- A guide to supporting emotional regulation in the classroom. A helpful checklist for teachers to build a consistent strategy.
Teachers have the daily task of creating a positive and productive classroom environment that promotes learning. To do this, they need to understand each child’s needs and be able to support them through a myriad emotional, social, prosocial, biological and cognitive challenges. It is a heavy load to carry when you consider how many students are in a classroom.
A consistent strategy with a strong focus on
1. Building a solid relationship with a child – safety and trust is key with connection at it’s centre
2. Collaborating with parents and care team to avoid/remove known stressors – when this this not possible know how to best assist the student manage triggers
3. Understanding an individual child’s baseline for learning and being aware of cues that indicate dysregulation – this will help the teacher decide when to check-in and when to intervene
4. Using co-regulation strategies to help a student regulate – to be effective, a teacher must be able to keep themselves self-regulated. Reframing the behaviour can assist teachers in remaining calm and empathetic in highly stressful situations.
