Module 3 Supporting the Students

1. Supporting Students Some of our young ones just need someone to listen to them. I know all the families so I can give good advice to the teachers. I see the parents and children in the community and they give me respect. Every child is special and they have special needs. I like to think they are all individuals. Every child has some special talent and we need to find it and encourage it. I work closely with the teachers. We are one big team. If I notice something, I can always talk to the Principal. I sometimes talk to the families if there is a problem. Attendance is really important. We need to look into the reasons why children are

absent.

How important are the Indigenous TAs in providing support for the students?

The answer is: “very important”. Research in the USA shows that Native American teachers

have higher expectations of their students than non-Native American teachers and that their

students perform better (Reed, 2007).

Indigenous Teachers and TAs can be examples of achievement and consequently have a

positive impact on aspirations. By doing this they are supporting their students. The TA has

a vital role to play in boosting children’s self-esteem. Students who have high self-esteem

are less likely to get into trouble. They will also do better at their studies, and they are more

likely to attend school. You can boost the student’s self-esteem by being a sympathetic and

caring person. You are a role model and everyone should see you care. Every day, you will

get a chance to be a caring person. Take advantage of every opportunity.

Behaviour

Student behaviour is the responsibility of everyone in the school. The school should have a

behaviour policy and the TA should know this and her role within it. Golden rules here are

Criticise the behaviour, never the student. It is the behaviour that is inappropriate,

not the student.

Never shame and never humiliate

Never yell. Stay calm. Do not take it personally.

You can promote positive behaviour and so help to prevent or reduce disruptive behaviour

by:

learning and using pupils names

using effective communication skills and encouraging the use of these in pupils

identifying pupils needs and interests to help develop effective learning activities

helping to organise a stimulating working environment to encourage learning

having well prepared learning materials

encourage pupils to take appropriate responsibilities

helping to encourage parental involvement (Teaching Personnel, 2013, p.26).

Some strategies: the ABC approach.

This approach divides behaviour into the Antecedent, that is, what was going on before the

inappropriate behaviour occurred. We are looking here for what triggered the behaviour and

what can we learn from that. Then the Behaviour itself is noted exactly. Thirdly the

Consequences of the behaviour are noted.

Here the behaviour is seen as an inappropriate response to a particular stressor. If the child

is asked to do work he cannot do, then his response may be to misbehave. Almost

everyone will prefer to look “bad” in front of other students, rather than looking “stupid”. So

in this case the teacher and the TA should develop a strategy to help the child with the work

or by setting appropriate work (Bentham, 2005).

Primary and secondary Behaviour

Bentham (2005) makes a useful distinction here between the behaviour that causes the

problem in the first place (Primary behaviour) and the behaviour that results from TA or

teacher intervention. Consider the following case: John is whacking another child, Tom, with

a ruler. The TA intervenes and tells John to get John to stop. John then turns round and

swears and abuses the TA. This is secondary behaviour. The correct course for the TA is

not to get involved in addressing the swearing. She should quietly and persistently address

the whacking and ignore the swearing. This prevents the situation from escalating. If the TA

stays calm and focussed on the original behaviour John will run out of steam.

Phrasing it positively

This can be quite difficult to learn, because we are so used to saying “Don’t!” Nonetheless, it

is important to avoid negative language and to phrase things in a positive manner. So wean

yourself from “Don’t” “No” and “Stop”.

In the case of John’s whacking Tom with the ruler a positive way to intervene would be “In

this class bashing people with rulers is not allowed, John”.

Avoid Never say

Labelling People like you are hopeless.

Comparison You will never be as smart as your

brother.

Distancing You make me sick. I don’t want to listen to

you anymore.

Put down A baby could do this.

Sarcasm Were you born in a pig sty?

Adapted from (Bentham, 2005)

Situation A put-down A positive frame

Everyone else in the group

has finished their work

except Sam. It is now break-

time

TA says, “What do you

mean, you haven’t finished?

How much time do you

need? Everybody else has

got it done!

“I see you have tried really

hard on this worksheet. You

really want to get it done.

You still have three more

questions to go, though.

Don’t worry. We will tackle

them next time. Well done.

Adapted from Bentham (2005)

How to use praise

Bentham calls this “catching them when they are good”. It is also known as “leveraging the

exception”. When a child who is normally difficult is not being difficult, this represents an

opportunity for praise. In any case it is important for students to realise that the way to get

attention and praise is to do their work. Bentham (2005) emphasises that the praise must

be sincere. You have to mean it. Secondly it should be targeted and not generally. The

person being praised should know you mean them. You should also be quite specific. Praise

a particular behaviour, so it will be repeated. For example you could say, “John, I like the

way you are sitting quietly and reading. You are obviously enjoying the book.”

Dealing with the really difficult cases: It’s the relationship

Olsen and Cooper (2001, pp.5-6) list the following reasons why some students are very

disruptive and difficult students

Social disadvantage

Ineffective parental discipline

lack of parental supervision

Parental use of physical punishment

Parental rejection

peer rejection

Membership of deviant social group

Low self esteem

Academic Failure

Schools can address these issues by having a definite discipline plan. The TA will participate

in this plan. Feelings of rejection can be addressed by a sincere and unconditional policy of

acceptance. That does not mean tolerating difficult behaviour. It does though mean

accepting the child. As well the teacher and the TA should do all they can to help the child

succeed academically.

The Plan in Action

Ford (1997) points out that for any discipline plan to succeed the child must be convinced

that the teacher and the TA care. They must also believe that the teacher and the TA have

confidence in the child’s ability to work out what is the right thing to do. In addition the child

must have experienced respect from the teacher and the TA. With these fundamentals in

place when inappropriate behaviour takes place the teacher and or the TA asks in a calm

tone

“What are you doing?”

This question begins the process of distancing the child from its behaviour. It initiates the

cooling down process. Ford calls his program the Responsible Thinking Process (RTP). In

terms of dual process cognitive theory it is an attempt to set in place a rule of thumb, which

will result in appropriate behaviour. In other words RTP tries to get fast thinking to work for

the teacher and the TA.

“What are the rules?”

This again accelerates the distancing process. It is not about the pupil versus the teacher or

the TA. The rules apply to everyone.

“What happens when you break the rules?”

This brings home the point that our actions have consequences; not punishment but

consequences.

“Is that what you want to happen?”

This question brings home to the child that the consequences will be applied to them.

“Where do you want to be?” or “What do you want to do now?”

These questions bring an end to the episode and complete the distancing of the child from

the behaviour. It also cues them into thinking about what they want to happen and so they

have control once more.

“What will happen if you disrupt again?”

This asks the child to think ahead and of the future consequences for inappropriate

behaviour. If the child has a problem with anger, she or he should be helped to think of

positive ways to behave that will cope with the problem (Ford, 1997, pp.43-45).

Ford (1997) gives us this example of a successful dialogue using the above process:

(Adapted from Ford, 1997, pp.47-48)

Teacher: Breen, what are you doing in here during recess?

Student: the playground supervisor sent me in.

Teacher: What were you doing?

Student: I pushed Ruth and she fell down?

Teacher: What’s the rule about pushing children in the playground?

Student: You are not allowed to push anyone, and you’re supposed to keep your hands to yourself.

Teacher: What happens to you when you push children to the ground?

Student: You get sent to the responsible thinking classroom and you are not allowed to play outside during recess.

Teacher: Is that what you want to happen, to stay in here during recess?

Student: No, I don’t like being in here.

Teacher: What would you rather be doing?

Student: I want to be with my friends outside playing.

Teacher: Is pushing and shoving children on the playground going to make it possible for you to play outside during recess?

Student: No, I’ll have to stay inside.”

Teacher: Is pushing and shoving against the rules?

Student: Yes, it is.

Teacher: Do you want to work at solving your problem so you can play outside during recess?

Student: Yes I really do.

Teacher: Are you sure you want to work at this?

Student: I really do. I don’t like being here in your office.

Concluding thoughts on what is important in terms of behaviour

Olsen and Cooper (2001, p.19) quote the following story by an expert on behaviour, Mick

McManus

What can we learn from this story? It shows that behaviour management is fundamentally

about getting on with children, that is building a positive relationship with them. More

important than books is the basic need for unconditional acceptance of the child. The award

winning Principal, Liz Mackie, when she worked in an Indigenous community would regularly

The McManus Story

In 1985 I left my post in a school for secondary aged students with moderate

learning difficulties and behavioural problems and began a three year secondment

to research behavioural problems and exclusion from school. I had worked in the

school for five years, and although the students were extremely difficult, I seldom

found myself under pressure. I put it down to experience… expertise… [and]

understanding.

