My BRiTE Toolkit

Date: 27/09/2018 8:25 AM

Module "R": Relationships....................................................................................................................... 2

Module "R": Relationships
Maintaining support networks
Strategies I have for maintaining support networks
• By making the most of my opportunities when interacting with people, to ask questions, offer the
possibility to work together or help out and genuinely display value in keeping that contact
My thoughts on "I have friends I haven’t seen for weeks …"
• You need to plan something for the upcoming weekend. Ring one of your friends and explain the
situation; that you need to have a get together with everyone because the practical is consuming
your life and you need to forget about it for awhile.
My top 3 strategies for maintaining support networks
• Make time for my family and friends, ask for support from colleagues and peers, use online support
networks for professional development
My Support Network
• Rachel Sheffield: A vibrant and excellent science lecturer
• Janelle McGann: An experienced lecturer in professional studies and evaluating learning
• Robyn Kalajzic: Is very excited about my upcoming practical in Kalgoorlie and is organising a go to
kit for me
• Theresa Naisbitt: A science teacher friend from my early days of teaching
• Tessa Jackson: A very supportive Deputy Principal when I was relief teaching at South Perth
Primary
• Andrew (Husband): Unconditional love and support
• Anna (Daughter): She is studying secondary education and we can talk about our assessments
and teaching strategies
• Theresa: My friend who is an experienced science teacher and can give me a lot of advice
Tips
• "Be thankful.  It is important that you show that you are grateful to those who support you. "
• "Stay organised and allow substantial time for those within your support network to connect and
communicate.
(Thanks to Edan)"
• "Remember that there is no perfect teacher."
• "Use humour as a way to diffuse or recover from stressful situations. "
• "Exercise and diet are​ key for a healthy mind and attitude. "
• "Be comfortable with the idea that sometimes we need professional help to survive and thrive.
Don't be afraid to see someone if you are struggling with things within and outside of your control. "
• "Be honest with your friends about how you are going. "
• "Be a good listener, be strong but most of all be genuine; be you"
What do the experts say?
• "Bernard (1993) argues that having at least one strong support person in an individual’s
environment can have a positive impact on resilience. Having a caring network of friends and
family can assist teachers in managing the challenges of the profession (Howard & Johnson, 2004)
and can enhance teacher commitment (Day & Gu, 2007). Supportive family members can also help
teachers maintain work-life balance (Gu & Day, 2007).
Papatraianou and Le Cornu (2014) argue that informal professional and personal networks
contribute to early career teacher resilience through providing emotional support, advice and
professional knowledge, as well as providing a forum in which teachers could be listened to and
appreciated. Furthermore, informal support networks help early career teachers feel more confident
and competent."
Little wisdoms
• "“Don’t wait for the stars to be aligned. Reach up and rearrange them the way you want. Create
your own constellation” – www.heartmath.org . "
My Notepad
• What lessons can be learnt from Lisa’s experience? I can relate to how she felt. When I first
started teaching, I would have tried to do everything myself because I wouldn't want people to think
I was weak and not capable.
Lisa's saving grace was her family, they were closest to her and could see that she was burnt out.
They offered to help out and by taking this on board, Lisa was able to see that support was
necessary if she was going to be the successful teacher she wanted to be. She also began to
realise that the support from her colleagues was just as valuable and she needed to develop
relationships with them as well.
Building new relationships
Strategies I use for building relationships in new environments.
• By smiling, introducing myself and telling them that I'm new to the school
My thoughts on "Put your best foot forward…"
• Firstly, I would prioritise and simplify what I need to do. My first day would be getting to know the
students, them getting to know me and together establishing some ground rules for our classroom.
My strategies and actions for building new relationships.
• I would say hello, introduce myself and tell people that I'm new and may need their help at times
and I hope I'm not being too much of a burden. I would also offer to help them out in any way I
could to return the favour.
