Final Reflection

What new professional learning did you acquire as a result of this project?”

The Writer’s Self-Regulation Project gave me a deeper understanding of stress and how it impacts behaviour. This project has expanded my classroom management skills to include new ideas and strategies about teaching students to self-regulate. Following our learning about identifying the domains of stress, naming the stressors and noticing them in the moment, I became a stress detective. I collected data, watched for trends and recurring stressors, which provided me the knowledge to co-regulate with the students in order to reduce the stress. My learning progressed throughout the year, as our team met, observed, discussed and expanded our knowledge through reading, research and conversations. Our presentations to educators at different schools generated excellent conversations and strengthened the network between educators with a common goal.

What was the impact of your TLLP learning, if any, on your students? How do you know?

Throughout the year, I observed students becoming increasingly aware of what they needed to be calm. As I learned to be a stress detective, I used variety of strategies to co-regulate with the students. The data collected presented stressors in common domains across the classroom and I used a pro-active approach to present lessons and role playing activities to address those needs. As I identified effective techniques to meet the needs of individual students, I was able to use the appropriate strategy immediately when needed. The end result was a faster turnaround time for students to return to being ready to learn.

What questions or goals do you have to sustain your learning? What are your next steps?

Starting next school year with this knowledge, what will the results be beginning the year as a stress detective? Each new class has different learners with unique needs. My goal is to continue the work we have begin, getting to know the students and any stressors they may have as I build classroom community in September. Also, I will be noting common areas that I can address through whole group lessons, as well as self-regulation strategies that work for the whole class. This will lead to a pro-active approach to meeting students needs. A combination of applying these strategies, as well as supporting and co-regulating with students as individual stressors arise, will build each student’s repertoire of strategies that work for them, as they learn to self-regulate.

Final Reflection: Jennifer Rogers

Q: What new professional learning did you acquire as a result of this project?

A: Learning about Self –Reg and reading Shanker’s books were very applicable to my professional learning, especially this year in my role of Behaviour Strategy Resource Teacher. As a resource teacher, I have the opportunity to connect with many students, especially those that are struggling for one reason or another each day. Actually, I have these encounters multiple times on any given day. Learning about the five domains was very helpful in naming and then in working through to reduce the stressors for the students. Quotes like ‘See a child differently, see a different child” really resonated with me. As well, Shaker talks about shifting from enforcing compliance to reducing the cause of the challenging behaviour. I feel this has positively impacted the way I approach every situation. I notice that the students sense my calm demeanor and in most cases, I can quickly de-escalate them and begin to work through the problem. It was very powerful to work along side my colleagues to problem solve and make changes throughout the school setting to support students struggling with self-regulation. It was a team approach, and I am confident our professional learning will continue to impact our student population in the coming years.

Q: What was the impact of your TLLP, if any, on your students? How do you know?

A: The impact of the TLLP was evident in our students. Working one-on-one with students who were not self-regulating was so rewarding when we were able to talk through the stressors and together identify what was the reason for their behaviour. As the year progressed, I knew it was working because I would hear the language from the students themselves, statements like “Being in a dark room calms me.” or “I can’t focus because I am hungry and my body can’t sit still”.

Q: What questions or goals do you have to sustain your learning? What are your next steps?

A: As I stated earlier, as a resource teacher, I will continue to support students with their self regulation on a daily basis. I will revisit the resources from this TLLP and hopefully will continue to refine my craft of “lending a calm lens” and being aware of my role during challenging times so that I can be the stress detective and not an additional stressor for the student. We have new staff joining us this fall, and I feel I can make an impact on demonstrating some of the strategies that we can use when dealing with a struggling student. I can be a change agent by helping my collegues reframe the behaviour and work along side them to find the stressors and work through the situation. It would be great to revisit with the TLLP team on an informal basis to help and support our students. Thank you Lisa, our team leader, for providing the opportunity for us to work and grow together!

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