Editor’s Note: This post is much longer and wonkier than most, but it offers a strong scientific case for classroom circles.
April 24, 2018 Education Week features a commentary by Jim Shelton titled The Brain Science Is In: Students’ Emotional Needs Matter. In it, he distills two 2018 meta-analyses of new studies on the science of learning and development.
According to Shelton, these studies indicate “students’ learning is helped (or hindered) by the quality of students’ relationships and the contexts in which they live and learn.” He says these studies indicate that teachers who build their students’ social-emotional skills at any age, also improve their performance in a number of areas that impact students’ long-term success.
The following is an excerpt from his commentary, which points to the value of social-emotional learning that takes place in circles and restorative practices in the classroom and throughout schools. You can read the entire commentary here.
“These two meta-analyses (which were informed by the Science of Learning and Development interdisciplinary working group supported in part by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, whose education work I lead) drew on neuro-, cognitive, and behavioral science. In doing so, they brought together research on learning and development, which we oddly and unfortunately often separate in education, contrary to the urging of psychologists and child development specialists.
“In public appearances, Pamela Cantor [a co-author of the studies] has distilled these consequential findings to four specific insights:
- Malleability: Genes are not destiny. Our developing brains are largely shaped by our environments and relationships—a process that continues into adulthood.
- Context: Family, relationships, and lived experiences shape the physiological structure of our brains over time. Healthy amounts of challenge and adversity promote growth, but toxic stress takes a toll on the connections between the hemispheres of our brain.
- Continuum: While we’ve become familiar with the exponential development of the brain for young children, it continues throughout life. The explosion of brain growth into adolescence and early adulthood, in particular, requires putting serious work into much more intentional approaches to supporting that development than is common today. . . .
- Integration: Over time, different parts of the brain should develop more complex interconnections supporting the development of the whole person—and positive and negative emotional experiences can greatly influence that process. Yet, adverse effects of negative experiences and stress can be buffered and reversed by trusting human relationships. Children who have faced adversity, and whose brains lag in development, can recover—if schools recognize these challenges and take timely action.
“It is time we begin to apply this growing understanding of the science underpinning learning and development to the ways we engage and support children and the learning environments we create for them. . . . it is more important than ever that we ensure kids can learn in an atmosphere of real safety. Students need teachers who consider caring about and knowing them just as important as teaching them content. Students need to experience a sequence of learning that fits their individual, nonlinear developmental paths—both academic and nonacademic.
“School buildings and schedules need to be designed with the understanding that it’s the entire experience—not just what happens in the classroom—that informs learning. All students benefit from greater attention to a set of competencies and mindsets that today live under the broad heading of “social-emotional learning.”
A deeper dive into the metanalysis offers more insights into the power of teaching students social-emotional skills. These executive function skills outlined below are essential elements of the circles process central to community-building circles and restorative discipline.
This is a direct quote from the Abstract of the first study Shelton cites, titled Malleability, Plasticity and Individuality: How Children Learn and Develop in Context. Its authors, Pamela Cantor, David Osher, Juliette Berg , Lily Steyer & Todd Rose, make a clear and convincing case that the development of executive functions help students succeed socially, emotionally, cognitively, academically, financially and in their health outcomes over both the short- and long-term. I’ve bolded their findings below to help distinguish them from the citations.
“Executive functions are the set of neurocognitive attention-regulation skills involved in the conscious, goal-directed modulation of thought, emotion, and action (e.g., Blair & Diamond, 2008 Blair, C., & Diamond, A. (2008). Biological processes in prevention and intervention: The promotion of self-regulation as a means of preventing school failure. Development & Psychopathology, 20(3), 899–911. doi:10.1017/S0954579408000436[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). Executive functions involve both top-down, intentional control of behavior as well as bottom-up, automatic reactions. Although precise definitions differ, common conceptions of executive function include the following components: attention control (voluntarily focusing on a specific task), cognitive flexibility (also called attention shifting, and commonly combined with attention control, switching from one task/demand to another, and considering others’ perspectives), working memory (holding and manipulating information in the short term), and inhibitory control (mastery and filtering of thoughts and impulses to resist habits, temptations, distractions, and thinking before acting) (e.g., Center on the Developing Child, 2016 Center on the Developing Child. (2016). From best practices to breakthrough impacts: A science-based approach to building a more promising future for young children and families. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child. Retrieved from https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/from-best-practices-to-breakthrough-impacts/ [Google Scholar]; S. M. Jones et al., 2016 Jones, S. M., Bailey, R., Barnes, S. P., & Partee, A. (2016). Executive function mapping project: Untangling the terms and skills related to executive function and self-regulation in early childhood (OPRE Report 2016-88). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. [Google Scholar]).
“Executive functions are necessary for more complex self-regulation-related skills, such as focus, self-control, perspective taking, communication, problem solving, making connections, taking on challenges, and self-directed, engaged learning (e.g., S. M. Jones et al., 2016 Jones, S. M., Bailey, R., Barnes, S. P., & Partee, A. (2016). Executive function mapping project: Untangling the terms and skills related to executive function and self-regulation in early childhood (OPRE Report 2016-88). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. [Google Scholar]). By preparing children to pay attention, follow rules, and actively engage in learning, executive functions are fundamental to learning readiness and school success (Zelazo, 2015 Zelazo, P. D. (2015). Executive function: Reflection, iterative reprocessing, complexity, and the developing brain. Developmental Review, 38, 55–68. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2015.07.001[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). The development of executive function begins early and, like other elements of self-regulation, can be intentionally nurtured in early childhood, family, and school settings (S. M. Jones et al., 2016 Jones, S. M., Bailey, R., Barnes, S. P., & Partee, A. (2016). Executive function mapping project: Untangling the terms and skills related to executive function and self-regulation in early childhood (OPRE Report 2016-88). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. [Google Scholar]).
“Self-regulation skills and attributes are critical for success in school and life, and there is a strong evidence base to support their vital contribution to short- and long-term social, emotional, cognitive, academic, financial, and health outcomes (e.g., Blakemore & Bunge, 2012 Blakemore, S.-J., & Bunge, S. A. (2012). At the nexus of neuroscience and education. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2(Suppl. 1), S1–S5. doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2012.01.001[Crossref], [PubMed], [Google Scholar]; D. E. Jones, Greenberg, & Crowley, 2015 Jones, D. E., Greenberg, M., & Crowley, M. (2015). Early social-emotional functioning and public health: The relationship between kindergarten social competence and future wellness. American Journal of Public Health, 105(11), 2283–2290. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302630[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Mischel, 2014 Mischel, W. (2014). The marshmallow test: Mastering self-control. New York, NY: Brown. [Google Scholar]; Murry, Hill, Witherspoon, Berkel, & Bartz, 2015 Murry, V. M., Hill, N. E., Witherspoon, D., Berkel, C., & Bartz, D. (2015). Children in diverse social contexts. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science, Vol. 4. Ecological settings and processes (7th ed., pp. 416–454). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.[Crossref], [Google Scholar]). Self-regulation skills are important prerequisites for skills associated with school readiness and higher-order learning, including decision making, problem solving, self-direction and organization, metacognition, learning from educational experience and practice, conflict resolution, perseverance, and resilience (e.g., Flouri, Midouhas, & Joshi, 2014 Flouri, E., Midouhas, E., & Joshi, H. (2014). Family poverty and trajectories of children’s emotional and behavioural problems: The moderating roles of self-regulation and verbal cognitive ability. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42(6), 1043–1056. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10802–013-9848–3.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Gardner, Dishion, & Connell, 2008 Gardner, T. W., Dishion, T. J., & Connell, A. M. (2008). Adolescent self-regulation as resilience: Resistance to antisocial behavior within the deviant peer context. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36(2), 273–284. doi:10.1007/s10802-007-9176-6[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; S. M. Jones et al., 2016 Jones, S. M., Bailey, R., Barnes, S. P., & Partee, A. (2016). Executive function mapping project: Untangling the terms and skills related to executive function and self-regulation in early childhood (OPRE Report 2016-88). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. [Google Scholar]; Stafford-Brizard, 2015 Murry, V. M., Hill, N. E., Witherspoon, D., Berkel, C., & Bartz, D. (2015). Children in diverse social contexts. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science, Vol. 4. Ecological settings and processes (7th ed., pp. 416–454). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.[Crossref], [Google Scholar]). Self-regulation-related skills also have powerful interpersonal implications, including promoting better relationships with teachers and peers (Raver, Garner, & Smith-Donald, 2007 Raver, C. C., Garner, P. W., & Smith-Donald, R. (2007). The roles of emotion regulation and emotion knowledge for children’s academic readiness: Are the links causal? In R. C. Pianta, M. J. Cox, & K. L. Snow (Eds.), School readiness and the transition to kindergarten in the era of accountability (pp. 121–148). Baltimore, MD: Brookes. [Google Scholar]) and being seen by teachers as evidence of greater academic and social competence (Blair & Diamond, 2008 Blair, C., & Diamond, A. (2008). Biological processes in prevention and intervention: The promotion of self-regulation as a means of preventing school failure. Development & Psychopathology, 20(3), 899–911. doi:10.1017/S0954579408000436[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). More broadly, self-regulation skills are associated with greater engagement in school, increased likelihood of graduating from college, and better health and wealth in adulthood (e.g., Zelazo, 2015 Zelazo, P. D. (2015). Executive function: Reflection, iterative reprocessing, complexity, and the developing brain. Developmental Review, 38, 55–68. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2015.07.001[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]).”