EDCI 331 Stress, Society, and the Brain

This course combined the neuroscience behind how humans learn and what happens when trauma interrupts that learning. Additionally, this course provided mitigation and intervention techniques to help all learners. As a capstone to the course, I researched and presented my learning on the physical and emotional developments in the neurotypical and trauma-exposed brain. This included a two-part paper as well as a presentation. Please check it out below!

I was very excited to take this course, as I had a feeling it would relate directly to my teaching in a small, rural school here in Vermont. I have spent the last two years at this school, learning a new culture and beginning to see different signs of stress from young children than I had previously in my home state of Massachusetts. Of course, every district and every town has its own challenges but an economic disadvantage in a small state, in a small town looks very different than an economic disadvantage in a larger town in a much higher population state. I had a suspicion that some of the difficulties and behaviors I was seeing in my new school had to do with limited financial resources and ultimately trauma. In fact, I had heard from several colleagues that I should look into “trauma-informed teaching” and I am so grateful that I did.

Throughout this class, we read several seminal texts in the world of neuroscience,

learning, and trauma. The first of which was The Art of Changing the Brain by James Zull (2002). In this text, Zull explains clearly and accessibly the processes in which our brains receive and process new information as we learn. While some of the explanations for how we acquire new information were not new to me, it was a good reminder of what can happen when development is interrupted or stunted as a result of heightened emotional responses (as in the case with a response to traumatic events). This book set the stage for the neurotypical student and provided a reference point for which to compare.

The next book that I found to be extremely helpful was Stuart Shanker’s Self-reg: How to help your child and you break the stress cycle and successfully engage with life. (2016). I found this book to be extremely pragmatic in helping outline how best to identify students who have experienced trauma or stress in their lives. I focused predominantly on parts I and II of the book. Chapter 8 provides great anecdotal stories about students exhibiting atypical behaviors in a Kindergarten class and helps draw parallels to students I have seen at the elementary level. Shanker explains their behaviors and provides ideas and context for potential next steps. The first part of the book also highlights the importance of using regulation and namely teaching Self-Regulation to help students recognize when they are unable to attend or learn. Shanker explains that while compliance and self-control can look like regulation, really it is the student or child ultimately “freezing” due to stress. Shanker goes on to explain that students in a school setting are unable to fight or flee in many situations, so when they experience chronic stress (either at school or home), their brain defaults to freeze where no problem solving can occur. Of course, this relates directly to James Zull’s explanation of how the brain responds to threats. Both books echo one another when discussing the neurobiology behind dysregulation, and it really helps put into perspective how I can better serve my own students when they may be experiencing hyperarousal.

In my own professional experience, I have heard numerous teachers complain about students who just want to sleep on their desks, or students who seem to be developing ADHD like symptoms when they had not in previous years. When I begin to piece together parts of Shanker and Zull’s books along with the journal articles I have been reading, it is clear that these students are potentially part of a large population of children who are experiencing or who have experienced chronic stress or trauma. While this may not be the case (and I am certainly not qualified to make any type of diagnosis) it might be helpful to suggest to my colleagues that they ask if anything has changed in the child’s life. Many of the symptoms we often see in the classroom line up with the symptoms that Shanker describes in children who are stressed. While this is not a happy topic, it provides hope that if we as educators can help identify the antecedent to the stress for the child, we can also help teach them some of the terrific strategies Shanker suggests in teaching self-regulation to children (i.e. deep breathing, sensory toys, and tools, comforting space in the classroom away from peers).

Throughout this class, a greater theme emerged. Our job as teachers is to be kind to our learners and kind to ourselves. We cannot teach with empathy when we have none for ourselves. As I reflected on this class, I found myself granting grace to my students, my colleagues, and myself. In a calmer environment, my students and I could learn and make more meaningful connections. Looking at my students with less of a deficit approach and more of a growth mindset has made a tremendous difference in building relationships with my students. I no longer feel helpless to “save” them, but instead feel hope and reinvigorated to help them build on the skills they do have. Finally, Brene Brown’s discussion regarding vulnerability as a strength really forced me to stop and think about my relationship with shame. I used to have a difficult time asking for help because of the shame I felt at not knowing how to best do my job, or reach a specific child. Now, I know that letting go of that shame and allowing myself to be vulnerable not only helps me learn but ultimately better serves my students. (Brown 2007)

Brown, Brené. I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn't) (p. 127). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Shanker, S. (2016). Self-reg: How to help your child and you break the stress cycle and successfully engage with life. Penguin Books.

Zull, J. E. (2002). The art of changing the brain enriching the practice of teaching by exploring the biology of learning. Stylus.

PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NEUROTYPICAL AND TRAUMA EXPOSED BRAIN (Part I and Part II)

PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NEUROTYPICAL AND TRAUMA EXPOSED BRAIN (Slide Presentation)