On the final day of conferences, one workshop that I found very insightful was the "A Notch Down: Reducing Behaviour Challenges" workshop. This was a workshop that I was looking forward to, as I know that as a teacher, dealing with challenging behaviours is something that cannot be avoided, and I was hoping to receive some insight into how to approach these situations with empathy and understanding. The facilitator of the workshop recommended two books on this topic which were Lost at School by Dr. Ross Green and The School Discipline Fix by Dr. Stuart Ablon and Alisha Pollastri. These authors subsequently developed the Collaborative Problem-Solving 4-step process which is an approach to addressing challenging behaviour in the classroom. The process is as followed:
1. Identify the issue/observation that is of concern
2. Understand the students' concern
3. Specify your concern as a teacher
4. Collaboratively develop solutions to address the issue
At times, as educators, we tend to make assumptions about students when they exhibit challenging behaviour. However, in this workshop I learned that when we encounter challenging behaviour in our classrooms, our first duty is to understand what is happening and what skills the students are lacking, rather than jumping to conclusions that place blame on the student for not behaving according to expectations. As outlined in the 4-step process, understanding the students' and teachers' concerns through collaborative problem-solving allows teachers to empathize with students' perspectives while also fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility among students.
Greene, R. (2014). Lost at School. Scribner.
Ablon, S. & Pollastri, A. (2018). The School Discipline Fix. WW Norton.
Courtesy of JaclynT@NUO-EDU491
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