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Student wellbeing is a crucial component in improving students' educational and overall life outcomes.

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How to help build positive Teacher-Student Relationships

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How to help build positive Teacher-Student Relationships

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By Amrith

Building positive teacher-student relationships (TSRs) should be a key focus for schools and teachers. Not only do positive TSRs build connections between students and their school and staff, but they are also linked to wellbeing, engagement and academic and social development (Cahill, Beadle, Farrelly, Forster, & Smith, 2014). With this in mind, what can you as a teacher do to help build positive relationships with your students? There are several small actions that you as a teacher can take that go a long way to building positive TSRs. Below are three key things to bear in mind, and what actions you can take to use these ideas to help build positive TSRs with your students.

Listening

A key step to building positive TSRs is making students feel like they have a voice and are being heard (Cahill et al., 2014). Students can often feel that teachers do not listen to them, which they can then equate to a lack of care and respect (Johnson, 2008). Because of this, it is crucial that teachers actively listen to students to help them feel properly listened to. Some key things that you can do to display active listening when in conversation with your students are listed below:

Using non-verbal cues such as nodding, smiling and eye-contact

Paraphrasing and succinctly reflecting what students have said to you

Asking students questions

When problem-solving with students, avoiding giving directions and instructions too quickly. Rather, allowing students to speak and helping them find their own solutions.

Adapted from (Kottler & Kottler, 2015).

Smiling More

An inherently simple thing which makes a huge difference. As a teacher, smiling convey positive emotions and shows students that you are enjoying being in a classroom with them (Krane, Ness, Holter-Sorensen, Karlsson, & Binder, 2017). Communicating to your students that you are happy to be teaching them can go a long way to facilitating the development of positive TSRs. Secondly, smiling shows students that you are able and willing to have fun and enjoy yourself. This helps students build that bridge towards positive TSRs by building human connections with you (Johnson, 2008).

Everyday Interactions

A key facet of building positive TSRs is for teachers to actively show an interest in students’ lives beyond the four walls of the classroom. Getting to know students, finding common ground and remembering personal events in their lives (such as milestones, sporting events and birthdays) are small things which can make a big impact (Johnson, 2008; Krane et al., 2017). A few things that you as a teacher can do to help with this could be:

Using your diary, calendar or reminder on your phone to write down the day of a personal event or milestone a student mentions to you. This can act as a way to remind you to mention this in conversation the next time you see that student.

When on yard duty, use the ‘out of class’ time to chat with your students about their lives and their interests

Have a calendar in your classroom that has down the dates of students’ birthdays

Adapted from (Cahill et al, 2014; Johnson, 2008).

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Supporting student wellbeing through Conflict Resolution

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Supporting student wellbeing through Conflict Resolution

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By Gaya

Conflict in relationships, be it between students and teachers or students and students, can negatively affect individual wellbeing and lead to other serious issues like bullying (Espelage, Rose, & Polanin, 2015; Evans, Butterworth, & Law, 2019). Methods of conflict resolution centred in listening to others can help to improve wellbeing among students, teachers and other stakeholders in education.

Listening

Effective listening focuses on being using strategies that improve one’s efficiency in listening to others. These strategies include locating oneself squarely to the other person, maintaining an open posture, exuding a relaxed demeanour, maintaining eye contact and leaning towards the other person when appropriate (Nelson, 2007).

Active listening involves focusing on both non-verbal and verbal communication to better understand and empathise with others; empathy allows us to understand others’ perspectives, thus enabling conflict resolution and improving wellbeing (Nelson, 2007).

Reflective listening and responding are aspects of assertive communication that can improve wellbeing by focusing on the other person in a conversation and reflecting on not only the content but also the emotion of their words (Bolton, 1977). This can help all parties in a conversation feel heard and understood, thus promoting wellbeing.

Skills that aid in reflecting listening and responding, from Harms (2007), include:

Paraphrasing: succinctly restating what was said to you in your own words, showing understanding of the other person’s thoughts and feelings.

“Stacy is the worst! She wants me to write the introduction, hypothesis, discussion and conclusion!”

“You are frustrated because you feel the work is being shared unevenly.”

Normalising: placing another person’s experiences in context of common human experiences, to reassure, empathise and aid in coping.

“I swear I keep hearing my dog barking, but we put him down yesterday. How can I hear him barking?”

“You feel like you shouldn’t be hearing your dog, but a lot of grieving people hear and even hear their loved ones, too. It’s common; they’re not weird for that, and you aren’t either.”

Summarising: concisely restating key information that has been discussed in a conversation to clarify information and move forward in taking action.

“So, you spoke to Tenzin about sharing the soccer ball, but you weren’t able to reach an agreement?”

“Yes.”

Frameworks for Conflict Resolution

These skills can also be incorporated into frameworks that provide a holistic conflict resolution experience that aids the development and sustenance of wellbeing among students, as well as teachers and other members of the school community. These frameworks include:

Social-emotional learning (SEL): enabling the management and regulations of emotions to effectively communicate, addressing challenges and conflicts through five skill areas: social awareness, self-management, self-awareness, responsible problem solving and relationship management (Espelage et al., 2015).

Egan’s Three-step model: “a structured and solution focused basis” for problem solving and conflict resolution which involves (1) clarifying the problem or cause of conflict, (2) establishing goals that will solve the issue at hand, and (3) developing strategies to achieve this goals (Nelson, 2007).

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Referring students to Psychological Services

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Referring students to Psychological Services

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By Kat

In thirty years, the number of psychologists working in Australian schools in counselling roles has doubled to 2,000 (Bell and McKenzie, 2013). According to the Australian Psychological Society (APS), the school psychologist's role(2) is “to apply their psychological and educational expertise to assist students, parents and siblings, teachers, and school administrators to achieve the most beneficial outcome for students” (APS, 2000, p.1). Providing school-based psychological services responds to DET’s policy on Student Well-being and Learning for promoting student wellbeing by “aligning student welfare and curriculum policies” in schools (Department of Education and Training, 2019).

Psychologists are seen as having significant value within schools (Thielking and Jimerson, 2006). Yet research suggests little information is available to schools about their exact role (Bell and McKenzie, 2013). The school psychologist's role tends to be unclear and misunderstood by many, including teachers. This is problematic as teachers’ attitudes are seen to be key in the usefulness of psychological services (Bartolo, 2010).

The information/resources here provide context to the school psychologist role and clarify to teachers how both professionals may pursue inclusive practice.

School psychology and inclusion

Traditionally, psychology has adopted a medical/“within-person” model, where all explanations of behaviour and learning relate to unique psychological mechanisms in the brain (Farrell, 2006). Contextual factors of the child received little attention and learning difficulties/disabilities were explained solely in terms of individual deficits. School psychology has since shifted towards more holistic/sociological models which view students in the context of their school, home and community (Bell and McKenzie, 2013). Ergo, traditional school-psychological services like IQ testing have been challenged through inclusive education initiatives (Bartolo, 2010).

Educational psychologists can play important roles as organisational consultants and facilitators within the inclusive school approach. They can help develop healthy teaching and learning environments, as well as a culture of tolerance in both curriculum development and more systemically in the school (De Jong, 2000). Additionally, they can help with: supporting pupils with learning difficulties in mainstream schools; transitioning students; implementing school-based gender-inclusive and mental health programmes; developing general policies on inclusion in schools, and; working with government agencies to develop state/country-wide inclusive strategies (Farrell, 2006).

The teacher-school-psychologist relationship

This professional partnership, as a collaborative and mutually-reinforcing one, cannot be understated. As professionals who work closely with children over continuous periods of time, they have a common cause in enabling students to reach both educational and social-emotional outcomes (Thielking and Jimerson, 2006).

Yet, research suggests little information available to schools and communities about what school psychological services actually provide (Bell and McKenzie, 2013), misconveying the role of the school psychologist to teachers. To demystify this important professional partnership, outlined are a few ways in which both professionals may pursue inclusive practice:

1.     School psychologists can be psychological-educational consultants. Teachers may seek a psychologist for needs-specific and context-relevant strategies like co-created educational programs and individual learning plans (without breaching students’ right to confidentiality(2)). Additionally, teachers remain the primary source of psychological referrals for children.

2.     School psychologists can be educators. They can use current psychology research to provide professional growth opportunities for staff across psycho-educational issues within the school context, like assisting teachers with developing effective versus noneffective disciplinary procedures or strategies to manage challenging behaviours.

3.     School psychologists and teachers can jointly engage in critical evaluations of the roles and contributions of all stakeholders in the educational process. In concentrating on matters of common concern and infusing the best of one another’s role-related expertise, both professionals can form mutually-reinforcing and beneficial partnerships.

Adapted from (Campbell and Colmar, 2014).

To learn about teacher–school-psychologist partnerships in the Australian context, click here.

(1) Only WA uses the title school psychologist, NSW uses school counsellor, and most other locations across Australia use the term guidance officer (Faulkner, 2007).

(2) Information should only be shared with the consent of the child and/or the child’s parents on a ‘need to know’ basis, with client files only accessed by others on the basis of statutory or legal obligations (APS, 2000).

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National Center for Universal Design for Learning

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Improving Wellbeing through Inclusive Practice

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Improving Wellbeing through Inclusive Practice

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By Maggie

Universal design for learning (UDL)

Students have diverse abilities in different subjects; high-achieving students feel that tasks are too easy for them to effectively learn, while low-achieving students expect to fail no matter how hard they try. Both ways challenge students’ sense of belonging and feel like they don’t fit in with their classmates. The universal design for learning (UDL) principles provide a model for teachers to address the diverse needs of all students, by removing the potential barriers that might hinder students’ learning, keep having high expectations from all learners while ensuring none is left behind. (Meo, 2008)

How can we approach UDL

Know your students (know their ZAD and ZPD (Vygotsky, 1978), to make sure you don’t push the student too hard or setting expectations too low for them).

Set different learning goals for different students based on their diverse abilities in different subjects.

Use different tools to deliver your knowledge (screen, whiteboard, school website, verbally or visually).

Sometimes having diverse levels of tasks for students base on their diverse learning ability.