Strategies
• "And when you are qualified …. When you begin employment, some schools will have a formal
mentoring system but you will also find that developing informal relationships with colleagues at
your school, or at another school, will enable you to find other advisors and supporters. Regardless
of how you find your mentor or mentors, a mentor-mentee relationship takes time to develop.
Often mentors report that they have learnt a lot from their mentees! This shows the reciprocal
nature of the mentoring relationship, where both mentors and mentees can benefit from
professional conversations that lead to professional growth.
Here are some ideas for working well with a mentor."
• "Building relationships with new colleagues. quote
In your new school, there will most likely be some formalised processes (such as mentoring or
formal induction) to support you. As well as this, it’s important for you to be proactive in connecting
with new colleagues."
Tips
• "Take the time to have conversations with a variety of people including school leaders, teaching
assistants, support staff and librarians."
• "Always be respectful of your mentor teacher’s approach to teaching and established classroom
practices and routines. Even if these practices are not ones you intend to use when you start your
career, it can be a valuable learning experience to enact these and reflect on the effect on teaching
and learning."
• "As you did when you were on Professional Experience, respond to feedback by focusing on the
issue and how it can be improved. Remember, continual improvement is important for all teachers,
no matter how long they have been teaching. Refer to the topic ‘Ongoing Professional Learning’ in
the ‘T’ module."
• "Learn about the culture and history of the school before you start and perhaps share some
information about yourself with your new colleagues (send a photo?)."
Quotes
• "A resilient teacher is one who can develop meaningful relationships within the school to help
provide support when required and one who can contribute support to others when required"
What do the experts say?
• "Collegial relationships also play a vital role in teacher resilience. Work colleagues can provide
inspiration and hope (Anderson & Olsen, 2006), can boost morale (Howard & Johnson, 2004) and
can help with managing challenges and sustaining commitment (Brunetti, 2006).
McCormack, Gore and Thomas (2006) found that ‘unplanned learning’ from colleagues was
reported by early career teachers as a very significant form of support. Support from school
administrators has also been shown to be important (Prather-Jones, 2011)."
• "“Mentors and/or positive relationships with significant adults can have be immensely beneficial for
early career teachers. Mentors can provide a source of support and assist in the reflection and
improvement process and can help mitigate the impact of job stress (Hong, 2012; Huisman, Singer,
Catapano, 2010) and influence the likelihood of teacher retention (Albrecht, Johns, Mounsteven &
Orlorunda, 2009).
Tait (2005) argues that a strong mentor relationship is crucial to help early career teachers foster
their resilience. The literature also acknowledges that the quality of the relationship between the
mentor and the mentee plays a big role in determining the success of mentoring programs for early
career teachers (Devos, 2010).”"
• "Many researchers have emphasised the importance of relationships in teacher resilience (see for
example, Day & Gu, 2014; Ebersöhn, 2012; Le Cornu, 2013; Papatrianou & Le Cornu, 2014).
Some researchers have discussed the importance of ‘relational resilience’. This means that
resilience is characterised as not an exclusively individual trait, but as a process that occurs in
relationships with students, teaching colleagues, peers, family, leaders and parents (Le Cornu,
2013). Le Cornu argues that positive relationships provide early career teachers with passion,
pleasure and enthusiasm to sustain their career and consolidate their sense of self-worth,
connection and belongingness. Furthermore, Day and Gu (2014) contend that relationships lie at
the centre of teachers work and lives and that teacher resilience building processes are relational."
• "In her 2013 paper, Le Cornu describes some of the challenges cited by early career teachers with
regard to school parents. These include establishing relationships and maintaining communication,
responding to parents’ expectations, “learning to relate to parents with different views, negotiating
different family structures, and dealing with behaviour and custody issues” (p. 9). Relationships
with parents can also influence early career teachers sense of efficacy in positive and negative
ways. Schuck, Aubusson, Buchanan & Russell (2012) suggest that pre-service teachers be taught
how to build relationships and cooperate with parents."
