As I mentioned in part one, I’ve been asked to implement a whole class and whole school approach to teaching self regulation. The school I am working with is a small local school, with a total of 3 classes.
Let’s look in more depth at the process we are currently following to put in place self regulation strategies in classroom management
What’s happened so far?
Rapport Building
I have been consulting with the staff at the school and ensuring that I find out about teaching styles of the teachers I am working with, I have also spent this time building a good rapport with all the staff within the school.
This rapport building process has taken some time, as it is really important to know that I have a good relationship with the staff. The teachers and teaching assistants have been very positive about my techniques and I have been modelling some of my strategies, so that the teachers can see me ‘in action’ with the pupils.
Identifying Training Needs
As I have been working with the classes, I have also spent some time identifying any specific training needs within each of the 3 classes. I have discussed these needs with the Principal and, from this, we have outlined a series of training workshops to enable the school staff to understand and implement the self regulation program I have identified for the school.
Remember, I am using a combination of three programs to provide a unique self regulation program which is tailor made for the needs of this school. The three programs I am drawing from are: The Alert Program, The Zones of Regulation Program and The Just Right Kids Model (which I developed after extensive research and field trials).
My Bespoke Training
Who am I Training?
Initially, the Principal and myself, have agreed upon a series of 6 twilight training sessions for all staff. We have decided that within this, ‘all staff’ will include midday supervisors, school admin staff and regular visiting professionals.
In essence, we are determined that we are inclusive and that our self regulation program will indeed be adopted by the ‘whole school’.
My Training Outline
1. Introduction to Theory of a self regulation program in classroom management
- It is important for staff to understand the ‘Why’ of the self regulation program
- In this session, I will also be showing video examples of the self regulation program in action and explaining the theory behind it
- I will invite discussion from all practitioners as to experiences of how we have worked together so far
- What has been especially successful within each class?
2. An Interactive Discussion of self regulation visuals
- It is important to decide upon what visuals we will use as a whole school
- This session will be interactive and about working in groups to see what visuals we can use
- My intended outcome from this will be that, as a whole school, we agree a set of visuals that everyone feels will work both in their classroom and also in the wider school environment
3. What Resources do we need?
- I know from working with teachers, that they are very busy and time to plan, implement and execute whole school programs is hard to find
- My intention for this session will be to make any resources that are needed to make the self regulation program a school-wide success
- So, in our previous session we will have identified what we need and in this session we will be making visuals for each class, the playground, the dinner hall, the office and any individualised ones we want too
- By the end of the session, each class and school area will have all the visual resources that they need to follow the self regulation program
4. How will we implement the program and measure success?
- This will involve a discussion and agreement of how and when we begin to implement the self regulation program
- What criteria will we use to measure success of the program?
- How can we make this an easy process which fits seamlessly into whole school values?
** After session 4, there will be a three week training break. During this time, the whole school will trial our self regulation program and find out what works and what doesn’t. **
5. A celebration of experiences so far
- What’s working well?
- What needs tweaking to make it even better?
- Do we need to devise additional self regulation strategies to ensure the success of this initiative?
- Each class to bring a video of the self regulation program in classroom management in action and allow colleagues to reflect on it
6. Evaluation and moving forwards
- The final session will seek to answer any questions that the school staff may have and find out the best ways to ensuring it is a success
- Is the self regulation program something we want to adopt on a long-term basis?
- How can we get parents involved with our whole school initiative?
- How can we encourage other local schools to adopt a self regulation program?
My experience with this school has been very positive so far, most of the staff are gaining an understanding of our self regulation in classroom management initiative and are jumping on board with enthusiasm. I have completed training session 1 and some of the success stories that have already been reported are creating a positive buzz within school, both with the staff and children.
We have also already had some comments from parents who are interested in what their children are telling them about feeling ‘just right’! This augurs well for the success of the self regulation program and I’m excited to continue to build the necessary foundations to embed our program in the culture of the school.
Watch this space for exciting further developments in my new school!
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