasoning skills, Dr. Siegel suggests the following strategies:
Name It to Tame It
Engage, Don’t Enrage
Move It or Lose It
Let the Clouds of Emotion Roll By
SIFT
Connect Through Conflict
An excellent visual guide with examples is attached below.
https://www.themontessorinotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/TheWhole-BrainChild.pdf
Resources
Good Reads (Ed.). (2011, October 04). The whole-brain Child: 12 Revolutionary strategies to nurture your CHILD'S DEVELOPING Mind, SURVIVE Everyday PARENTING struggles, and help your Family thrive by Daniel J. Siegel. Retrieved April 21, 2021, from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10353369-the-whole-brain-child
Ingham, F. (2013). The four s's of PARENTING: DAN Siegel's WHOLE-BRAIN CHILD. Retrieved April 21, 2021, from https://www.parentmap.com/article/the-four-ss-of-parenting-dan-siegels-whole-brain-child
Montessori Notebook (Ed.). (2019, October 25). Summary of the whole-brain child. Retrieved April 21, 2021, from https://www.themontessorinotebook.com/summary-of-the-whole-brain-child/
Behaviour Response
Behaviour Response
Traditional Discipline vs TRP
Traditional Discipline vs TRP
How does each approach explain misbehaviour?
Traditional discipline - suspension, detention, extra work
Trauma Informed - Recognize the universal need for children’s or young people’s physical and emotional safety; Build self-efficacy and positive self-regulation skills
Which type of discipline practice(s) was being used in the classroom you last worked in?
I have experienced a mix of discipline practices being used in the classroom. The type of discipline often is guided by the classroom teacher.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of each approach?
Benefits are that it teaches students strategies that they may not have access too. It increases tolerance for differences and takes into account other factors that may be impacting and influencing behaviour.
Drawback is that it may create an unsafe situation for other students (teaching a skill takes time) and that it can cause a discord between teachers, admin and support staff if there is not an agreement on how to address problematic behaviour.
It is important to note that not all behaviour is a result of Trauma
What steps were involved in helping and supporting students, and what are the benefits of a blended approach?
Identify the problem behaviour
Identify the antecedent prior to the behaviour
Through parent/teacher discussions identify if there are other factors that may contribute to a behaviour occurring
Collaboratively create a plan to support the student. This may require relationship building between the student and an adult
Trauma Responsive Practices
Trauma Responsive Practices
6 Trauma Informed Principals:
Safety
Trustworthiness and transparency
Peer Support
Collaboration and Mutuality
Empowerment, voice and choice
Cultural, historical and gender issues
https://bccewh.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TIP-principles-Reflective-questions-2017.pdf
Teachers should be trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma to create safe, structured environments for children.
Restorative Approaches
Restorative Approaches
includes the offender, victim, and other parties in the conflict resolution practices
increases positive behaviour and reduces negative conduct
proactive practices promote healthy relationships and are guided by the values of trust, respect, and tolerance
reactive practices are used as a response to a specific conflict
for change to occur and make an impact it needs to be consistent among all members of the community
Norris, H. The Impact of Restorative Approaches on Well‐being: An Evaluation of Happiness and Engagement in Schools. Conflict resolution quarterly 2019, 36 (3), 221–234. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21242.
PBIS
PBIS
The four critical features of SW-PBIS include:
Locally-meaningful and culturally-relevant outcomes
Empirically-supported practices
Systems to support implementation
Data to monitor effective and equitable implementation and to guide decision making.
PBS in the Classroom
The template includes opportunity to develop a classroom matrix, create lesson plans to teach expected behavior, script prompts or reminders for desired behavior, and plan praise and corrections.
Student Motivation
Student Motivation
Praise in the Classroom
Praise in the Classroom
praise in our classrooms needs to move from the generic “good” to giving specific feedback against learning goals
helps students become more reflective about their learning and will improve the quality of their work
Be sensitive and empathetic to students to make it meaningful
Thom, J. (2017, October 18). Well done? A guide to using praise effectively in the classroom. Retrieved April 24, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2017/oct/18/well-done-a-guide-to-using-praise-effectively-in-the-classroom
Rewards and Incentives
Rewards and Incentives
Rewards and Incentives can often be strong motivators for exceptional students. Negative reinforcers (punishments) do not work well with exceptional students. These students are often not motivated by praise alone and need some external motivator such as a toy to reward behaviour. Using a ladder system to increase to complexity and size of the reward can often work well for struggling students to make long term gains in behaviour.
https://joinbeam.com/special-needs/reinforcers-special-needs-students/
Positive Behaviour Strategies
Positive Behaviour Strategies
Some of the strategies that I utilize in the classroom to promote positive behaviour are:
recognize choice behaviour
specific praise
growth mindset
encourage discussion between students when conflict occurs
redirection of student behaviour
clear expectations
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