# data[].attributes.body
I find social stories, books or videos have great impact to children with autism especially. It is always amazing to see how they react to the stories and relate to their everyday life journey. Their enthusiasm and happiness when telling their own stories never fails to amazed me. It is like they found a channel to share their feelings to you with no barriers and boundaries.
Teaching values and imparting skills like making friends and managing anger through observations via social stories are more successful then just talking about it. Thus different stages of moral development can guide me to selections of social stories to target the individual needs

# data[].attributes.body
I like doing the expert group teaching strategy more now because I'm familiar with it and I know the process well enough. I feel that if I were to set certain routines in place for my student who has SEN, he will be able to regulate himself better and know the kind of expectations that I have for him. I also feel that if I were to work with his parents and tell them about the routines and expectations, things may get easier and more manageable for everyone. It will be a win-win situation!

# data[].attributes.body
The AHA moment from today is that an educator should distance themselves from having a narrow perspective. Today’s sharing brings light to understanding how one matures in different stages of their lives. In schools, I can see the difference in thinking at different levels. All students have their own opinion, but what stands out from their opinions are how their environment affects it.

Behaviours that are out of the ordinary can be misconstrued as misbehaviour or the need to seek attention from others. We need to be wary of these kinds of assumptions as it may hinder us from providing the right intervention. Gaining the knowledge from different theorists on moral development, I realized the information provided me with the understanding of unique values of a student. The information can be one of many that helps me analyze the function of behaviours displayed. We also need to do our part to impart the knowledge of rules and consequences to promote a sense of responsibility in the students.

# data[].attributes.body
My AHA moment for today's session is learning the difference domains. I am able to differentiate the difference between Moral, Conventional and Personal Domain. This domain lies on how the person perceive things and how they are being brought up by their family.

I had a primary 1 student who has a severe anger management which he is not able to control. He believes that when he is angry, he is able to beat anyone in the classroom. If any of his friends took his things or do not allow him to be the first in line, he will be triggered and start to push all his classmates and scream at them. Through conversation with him, he shared that his father always did this too him when he misbehaves. He personally believes that if it is ok for the father to bit him, then it is ok to do that to others too. It took the student a while to understand the rules in and whatever his is doing is not right. We did explain to his parents and told them about the consequences that he needs to face if this behaviour continues.

Is it important for us to educate the future generation of the students on the different domains. As a future SEN Officer, I will play my part in educating my students with SEN. Though they have disabilities , they need to understand that, they are rules and regulations they need to follow through and there are consequences that need to face if they failed to meet it. It is important to teach and instill good moral values for our students.

# data[].attributes.body
I find the pair work sharing on morality (personal, conventional & moral) interesting. I thought it was a straight forward domain answer but when my classmates shared their different answers & opinions, I realised that it can actually differ in situations depending on one's upbringing/culture.

It is important for us educators to know the conditions that influence students’ moral development. This helps will help us to understand their background & behaviours better. Then, we will also be able to nurture the correct values in them. With strong partnership between teachers, it will lead to success eventually.

Through the group presentations of the 3 different theories on Moral Development, I have a clearer understanding now on how to teach & instil moral values at the different stages of development effectively. Strategies used for primary & secondary school may be different. Even lower and upper primary levels!

# data[].attributes.body
There are 3 theories that were discussed and shared with the class. While doing the pair work to classify the 3 domains in different scenarios, there seemed to be overlapping in other domains too. After further explanations, I learnt that we all have our own family culture and values that were imparted to us since young. Because of our differences, there are situations that appear acceptable to some but for most those are frowned upon.

During my stint, there was a sec 1 student who became the “talk of the town” because of profanities he used casually on his peers and teachers. He was notorious , and totally had no respect for adults and authority. He was profusely using those inappropriate words especially when he became upset. But to him it wasn’t wrong because that’s how his parents talked to him too. These steps were introduced to student to make him understand that swearing is an undesired behaviour.

1. Address this matter. My mentor had to understand on why this student was exhibiting this concerning behaviour. He had to build rapport with this student so that he could find out more information before planning for intervention.

2. React with No Reaction. Teachers and peers were told to ignore student when he was engaged in inappropriate behaviour or swearing , to get their attention or during a conversation. Responding to student when he swears, gives him the wrong signal that his behaviour is a way to get attention.

3. Having session with SENO to reiterate with Visual cues that using profanity is unacceptable in school.

4. Replace swearing with positive words. SENO also allowed student to come out with the choice of positive words to replace inappropriate language.

5. Visual cues on his table , so teachers will go to his table to tap to remind and thumbs up if he’s able to speak with appropriate language and tone.

6. Time out. Student was also made to understand that he was given 2 warnings and the 3rd time he used profanities in a day, he would have to go for 10-15mins time out.

So teachers and SENO have to communicate to update and monitor on student's progress.

# data[].attributes.body
As a student growing up and studying in the late 90s - 00s, I always saw rules as something that was cast in stone. There was no room for discussion regardless of circumstances. I am glad to see that times have changed and that the younger generation has more opportunities to develop their moral exposure.

I had a student who is diagnosed with ASD. He is addicted to watching videos (violent and vulgar) on youtube, playing games, tends to be vulgar towards friends and teachers when his Personal Learning Device (PLD) is taken away or when he is asked to put it away. He also hits his friends when he feels that they are saying things about him or laughing at him. He does not respond well to consequences and he feels that he is an exception to classroom rules and punishment. When he hears the word consequences and punishment, it bothers him for the rest of the day.

Initially when he started hitting his friends, he could not comprehend why he had to get punished. However what helped him understand was using real life crime situations. He was always up to date about the news and what is happening around the world. When we used an example that he could relate to, he was able to understand why he is in this position. he was also able to articulate that if he doesn't behave better, he would end up like the person in jail. As teachers, we remind him that for his case, it is not so extreme.

Another strategy that worked for him was having him to write down his reflection and going through the reflection with him. He was able to break down what happened and what he should have done instead.

The SEN officer also taught him how to approach teachers to ask for help instead of hitting his friends when he was unhappy. They would roleplay situations and every once in awhile, teachers and SEN officer will check in with him to ask him if he knows what to do if he is upset with his friend.

Because he is very literal, roleplaying the situations for him helped. So that he could see what happens and what can happen differently. He was better able to understand why he should behave a certain way and has greatly improved since.

# data[].attributes.body
Today’s AHA moment is understanding Piaget’s Stages of Moral Development to understand our students and using the knowledge to connect with them at their stage of moral development. While there are stages in his theory of how children’s moral is developed, I learnt that we should not be too fixated on their age but rather look at their development.

Applying in the context of working with primary school students, I am now able to understand that for lower primary students, they regard rules as fixed and cannot be changed, and behaviour is judged by observable consequences. They view the function of punishment is to make the guilty suffer as per the severity of the wrongdoing. If the rule is broken, punishment is immediate and automatic. Given their realism view on morality, it is important for educators to constantly reiterate the behavioural expectations, classroom rules and consequences of misbehaviour explicitly to students as a reminder to show good behaviour. For any misbehaviours, educators can redirect the student to the class rules to remind and explain that the student did not follow rules. It is also important for educators to abide by the rules and follow through the consequences. For misbehaviours, it is important for educators to follow up immediately with the student (e.g., process with the student on the incident and get them to reflect) instead of delaying the consequence (e.g., “punishment”, time-out) while the incident is still recent in their mind. For example, one of the classroom rule is to follow teacher’s instructions. The consequence for students not abiding by the rules after two warnings are given will be staying back for 5 minutes during recess time. Teachers must ensure that they keep track when a student is not following teacher’s instruction and to prompt with two warnings. If student is still not following teacher’s instructions after two warnings, teacher must follow through with the “punishment” and ensure that the student stays back for 5 minutes while the class goes for recess time.

