10/1/2015
1
PREPARING
SUCCESSFUL
TRANSITIONS
FOR THE MIDDLE
YEARS
Tom Brunzell
Let’s pay respect to the original custodians of the land, the Elders past and present and other
Indigenous people who may be here with us today.
Tom Brunzell
Direct Contact: 0478 398 093
We believe that ALL young people need
opportunities to...
BERRY STREET EDUCATION MODEL
138 years in Victoria
Family welfare, clinical, and education services
Senior Associates:
Tom Brunzell, PhD Candidate
Leonie Abbott, Masters of Applied Positive Psychology
Collaboration and Evaluation:
Professor Lea Waters, Centre of Positive Psychology
Dr Helen Stokes, Youth Research Centre
YOU COULD LINE UP EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN YOUR GRADE 7
10/1/2015
2
THE STRESS RESPONSE OF A MIDDLE-SCHOOLER is CONSTANTLY ACTIVATED.
This IS the most difficult period of your life!
• What makes transitioning to the middle years
difficult for students?
• What makes transitioning to the middle years
difficult for our must vulnerable students? WHAT DO OUR MIDDLE YEARS STUDENTS NEED TO
KNOW AND BE PREPARED TO DO?
YOUR TOP 3
Helping students meet their own needs.
PHYSICAL needs
EMOTIONAL needs
COGNITIVE needsENERGETIC needs
SPIRITUAL needs
The
toughest
kids in
school
“It’s all a grab for POWER.”
EVERY DAY POWER STRUGGLES:
Uniforms
Electronics in class
Incomplete homework
Inconsistent classroom management
Talking back
Spotting inconsistency like little lawyers
…and they are RIGHT.
It is a grab for POWER and CONTROL.
10/1/2015
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The changing nature of childhood
Would you agree—
Childhood is more complex than ever before?
STEPLE
Social
Technological
Economic
Political
Legal
Ethical
Let’s make a TOOLKIT
Impacts on academic performance and social functioning
Reduced cognitive capacity
Sleep disturbance
Poor concentration
Difficulties with memory
Language delays
Need for control
Attachment difficulties
Poor peer relationships
Home destabilisation
(Downey, 2007)
2 Domains
of Trauma-
informed
practice
Present.
Centred.
Grounded.
Mirror Neurons
ancient, pre-verbal systems of non-verbal
communication
Attachment co-regulation
Balancing the Nervous System
Parasympathetic
Rest & Digest
Sympathetic
Fight or Flight
The BODY Domain:
BODY
De-escalation
Present. Centred.
Grounded.
Mindfulness
Self-Control
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4
From the BODY domain:
Bring rhythm and use rhythmic strategies to the classroom to build self-regulation
Develop de-escalation strategies to address classroom conflict maintain student power
Incorporate heartrate into regulatory strategies and curriculum
Teach sequential brain development and the stress response
Teach strategies to self-regulate, including an emotional intelligence integration
Teach and practice daily mindfulness as a self-regulatory and stress management tool
Curiosity CreativityOpen
MindednessLove of
Learning
Perspective
Wisdom
Courage
BraveryPersistence
Integrity
Honesty
Enthusiasm
Vitality Love Kindness Friendship
Social Intelligence
Teamwork
CitizenshipFairness Leadership
Forgiveness / Mercy
Humility / Modesty
PrudenceSelf-
RegulationAppreciation
of Beauty
GratitudeHope /
ResiliencyHumour Spirituality
1. What’s your signature strength?
2. Do you use it every day?
3. If you don’t...
Can the people you work with specifically name and practice their signature strengths every day?
From the CHARACTER domain:
Help students identify their strengths and articulate
those strengths to themselves and those around them
Incorporate those strengths into transition plans
Teach and enable every student to practice and
goal-set using their signature character strengths
Incorporate a strengths focus into curriculum
planning, student work, and classroom meetings
SO TODAY,
• Helping transitioning students meet
their own needs
• Looking at the effects of stress in the
classroom
• Present. Centred. Grounded.
• De-escalating one’s self
• Identifying strengths
10/1/2015
5
We believe that ALL young people need
opportunities to...
BERRY STREET EDUCATION MODEL
RECOMMENDED READING
Biel, L. & Peske, N. (2005). Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues. New York: Penguin Books.
