Restorative Practices are Essential for Teacher Prep
As the manager for healthy learning at Western Governors University (蜜桃TV), I have spent the last few years within its School of Education creating, implementing and cultivating a Restorative Practices Framework as part of our Healthy Learning Initiative. This framework aligns with the 蜜桃TV mission to 鈥�...change lives for the better by creating pathways to opportunity.鈥� This multi-year integration into the student journey provides better pathways for students within the School of Education to thrive and to gain the essential development they need as future teachers.
Restorative practices are an alternative to punitive disciplinary practices. When implemented effectively, restorative practices focus on resolving conflict, repairing harm and healing relationships. Instead of focusing on behavior management, faculty and staff use restorative practices to foster a healthy learning environment that promotes personal, academic and community well-being.
In the 蜜桃TV School of Education, we are working to create capable, caring and compassionate educators. One of our guiding principles is that all students can learn. To commit to this, we created a comprehensive, integrated research-based professional development model to ensure our faculty and staff are able to serve each student as an individual on a unique journey.聽
We use a shared ownership mindset in educating, training and developing students, by focusing on the knowledge and skills students need to help with navigating in various professional spaces and contributing to their communities. We recognize our students come to us with a wide range of knowledge, skills and experiences. Whether they need help with understanding pedagogy or with prioritizing their well-being in the workplace, educator preparation programs have a vital role in supporting the holistic development of future teachers who are equipped to stay in the profession.聽聽
To best support our future teachers, a focus is also needed on aiding our faculty in expanding their knowledge and understanding of teaching individuals through a restorative framework lens.聽 Teaching college faculty should know how to teach across generational divides with empathy and understanding, which requires a deep understanding of how to support the live experiences of all students. At 蜜桃TV, we believe the learning experience should be built around the student. This includes our competency-based model and our supportive Community of Care model, both of which put the student in the driver鈥檚 seat of their education. We integrate our restorative framework through relationship-building, the use of restorative language, conflict resolution, reflective practice and modeling accountability and empathy. Future educators see and learn how to implement these practices and dispositions into their classrooms after graduating.聽
Here are three concrete ways the 蜜桃TV School of Education is modeling restorative practices so that aspiring teachers can foster a positive, inclusive and supportive classroom environment:
The Belief That All Students Can Learn聽
We believe in the inherent worth of all individuals and we begin by believing all students can learn. Believing that students can learn is the cornerstone of creating an inclusive and supportive learning environment. This mindset is integrated into curriculum design and student support ensuring all students, regardless of their lived experience or skills, have the opportunity to thrive.聽
Professional Learning for Our Faculty
We began by teaching and modeling restorative practices with our faculty so they could integrate and model restorative practices with their students. We provided extensive professional development that teaches our team to act with integrity, assume鈥痳esponsibility for student learning, respond鈥痶o the needs of a diverse population and the greater community, and鈥痗ollaborate effectively with others. The core of these restorative practices is an intentional shift away from punitive measures and behavior management to a move toward teachable moments and reflective learning.
Our comprehensive, integrated research-based professional development module is used to educate and prepare our leaders, faculty and staff to create healthy learning environments for all students to thrive. Faculty are required to engage in regular, ongoing professional learning where they are trained, coached, supported and nurtured to respond to the needs of a diverse education population.聽聽
Enhancement of the Initial Teacher Licensing Experience
Restorative practices are especially well-suited to initial licensure programs for future educators. From the earliest conversations, restorative practices can be modeled and taught, providing a necessary safety net for students to learn. The first step in integrating restorative practices into the 蜜桃TV School of Education was the revisioning of the Professional Dispositions and Ethics, which builds upon the premise that dispositions are taught, nurtured and championed. This process sets professional expectations for student growth and development to prepare them for the educational workforce. Teacher candidates are empowered to use effective, evidence-based best practices to create healthy learning environments where all learners rise and thrive. The School of Education provides candidates with a safe educational environment 鈥� a place where candidates can develop and strengthen their academic, physical, psychological, ethical and social understandings.聽聽
We need amazing educators. In order to recruit, develop and retain teachers, it is vital that all education preparation programs expand the way that they prepare future teachers for the classroom by providing them with the tools to build inclusive, compassionate and equitable classrooms. Future educators must be equipped to address conflict constructively, foster authentic professional relationships and create a healthy learning environment that prioritizes community over punishment. Embedding a restorative framework into teacher preparation programs is an effective strategy that prepares teachers to meet the diverse social and emotional needs of their students while promoting long-term and social success.聽
