LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Define achievement emotion and explain its link to students’ success in learning. .
- Define and differentiate between emotional regulation and emotional dysregulation.
- Demonstrate strategies to help students regulate their emotions.
Module introductiON
Feeling emotions safely refers to the ability to experience and express emotions in a way that is healthy, productive, and does not cause harm to oneself or others [1]. It is closely related to emotional intelligence and crucial for personal growth, maintaining relationships, and one’s overall well-being [2 - 3]. To this end, one must be able to identify and understand their own emotions, as well as recognise and respond to others’ emotions appropriately. These require emotional awareness and regulation skills [4].
Feeling emotions safely can be challenging. Children and adolescents in particular often struggle with emotional regulation, either overreacting to emotions or suppressing them altogether, as they are still learning to build on their early emotional skills during this period of life [5]. Hence, educators are positioned to have an active support role in equipping them with the tools to regulate their own emotions.
Although this module emphasises on the importance of learning to self-regulate emotions, a crucial part of developing this ability is the process of co-regulation. Co-regulation refers to the process of learning to regulate one’s emotions with the support of caregivers first [6]. Co-regulation creates the opportunity for children to manage their emotions in a safe and supportive environment. This is defined by the presence of caregivers who recognise and show caring responses to their needs, especially during times of distress, and coach them through foundational self-regulatory skills [7]. In doing so, children feel validated and supported, also promoting their self-esteem and sense of trust in their caregiver [8 - 10].
Hence, emotional co-regulation is an important first step for educators to help children develop the ability to regulate their emotions independently. By providing support and guidance, they can influence children’s healthy emotional regulation skills and lay the foundation for positive well-being.
References
1. Quiros L, Kay L, Montijo AM. Creating emotional safety in the classroom and in the field. Reflections (Long Beach) [Internet]. 2013 Oct [cited 2023 Feb 8];18(2):42-7. Available from:
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Creating-Emotional-Safety-in-the-Classroom-and-in-Quiros-Kay/72ee8e9cae4e532f4852c9dc39a843966bf72ec4
2. Housman DK. The importance of emotional competence and self-regulation from birth: A case for the evidence-based emotional cognitive social early learning approach. Int J Child Care Educ Policy [Internet]. 2017 Nov [cited 2023 Feb 8];11(13):1-19. Available from: https://ijccep.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40723-017-0038-6
DOI: 10.1186/s40723-017-0038-6
3. Ricciardi C, Kornienko O, Garner PW. The role of cognitive emotion regulation for making and keeping friend and conflict networks. Front Psychol [Internet]. 2022 Apr [cited 2023 Feb 8];13:1-12. Available from
:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.802629/full
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.802629
4. Peña-Sarrionandia A, Mikolajczak M, Gross JJ. Integrating emotion regulation and emotional intelligence traditions: A meta-analysis. Front Psychol [Internet]. 2015 Feb [cited 2023 Feb 8];6:1-27. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25759676/
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00160
5. National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. Children’s emotional development is built into the architecture of their brains. Massachusetts (MA): Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child; 2004. 10 p. Working Paper No.: 2. Available from: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/
6. Rosanbalm KD, Murray DW. Co-regulation from birth through young adulthood: A practice brief. Washington (DC): Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, US. Department of Health and Human Services; 2017. 10 p. Report No.: 2017-80. Available from: https://fpg.unc.edu/publications/self-regulation-briefs
7. Ellis BH, Alisic E, Reiss A, Dishion T, Fisher PA. Emotion regulation among preschoolers on a continuum of risk: The role of maternal emotion coaching. J Child Fam Stud [Internet]. 2013 Apr [cited 2023 Feb 9];23: 965-74. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-013-9752-z DOI: 10.1007/s10826-013-9752-z
8. Murray DW, Rosanbalm K, Christopoulos C, Hamoudi A. Self-regulation and toxic stress: Foundations for understanding self-regulation from an applied developmental perspective. Washington (DC): Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, US. Department of Health and Human Services; 2015. 33 p. Report No.: 2015-21. Available from: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/self-regulation-and-toxic-stress-foundations-understanding-self-regulation-applied
9. Mikulincer M, Shaver PR. Attachment orientations and emotion regulation. Curr Opin Psychol [Internet]. 2019 Feb [cited 2023 Feb 9];25:6-10. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X18300071?via%3Dihub DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.02.006
10. Sorin R. Validating young children’s feelings and experiences of fear. CIEC [Internet]. 2003 Mar [cited 2023 Feb 10];4(1):80-9. Available from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2304/ciec.2003.4.1.8
DOI: 10.2304/ciec.2003.4.1.8
KEY CONCEPTs
8.1 How Are Emotions Related to Learning?
We know that our emotions have the potential to impact various aspects of our lives including our relationships and individual well-being. What about students’ ability to achieve their learning goals? If emotions can influence students’ success in learning, how exactly does it work?
