Presentation by: Nick Korvin
Session: A | Time: 9:00 AM-9:40 AM | Location: Room 208
This project is a part of the Through a Different Lens Project (TADL) in SD67, funded in part by a grant through the Vancouver Foundation.
Through the process of teacher inquiry, a small group of teachers investigated practical classroom interventions to support students with anxiety. The initial phase of this inquiry was to develop a common lens through which to understand the root of anxiety and evidence based interventions based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and the work of Lynn Lyons. One of the foundations of this understanding was to develop the idea of ‘The 3 E’s’ (Externalizing, Expecting and Experimenting) when supporting individuals with anxiety. Another imperative process to develop strong mental health informed practice is the ability to cultivate and maintain strong student-teacher relationships.
Through this common lens of understanding the inquiry group was able to diffuse these concepts into their own personal projects. This allowed us to use the process of inquiry to reflect on the successes and challenges each member faced when developing their own strategies of intervention for supporting students with anxiety. Each member of the group used the spirals of inquiry process to create, put into practice, collect evidence about and assess interventions they created. Some of the practices that made a difference for students with anxiety were ‘Tea time with teacher’, ‘Fostering Growth Mindset’, ‘question of the day’, ‘co-created criteria’, ‘goal setting’ and ‘collaborative planning’.
The significance of these findings was that an understanding of the psychological and physiological components of anxiety was important to give teachers the confidence to create classroom interventions. However, the number one aspect necessary for success when supporting students with anxiety was the fostering of student-teacher relationships. This finding aligns with the greater findings of the TADL project which focuses on strategies that support vulnerable students K-12.
Developing practical interventions for classroom teachers to support students with anxiety is increasingly relevant in the current climate of our school systems. Arming teachers with current best-practice around supporting individuals with anxiety, and marrying those understandings to classroom interventions rooted in the fostering of positive student-teacher relationships is not only relevant but imperative.
Abstract: 588