Dear Malfroy Staff,

Following on from our NVCI day on Friday I feel the need to clarify a couple of points.
I have attached PP notes that I would have used during my presentation, however
my computer was not compatible with your equipment. Firstly I would like to expand
on attention seeking and then talk to some of the slides. If you have any questions
please send me an email. Rosemary.Lyons@education.govt.nz

Attention seeking

The crucial aspect to responding appropriately to attention seeking from students is

to know why the student is attention seeking. Attention seeking is a symptom of a
need rather than the need itself. For example if a student is anxious, then the need is
reassurance; if a student is confused the need is clarity; if the student is just trying to
get more positive emotional experiences (e.g., recognise me, tell me Im okay, tell I
am competent) then more positive emotional experiences are required.

Attention seeking students are not usually able to verbalise their need so teacher
observation and an educated guess about what the student need is, is required.
Once you think you may know what the student need is then make a plan to address
the need. So for example, if a student is anxious, identify what the student may be
anxious about and respond to the need. The student may require more predictability
about their day, more reassurance about their competence, or a class mate to check
in with about the task.

It is a common experience with the students I deal with that they are attention
seeking to be recognised and to feel competent. Consequently, a simple plan such as
regular recognition of the student, such as verbally (e.g., John you are working well)
or a touch on the shoulder can reduce attention seeking behaviours.

With one attention seeking student I had, her need was to be recognised and to feel
accepted. The plan we implemented was that the teacher recognised the student in
some way at least every 30 mins and for the principal to recognise the student daily
in some way. As the student reduced her attention seeking behaviours the teacher
recognition time was extended out and the principal recognition was reduced.
However, the student required at least 2 or 3 positive recognitions every day to
maintain the reduction in attention seeking behaviours: this was because the
student still had the emotional need.

Fairness

Id just like to refer you to the slide 4, which is the cartoon with the caption For a
fair selection... I use this slide because often teachers are concerned that they are
not treating all the students the same and this can feel like an injustice to other
students. I think it is important to note that students have different needs based on
many aspects of themselves, such as intellectual ability, support from parents, home
stability, enriching experiences e.g., holidays and outings, and how much sleep or
well fed they are. Fairness is not the same as sameness. I tend to think that
responding to the students need, either academic or emotional, is fairness.

Stages of Change

Slide 5 shows a model for the stages of change: pre-contemplation is not thinking
about change at all; contemplation is beginning to think about change; preparation is
preparing to change and building commitment; action is working/doing the change;
maintenance is acting out the change often; relapse is returning to the former
behaviour. Relapse is a common human behaviour when trying to shift from a
former to a new behaviour.

It can be helpful to consider a relapse in behaviour as a step along the way to

change, rather than a failure. When doing an analysis of an acting out episode it can
be supportive to the student to identify a time when he/she coped with a difficulty
and then move to what can we do next time to support you in the new behaviour
(i.e., not acting out like you did). Building hope in the students ability to change can
be helpful.

Precipitating Factors

Slides 6 and 7 consider precipitating factors. The iceberg model shows that we make
our own explanations about why the student is acting, but our judgement is often
lacking important information. This goes back to the psychological explanation that:

a. I always know more about myself than the other person; therefore I have
more complex explanations about my own behaviour than that of others.

b. I tend to explain my own negative behaviour based on external factors (such

as other people or events), but tend to explain other peoples behaviours due
to internal characteristics (lazy, inattentive, choosing not to).

The above two tendencies are very human behaviours, but if we can be aware of
them then we can be more open to the possibilities of other explanations for a
students behaviour and his/her needs. Consequently, this could open up to more
options and likely solutions to manage the students behaviour.

Slides 8 and 9 offer other possibilities for students exhibiting difficult behaviour.
Teratogons are contaminants the baby has come in contact with while in utero.
Processing speed is the rate at which a person can process incoming information;
i.e., how fast the brain works. Some students have a slow or very slow processing
speed, which means that information needs to be presented at a slower and simpler
rate compared to other students.

Ng mihi, Rosemary
26 July 2016.