Subject examples on how to approach inclusive practice in classroom for learning

Music:

Music is one of the subjects that has the largest range diverse ability of students, some of them might have been learning instruments for a long time already, or some of them have never read or played any music at all. Music teachers need to address these differences and make sure having diversity activities in the lesson that all students can feel welcomed.

Approach different ways of explanations on the same concepts: writing on the whiteboard; using PowerPoint slides with words and/or pictures; audio; video. These give students choices to understand in different ways of learning. With teaching with several different ways, gives students who came in the class with less music knowledge more chances to catch up with the others and keep engaging and have a sense of belonging in the lesson.

Give students different roles to help run the activities in-class activities. (feeling like they are doing something to help the group increase the sense of student’s belonging, and builds well-being).

Arranging/re-arranging music to match students’ different instrument learning levels (Kyriakou, 2019), so everyone can join the group activity.

Music ensembles or school musical rehearsals

For some students who are dropping out or not performing well in other subjects, music ensembles or musical rehearsals might be their last place to feel a sense of belonging and might be the only thing that they come to school for. It is very important that teachers making students feel welcomed in these rehearsal groups, everyone can have a different role or part in the group, but everyone is participating. (Rickard & McFerran, 2012)

All students should have a role in the group (taking attendance, instrument group leader, helping set up, taking notes, recording…)

Having a seating plan or movement designs to make sure every student can be seen when they’re on stage.

Giving different parts to student base on their ability (give a lower level part to beginners, give a harder part or extra solo part to students who can reach a higher expectation). Making sure no one is left out or feeling bored from having trouble to complete the part or finding it too easy.

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Cahill, H., Beadle, S., Farrelly, A., Forster, R., & Smith, K. (2014). Building resilience in children and young people: A literature review for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Accessed 11th October 2019 from: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/department/resiliencelitreview.pdf.

Harms, L. (2007). Paraphrasing and summarising. In Working with People: Communication Skills for Professional Practice. Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.

Johnson, B. (2008). Teacher-student relationships which promote resilience at school: A micro-level analysis of students’ views. British Journal of Guidance and
Counselling, 36(4), 385-398.

Kottler, J. A., & Kottler, E. (2015). Understanding the process of helping. In Counselling skills for teachers (pp.37-62). New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing.

Krane, V., Ness, O., Holter-Sorensen, N., Karlsson, B., & Binder, P. E. (2017). ‘You noticethat there is something positive about going to school’: How kindness can promote positive teacher-student relationships in upper secondary school, International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 22(4), 377-389.

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Bolton, R. (1977). Four skills of reflective listening. In People skills: How to assert yourself, listen to others, and resolve conflicts (pp. 50-61). Sydney: Prentice Hall.

Espelage, D. L., Rose, C. A., & Polanin, J. R. (2015). Social-emotional learning program to reduce bullying, fighting and victimization among middle school students with disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 36(5), 299-311.

Evans, D., Butterworth, R., & Law, G. U. (2019). Understanding associations between perceptions of student behaviour, conflict representations in the teacher-student relationship and teachers' emotional experiences. Teaching and Teacher Education, 82, 55-68.

Harms, L. (2007). Paraphrasing and summarising. In Working with people: Communication skills for professional practice (pp. 151-158). Oxford University Press.

Nelson, P. (2007). An easy introduction to Egan's Skilled Helper Solution Focused Counselling Approach. Retrieved from http://mystrongfamily.co.uk/downloads/PDFs/SFP-EasyIntroToEgan.pdf

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Australian Psychological Society. (2000). APS standards for the delivery of school psychological services. Melbourne, Australia: The Australian Psychological Society Ltd.

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De Jong, T. (2000). The role of the school psychologist in developing a health-promoting school: Some lessons from the South African context. School psychology international, ²¹(4), 339-357.

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D

Cahill, H., Beadle, S., Farrelly, A., Forster, R., & Smith, K. (2014). Building resilience in children and young people: A literature review for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Accessed 11th October 2019 from:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/department/resiliencelitreview.pdf.

Harms, L. (2007). Paraphrasing and summarising. In Working with People: Communication Skills for Professional Practice. Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.

Johnson, B. (2008). Teacher-student relationships which promote resilience at school: A micro-level analysis of students’ views. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 36(4), 385-398.

Kottler, J. A., & Kottler, E. (2015). Understanding the process of helping. In Counselling skills for teachers (pp.37-62). New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing.

Krane, V., Ness, O., Holter-Sorensen, N., Karlsson, B., & Binder, P. E. (2017). ‘You notice that there is something positive about going to school’: How kindness can promote positive teacher-student relationships in upper secondary school, International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 22(4), 377-389.

Kyriakou, K. (2019). Special Needs in Music Education.

Meo, Grace. (2008). Curriculum Planning for All Learners: Applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to a High School Reading Comprehension Program. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth.

Rickard, Nikki., & McFerran, Katrina. (2012) Lifelong Engagement with Music: Benefits for mental Health and Well-being.

CAST. (2014). UDL Guidelines: Theory & Practice Version. Retrieved from: http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines_theorypractice

Vygotsky, L, S. (1978). Mind the society. The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.