Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE IAL2013

 
TITLE Effective Interventions for Managing Positive Behaviour Support: A Whole School Approach

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Inclusion and Access to Learning

 
DESCRIPTION This unit takes up a Constructivist-Strategic approach in Managing challenging social, emotional and behavioural difficulties which often hinder students from experiencing school as a primary source for their learning, development and well-being.

The study-unit will deal with:
1: Constructivist-strategic Approach To Children’s Difficulties;
2: Stripping labels: From a descriptive to an operative knowledge;
3: Emotions: a new lens. (Fear-based, anger-driven pain-based, pleasure-driven difficulties);
4: Creating an action plan: an action-research approach to case observation, evaluation and intervention;
5: When common sense fails: Non -ordinary Interventions to create Corrective Emotional Experiences.

Study-unit Aims:

The aims and objectives of this unit is to:
• help LSEs take up a new lens in reading child problems, which avoids labelling or self-fulling prophecy which often condemn the child for a life-time sentence;
• guide LSEs acquire a more operative knowledge of child-related difficulties which will guide them to shift from a strictly theoretical/medical categories to a more operative understanding of these problems. A shift from the “why” of the problem to “how” to manage the problem;
• provide qualified LSEs with the requisite competencies to work more effectively with students with challenging internalised (phobias, selective mutism, isolation, block of performance, etc) and externalised difficulties (provocative behaviours, fighting, self-harm, etc);
• guide students to know what to do when common-sense interventions do not work, which often creates a sense of helplessness in teachers;
• create win-win collaborative relationships between LSE and students;
• teach students to implement an action research approach to the work.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

• Describe operative knowledge and understanding of the array of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties encountered in the school context;
• Identify fear-based (e.g.phobias, anxiety, selective mutism), anger-based (e.g. violent behaviour, vandalism, conflicts, provocative behaviour), pleasure-based (e.g. attention seeking, binging, bullying, new addiction) and pain-based (e.g. self-harm, depression, trauma, post-traumatic) difficulties in students;
• Demonstrate awareness of their communication and how this influence the relationship with their students;
• Identify ‘doing-more-of-the-same’ patterns in their practice.

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

• Apply effective tools and strategies in dealing with even the most intimidating cases, where common-sense interventions seem not to work;
• Employ problem solving and communication competencies (verbal and non-verbal);
• Implement better class management;
• Implement an action research approach to everyday practice (learning by doing), tailoring their intervention according to the situation.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Text

- Papantuono, M., Portelli, C., Gibson, P (2014) Winning without fighting: A teacher's handbook of effective solutions for Social, Emotional, Behavioural Difficulties in students. Malta University Press.

Supplementary texts

- Amatea, E., Sherrard, P., (1991), When students cannot or will not change their behaviour: Using brief strategic intervention in the school, in Journal of Counseling and Development, 69: 341–344.
- Giallo, R & Hayes (2007) THE PARADOX OF TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT – in the Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology. Vol 7, 2007, pp108- 119.
- Maag J. W., (1997), Parenting without punishment: Making problem behaviour work for you, in Reclaiming Children and Youth: Journal of Emotional Behavioural Problems, 6(3): 176–179.
- Nardone G., Balbi E., (2015)The Logic of Therapeutic Change: fitting strategies to pathologies Karnac.
- Nardone G., Portelli C., (2005), Knowing through Changing: The Evolution of brief strategic Therapy, London: Crown Publishing House.
- Stearns P. N., Haggarty T., (1991), The Role of Fear: Transistions in American Emotional Standards for Children, 1850–1950, in American Historical Review 96: 63–94.
- Wedge, M., (2011), Suffer the Children: The Case against labeling and Medicating and an Effective Alternatives, W.W. Norton & Company, New York.
- Weeks G. R., L’Abate L., (1982), Paradoxical psychotherapy: Theory and practice with individuals, couples, and families, New York: Brunneri Mazel.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Seminar

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment SEM3 Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Claudette Portelli

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit