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One Page Profile PDF

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UB Session 4  Language and Communication 

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NCSE Visual Support in an Inclusive Learning Environment

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There is evidence to suggest that Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR) not only supports students' healing and learning at school, but also leads to enhanced teacher wellbeing.

So what is Unconditional Positive Regard?

It was originally developed by psychologist Carl Rogers in the 1950s as a humanist approach to clinical therapy. UPR therapists need to be warm and accepting even when the client has done or said something questionable. By accepting the client just as they are, the therapist helps the client accept themselves - a central element of healing and growth.

Since its formation, UPR has been an essential component of psychology and social work courses. Yet it was only in the last decade that UPR has been introduced into teacher education as an ingredient of working with growing and developing young people.

More than just 'be positive'.

My first encounter with UPR was not necessarily a positive one. When I was first taught the concept, it was reduced to the simple mantra 'always be positive toward students, no matter what'. Logically, I always wanted to be positive and supportive with my students, and strived to interact with warmth and kindness. Yet, I initially found the concept lacking when confronted with severely challenging behaviours that required me to dig deep into my personal resilience. Other colleagues agreed with me too, even naming UPR as a cause of their impending compassion fatigue.

The real UPR: In developmental context

It was not until I took part in the BSEM course as teacher did I realise how lacking my initial concept of UPR was - and what UPR in practice means. Adapted to the teaching profession, UPR enables reframing strategies that underpin relationship-building. This can be summarized in the graphic below:

In line with Rogers' original intentions, these strategies empower teachers to create the best possible conditions for a highly relational classroom:

separating a student from their behaviour is an essential re-framing strategy to keep a teacher from overly-personalising a tough situation and remaining calm and dignified.

recalling child development pathways allows the teacher to see each child empathically, as developing humans with different backgrounds and life opportunities.

maintaining a vision of the child's wholeness sees the young person for both their strengths and shadows - as we all have.

to call students out with love in your voice is a verbal responding strategy that supports teachers to invite students into their calm, rather than joining them in their chaos.

Teacher wellbeing: An upward spiral

UPR supports a classroom environment that is conducive to student healing and learning, while also contributing to teacher wellbeing. This is because practicing UPR in this way creates what psychologist, Barbara Fredrickson calls an 'upward spiral', where directing kindness and compassion towards others generates wellbeing benefits that flow back to our own lives in a virtuous loop. This means as we practice being empathetic and compassionate toward others, we also strengthen our capacity to be self-compassionate and gain a sense of fulfilment from our relationships. Fredrickson states:
As we do good in the world, that affects our cellular makeup and the functioning of our hearts. There is deep interconnection between what we do, what we feel and how physically healthy we are (2013).
Furthermore, the UPR framework provides opportunities for teachers to reflect on situations when it is most challenging to build relationships with people. Reflecting on personal triggers creates more spaciousness between our thoughts and actions, helping us to respond rather than react to stressful interactions in our teaching and personal lives. This may also help us to be kinder to ourselves as we navigate how some relationships draw more energy and attention than others.

Generating cultures of wellbeing

Deepening the practice of UPR reveals how interconnected the wellbeing of everyone in a community really is. It emphasizes the importance of UPR as both a way of being and as a concept that can be taught to students as they develop an awareness of how they build and maintain relationships at school and out in the world.

In schools where teachers take it upon themselves to learn and practice UPR, we see hundreds of micro-moment interactions that build toward a culture of everyone contributing to everyone's wellbeing.

The evidence suggests that UPR supports students' healing and learning, as well as teacher wellbeing - so when might be your next opportunity to put it into practice?
Find an upcoming Berry Street Education Model course Watch more about Berry Street's Education Model

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Linking Unconditional Positive Regard and Teacher Wellbeing

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There is evidence to suggest that Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR) not only supports students' healing and learning at school, but also leads to enhanced teacher wellbeing. It was originally developed by psychologist Carl Rogers in the 1950s as a humanist approach to clinical therapy.

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(Last Updated On: )

Why we should use unconditional positive regard in schools:

My school is currently really buckling down on trauma-informed practice. For those who aren't familiar, there are specific teaching strategies that are particularly supportive of students who have experienced trauma. These strategies aren't only helpful in this context, though, and they can help all students, including those without trauma. One of these strategies certainly stood out to me; unconditional positive regard.

While most of the strategies are things that you can do or teach to your students, unconditional positive regard is rooted in how you think as a teacher. It is exactly what it says on the tin; thinking about your students positively regardless of circumstances. It doesn't mean that you can't get frustrated, but that you don't dislike your students as people based on their behavior.

For some teachers, this is easier than for others, and if you find this difficult, it by no means makes you a bad teacher. This is about your own mindset and how you think, so a little bit of training is in order. It is essential to remember that your frame of mind as a teacher depends on many factors at school and at home. Everyone has days where this seems impossible. If you can manage to get it and be consistent, it's well worth the effort.

1. Unconditional positive regard helps students see the best in themselves.

Your students look up to you. Just as children look to their parents for behavior and thought patterns, students often look to their teachers to learn how they fit into the wider world. You may be the first adult they can trust outside of their family, and some will spend more time interacting with you over a school year than their own parents. Teachers are their analog for how the rest of the world will see them, and if their teacher can't stand them, it has a lasting impact.

Taking a severe hit to your self-esteem like this can affect a person for the rest of their lives. Teachers who clearly don't like a particular student can cause more complex trauma, especially if they see this teacher every day. It can affect how they see themselves, and if they see themselves as a no-good loser who will never amount to anything, then that's what they're likely to become.

On the other hand, if you show them that even at their worst, they are worthy of forgiveness and can fix their mistakes or, at the very least, do better next time, they will learn this. This learning develops their self-image and attitude toward the world and sets them along the right path.

2. It helps model and develop a culture.

Setting class expectations is good practice for any teacher. Clarifying what behavior you expect from your students and negotiating how everyone would like to be treated is the first massive step to establishing a positive class culture. One of the enormous benefits of you practicing unconditional positive regard as the teacher is that it often rubs off the students.

This goes beyond tolerance and treating everyone with respect. I know a fantastic teacher at a religious school who takes significant issue with all of the teachings about tolerance. Every year, he goes off on a massive rant about how tolerance is ridiculous. We should not be tolerating each other; we should love one another. Just putting up with your students is not the standard you want to set for your class. You want them to see the good in each other and value each other as people, and that begins with you.

Like teaching your students to develop their self-esteem, teaching them to see the best in other people is an incredible life skill. Even if you don't particularly like someone else, seeing their value and regarding them positively will set them up for success in the future.

3. It benefits teacher well-being.

I know that I've put this one last, but I think that it is the most important. Mindsets are surprisingly difficult to change. Whenever someone says that something is easy as long as you have the right mindset, that actually means that it is difficult. The easy thing about it just being about mindset is that it's easy to blame yourself when things go wrong. But being able to develop a mindset focused on forgiveness and seeing the best in your students can really help your well-being as a teacher.

I can't emphasize enough how difficult this can be, but the benefits for yourself are worth it. Coming home at the end of the day after having chairs thrown at you and still thinking positive things about your students can be almost impossible. It can be impossible if you aren't being supported at work to feel safe and do your job. But barring this, if you can focus on the good in your students and their growth, no matter how insignificant it may seem, your days will become easier.

Most teachers get into teaching because they love it. They love being with students all day and helping them grow into the best people they can be. Unconditional positive regard is something that most new teachers have in droves. It can slip throughout a career. Consciously re-focussing on it could be the thing that improves your own quality of life and extend your love of teaching.

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3 Incredible Benefits of Unconditional Positive Regard.

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While most of the strategies you use in the classroom are things that you do, unconditional positive regard is rooted in how you think as a teacher.

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Barnardo's Scotland | All About Relationships

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NCSE 2x10 Approach in Post-Primary Schools

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NCSE 2x10 Approach in Schools (ISL Version)

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Attachment Focused Treatment for Childhood Trauma & Abuse

Children with serious psychological problems secondary to histories of abuse, neglect, and/or multiple placements provide a serious challenge to parents and therapists. For the past 20 years Dr. Hughes has specialized in the treatment of children who manifest serious deficits in their emotional, cognitive, and behavioral development, and at the same time demonstrate considerable difficulty establishing and maintaining secure attachment relationships.

