Teaching and Education

Intentional practice is an approach and method to strengthen the best-practice design and delivery of wellbeing, growth, resilience and trauma-informed responses across educational sites and schools.

Its application and utility is captured in these articles.

Raymond, I.J., Iasiello, M., Jarden, A., & Kelly D. (2018). Resilient Futures: An individual and system-level approach to improve the wellbeing and resilience of disadvantaged young Australians. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 4(3), 228-244.
Raymond, I., Iasiello, M., Kelly, D. Jarden, A. (2019). Program logic modelling and complex positive psychology intervention design and implementation: The ‘Resilient Futures’ case example. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 3(1), 43-67.
Raymond, I. (2018). Applying ‘intentional practice’ to design, implement and embed a grass roots positive education intervention. Conference Presentation 14th April 2018. Positive Education in Schools Association (PESA) Conference. Geelong, Victoria. For Intentional Practice Program Logic Modelling Tool, click here.
Raymond, I. J. (2018). A programme logic framework designed to strengthen the impact and fidelity of well-being and behavioural interventions. In P. Slee, G. Skrzypiec & C. Cefai (Eds.), Child and adolescent well-being and violence prevention in schools. London: Routledge.

Whole-of-School Approaches to Wellbeing and Learning (“System” Level)

Intentional practice offers an approach and set of methods to operationalise and implement whole-of-school approaches to wellbeing and learning.

Intentional practice asks Principals, wellbeing leaders and teachers key questions in terms of the design and implementation of whole-of-school wellbeing initiatives. This includes:

What are the active ingredients or core components of our wellbeing service delivery. Have we named and identified them? Can all of our staff articulate the intent or purpose of each component, and how do individual components relate and interface with each other?
Are our social-emotional learning programs integrated within a cohesive wellbeing approach?
Are we delivering our social-emotional learning programs with a clear intent or purpose behind them?
Do we have robust methods to deliver wellbeing and social-emotional learning content through both explicit (e.g., curriculum) and implicit (e.g., reflective conversations) processes.
Do we have a cohesive philosophy or intent that underpins our school’s entire approach to wellbeing.
Are we bringing enough awareness and energy to ‘growth’ as an intent or philosophy within our site? Or are we overly preoccupied with ‘managing’ child behavior or risk?
Do we have a method for educators to bring awareness to moment-to-moment support and teaching, where they can personalise their responses to a student’s unique wellbeing and growth needs in the moment of support.

Intentional practice supports the view that ‘best-practice’ whole-of-school approaches to wellbeing include:

A clear articulation of the wellbeing components or features underpinning the school, and the intent or purpose of each component.
The relationships between components.
A component that operationalises moment-to-moment support and intentional teaching that brings focus to all educators being able to personalise their wellbeing and growth responses to student’s needs and contexts.
A clear set of values or philosophies that underpin all wellbeing initiatives within the school.

A case example is shown in the following video. This represents a ‘grass-roots’ or ‘contextualised’ whole-of-school approach to wellbeing and learning, across a multi-site alternative education program.

Personalisation. Moment-To-Moment Support. Intentional Teaching

Intentional practice is an approach and set of methods to personalise teaching and wellbeing responses to a student’s unique needs and context. It can also be applied to operationalise moment-to-moment support, where each interaction with a student is an opportunity for growth. In other words, conducting intentional teaching or support processes.

Intentional practice asks teachers, wellbeing leaders and school staff to:

Bring mindful awareness to everything they do, including the needs and contexts (e.g., trauma, developmental) of students, the intent of their support, and how they are actioning this through their communication and strategies.
‘Respond to a student’s needs’, rather than react to a student’s surface behaviours.
Develop a shared ‘growth intent’ with their colleagues, and families, to support and grow students in a side-by-side manner.
To bring a ‘growth intent’ to each and every interaction with a student, and ensure this is visible in their minds and actions (even in crisis or when behavioural management or disciplinary processes are required).
To intentionally deliver social-emotional learning, wellbeing and resilience content for students, drawing upon both implicit (e.g., reflective or restorative conversations, intentional coaching conversation) and explicit teaching (e.g., classroom curriculum).
Develop personalised plans ‘for’ and ‘with’ students, and in a manner that can be operationalised or actioned in moment-to-moment teaching or support.
Apply intentional teaching and support processes.

Across Australia, LBI Foundation have exclusive rights to the IMPACT Program as a competency-based method to equip and empower teachers and education communities to deliver these features, and build high impact learning and wellbeing-responsive education communities. For additional information: