1602402 Melanie Rowland                                                                                                       SJIE4006 

When thinking about supporting in a teaching environment where learners feel supported and challenged, as well as being confident enough to take risks in their learning, one must remember “that it is the student who is at the center (sic) of the learning experience”. (Vlaicu 2011).   This is not achieved overnight and cannot be the result of one single strategy, rather it comes as a culmination of various techniques which are geared to build self-esteem and resilience and this give learners the confidence to take risks.  This essay aims to outline three strategies used in the writer’s setting which support and promote effective learning and teaching, and to show how those strategies are not necessarily “stand alone” rather that they link and enhance each other to create an engaging, autonomous learning environment.   
The setting is a 3-19 school for children and young adults with Additional Learning Needs.  The specific class is a Key Stage 3 satellite class based in the adjacent mainstream secondary.  There are 13 children in the class with varying conditions and additional needs ranging from Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) to Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC).  Academically the students range from P6 to NC1-2.  The ethos of the school is one of inclusion and highly person centred attainment in line with current and evolving policies in regard to Additional Learning Needs (Welsh Assembly Government 2016).
Welsh Assembly guidance (2010) states that “One of the overriding features of improving the quality of thinking” involves the use of Assessment for Learning (AfL). The chief principal is that learners can and should be a part of their learning – that young people are able to use metacognition and evaluate their own progress and, ultimately, identify their own targets so they have relevance to their learning journeys.  AfL has been adopted in the setting alongside Visible Learning.  One aspect of AFL is formative assessment rather than summative and the idea that correctly given, well-structured feedback will encourage an autonomy of learning and a culture of growth and development. As the Assessment Reform Group (2002) states:
“AfL is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide whether the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there” (Assessment Reform Group 2002 cited in Spendlove 2009 pxi) 
To facilitate this, students are involved in marking and assessing the work of themselves and their peers.  A schoolwide language for AFL has been adopted, with classes using the phrases ‘tickled pink” for areas where success criteria have been met and “green for growth” for the areas for development.  The class teacher also clearly states Learning Intention at the start of each piece of work and students are developing skills to set their own success criteria – talking about what a successful piece of work will look like and what they must do to achieve this.  This success criteria is available to refer to throughout the task and is used when marking work. Students are encouraged to refer to the success criteria throughout the task to ensure they are on the right track. When marking the work, students and staff are tasked with finding an aspect of the work they are pleased with as well as a target or area for improvement.  This means that the students are working within the Zone of Proximal Development as they are scaffolded and supported to explore their own learning (Vygotsky 1978 cited in McLeod 2010)). A buddy system is emerging, with more competent learners supporting those who are less confident, thereby embedding their own knowledge as well as supporting the growth of others. (Bruner, 1976 cited in Wheeler, no date) The students use a system of “checking in” to ascertain how learners feel they are coping with tasks, use of mind mapping and Know-Want-Learn (KWL) charts (Ogle, 1986) to expand their knowledge and, potentially, begin setting their own targets. Success Criteria proforma are laid out so that students can fill in their own methods of creating a “successful” piece of work. Often however the reality is not quite like the ideal, with time pressures and a lack of understanding or full commitment from staff meaning that comments become repetitive, generic and lack meaning (Harrison 2013).  Also students tend to rely heavily on staff for input over what a successful piece of work looks like.  The time pressures of a busy classroom were students access mainstream inclusion lessons can also mean that often the success criteria need to be completed by a member of staff to enable the work to be done in the time set.  However, the trend in the setting seems to be positive overall, with students taking a much more active role in the planning and assessing of their own work as well as that of their peers. Continued careful scaffolding within the students’ ZPD (Vygotsky 1978 cited in McLeod 2010) should rectify issues given time and it will be interesting to see if, after three years in the setting, students are indeed able to be more independent in identifying their own success criteria and how to achieve them.  
In order to promote an environment where learners feel comfortable looking at their work critically, Spendlove (2009) suggests that the school’s AfL policy should be linked to the Emotional Literacy policy and it certainly seems that one complements the other.  Resnick (2005, p.398 cited in Banerjee et al 2016) suggests that schools play a large part in “providing support, relationships, experience and opportunities that promote positive outcomes for young people” and the Public Policy Institute for Wales (2016) suggest that this role is key in booting self-esteem, resilience, and therefore attainment. This is supported by The Children Act (2004) which recognizes that the all-round development of children is essential. To this end in the classroom setting a good deal of time is devoted to developing emotional literacy and resilience. A member of staff is undergoing Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) training and is already implementing self-esteem and resilience techniques in the classroom on a whole class basis such as a feelings board, worry box, feelings fans and positive circle time games.  This member of staff will also, following training, be responsible for more targeted group and individual sessions to boost self-esteem and resilience in line with ELSA training developed by Sheila Burton (2011) and now being used across the UK with Learning Support Assistants being given training and support by Educational Psychologists.  As targeted group work has not yet begun in the setting it is impossible to evaluate the success of the ELSA programme, however, the early intervention strategies employed with one student who entered the setting in September and has Oppositional Defiance Disorder seems to be making an improvement with the LSA carrying out one to one sessions focusing on calming breathing and anger management strategies.  The whole class now employs Pranayam or Triangle Breathing which can relieve stress, (NHS 2015) refocus and create a calm transition period as well as using aspects of the Good Behaviour Game (Barrish, Saunders and Wolf 1969) to encourage teamwork listening skills and positive behaviour.  This links to the school’s positive behaviour policy and ties in with class strategies to promote self-esteem and positive behaviour in line with B.F. Skinner’s  theory  (1968) of reward and operant behaviour 
Skinner (1968) suggests that behaviour is affected by consequences – whether they are positive or negative and that these consequences determine whether the behaviour will be repeated.  In a classroom setting this means that if positive behaviour is rewarded, it is more likely to be repeated.  This positive reward is achieved using reward stamps, a “Class shout out board” where positive achievements, acts of kindness or outstanding effort are all commented on and displayed for the class to see and certificates of achievement.  Behaviour is monitored via a system of Antecedent, Behaviour and Consequence (ABC) chart – where triggers and consequences (as well as reactions to consequences) are noted to establish patterns.  Students are beginning to recognise which behaviours are rewarded and, by encouraging teamwork via the Good Behaviour Game, are now encouraging each other to show these behaviours to improve the teams’ results.  
In conclusion, it is the writer’s assertion that in order to create an effective learning environment, strategies are linked together to build self-esteem, create a positive atmosphere conducive to receptive learning and establish a safe, scaffolded environment which encourages mistakes and learning from them.  The use of AfL, ELSA and reward link and enhance each other to create this atmosphere and give learners the confidence in their own judgement and ability as well as the trust needed in themselves and their educators to take the leap when it comes to their learning,  



References
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