Understanding the stage of moral development that the students are in allows me to adapt my communication and teaching style accordingly and thus, enhances my connection with the students.

# data[].attributes.body
The three models that we have covered were interesting as some of the models may be perceived differently in a certain way. It was mentioned that it may be due to the way and perspectives of diverse cultures and beliefs were being brought up. Hence the understanding and views of one person may be perceived differently from what another person may have thought as well.

In a 1 to 1 withdrawal session that I conducted last year, the student was undiagnosed, however, he portrays several ASD traits. This student has had socio-emotional needs. The student may know basic regulations; however, he may be unsure of the necessary steps that he needs to take to ensure that he will need to do several things for his help to be answered.

In many of our cases, we often assume that a student may understand a simple instruction of “if you are not sure what to do, ask for help.” A student may just come across this and start shouting for help as they are not sure what to do. In a normal circumstance, another student may raise their hand and wait patiently for the teacher to come by and address the question the student may have.

Hence, during withdrawal session, I broke down the steps for him. Firstly, ensure that he needs to keep his emotional regulation in check. Secondly ensure that he does not need to scream for help, and check if the question can be answered by his friend rather than teachers (who may not be available at that point of time). Thirdly, if the question cannot be addressed by his classmate, then he may proceed to raise his hand and wait patiently for the teacher to come over and address his issue. Lastly, if his issue is solved, then he may continue with his task at hand.

The above are the steps that we took to inform him to ensure that he knows what he needs to do. Besides that, we also gave visual cues to him, placed on his table so that it acts as a reminder for him before screaming for help. We also initiated a card visual for the teacher to be placed on her lanyard so that whenever the student screams for help, the teacher will show the card visual for him to act as a reminder that he’ll need to raise hand to ask for help.

The strategy was effective as the student can see the visual card and is able to act responsibly. The teachers also consistently use it and address the same expectations throughout the whole class. The student sees that the teacher is expecting the same rule for everyone, and hence, the student reacts positively towards the cues. The visual cues were slowly faded from the teachers to just the student’s table, and by this year, he does not even need any visual cues to remind him of raising hand when he needs help.

This also ensures that the student did not stand out differently amongst his peers and as a result, the friends around him will see him less differently. Thus, ensuring that the student will be able to adapt socially while still being in control of his emotional regulations.

# data[].attributes.body
It is interesting how the different theories talked about how morality are viewed, can be due to maturity, intention, social norms or personal beliefs. The part on how morality is internalized and then acts towards a common good is something admirable.

Some discussions got me thinking especially on the difference in punishment/consequence on students and how they will compare about the unequal treatment. And what if it is an SEN student, do we take into consideration on that. Back then, I thought that regardless of their learning needs, we should treat them fairly. But I realized that those who has needs will be at a disadvantage. But when we practiced equity, students may feel that we are bias towards another group of students.

I think regardless of needs, moral development should be made available to students so that they can make better actions or choices. I guess to make a more compassionate environment, awareness should be introduced to the students on the different needs so that they can be considerate, mindful in their actions and not think about their self like in Gilligan’s preconventional stage. At the same time, instead of comparing, they should take ownership of their actions. As for SEN students, during my stint, although they recognized their learning needs however when it comes to self-discipline, they were not spared. Like in Kohlberg’s level three, they should be aware that rules and law are not made to make things difficult for them but there is a purpose behind it. As much as we do not want them to get hurt, they should made to understand the cause and effect of their actions so that they can make better decisions and be a better learner.

# data[].attributes.body
We had an interesting discussion on morality - a sense of right or wrong through different situations. In some situations it could be all 3 - personal, conventional and moral. There are so many nuances to the answer as it depends where or who we are talking about. It is also dependent on culture, religion and other factors which makes the choice even more challenging.
As SENO, when we are teaching students there will be certain issues that we need to share guidance especially when they behave or react in certain ways. It helped me to be more mindful of the different factors that come into play like their friends, parents and their own personal view so that we can pitch it to a way they may best understand.

