PED 4142 Interview Question Artifact

How would you support a student who struggles with self-regulation and causes frequent disruption?

As children and youth spend most of their day in school, educators have an important role in helping to identify students in need of support and reinforcing helpful skills and strategies in the classroom (School Mental Health Ontario, 2023). The first step in supporting a student is to build rapport with the students in the classroom at the beginning of a semester. This helps with early identification of any potential trouble in a student’s life at school, whether at home, any underlying mental health concerns, and/or triggers that may affect their behaviour. Prevention strategies are the first steps in helping a student who is having difficulty with their thoughts, behaviour, and/or emotions (School Mental Health Ontario, 2023). These include:

• Establishing a safe and positive learning environment for all students to learn.

• In the everyday classroom, establishing predictable routines by setting clear expectations, and providing advance warning about any changes to prevent any unnecessary triggers. Rules and schedules can be written on the board so they are visible and act as a reminder to students throughout the lessons.

• Plan engaging activities that cater to students’ interests.

• Provide reminders and prompts for students to get back on task at hand, and give positive reinforcement whenever possible.

• For assignments and projects, break them into smaller, manageable chunks so students can feel less overwhelmed about the assignments. Accommodations and/or modifications should be provided if necessary.

• Find opportunities to teach and reinforce socio-emotional skills to cope with stress and challenges.

• Teach and model compassionate action and speech, so students know that we are a source of support and can reach out if they need help. Other students in the classroom can also learn from our actions and become caring for their peers.

• For younger students, sensory toys can be readily available in the classroom for students to use. For adolescents, frequent breaks can be allowed.
  

I used a number of preventative strategies above in my classroom. While I was teaching grade 9 science during practicum, I established predictable routines by structuring my lessons the same way everyday. I wrote the schedule of the day on the board. My lessons usually started with me introducing new science concepts using a powerpoint for about 15 minutes. Students would follow along with a fill-in-the-blank handout. Afterwards, the rest of the lesson would be spent on working on engaging hands-on group activities. The students followed the routine very well. They would automatically grab the hand-outs or ask for them when they enter the classroom. For the summative task assignment, I organized it into sections and gave each section to the students to complete throughout the unit. The summative task was an engineering assignment where students were to design and construct an electrical device using a combination of circuits and coding with the Micro:bit. The task could have seemed very daunting if I only introduced it to them at the end of the unit. By guiding them to do each section, such as brainstorming, drawing a design, construction, and reflection, the students could complete each section with ease, and I didn’t see them feel especially stressed out when they were working.

Next, if a student does not respond well to the preventative strategies and exhibits disruptive behaviour, it is important to remind them of the rules that were initially established, be firm and consistent with it. While interacting with the student, my demeanor should be calm to avoid escalation of behaviours. If they are able to self-regulate again, express positive reinforcement for their efforts. After class, I would take some time to talk to the student to reflect on what happened during class, listen to any problems they may bring up and demonstrate an understanding of their experience. It is also important that I show compassion so that the student knows that I am coming from a place of support (and not from a fault-pointing perspective).

In addition, a teacher is never alone in supporting a student. If a student’s dysregulated behaviour is frequent, becoming concerning, and affecting their school performance, I can consult with other teachers to get more information about this student. We can collaborate and discuss about any strategies that could help the student. I would also document the student’s challenging behaviour, noting the symptoms that occur, the circumstances that trigger the behaviours, and the frequency, duration, and intensity of the behaviours. This information can be brought to the parents, school guidance, learning support staff, and administration. As a team, we would discuss whether the student is in need of further support and/or referral to a mental health professional. If needed, we would also collaborate to establish a plan to help the student manage behaviour.

Lastly, I am still at the initial stages of my teaching journey, and I acknowledge that I still have much to learn about supporting students’ well-being. Continuous reflection on my practices and expanding my repertoire in students' needs, and common mental health concerns can help me become more equipped in providing support through my everyday actions in my class or with individual students and will help me determine when additional support is needed. 

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References:

Government of Ontario (2013). Supporting minds: An educators guide to promoting students’ mental health and well-being.

School Mental Health Ontario (2023). Common student mental health concerns. https://smho-smso.ca/educators-and-student-support-staff/common-student-mental-health-concerns/

School Mental Health Ontario (2023). Supporting students who have mental health concerns. https://smho-smso.ca/educators-and-student-support-staff/common-student-mental-health-concerns