Reflect and Next Steps

 

Reflecting on the success of your inquiry and what next steps you need to take to continue is the last essential step in our PGC Inquiry Cycle. Reflecting on what you changed in your practice and if you felt it was successful or not is essential. Detailing your self-change and aligning this with what your students achieved due to this is important to the reflection process. Overall reflection of the inquiry leads into the next steps you should take to continue to grow your practice which can then help you frame what has happened also.

Target students: Undisclosed due to nature of inquiry however trauma informed practices will benefit all students.

Inquiry goal:

Which  trauma informed practices will best support the children in my class by meeting their emotional needs from a research based perspective.( Neurosequential Model in Education)

What I have tried: 

Soft start/connection time:

After the 9am bell we continue to play to allow adults to get alongside akonga and check in on their morning. Late arrivals can join in more easily.

Routines in place:

Each day follows a predictable routine. It is usually the same every day/week.

Food and water available.

Children have access to water in class all day. Food available after writing (9.30am ish) as well as fruit.

Outside play for fresh air and movement:

After literacy is complete, children can play outside (a sticker on a chart to indicate that writing and reading are complete)

Daily music/singing/dance - We start our day with waiata. This has definitely made a positive impact. I see children spinning, rocking and moving their bodies in ways that make them happy. They love the singing and have favourite songs and dances that they look forward to. Te Reo Maori is incorporated in here too. I have noticed that there is a calm and settled response to the songs with guitar playing.

Next: I want to involve purposeful rhythm and beats.

Ha ki roto. Ha ki waho ( you tube yoga) - We were initially doing this everyday but the timing was wrong. Now I try to pop it on after read with a friend and children make their way to the mat to join in. What has happened in that some of the boys try to move directly in front of the tv so they can see which annoys others which is not calming at all.

Next: We are taking a break at the moment from this. In 2024 I will try to give children assigned spots/carpet or astro turf for their feet

Ha ki roto. Ha ki waho (Star breathing prior to karakia/story) - this definitely settles everyone and we do it frequently. Popping it into the day works well. One child likes to say 'done' prior to the end but is getting better at respecting the time.

Circle time - I haven't done this as well as I could have. Will park it until 2024 now. Gratitude circles as well as problem solving.

Another language - I listened to Nathan Wallis in October who talked about the benefits of learning another language especially for children under 7. He said there are benefits from speaking only 60 words and these can be waiata. I have made a considerable attempt to find waiata that the children love and can sing along to as well as weaving more Te Reo into our daily interactions. This will be ongoing into 2024 as I can see these songs make many children happy and settled.

Relationships: I have worked hard to establish good relationships within the class. I make sure I am in the class to greet everyone each day. I make sure this is positive and that each day is treated as a new day. I have tried to store information so that I have something to chat about that is personal to each child. I intentionally ensure that I have some positive time with children who are often seeking my attention in less desirable ways. This might be reading a book, playing a game, eating kai or simply chatting. I have also tried to engage positively with whanau. This is not always easy but I am grateful that I will 12/17 children in 2024 to continue with this. Relationships between the children is the biggest challenge. I believe that quality circle time may assist with this is 2024.

Co-regulation: This description seems to suit how I am using this term.

Co-regulation is the interactive process by which caring adults (1) provide warm supportive relationships, (2) promote self-regulation through coaching, modeling, and feedback, and (3) structure supportive environments

This is probably the trickiest to implement. This means being the calm in their storm which is not always easy when there is yelling, swearing, disruption and hitting. I am doing my best to be the calm. I have identified a trigger which is that I find property damage a challenge. 

In saying that, I have noticed that the one child who is most explosive is beginning to regulate more quickly and is able to engage again more quickly than earlier in the year. 

Social coaching/restorative conversations:

Trying to use these strategies to support the class to resolve issues independently and to recognise the perspective of others.

WHERE TO ?

The identification of possible new practices and how the teacher would monitor them in terms of their effectiveness for students 

I will continue to use waiata (more than 1 language) and breathing to provide calming/reset opportunities. I will continue grow relationships with akonga and whanau but I especially want to be more deliberate with growing relationships between children. I believe circle times will support this. I want to learn more about coregulation so that I can use techniques to support children so they can begin to regulate themselves.

Using restorative conversations when possible to support relationships and problem solving.

I know that none of this will happen overnight and I need to keep working at it. Sometimes it feels like there is no progress but it is important to not give up.

Being consistent and kind can be hard but it is essential. I am grateful for my team who I can speak to honestly and know I am supported and not judged.

One of the challenges of 2023 has been to support children who are facing ACEs but do this is a quiet way. I want to make sure these children are able to have some time with me and our kaiawhina in 2024.

Personally, I will keep reading, watching and learning about trauma to continue to grow my own knowledge.