When reflecting on the strategies I have used to teach students with disabilities pro-social skills, one of the lesson came up to my mind.

I remember teaching pro-social skills such as the concept of 'Cooperation'
to a group of TRANSIT students in Primary 1.

For some of the students, it is one of their first times working together in a group to achieve a task. Some of them are on different ends of the spectrum which makes it slightly challenging to pick up the social cues and skills needed.

To help them understand that unity brings strength, I started off by using team building games and also getting them to fix a puzzles together. For the first round I got them to complete the puzzle without communicating with each other and the second, I got them to complete by communicating. In the end, when they started communicating with each other, they were able to complete the puzzles quicker.

The strategy is effective as they are the participants of their learning. Instead of teaching them through traditional methods like worksheet, I get them to experience what it is like cooperating. They are also able to experience it in a real-life setting, in a safe environment where there is a guide (teacher) to scaffold their learning through facilitation. They are also given opportunities to experience the different challenges and emotions that come with it working together with their peers and eventually learn how to successfully navigate through such situations. This also increases their chances of generalisation in other similar scenarios in their main classroom, transiting from working in small groups to a much larger one.

# data[].attributes.body
I thought the 3 theories of moral development were interesting.  Piaget's theory of moral development mentioned about consideration of consequences and intention behind actions that forms the basis of the moral reasoning as it matures. This resonated with me.
It struck me today that as educators, we not only have a responsibility to help our SEN students with their learning difficulties, but we are also in a unique position to cultivate the correct moral teachings in them. This must be done in partnership with the other teachers to reinforce for success. I think the point on equality vs equity in dealing with moral issues/punishment for SEN students vs typical students is a significant one and it can be tricky.  Indeed in my untrained stint I observed that this equity is difficult to achieve and the students do pick up on that and question. And finally, we should remember to teach students the 'why' and 'how' to help as we should not assume that this knowledge/ability is in-born or comes naturally.

# data[].attributes.body
Today's lesson helped me reflect upon a case in which a student that was diagnosed with autism frequently hurt his classmates. In his words, he was "sayang"-ing them. That was when we realized that he could not understand that hitting was morally wrong and is not a socially conventional way of showing friendship.

We taught him about keeping his hands and feet to himself through a social story. We wanted him to understand that hitting hurts and there were other more socially appropriate ways of getting someone's attention. We created a visual cue card for the teacher to use during class and transition periods to remind him to keep his hands and feet to himself. The student complied and there was a decrease in the hurting behaviour.

After today's lesson, I find that we could have better reinforced his understanding of moral values by providing him with rewards when he did good, rather than only intervening when he went out of line.

# data[].attributes.body
Today I have learnt about the 3 domains of morality, the 3 theories of moral development and classroom strategies to promote moral development.

I have used social story to teach a primary student with autism to keep hands to self when playing/ interacting with friends. I also provided the student with a reward chart, and provided positive reinforcements/ tokens when she displayed the expected positive behaviour.

The social story was effective in promoting student’s understanding on social conventions of keeping hands to self and respecting personal space. According to Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, at pre-conventional morality (Stage 2: Personal-Reward Orientation), a lower primary student would typically conform to rules to gain rewards. Therefore, the reward system was effective in motivating the student conform to the rule of keeping hands to self in order to gain her reward.

# data[].attributes.body
Todays lesson was very enlightening on the different views on moral development.
My mentor has taught classroom strategies to promote moral development in many ways.

One way is by using social stories, enacting them and playing different characters in the role. These scenarios being acted out comes from all the different situations that the student with sen has encountered difficulties in behaving and socially interacting with others.
I feel that by empowering our students with SEN, they can become more confident and excel.

Another way that my school SENO had helped to teach the students with SEN is to open up the sensory room where they can bring in their buddy or friends to sit down and have a chat with the SENO or Councellor. They are allowed to bring in their friend to let them know what difficult they are facing to also allow them to communicate with their buddies or friends. This allows them to be confident about themselves.