Our first video in this session sets out to clarify the answers to these questions. We will see that there is a relationship between our emotions and learning, but in what way? Let’s find out!
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Now that we have seen how achievement emotions can play a significant role in learning, let’s see how well you have been paying attention. The following ‘True or False’ questions will test your understanding of the relationship between emotions and learning. Are you ready to attempt them?
So, how did you do? It is important to remember that emotions play a significant role in learning and can either support or disrupt the process. Understanding this relationship is key to fostering pleasant emotions and finding ways to manage unpleasant emotions in a way that does not interfere with achieving learning goals.
8.2 Understanding Emotional Regulation and Dysregulation
We have seen how emotions play a crucial role in learning, but what happens when our emotions become too intense and start to interfere with our ability to participate in everyday life? That is where the concept of emotional regulation comes in. In this next video, we will dive deeper into the topic of emotional regulation and examine how it is different from emotional dysregulation. We will also emphasise the importance of emotional regulation skills in learning and achieving.
Emotional Regulation and Dysregulation in Action: Can You Differentiate?
Now that we have a clear understanding of the difference between emotional regulation and dysregulation, let’s put it into practice. In the following set of scenarios, you will see examples of both emotional regulation and dysregulation in action. These scenarios are meant to help you apply your new learnings and recognise the signs of effective or ineffective emotional regulation in real-life situations. Get ready to put your learning into action and think critically about the behaviours you may have observed before or experienced yourself. Read each scenario and guess whether it is an example of emotional regulation or dysregulation children-drawing-together-classroom.jpg before revealing the answer!
Let’s see how you did. Did you find the scenarios challenging to distinguish between emotional regulation and dysregulation? Remember, emotional regulation refers to the ability to manage and control emotions healthily and productively. On the other hand, emotional regulation is when emotions get out of control and negatively impact behaviour and decision-making. These scenarios are meant to help you apply your understanding of emotional regulation and dysregulation to real-life situations. Were you able to relate to any of them?
8.3 Practical Strategies to Help Students Manage Strong Emotions
After learning about the differences between emotional regulation and dysregulation, the next step is to equip you with practical strategies that can help students learn to manage strong emotions. In particular, we will be introducing four grounding techniques and breathing exercises that are commonly used to help a person calm their nervous system and take control of strong or overwhelming emotions. We hope that you will find the next few videos helpful and informative!
8.4 Learning Together: I Am in Control of My Emotions
In the final part of this module, your participants will have the chance to put everything their new knowledge into practice. Participants will be working in small groups in a role-play activity in which they will recall and describe a scenario where their student needs to regulate their emotions.
Participants will be able to use the strategies they have learned to role-play a successful resolution to the scenario. This activity will give them a chance to see how the strategies they have learned can be applied to real classroom situations that they have encountered and are likely to encounter. Additionally, it will help reinforce the importance of the teacher’s role in helping students acquire the skills to manage strong emotions.
I AM IN CONTROL OF MY EMOTIONS
As a facilitator, your role is to guide the participants through a roleplay activity where they will have the opportunity to recall and describe scenarios where a student needed to regulate their emotions. They will then work in small groups to roleplay these situations with successful resolutions, using their new learnings about the teacher's role in helping students learn to regulate their emotions and the grounding techniques covered in the previous section. Encourage participants to actively participate and ensure that all voices are heard. After the activity, facilitate a debriefing session where participants can reflect on their experiences, share insights, and discuss any challenges they faced. Finally, remind participants of the importance of implementing these strategies consistently in their classrooms to create a safe and supportive learning environment for all students.
1. Divide your participants into groups of up to five participants each. We recommend grouping your participants based on the year groups that they teach.
2. Set the scenario by encouraging your participants to recall and describe scenarios where a student of theirs was experiencing strong emotions and needed to regulate them.
3. Instruct your participants to plan for their roleplay by deciding who will play the student and the teacher for each scenario.
4. Guide the participants in your group to take turns, in pairs, to roleplay a successful resolution to the scenario that they have described.
Ensure that everyone has had a chance to attempt this.
5. In between each round of roleplay,
Group debrief
1. After returning to the plenary, facilitate a debriefing session where participants can reflect on their experiences, share insights, and discuss any challenges they faced during the roleplay activity. You may ask:
● What did you learn from this activity?
● What was easy or difficult about applying the techniques you used?
● What other techniques can you think of to help children regulate their
emotions?
At the end of the training session...
Demonstrate care for your participants’ views
Your participants’ views about the topic and training are valuable and can inform how future training modules are delivered. Conclude the training session by gathering verbal feedback – don’t forget to record these in writing!
● What new information did they learn during the training that they did not know before?
● In what ways do they think this topic will be useful for them in their work with students?
● What is their most valuable takeaway from the training?
Be sure to also collect your participants’ responses to the post-test and training evaluation form for more structured monitoring and evaluation!