• "In their study of early career teachers, Sharplin, O’Neill and Chapman (2011) suggest that that
strategies helping new teachers successfully integrate into new environments include seeking help,
obtaining relevant information, building relationships, reflecting, engaging in professional learning,
maintaining a healthy lifestyle and establishing boundaries.
Jarzabkowski (2003) suggests that in geographically remote locations, strong collegial relationships
have great significance for teachers. In her study conducted in a remote Australian school on the
edge of the desert, staff described how collegial relationships which facilitate emotional and
practical support are especially important when school life and personal life are so closely
intertwined. Ebersöhn (2012) contends that resilience is a collective experience and that the
capacity to ‘flock’ (as opposed to fight or flight) is a powerful way for teachers to share resources
for collective resilience."
My Notepad
• Read Scott’s story. Are there issues here that might happen to you? What proactive
strategies might be helpful?It's quite likely that you could become isolated in a school. I think you
need to search out colleagues or mentors that you can trust to help you and ask for advice.
• Watch this video that illustrates the SIB model in action. What do you want to remember
about this? That you need to listen to parents/carers concerns about their children, that you are
understanding of their concerns and that there is some kind of positive outcome, whether it be you
need to find out more or speak to someone who might be able to help.
• Are there other challenges you might face being in a new community? What might you do to
manage these? Other challenges could include replacing someone who has been an excellent
and experienced teacher. Will they like me? I'm not as experienced as the other teacher and this
may concern some parents. This could be quite daunting. I would try to keep things running similar
to what the previous teacher did and slowly introduce things that I would like to see happening in
the classroom. I would also be making a concerted effort to get to know the students, the parents
 and the community they live in. I want the students and the parents to know that I genuinely value
them and their community.
• What skills and behaviours do you think you can use to build and maintain a positive
relationship with a mentor? Respect and listen to their advice. Ask them questions and show that
you are keen to learn from them.
• What strategies does this teacher use that might be useful for you? It is important to develop
relationships with the parents. In the case of the Aboriginal teacher and developing relationships
with Aboriginal families, he said that it takes time to develop a trusting relationship and they need to
know you mean well.
• What might be some benefits of having a two-way communication strategy? Communication
between the teacher and the student is important because it reinforces what is happening in the
classroom and what is happening at home. The idea of a daily journal going home with notes from
the teacher to the parent is a way for the teacher to let the parent know about something that is
happening in the classroom relating to the child and the parent has an opportunity to respond.
• Schools also need to consider approaches that are contextually and culturally appropriate.
How does this school connect with their parent community?By making communities feel
welcome and that their contributions are valued.
• What did you learn from this panel? That it is essential to be a good listener when dealing with
parents and their issues. There are two questions that you need to find out from the parent and that
is: do you want me to do something about this or do you just want me to know about it? It is
important to establish what the parent wants you to do so there is no unnecessary reaction.
• Having difficult conversations with parents can be challenging even for highly experienced
teachers. Make note of the process suggested in this video. Is there anything you would
add? To begin with there must be a positive and trusting relationship between the parent/carer and
the teacher. It's always best to listen and let the parent do most of the talking and it's ok to not
know all the answers. If you need to discuss this further, there are the appropriate staff members
you can speak to or external services you can use.
I would always take notes of what was discussed, including the date; not during the conversation
but closely afterwards so I have a record and that I remember to follow up. I would also note the
follow up strategies so there is clear documentation.
I would definitely follow up with the parent to see how they are feeling and if the issue has been
sorted. This could be a phone call, an email or a brief chat before or after school.
If it were a more serious matter, I would make an appointment and possibly use the support of
another appropriate staff member either for advice or to attend the meeting with me.
• What do you consider to be the most important characteristics of student teacher
relationships? I think it's important that you develop a relationship with all your students; find out
about the things they are interested in or good at. Make sure the other students know this as well.
It's important because students feel valued and they have a sense of belonging which is essential
in developing good relationships.