Behaviour Strategies: PIP & RIP

By Paul Mulvihill

No, this isn’t the name of cartoon characters from the early 90s. I was recently introduced to a concept called PIP (Praise in public) and RIP (Remind in private) at a Pastoral Leaders steering group that I am a part of the networking platform We Are in Beta.

Praise in public - whenever I visit lessons at WA one thing we are extremely good at is positive reinforcement. I always see lots of names displayed for the whole class to see. Celebrating student efforts, progress and engagement is an amazing way to develop and foster positive relationships. 

Remind in private - I am a huge advocate of not putting reminders/warnings/lack of equipment/homework on display. How can we expect students to be motivated if (potentially) 5 times a day their names are on a whiteboard for the peers to see under a sad face? We have busy jobs and have to remember a lot, but consider how you could keep track of reminders you've given out without sharing it publically, such as using a mini whiteboard or note on your chromebook. Instead of “First warning for calling out!” in front of the whole class, could you instead calmly speak to the student one-on-one whilst students are completing a task independently e.g. “You have just called out so it’s your first reminder”?

After reading the article here it made me really reflect upon my own practice, the strategies I use, and how important it is to understand each of our students' preferences. We know that public praise might not be suitable for all our students and that praising actions rather than individual character traits or skills is far more effective. 

Student voice

The amazing PSW team spoke to a few students about how they felt when their misbehaviour is addressed in front of their peers and there were some very interesting perspectives that might be worth taking into consideration.

Adam P (Y8): Doesn’t bother me if my name is on the board but would prefer the teacher to keep a mental note of my strikes.

Soufian L (Y11): Makes me feel angry and makes me talk back. Having a conversation or 1 to 1 maybe outside the classroom, I would maybe still be annoyed but I would be more understanding of their reasoning.

Hya A (Y8): Makes me feel annoyed and quite embarrassed. This can result in me letting out my anger and all depends on the tone of the teacher. I would prefer the teacher to come up to me directly in a quiet tone rather than the entire class hearing. 

Questions to think about:

• How do you give reminders in your classroom? How do students respond?
• How could you try using PIP and RIP in your lessons? What are your reflections afterwards?

If you have any feedback or questions on these ideas or your own experiences, please get in touch!

Bitesize Research: Loneliness In Young People

By Jaya Carrier

I hope you’re all having a good week! This week, I was really interested in some research emerging about loneliness and combating increasing levels of loneliness in young people released by the OECD.

Objectives: To understand some of the key trends about loneliness and how educators might combat this

Summary: 

• The study suggests that loneliness appears to be increasing in young people, and particularly young people with SEND

• The study explains that loneliness can be part of a chronic and vicious cycle, whereby a lonely individual becomes hyper-vigilant and primed to interpret all social cues as negative. This then makes other people react negatively to them, which then in turn leads to increasing feelings of disconnection

• At a whole school level, feeling of loneliness can make a sense of connection and belonging at school diminish. 

• The report then suggests four whole school strands to combat loneliness:

• 1) Supporting students to develop their social skills

• 2) Enhancing social support

• 3) Increasing opportunities for social interaction

• 4) Addressing unhealthy cognition around social understanding 

• They also suggest how at a classroom level, opportunities for collaboration and building self-esteem will also be important

How does this impact me and my practice?: Some reflections arising from this that might be helpful to consider are: 

• What experiences of student loneliness have I noticed?

• What have I done about it so far?

• What support do I need about it?

• How might student-centred strategies and the IB learner profile support with combating wider trends of student loneliness?

Please do get in touch if you would like to talk further about this - I’d love to hear from you!

Bitesize Research: Facilitating Conversations About World Events

By Jaya Carrier

I hope you’re all having a good first week back! Lots of amazing work has taken place in PD lessons this year. One of things I know tutors, YCs and the pastoral team work really hard to do is manage and facilitate challenging conversations about difficult or disturbing world events. As such, I was interested to come upon this Edutopia article that gives some guidance about these kinds of conversations. 

Objectives: To suggest some ideas about facilitating and managing conversations about disturbing news stories or world events. 

Summary: 

• The author gives some recommendations about how to ensure these conversations can be supportive and well managed. She recommends that in the first instance, educators aim to:

• Developing self awareness: Understanding your own bias and lens on the event as an educator

• Know your students: Understanding the cultures, backgrounds and experiences of students before entering into a conversation

• Being present and available: Making it known to students that they can talk to you when they need to

• Invite students to share their thoughts, feelings and reactions: This can help build connection, which in the first instance can be more important than providing a detailed analysis of what has happened and why.

• Normalise student feelings: Let students know that worry, fear and anger are normal reactions to upsetting situations.

• Listen and paraphrase: Seek to listen and paraphrase, which can help with students feeling that they are not being judged

• The author also recommends after the initial shock that educators provide accurate information, enable students to ‘zoom out’ so that they don’t see events in isolation and to promote loving action including social justice campaigns. 

How does this impact me and my practice?: Some reflections arising from this that might be helpful to consider are: 

• What kinds of conversations have I had about difficult and upsetting events with students before? How did it go?

• How can I facilitate these kinds of conversations in future?

• What support do I need to have these kinds of conversations effectively?

If you’re interested in being coached through your biases or want to talk further about this more generally, please do get in touch - I’d love to hear from you!