Bowlby, J. (1971) Attachment. London: Pelican.
Burke, C. A. (2010). Mindfulness-based approaches with children and adolescents: A preliminary review of current research in an emergent field. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19, 133-144.
Cohn, M.A., & Fredrickson, B.L. (2009). Positive emotions. In C.R. Snyder & S.J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of Positive Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 13–24). New York: Oxford University Press.
Cornelius-White, J. (2007). Learner-centered teacher-student relationships are effective: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 77, 1, 114-143.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Basic Books.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Ballatine Books.
Emmons, R.A., & McCullough, M.E. (2004). The Psychology of Gratitude. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
RECOMMENDED READING
Fox Eades, J. (2008). Celebrating Strengths: Building strengths based schools. Coventry, UK: CAPP Press.
Fredrickson, B.L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218–226.
Fredrickson, B.L. (2013). Love 2.0. London: Hudson Street Press, Penguin Group Ltd.
Froh, J. J., Kashdan, T. B., Ozimkowski, K. M., & Miller, N. (2009). Who benefits the most from a gratitude intervention in children and adolescents? Examining positive affect as a moderator. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 408-422.
Gable, S. L., & Haidt, J. (2005). What (and why) is positive psychology? Review of General Psychology, 9, 103-110.
Gillham, J.E., et al. (2011). Character strengths predict subjective wellbeing during adolescence. Journal of Positive Psychology, 6, 31-44.
Goleman, D. (1996). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York, NY: Bantam Books.
Howells, K. (2012). Gratitude in Education: A radical view. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Hughes, D.A. (2006). Building the Bonds of Attachment. Lanham: Aronson.
RECOMMENDED READING
Klem, A. M., & Connell, J. P. (2004). Relationships matter: Linking teacher support to student engagement and achievement. Journal of School Health, 74,7, 262-273.
Kuypers, L. (2011). Zones of Regulation: A curriculum designed to foster self-regulation and emotional control. San Jose: Think Social Publishing.
Ludy-Dobson, C.R. & Perry, B.P. (2010). The Role of Healthy Relational Interactions in Buffering the Impact of Childhood Trauma. Working with Children to Heal Interpersonal Trauma: The Power of Play. Ed. Eliana Gil. New York: The Gilford Press.
Meyerson, D.A., Grant, K.E., Smith Carter, J., & Kilmer, R.P. (2011). Posttraumatic growth among children and adolescents: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 949-964.
National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (2005). Empirically Supported Treatments and Promising Practices. Los Angeles, CA & Durham, NC: Author.
Perry, B.D. (2006). Applying Principles of Neurodevelopment to Clinical Work with Maltreated and Traumatized Children: The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. In N. Boyd Webb (Eds.), Working with Traumatized Youth in Child Welfare. New York: The Guildford Press.
Perry, B.D. (2009). Examining Child Maltreatment through a Neurodevelopmental Lens: Clinical Applications of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, Journal of Loss and Trauma, 14, 240-255. DOI: 10.1080/15325020903004350
RECOMMENDED READING
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford University Press & Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Proctor, C. & Fox Eades, J. (2011). Strengths Gym. Guernsey: Positive Psychology Research Centre Ltd.
Reivich, K., & Shatté, A. (2002). The resilience factor: 7 essential skills for overcoming life's inevitable obstacles. New York: Broadway Books.
Seligman, M.E.P. (2011). Flourish. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
Seligman, M.E.P., Ernst, R. M., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35, 293-311.
Siegel, D. (2009). Mindful Awareness, Mindsight, and Neural Integration, The Humanistic Psychologist, 37, 2, 137-158.
Snyder, C.R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 249-275.
van der Kolk, B.A. (2003). The neurobiology of childhood trauma and abuse. Child AdolescPsychiatric Clin N Am, 12, 293-317, DOI: 10.1016/S1056-4993(09)00003-8
van der Kolk, B.A. & McFarlane, A. (1996). Traumatic Stress: the effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body and society. New York: The Guildford Press.
Waters, L. (2011). A review of school-based positive psychology interventions. The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 28, 2, 75-90.
Tom Brunzell, [email protected]
Direct Contact: 0478 398 093