ATTACHMENT STYLE

1. SECURE ATTACHMENT STYLE

A secure attachment style is the most desired attachment style in children. It best places them to develop positively for the future.

When children have a secure attachment style, they show distress when their caregiver leaves the room, but they quickly settle and compose themselves when their caregiver returns.

Children with a secure attachment style feel protected by their caregivers and that they can depend upon them. Children who have a secure attachment style can explore and play more, using their caregiver as the base from which to embark upon their exploration of the world.

Securely attached children show a higher level of maturity, increased empathy, and less disruptive and angry behavior (Leblanc, Dégeilh, Daneault, Beauchamp, & Bernier, 2017). Moving on to adulthood, these children will have long-term relationships, fewer trust issues, and greater self-esteem; enjoy engaging with others; and reciprocate feelings.

2. ANXIOUS ATTACHMENT STYLE

Children with an ambivalent/anxious-preoccupied style cling to their caregivers, are anxious and guarded around strangers, exhibit distress when their caregiver leaves, but then remain ambivalent when they return. Ainsworth et al. (1978) found that such children resisted interactions with their mother when they were reunited, even showing aggression toward the mother for abandoning them.

A review of ambivalent attachment styles in children found that mothers who have lowered maternal ability tend to have children with this type of attachment style. It is not a very common attachment style, with less than 15% of infants displaying this (Cassidy & Berlin, 1994).

This style of attachment can create an over-dependency of the child on the caregiver. The child is suspicious of strangers. This will act as an intuitive protective factor, as it ensures that others do not harm them.

This style ultimately creates a clingy child, who will develop into an overly dependent adult, worried when relationships end and showing reluctance to gain close proximity with others, particularly in romantic relationships.

3. AVOIDANT - DISMISSIVE ATTACHMENT STYLE

When caregivers are not emotionally available, children may develop an avoidant and dismissive attachment style. Ainsworth et al. (1978) found these children were not distressed when separated from their mothers and engaged with the stranger similarly to their mother. When the mother returned, they showed some avoidance signs, such as avoiding eye contact and turning away.

If children do not experience their caregivers’ sensitivity to their needs, they may develop physical and emotional independence. In the short term, this can act as a positive, protective factor. However, it can be damaging in the long term as they disconnect from their feelings and emotional needs.

As adults, such individuals will experience difficulty with close and intimate relationships, as they cannot share their emotions and feelings with their partners. The ending of a relationship will not cause them any distress.

4. AVOIDANT - FEARFUL ATTACHMENT STYLE

After discovering that many infants did not fit into the groups of secure, ambivalent, or avoidant attachment, Main and Solomon (1986) described the disorganized attachment type. Children – and their parents – with disorganized attachment showed confusion and fear, reinforcing each other’s behaviors.

A child can develop a disorganized attachment when they have not received coherent caregiving or have been mistreated, neglected, or traumatized by their caregiver. This results in a child being fearful and avoidant, as they don’t know what to expect. Their behavior is disorganized and confused; they may respond with aggression or emotional distress, and can’t self-soothe.

Strangely, the child is seen to seek comfort and reassurance from the same adult, but quickly withdraw again. Their disorganized template does not allow them to experience coherent emotions or behaviors. Even when caregivers are abusive, children will attach to them because this is their intrinsic nature (Prior & Glaser, 2006).

The disorganized attachment style is definitely not straightforward because it is an attachment pattern derived from trauma, fear, mistrust, and often abuse. The child is never able to feel safe, despite seeking proximity. The disorganized child may be thinking, ‘Can I trust you? Shall I come to you, or shall I run away from you? I’m confused by you.’

 1 minute behaviour management

1 Minute Behaviour Management is a spin off of the very famous business management book called “1 Minute Manager”. The theory behind the technique is that any form of management should only take 1 minute max. It forces you to get to the source of the problem quickly and get to an agreed upon outcome fast. No one wants to over labour the bad vibe. As teachers we’d prefer to get back into the fun stuff and create an engaging space.

STEP 1: The first part of this method requires you to be really clear on what the GOALS of the lesson are. Be specific and ensure that you have spelt it out in a way that it is suitable for the room you are in i.e. Prep-3, Grade 4-6 or Fast Track / Film. Use words that the students understand and get them to have ‘buy in’ - make them feel like they had a choice in the matter. No one wants to think that they have been forced to do something against their will. Once this is done, ensure that everyone in the room is on the same page - get them to repeat it back to you and check for understanding. Outline what sorts of behaviours are expected in order to achieve the goal. (I try not to state what I DON”T want as it can cloud the situation and someone will always focus on that rather than the right thing). Lastly, clearly articulate what the consequences are if we don’t follow the expectations and achieve our shared goal. Simply, easy and always do it with fun.

STEP 2: 1 MINUTE PRAISE - this is for when one or more students are doing the right thing that you want to highlight as the ‘role model’ in the room. Watch the room lift when you 1 minute praise a student for doing the right thing. First step is to be immediate and specific. Tell the student what they did and how it makes you feel. Move straight onto the reward. This can be a physical or verbal cue, but it could also be something bigger i.e S.O.W.

STEP 3: 1 MINUTE REVIEW & CLARIFY - sometimes kids aren’t fully on the same page for whatever reason. 1) they missed the first part of the lesson 2) they need assistance in understanding 3) they lost focus and need to redirect. It can easily be fixed. Firstly ask the student what they should be doing and why. This way you can assess if they actually got the memo. Ask them if they know what we are all trying to achieve today. Once you’ve reset, get them to verbally state back what you’re trying to achieve and why. Get their agreement and reset. Get back to the lesson.

STEP 4: 1 MINUTE REPRIMAND - in the instance where a student has made more than 1 repeat misbehaviours. The first time they do something wrong, NEVER let is go unnoticed. They (and the rest of the class) need to see that you’ve noticed and that you aren’t happy with their chosen actions. If they do it again then you need to move to 1 minute reprimand and sort the situation. Firstly be immediate and specific. Ensure that you have clearly articulated what they’ve done wrong. Let them know what they are doing and how it affects others and the learning space. STOP for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence - this will normally fix the problem. Reassure the student that this isn’t personal, that you are on their side BUT you aren’t happy with their choice of behaviour. Asses whether you need to enforce the consequences. And finally, WHOOSH and move on. All of that should be able to be sorted in 1 minute. The WHOOSH part is really important. The student/s need to see that you are adult enough to move on and be fun, caring, engaging etc.

 REFLECTING IN ACTION

REFLECTING IN ACTION is such a valuable skill for a teacher to have. It allows you to be a more present and adaptable teacher. There’s no doubt that reflecting ON the lesson after the fact and preparing a great lesson before it happens are wonderful skills to have but if you are able to monitor the room and make adjustments on the run, you are not only saving valuable time, you are also ensuring that the lesson you are running and course correct in the moment.

So how do you reflect in action? It is the ability to read the room making an assessment of what IS and then being able to adjust to what you WANT it to be. Sometimes this needs to happen simultaneously as you are running the lesson or an activity but it needs to be seemless (or at least appear that way to the students).

1) I make and assessment on the level of engagement of the students. This can be done through, discussion, hands up, eye contact and energy of the students. If it’s off, make an adjustment.

2) Assess the space you are in. This can come down to things like air conditioning, clutter, furniture etc anything that has to do with the space and how it impacts the learning. If it isn’t working, make an adjustment.

3) Assess how the pace of the lesson is going. Is it slow and cumbersome. Are the students slow to the mark and moving on. If so, make the adjustments.

4) Finally I always am making an assessment on on the tone of the room is. If the culture of the space isn’t on point, then make the adjustment required.