The secondment came to an end but not before the manuscript of my book on how

to deal with troublesome students had been delivered to the publisher... Returning

to school, full of ideas, I found I couldn’t control my classes. All my skills and

expertise had no effect. The students I had known had all left and none of these in

the school remembered me. Although I had written a book about surviving in these

situations, I couldn’t survive myself. I began to consider throwing in the job

altogether. My book lists 50 classroom management skills, but they couldn’t have

seemed more irrelevant. What had happened? In taking a detached approach to

the problems of teaching difficult children, I had forgotten about the need for the

personal qualities of resilience, patience, optimism and indestructability. I had been

successful before not just because of my skills, but because I have convinced

students I was dependable, that no matter what happened or however they

behaved, I would still be there working with them in the morning. Establishing that

level of trust takes time. Things improved a little after the first term and by the end

of the year I was more or less back on the stable footing I had enjoyed before I left.

tell her children on assembly that there was nothing they could do that would stop her loving

them and that she would never suspend them. She was true to her word and that is how

she built a trusting relationship.

Importance of Attendance

Everyone agrees that attendance at school is important. There is evidence that not only is

regular attendance vital to school success and classroom management (Freiberg & Lamb,

2009), but also that it is has an effect on levels of delinquency (Beresford, 2003; Weissman,

2008), the incidence of at risk behaviours such as violence, substance abuse, initiation of

sexual activity at an early age (McNeely, Nonnemaker, & Blum, 2002; Resnick et al., 1997),

and emotional well-being and mental health (Shochet, Dadds, Ham, & Montague, 2006).

The Department of Education and Training’s slogan of ‘Every Day Counts’ is intended to

reflect the consensus that school attendance is of great importance.

How the Teacher Aide can get students to attend

If the school and schooling become important in the life of the community then parents and

children will tackle the attendance problem. If the child feels that the school cares and truly

wants them to attend that will be a powerful incentive. The teacher aide has a vital role to

play here. She or he can act as a bridge between the community and the school. She can

connect the school to the community by bringing care into the classroom.

How does the school and the TA show they care about attendance?

When a child turns up regularly there should be a consistent policy of praise and continued

incentives.

For the child, who is a less regular attender, there should be the greeting of “Good to see

you at school, X. We all missed you”. This is the exception, which should be seized upon,

and made a fuss off. Ways should be found to make the return to school memorable and

profitable in terms of learning. However for the irregular attender, it is the emotional element

of being in school that is most important. It will be easier to make the student feel good than

to achieve a learning objective. When the student realises that the TA and the teacher care

and want himor her to succeed, the basis is being laid for school connectedness. The intent

is to turn the exception of going to school into the norm, and when that happens the teaching

and learning plan for the child can be put into action..

References

Bentham, S. (2005). A Teaching Assistant's Guide to Managing Behaviour in the Classroom. London: Taylor & Francis.

Beresford, Q. (2003). Crime, Justice and Aboriginal Youth. In Q. Beresford & G. Partington (Eds.), Reform and Resistance in Aboriginal Education: the Australian Experience (pp. 185-207).

Ford, E. E. (1997). Discipline for Home and School. Scottsdale: Brandt.Freiberg, H. J., & Lamb, S. M. (2009). Dimensions of Person-Centered Classroom Management.

Theory into Practice, 48(2), 99-105. doi: 10.2307/40344599McNeely, C. A., Nonnemaker, J. M., & Blum, R. W. (2002). Promoting School Connectedness:

Evidence from the National Longitutidinal Study of Adolescent Health. Journal of School Health, 72(4), 138-146.

Olsen, J., & Cooper, P. (2001). Dealing with Disruptive Students in the classroom. London: Taylor & Francis.

Reed, K. (2007). Mentoring American Indian Middle School Students to Consider Teaching as a Career. Middle School Journal, 38(3), 25-33.

Resnick, M. D., Bearman, P. S., Blum, R. W., Baumen, K. E., Harris, K. M., & Jones, J. (1997). Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health.. JAMA, 278: 823–832. JAMA, 278, 823-832.

Shochet, I. M., Dadds, M. R., Ham, D. R., & Montague, R. (2006). School Connectedness is an Underemphasized Parameter in Adolescent Mental health: Results of a Community Prediction Study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35(2), 170-179.

Teaching Personnel. (2013). The Role and the Responsibilities of the Teaching Assistant Retrieved from http://www.teachingpersonnel.com/assets/pdf/cshandbook.pdf

Weissman, M. (2008). The school to prison pipeline and criminalizing youth: Costs, consequences and alternatives. The Link: Child Welfare League of America: Connecting juvenile Justice and Child welfare, 6(4), 6-9/15-17.