# data[].attributes.body
Today’s lecture has shed light to me on how understanding and knowing the various stages of moral development can serve as a useful guide for us on how to impart moral values effectively at different stages of development.

For instance, if we are trying to impart sound values to primary school students ( p1-6) l, it might be more effective to find out the specific reward ( tangible rewards) for the student as a whole and used that as a means to positively reinforce certain values.

However when the student proceeds to secondary school and become an adolescent, we might stand a greater chance in building sound character values if we could leverage on peers to steer a student in the positive directions.  For instance, I have witnessed the implementation of  the Circle of Friends (COF)  intervention during my stint, my mentor has managed to solicit help and support from a group of peers who are interested in helping student N curb his tendency to use profanities ,racist comments that are rude in inappropriate settings. Within a 2 week period, my mentor notice a gradual reduction in the frequency of profanities that were used by this student when he sought for feedbacks from the group of peers. Through this observation, it is apparent that peers play a more critical role than an authority figure in shaping behaviours and in this situation effective planning and collaboration becomes crucial.

# data[].attributes.body
Applying the Piaget's theory (mutuality) into our context, for primary school students, educator needs to ensure that when they set the rules, it should be fair and the punishment shall be designed to fit the "crime". Adding on, the intention of committing the "crime" is more important as compared to the consequence/outcome of committing the "crime".

One strategy that we can teach our students about morality is using social stories so that we can explain to them using various stories the rationale of having rules, breaking them and followed by the punishment. Another strategy is that we can use real life day-to-day examples so that the students can relate better to morality (be it positive or negative examples).

Moral development is important to a child's development as it sets the character development of the child, hence as an educator, we must teach and instil the moral values for our students.

# data[].attributes.body
The classroom strategies covered today is also a self reflection for me. i can apply it in school but also at home. Sometimes we are too focused on helping other kids but we neglect the loved ones at home (our own kids). Also, when i observed some lessons while doing in class support, i feel that some teachers are not so receptive towards change. When we recommend some changes that can help the SEN student, some teachers may not want to take in the recommendation. hence we can only work with certain teachers and mainly the student. My mentor is an inspiration, the way he managed the SEN kids, how he help and guide them. I can feel the sincerity and passion. The way he talk to the kids, very soft and likes to joke around. But he is also very organised, and he is willing to allow them to sit in the LBS room and play games until they feel like going home. After today's session, moral development are important for all students, doesnt matter the age group.
and of course the sharing of all the expert groups! its such an experience to be able to learn and share from each other! great method of learning!

# data[].attributes.body
AHA Moments:
- the moral domains of choices that we based on may that grey area overlapped especially when situations are varied depending on the circumstances.
- the variation of theories from Piaget, Kohlbergs and Gilligan.
- mindful classroom strategies.

My take on all 3 theories:
Despite the differences in the way observation, questioning and participants involved was carried out, I think that what these children made their moral decisions were based on their observations and experiences with peers and adults whom they saw/learned around them as the children were growing up. It was also that the culture and context in the past had taught/modelled those children of how different genders should behaved and therefore, was seen that girls'/women's decisions was based on care ethics and relationships around them. However, I feel that as technology/media are getting sophisticated and modernised thinking of maybe equality rights, I'm not sure whether moral developments is now gender-biased. Or maybe I'm just talking nonsense, hahah.

If I recalled how I learned values, usually through observations of others who have experienced it before or the process/experience which involves me to make/differentiate certain principles. For example, being non-judgemental and acceptance, I experienced for myself when I was young how being chastised and scolded harshly without telling where I went wrong. I developed a thinking that something was wrong with me and I'm indeed lacking of something. So how I actually unlearn and relearn was when I began to meet and interacting with more people. That's where I evolved myself to actually learn how to be accepting to people around me.

Strategies used to teach about moral: I can't recall the characteristics and needs of students. But I have seen the use of social stories, videos, using of peer influences, examples from peers and/or creating a setting/situation to allow the student to experience and explicitly teach them to understand the logic/rationale.