We had a big shift this year. Three components changed the game for us:
- Beckett Bank
- Trish (2nd Instructor)
- Relationships
Developing a rewards-based approach, having another instructor consistently in the room, and working on relationships between students catalyzed overall transformation with classroom climate, and, more importantly, with individuals. In some cases, like with Isa, the changes were so radical and lasting, we hardly believed it. Others are taking more time and require persistent observation and adaptation.
"Beckett Bank" is based on behavioral therapy/modification techniques. We have a credit system where students accrue or lose credit based on clearly defined criteria. For example, if a student collects all the pencils in the room, they receive 1 credit. If they, on the other hand, say someone else's work is "ugly," they lose a credit. This credit system can also be very useful when used spontaneously. The other day I wanted video footage that Zion had shot with her phone. She wasn't cooperating and was saying she didn't know how to send it. After asking her 5 or 6 times, I was able to say: "If you can figure it out and send it to me, I'll give you 5 credits." My phone buzzed with the video file in 2 minutes.
Now, with another instructor (Patricia Thomas) we are able to reflect after each class with a workshop-like dialog freshly informed by our class experience. This allows us to effectively evaluate and modify what we just "tested" and, over time, build and develop content, classroom management, and teaching style. Her presence is also invaluable with the coordination and execution of activities this challenging population of students demand. I can cut fabric with students at one table, for example, and then send them over to Coach Trish to make prints on them.
Finally, the key to classroom management, we discovered, is building relationships among students. The in-fighting was disrupting class flow and disturbing participants' experience. We started rewarding things like:
"An Act of Love"
When someone goes out of their way to help someone else with an activity, or comforts somebody who is upset, or hugs them and tells them they love them, they are awarded 3 credits with Beckett Bank, which they can cash in at the end of the month for things like ingredients for making Silly Puddy, paint sticks, and other art-making materials.
