Teaching the Art of Self-Regulation
Self-regulation is being able to regulate one's own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in the face of a normal occurrence. Part of controlling your impulses is maintaining your feelings and focusing attention.
🎯 What Does Self-Regulation Look Like?
Self-regulation is not suppressing emotions; it is being aware of what affects your emotional state and choosing a suitable reaction.
Pause Before Reacting
Instruct students to pause, reflect, and choose words instead of actions when they're faced with anger. This displays impulse control and is an effective tool to help build self-regulation skills.
Breathing Techniques
A student should incorporate the use of deep breathing exercises to manage anxiety, especially before difficult tasks such as a test. Intentional breathing techniques help soothe the nervous system and can combat the body's response to stress.
Asking for a Break
A great coping skill is noticing discomfort and asking for a break before feelings become too overwhelming. This indicates emotional and self-awareness, which are the primary foundation of emotional control.
🏥 Three Ways Teachers Can Model & Encourage Self-Regulation
Children learn self-regulation best when they see it practiced by the adults around them.
Think-Alouds
Teachers help students learn to verbalize their own process of regulating their emotions out loud, using a modeling technique in real time.
"I'm feeling frustrated right now because every time I go to write on the whiteboard, there are no dry erase markers. I'm going to take a few deep breaths before I respond, and then I'll try another solution."
Calm-Down Corners
Design a specific classroom area with sensory items, cool-down tips, and emotion cards where students can go to regain self-control. This is not a punishment or free time, but a strategy to help them self-regulate.
What to include:
Structured Transitions & Predictability
Maintaining consistent schedules and routines can decrease the effects of anxiety and assist students with regulating their emotions. Students benefit from knowing what to expect, and it helps them remain calm and engaged. For students who may have experienced trauma or an unstable home environment, routines and predictability are vital.