Activity 5 Topic 4
Title
Improvement cards
Duration
Depending on the classroom needs – we suggest to regularly provide the chance to use improvement cards and organise restorative circles with your students
Expected learning outcomes
By the end of this activity, students will be able to:
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Recognise their strengths and use them effectively to create productive interpersonal relationships
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Use restorative circles to discuss conflicts in the classroom
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Apply individual and class improvement cards to mediate and overcome conflicts
Methodology
Strength-based learning, SEL, restorative circles
Description
After strengthening your students’ competences in active listening, communication and collaboration with other people, you can now introduce them to the methodology of restorative circle as a tool to find a solution to conflicts.
In various conflict management models, the focus is placed on the “offender”, with or without attention to the victim. The ‘neutral group’ is not addressed. Research on bullying behaviour and restorative justice makes it clear that it is important to involve the whole group and make everyone co-responsible for what has happened. When we connect this to strength-based learning, we additionally go in search of the strengths of the students who were involved in negative behaviours.
With persistent conflicts and a negative class climate, a consistent and thorough approach is needed. The responsibility for solving the conflict is placed on the class as a whole.
The steps presented in Annex II. will help you discuss with your students how to best find a solution to conflicts in the classroom and how to intervene in order to prevent similar happenings in the future.
Relevant topics for discussion
You can decide whether to analyse and discuss past conflicts for which a solution has already been found, recent tensions or existing factors that may lead to major conflicts in the future.
Original source
UC Leuven-Limburg (UCLL) (Belgium)
The present activity is inspired by TEACHmi Teacher’s Manual – Guide to strength-based learning.