Dr. Hughes' treatment is family-based and focused on facilitating the child's ability to establish a secure attachment with his/her caregivers. Developmental attachment theory and research is the primary model for relationship development and trauma resolution. Dan blends various approaches in his treatment modality. These include strategic and structural family therapy, Ericksonian hypnotherapy (utilization principle), psychodynamic principles, psychodrama, interventions congruent with Theraplay, and narrative work. He actively communicates empathy and acceptance of the individual child while providing him/her with the comfort and containment needed to explore and resolve past trauma and shame-related experiences. At the same time, he is actively facilitating the child's ability to form positive, reciprocal relationships with his/her parents. Within the safety of these relationships, the child is able to finally face and resolve his/her past traumas. Also, as the child gradually develops a secure attachment with his/her caregivers, (s)he develops a positive and integrated sense of self.

Dr. Hughes received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Ohio University, with a clinical internship at the University of Rochester Medical School. He is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA). He consults with various mental health, social service, and residential treatment agencies in Maine and in other states and countries. He also presents workshops and trains therapists throughout the country. Dan is the author of Building the Bonds of Attachment, 3rd Ed 2017, published by Rowen-Littlefield, Attachment-Focused Family Therapy Workbook, 2011, by WW Norton among other solo and collaborative works. He conducts training sessions online for therapists across the globe providing both Level 1 and Level 2 workshops.

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Attachment Focused Treatment for Childhood Trauma & Abuse Children with serious psychological problems secondary to histories of abuse, neglect, and/or multiple placements provide a serious challenge to parents and therapists. For the past 20 years Dr. Hughes has specialized in the treatment of children who manifest serious deficits in their emotional, cognitive, and behavioral development, and at the same time demonstrate considerable difficulty establishing and maintaining secure attachment relationships.

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Episode 22: The Magic of Relationships with Dr. Sonia Mastrangelo

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Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, “They don’t pay me to like the kids.” Her response: “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.’” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.

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Instructions

Overview

Convening a check-in circle on a regular basis creates a reliable and predictable space for students (and adults) to share important events that are going on in their lives that affect their learning. It allows other members of the community to learn what is going on in the lives of their fellow students and co-workers so that they may lend support or simply offer their compassionate understanding.

Ultimately, a regular check-in circle builds a sense of connection among those in the classroom or staff by sharing moods, feelings, and moments of joy and pain. It also increases self-awareness and awareness of others, while creating space to acknowledge and release tensions related to external pressures or situations.

Note: Application of Circles to resolve conflict or engage in difficult conversations requires training for facilitators.

The Practice: "Check-In" Circle

Through the structure of the circle practice, create a space to encourage all participants to speak their truth respectfully to one another on an equal basis and seek a deeper understanding of themselves and others. Consistency is important; establish the routine and be patient as participants learn to honor the rhythm of the talking piece and to trust others.

It is suggested that all Keepers practice answering the questions for themselves in preparation for the Circle.

The Circle presented here is simple and can be practiced with the easy-to-follow directions provided.

Seat all participants in a circle (preferably without any tables).

Choose one person (teacher, facilitator, or student) to act as Keeper of the Circle.
The Keeper welcomes everyone to the Circle, explains its purpose, plans and performs the opening and closing, poses questions, responds to each round as a participant, and passes the talking stick either to the left or the right.

Purpose

The Keeper of the Circle explains the purpose of the circle to participants:

The purpose of this Check-In Circle is to provide an opportunity for participants to share what is going on for them and to acknowledge what is on the mind and heart of others.

Welcome

The Keeper of the Circle welcomes everyone to the space of the Circle.

Mindfulness Moment

The Keeper of the Circle leads everyone in a mindfulness moment:
Close or lower your eyes, take a deep breath, and listen to the sound. Open or raise your eyes when the sound ceases.

Opening

The Keeper of the Circle begins with an opening (and ends with a closing later) to mark the Circle as a distinctive space for dialogue. The following quote can be used to open the Circle or the Keeper can choose one of their own:
"I am because we are." - African proverb

Round

Use a talking piece passed sequentially around the Circle, giving each person the choice to speak or pass when the talking piece comes to them. Honoring the talking piece means active listening to each person and respecting the right to pass.

