By Romyl Mabanta
Let’s do a fun experiment; a dear teacher-colleague shared this with me.
Stand next to a willing partner with their arm raised at a 90-degree angle, parallel to the ground. Tell them that you will press down on their arm while you speak in their ear. Their job is to resist your pressure. As you press down, say words similar to the following:
“You are smart”
“You are awesome”
“You are amazing”
“You are beautiful”
Notice what happens. Shake it off.
Now perform the experiment again, but this time say words similar to:
“You are worthless”
“You are stupid”
“You are nothing”
“You are ugly”
Notice a difference between the two trials? Chances are, the second go-around was significantly weaker. It was probably a big failure from, “worthless”. Now, please shake this off and assure your partner you don’t think this way.
It’s interesting how quickly our brains receive these words and how it affects our bodies. Now imagine how someone would feel after internalizing these messages on a daily basis. If you are a young person mostly hearing the first set of messages, how open do you think you would be to learning? What outcomes do you think are possible for a student living the second set of messages as they learn algebraic expressions?
The research agrees with what we already suspect.
When a child feels safe–physically, emotionally, and socially–when they feel connected and a sense of belonging in a kind environment, then optimal brain development occurs. This lifts students out of their automatic, “reptilian brain” into higher order, critical thinking. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) creates the space for this safety and belonging to occur. In fact, the science of SEL and academic development are so intertwined now that one cannot discuss one without the other.
Dr. Richard Davidson, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist, has been sharing these findings for years. At a conference held by the Consortium for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), he led a talk about the Heart-Brain connection. You can watch it here. He posits that SEL is an empirically verifiable strategy to change brain function and structure for greater emotional and cognitive functioning. SEL changes the brain.
He goes on to introduce the relationship between the Amygdala and the Prefrontal Cortex. The Amygdala is an area that exists in each of the brain’s hemispheres and is associated with the experience of emotions and memory. The Prefrontal Cortex is associated with reasoning, comprehension, problem solving, impulse control, creativity, and perseverance. When the brain experiences negative, intense emotions, the Amygdala activates the mechanism that releases the stress hormone, Cortisol. When the Amygdala takes over, it hampers the full functioning of the Prefrontal Cortex. But when an individual is able to regulate these emotions, then the Amygdala allows the Prefrontal Cortex to thrive. Thus, it allows the brain to develop fully and it lays the foundation for academic development to unfold. What happens in the brain, happens in the body. In the arm-press experiment, you were literally leveraging the Prefrontal Cortex, the Amygdala and Cortisol. This Brain-Based Learning teaches us the value of Social Emotional Learning.
SEL is so much more than fist-bumps and breathing strategies. It is more than the promise of self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Science tells us that committing to SEL changes brain development, maximizes learning, and ultimately a student’s life trajectory.
New Pacific Schools aims to be at the forefront of SEL and Brain-Based Learning science. We believe this supports the Whole Child. Every aspect of our school, from the curriculum, to the classroom layout, and the professional development of staff, are evidence-based strategies that foster deep, engaged learning. Most importantly, it is an investment in the scholar-leaders our students will become.
Davidson, R. (2007, December 10). The Heart-Brain Connection: The Neuroscience of Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning [Conference session]. CASEL Forum, New York, New York. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9fVvsR-CqM
DiTullio, G. (2018, November 9). Helping Students Develop Executive Function Skills. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/helping-students-develop-executive-function-skills.
Immordino-Yang, M. H., Darling-Hammond, L., & Krone, C. (2018, September). The Brain Basis for Integrated Social, Emotional, and Academic Development: How Emotions and Social Relationships Drive Learning. The Aspen Institute. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/ the-brain-basis-for-integrated-social-emotional-and- academic-development/