FULL DAY WORKSHOP

“SYSTEMS THINKING IN ACTION IN THE CLASSROOM”

Redirecting attention and focussing on thinking

Exploring the benefits of shifting from an educational zoom lens on an individual child, to a wide angled view of the child in the system of relationships with others. 

This unique workshop expands the ideas raised in Seminar 1, that too much individual attention and intense focus on a child’s problems at school may emotionally overcrowd a student, reducing capacity to think clearly to unleash learning potential.

It will explore how an understanding of Bowen’s Family Systems Theory concepts of Child Focus, Triangles and Differentiation of Self can be used to guide learning programs to grow a child’s resilience and self-directedness to learning goals:

Child Focus

• Characteristics of the child focus of a family in your classroom
• BF Skinner Behaviourist Model – a child focus teaching model and it’s potential pitfalls

Triangles: The Teacher and Triangles with the Family

• Being understanding of the overfunctioning/underfunctioning position of a parent
• How to try to stay out of family triangles

Differentiation of Self

• Systems directed actions of a teacher to assist a child unleash potential
• Being objective rather than subjective, making learning decisions based on research not fears
• Thinking systems over cause and effect/blame/ultimatums/rewards or punishments
• The over-functioning teacher and redirecting energies to self rather than onto others
• Investigating scientific research supporting Bowen’s Family Systems Theory: Darwinian Theory, MacLean’s Triune brain,  Porges’ Polyvagal Thoery, brain neuron connections in human development
• The teacher taking an “I”, rather than “you”, position.
• Being authoritative vs authoritarian to enhance a child’s developmental (thinking) environment. (How Bowen’s scale of Differentiation looks at the degree of clarity rather than a style of teaching/parenting)
• Exploring teaching models that raise a child’s problem solving skills that support Family Systems thinking: (eg. Clinton Golding’s Thinking Schools, Restorative Practice, Group learning models approaches of Dewey, Slavin’s Success for All and Alfie Kohn)

Facilitator:  Jill Grundy has thirty years of teaching experience including school leadership and classroom teaching (Kindergarten to Year 6). In the past eight years she has specialised in gifted education, teaching Opportunity Classes.  She holds a Certificate of Gifted Education from the University of NSW and is currently combining studies at The F.S.I., in the Certificate of Family Systems and Family of Origin coaching, with a Master of Education.

SYSTEMS IN EDUCATION: FOR SCHOOLS

A systems approach for professionals working with children experiencing problems at school

Seminar 1:  TOO MUCH ATTENTION?

A small taste of Bowen Family Systems Theory in the Classroom 

Could well-intentioned focus and attention on a child from a parent and teacher hinder, rather than help, a child’s learning and well–being at school? 

This seminar will begin to explore three of Bowen’s Family Systems concepts that provide a different perspective in understanding children’s learning and behaviour at school, offering some food for thought for educators:

The Child focus: taking a systems view to better understand:

• Too much nurturing vs strict limits
• Too much praise and too many rewards vs punishments
• Too much individual focus vs no attention

Triangles: understanding how anxiety spreads in a system from home to school

• How teachers can inadvertently be drawn into family relationships that promote dependency over independence. 

Differentiation of Self: being understanding of:

• Reciprocal patterns in relationships that occur naturally
• The over-functioning and under-functioning parent in the family doing their best
• The over-functioning teacher and the under-functioning child:- breaking the cycle 

 “An intense child focus, which can be negative or positive, presents significant developmental challenges to young people as they react to others.  Being under the intense scrutiny of caregivers leaves them little emotional breathing space to grow thinking, feeling and acting for themselves” (J. Brown, 2008)

Facilitator:  Jill Grundy has thirty years of teaching experience including school leadership and classroom teaching (Kindergarten to Year 6). In the past eight years she has specialised in gifted education, teaching Opportunity Classes. She holds a Certificate of Gifted Education from the University of NSW and is currently combining studies at The F.S.I., in the Certificate of Family Systems with a Master of Education.