The right to pass reduces the fear and stress that may block higher brain functioning, making it more possible to participate constructively. The choice to say "no" encourages students to engage-provided the questions are real and meaningful and the opportunity to participate is always present.

Remind students that they are invited to speak when the talking piece comes to them, to listen when they do not hold the talking piece, and are free to pass.

The Keeper of the Circle poses one of the questions below for a round. The Keeper should always provide their own answer first and then pass the talking piece to their left or right:

Tell us about a high and low point in your life in the past week (or last weekend, or last month, or summer, etc.).

Hold up your hand with fingers raised to reflect how you are feeling this morning (this afternoon, right now). 5 fingers raised = "Terrific/ I am great/ I am available to help out anyone today!" 1 finger raised = "I am struggling/I could use some help today!"

What are the roses and thorns in your life in the past week (or last weekend, or last month, or last year, or summer, etc.)?

If your inner world was a weather report, what would it be today?: Sunny, Rainy, Windy, Foggy, Stormy, Cold, Hot, Cloudy, Clear Skies, Thunder and Lightning, etc.

What do others need to know about how you are feeling today?

Check-Out Round

The Keeper of the Circle asks participants:
How did you like the Circle today?

Closing

The Keeper of the Circle closes the Circle with the following quote (or may choose one of their own):
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller

Adaptations

Consider modifying the openings and closings with quotes or lyrics from songs that will inspire your particular students or staff; invite others to do the Keeping or do an opening or closing.

Consider asking a student or pair of students to lead the Circle Check-In.

Experiment with different kinds of check-in questions.

Source

Circle Forward is a resource guide designed to help teachers, administrators, students, and parents incorporate the practice of Circles into the everyday life of the school community with comprehensive step-by-step instructions for how to plan, facilitate, and implement the Circle. It provides over one hundred specific lesson plans for the application of Circles in the many areas of school life.

The Center for Restorative Justice offers training and professional development in restorative justice practice for K-12 schools and universities. Also see the book Circle Forward: Building a Restorative School.

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Check-in Circle for Community Building | Greater Good In Education

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Overview Convening a check-in circle on a regular basis creates a reliable and predictable space for students (and adults) to share important events that are going on in their lives that affect their learning.

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The promotion of wellbeing is central to the Department of Education mission to enable children and young people to achieve their full potential. Promoting the wellbeing of our children and young people is a shared community responsibility and is everybody's business.

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The promotion of wellbeing is central to the Department of Education mission to enable children and young people to achieve their full potential. Promoting the wellbeing of our children and young people is a shared community responsibility and is everybody's business.

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Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

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Developed by UCD School of Psychology and Jigsaw, My World Survey 2 is Ireland’s largest and most comprehensive study of young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

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NCSE Sensory Spaces

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Autism Good Practice Guidelines for Schools

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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Executive function and self-regulation (EF/SR) skills provide critical supports for learning and development, and while we aren't born with these skills, we are born with the potential to develop them through interactions and practice.

This 16-page guide (available for download, below), describes a variety of activities and games that represent age-appropriate ways for adults to support and strengthen various components of EF/SR in children.

Each chapter of this guide contains activities suitable for a different age group, from infants to teenagers. The guide may be read in its entirety (which includes the introduction and references) or in discrete sections geared to specific age groups.

Suggested citation: Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2014). Enhancing and Practicing Executive Function Skills with Children from Infancy to Adolescence. Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu.

Download PDF

Enhancing and Practicing Executive Function Skills with Children from Infancy to Adolescence

An activities guide for building executive function

Download PDF

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Activities Guide: Enhancing & Practicing Executive Function Skills

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Download free guides of executive functioning activities to support and strengthen skills, available for children ages six months through adolescence.

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Self-Regulation Skills: Why They Are Fundamental

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Differentiating instruction: It’s not as hard as you think 

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Differentiating instruction: It’s not as hard as you think 

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Differentiating Instruction: It’s Not as Hard as You Think

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Every Kid needs a Champion - Rita Pierson 

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Every Kid needs a Champion - Rita Pierson 

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Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, “They don’t pay me to like the kids.” Her response: “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.’” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.