A Day in the Life ofSelf-Regulation and Daily LifeBowen Island Community SchoolFebruary 11, 2016

Definitions

Self-RegulationCo-Regulation

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Self-Regulation: A Working Definition

Different groups talk about the importance of the concept of Self-Regulation as it relates to their field. So we encounter everything from emotion-regulation to self-control to self-regulated learning.

But the underlying or core concept of Self-Regulation refers to the manner in which the brain maintains physiological stability through complex feedback mechanisms.

S. Shanker, 2014

Key words PHYSIOLOGICAL STABILITY keep yourself calm, alert, focused and ready to learn3

Self-Regulation is:

Matching energy level to the demands of a task or situation.

Monitoring and managing emotions.

Focusing attention and ignore distractions.

Understanding and engaging in social interactions.

Connecting with and caring about others.

Baumeister & Vohs, 1994

Self-Regulation is not Self Control

Co-Regulation is:

a form of coordinated action between participants that involves a continuous mutual adjustment of actions and intentions.

Fogel & Garvey, 2007

Co-Regulation is a form of coordinated action between participants that involves a continuous mutual adjustment of actions and intentions (Fogel & Garvey, 2007).

Co-Regulation is not a one-way street, it is an interpretative dance. It involves back & forth exchanges with each participant adjusting their response based on the response of the other.

Humans utilize both Co-Regulation and Self-Regulation throughout our lifetime.

Co-Regulation is not a one-way process or a stepping-stone to Self-Regulation but is something that is both interactive and chances & evolves over time as we grow and mature.

D. Bellford, 2012

Nature can co-regulate humans as well

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In our district, we have adopted Stuart Shankers model of Self-regulation from Calm, Alert and Learning, because of its all encompassing framework. This framework is useful to help explain how different influences in our lives and in our days affect how we function.

The stresses in the 5 domains all add or take away energy. They are interdependent and all affect how we feel and operate.

BIOLOGICALRefers to activity or the level of energy in the human nervous system.Levels of energy vary widely from person to person, situation to situation, and across the day.

EMOTIONALDefined as processes responsible for controlling emotional reactions in order to meet a goal.Monitoring, evaluating and modifying the intensity and timing of emotional responses.Emotional resiliency-recovery from challenges (Grit)

COGNITIVEMental processes such as memory, attention, the acquisition and retention of information and problem solving.The development of executive functioning is critical (importance of metacognition and motivation).

SOCIALUnderstanding, assessing, and acting on particular social cuesSocial Intelligence capacity to understand social situations and function optimally in them

PRO-SOCIALRefers to those behaviours that are positive, helpful, and intended to promote social acceptance and friendship.Encompasses empathy, altruism and morality.

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THE CANON BALL AFFECT******

Feeling safety or at risk (level of stress) determines the brains capacity to function from one level to the next

Survival trumps everything else and a number of systems are slowed or shut down

DigestionCellular repairMetabolismImmune systemHearing of the human voicePrefrontal cortical functioningJust get over it and Dont be silly arent helpful the dysregulated youngster

Its not about willpower or strength of character;Its not about good kid/bad kid;Reward and punishment dont make the difference;Our neuro-physiology determines the outcome

EXECUTIVE FUNCTION --- Stanislas Dehaene of the College of France in Paris calls the prefrontal cortex and its functions a neuronal workspace whose main purpose is to assemble, confront, recombine and synthesize knowledge allowing our behaviour to be guided by any combination of information from past or present experience.

So when we talk about trauma we need to remember that although the term trauma describes many types of experiences, common across all trauma exposures is the initiation of biologically driven fight-flight-freeze responses to help the organism survive. Among children exposed to intense or repeated traumas, these responses are likely to be triggered by minor stresses, even in response to cues that, objectively, do not signify actual danger.

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This is the end in mind. Creating OPTIMAL learning conditions for every child Morays comment about special needs and the assumption of once one, is now many

Contexts that support kindness and compassion result in humans who are resilient and able to regulate in the most challenging of contexts (M. Greenberg, 2014)

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The BICS Self-Regulation Journey

Nathan Bowen history10

Each new day brings new beginnings and opportunities to start fresh11

Morning Routine at Home

How does your day begin?

How does your childs day begin?

Getting upGetting readyGetting out the door

Arriving at School

How do you physically arrive at school?

What greets you when the day begins?

Routines StructuresExpected vs. Unexpected

Andrea and Heather????Scott --- this is what happens in our building?

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Flow of the School Day

Allison14

Going HomeHow does the school day wrap up?

RoutinesStructuresNutrition Notions of Winding Down and Winding Up

Mode of transportationArrival at home or at after-school care

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Pre-Post Dinner Time

What happens before dinner?

What happens during dinner?

What happens after dinner?

Getting Ready for BedHow does the day wrap up?

RoutinesStructuresSleep hygieneTechnologyNotions of Winding Down and Winding Up

Dealing with the Expected and the Unexpected

The Unexpected Joy on the Subway in Copenhagen19

Keep in touch

Maureen Lee mlee@wvschools.ca

Moray Mclean moray.mclean@bc-cfa.org

Sandra-Lynn Shortall sshortall@wvschools.ca