For Primary 1 students with behavioral difficulties, the MOE program helps them adapt to the new environment

SINGAPORE: It is a typical Friday morning at Elias Park Elementary School and the Elementary 1 students are waiting to begin their lessons for the day.

They are restless and a student starts screaming. The instructional support staff member, known as an allied educator, takes the student aside to calm down, in a small tent in the back corner of the classroom.

The teacher, Madam Jessie Wong, waits for the student to sit in the corner before giving the signal to begin her morning greeting.

Then he has a chat with the student in the corner. They look at a diagram that shows a variety of emotional “zones” under which students are taught different strategies for managing and regulating their emotions.

Mdm Wong asks if he’s ready to join the class again. He nods and returns to his seat.

In this classroom, there are only eight students.

They are part of the Transition Support for Integration pilot program, or TRANSIT, designed to support Elementary 1 students with social and behavioral difficulties and assist them with the transition to elementary school in the first six months.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Wednesday (March 3) that it will introduce the program in all elementary schools by 2026.

By the end of this year, some 40 schools would have put it to the test, with between five and ten Primary 1 students from each school participating in the program.

The results of the pilot have been “promising”, said the Minister of State for Education, Sun Xueling, in parliament.

“These students will receive support from allied educators (learning and behavior support) and teachers to develop foundational self-management skills, in small groups and in their classrooms during their P1 year,” he added.

“By the end of P1, students should be able to learn independently in class, with occasional help.”

READ: ‘Targeted Intervention’ for Elementary 1 Students with Social and Behavioral Needs in All Schools by 2026

Elias Park Primary is one of the schools that has been part of the pilot since 2017.

Allied teachers and educators observe students for a week at the beginning of the year and identify those who may need support under the program. Then TRANSIT classes begin, usually in early February.

“For example, if they can’t manage their emotions or their simple classroom work habits, like moving from their seat, walking around the classroom… these are some of the children where we will teach them explicit skills on how they can manage their emotions. . and also how they should behave in the classroom, ”said Mdm Wong, who has been a teacher for more than 20 years.

Explaining how teachers and allied educators reach out to students who can benefit from the program without making them feel like they’re being singled out, she said teachers first have informal talks with students to build rapport.

“We bring them to the classroom gradually. We will not force them to join the classroom for our program. We get used to them and build a good relationship with these kids before we actually get them to join us in our lessons, ”added Mdm Wong.

Elementary 1 students in the program take their English and math classes separately from their form classes for the first six months.

After that, they rejoin their classes permanently, and allied educators review them every day. In the classrooms of their form class, there will be stickers on their desks to remind them of the strategies they learned.

Even after Primary 1, allied teachers and educators regularly check on children to monitor their progress.

The transition back to his classes is “gradual,” Mdm Wong said. “Before they go back to class, we set up the classroom, the kids are ready, and the teachers are ready to accept them.”

“TRANSIT is important to support inclusion in school and, at the same time, it helps to support students in terms of self-management skills, where they are sometimes lacking in different areas.

“And it benefits those students who want to be positively integrated into the class,” said senior allied educator (learning and behavior support) Madam Mastura Hashim, who has been at Elias Park Primary for 15 years.

Adding that there is an increase in awareness of the need to be inclusive, Mdm Mastura said: “That is why it is important to have this program now to include students who have a skill deficit in the area of ​​self-management skills.

“This program really helped them develop positively in the area of ​​social and communication skills, self-management skills, and emotional regulation.”

To support these students, teachers and allied educators use evidence-based approaches, such as supporting positive behavior, praising and affirming the child, in different classroom settings, said Mdm Mastura.

At Elias Park Primary, students in the TRANSIT program are rewarded with tokens that can be exchanged for rewards each time they show good behavior, Mdm Wong said.

“We want children to know that we reward them for good behavior and that we don’t scold someone who is doing something wrong,” he said, adding that other children follow when they see their peers being rewarded for good behavior.

ROLE OF ALLIED TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS

Teaching strategies, or implementing routines and structures so students know what to do, is equally important, said Mdm Mastura.

“One of the main differences is that a TRANSIT teacher has to help the AED LBS (Allied Educator, Learning and Behavior Support) and support students in the area of ​​generalizability of skills by infusing those skills into their daily teaching. “Said Mdm Mastura. , describing the differences between the teaching styles for TRANSIT students and other students.

“For example, if you’re teaching English or math, you might want to infuse that skill set, like maybe raising your hand in your lesson because it’s been taught during the week or that particular session. This is an area where students will be able to generalize skills in all settings, ”he added.

TRANSIT teachers like Mdm Wong are trained to teach those classes and support them in regular classes.

“We will be there to observe and remind them using pictures of the expected behaviors they should exhibit when they are in a normal classroom,” said Mdm Wong.

Raising your hand is a common challenge these students face, he added.

“I think this is a habit that was brought from home. Young children, when they talk to their parents, get the full attention of their parents, so they don’t know how to wait their turn when they need to talk, ”he said.

“When it comes to school, there is more than one child in the classroom, so we have to teach them the skill of waiting their turn to speak by raising their hands. And not only by raising their hands and shouting answers, but they have to raise their hands and wait for the teacher’s recognition before they can answer a question. ”

Some students may also get frustrated when they are not called and will have to learn to put their hands down and wait for the next question, Mdm Wong said.

THE PAPER OF THE PARENTS

In the program, parents also “work very closely” with allied teachers and educators, Mdm Mastura said.

“When we teach specific skills, we share those specific skills with parents, and parents can use that to support them at home and also when they go out, such as at parties and in social settings,” he added.

But parent receptiveness to the program can be challenging, Mdm Wong said.

“But we let parents know that we are here to support the child, we are not saying that the child is special. But each child is different, we all learn differently, “he added.

“As a parent myself … we understand that from the teacher’s point of view, if we are trying to help the child with whatever strategy we can think of, this is the job as an educator.”

Ms. Sharlene Tan, whose son was part of the first group of TRANSIT students at Elias Park Primary, said that before going through the program, her son was unable to concentrate and stay still in his seat. He would also have problems during breaks in the classroom.

At home, he climbed onto chairs and tables, hid under the sofa, and played with water in the bathroom.

Ms. Tan and her husband had difficulty controlling his behavior since he was two years old and took him to see an occupational therapist when he was in kindergarten. That helped, but not as much as the TRANSIT program because I only saw the therapist once a month, Ms. Tan said.

“I have fewer worries because they really helped my son know what dangerous activities are. I kept telling him, but he doesn’t want to listen or can’t understand. But from then on he was able to understand and he was able to talk to me and argue with me, ”he added.

“They (the teachers) spent a lot of time talking to him patiently, and little by little he understood what was happening.”

Ms. Tan used to receive updates on her son’s behavior at Mdm Mastura school almost every day. Allied teachers and educators also gave her advice on how to manage her behavior at home.

“For example, if you have a breakdown, give it some time. Maybe give him something to hold to handle his emotions. After a while, instead of nagging, (we should) ask him why (he’s behaving this way). We have to understand him, understand his situation, understand his feelings and acknowledge him, ”said Ms. Tan.

Now in Primary 5, your child still needs support in some areas, as he often feels stressed out and finds math especially difficult.

“He is weak at that. In the second week of school he told me that it is difficult and he is very stressed. (He) kept telling me that it’s too difficult and that he can’t do it. I said ‘you have to try’. We continue to encourage him, ”Ms. Tan said.

Adding that she is grateful for the help of allied teachers and educators, she said: “It helped my son a lot, not just (in his) academics. Emotions, self-management, built her confidence and she also supported us. ”