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Florida Department of CorrectionsBureau of Staff Development and TrainingCurriculum, Planning and Evaluation Unit

Instructor’s GuideFor the

2015 Trainers InstituteOrlando, FloridaJanuary 26, 2015

Why Instructors Eat Last1

In Order to Build Trust in Your Classroom…You Must be Trustworthy

How would you respond to the following questions? Do you earn your instructor credential on a daily basis? Or, do you just like the authority and performance rush that comes from training? Or, are you stuck? Do you conduct training because you have to?

1 Main ideas and video support are credited to Simon Sinek, Author of, Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t

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When people feel safe (taught in a safe learning environment2) they care about each other and collaborate to achieve the intended results. Caring and collaboration work together to create trust, innovation and success.

How would you describe a safe learning environment?

Trustworthiness3- The foundation to all effectiveness and empowerment is trustworthiness. It means that individuals demonstrate both strong personal character and professional competence. They are committed to the shared mission and values of the agency. One indication of character is reflected in the way we deal with others. How trainers are perceived to treat those they instruct will have a far more significant impact on employee performance than the organizational mission statement hanging on the wall.

An empowering instructional style requires open communications, not closed; releasing people through win-win performance agreements, not controlling them; and synergistic approaches to making decisions and giving directions, not authoritarian methods.

Learn how our four main chemicals that control all the feelings of happiness and joy, enable us to reward our activities to our best interests and how “true instructors” really earned their position by activating the right “selfless” chemicals. Please visit the Personal & Professional Development Resource Exchange website accessible on the DC Web and via the Bureau of Staff Development and Training’s webpage. The information you receive today has been added to it.

2 Employee safety is a critical mission to the Agency and essential to the Bureau of Staff Development and Training. All training by the Bureau should reflect and support this non-negotiable aspect of our correctional environment. As reported from the survey results, 93% (approximately 5,000) of the respondents agreed that the Bureau’s training activities “promote safety” in a “comfortable setting.” Published in the 2013 Annual Training Requirements Assessment

3 Stephen R. Covey was chairman of the Covey Leadership Center and author of Principle-Centered Leadership and the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

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The Training Table of an Energized Instructor: How your diet impacts your delivery.

The ability to resist the urge to eat requires the proper functioning of neuronal circuits involved in top-down control to oppose the conditioned responses that predicts a reward from both the desire to eat food and the eating of the food itself. Certain foods, particularly those rich in sugars and fat, are potent rewards that promote eating (even in the absence of an energetic requirement) and trigger learned associations between the stimulus and the reward (conditioning)4.Your ability to control this urge will determine the ingredients of the chemical-cocktail you have as you deliver training to your students. Some of the following chemical sections include important information about the influence your diet has on your effectiveness as an instructor.

Training Made Better Through Biology5

You can stimulate more happy chemicals with fewer side effects when you understand the job your chemicals do. Here's a natural way to stimulate each and to avoid negative chemicals. 4 Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3124340/5 Five Ways to Boost Your Natural Chemicals Published on December 8, 2012 by Loretta Graziano Breuning, Ph.D. in Your Neurochemical Self

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Selfish Chemicals:

#1 Endorphins

Time Stamp: 5:51 – 7:57

Allow us to mask physical pain. Give us the energy to achieve physical task with no pain.

Pain causes the release of endorphins. That’s not what you expect when you hear about the “endorphin high.” But runners don’t get that high unless they push past their limits to the point of distress. Endorphins cause a brief euphoria that masks pain. In the state of nature, it helps an injured animal escape from a predator. It helped our ancestors run for help when injured.

Endorphins are present for survival, not for partying. If you were high on endorphins all the time, you would touch hot stoves and walk on broken legs. Endorphins were meant for emergencies. Inflicting harm on yourself in order to stimulate an endorphin release is a bad survival strategy.

Fortunately, there are better ways: laughing and stretching. Both of these jiggle your innards in irregular ways, causing moderate wear and tear and moderate endorphin flow. This strategy has its limits. A genuine laugh cannot be produced on demand. A genuine stretch requires a little skill. But when you believe in the power of laughing and stretching, you create opportunities to trigger your endorphin in these ways.

Nutritional Note6:

Exorphins, endorphins, and morphine all work by way of opioid receptors. These are molecules found on many different types of cells throughout the body, but particularly smooth muscles in the intestines and on nerves. When a compound binds to and activates these receptors, all sorts of biochemical processes can result. In the brain, a sense of euphoria, happiness, and sleepiness tends to be activated, as well as reduction in pain sensation.

The brain's own opioid compounds (endorphins) are important in how humans perceive rewards. In particular, endorphins are raised when we eat foods that are considered highly palatable. Thus, when eat delicious foods (particularly sweet and high fat content), brain endorphin levels go up.7They create a sense of pleasure, making you feel empowered and good about yourself. They work for up to 24 hours. Studies have shown that happiness is a key factor in health maintenance.

There are a number of things that can help you optimize your endorphin level, such as maintaining a healthy, balanced diet and exercise. “…In order to properly maintain endorphins level, there needs to be a moderate level of fats and sugars in your diet….Binging on sweets and fatty foods will actually change

6 Source: http://www.healingmountainpublishing.com/articles/exorphins.html

7 Source: http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/exercises/endorphins-101-a-guide-to-natural-euphoria.html

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the opiate receptors in your brain which can make you feel depleted of endorphins. Good fats, like those from fish, nuts, avocados and fruits, provide you with natural sugars and essential vitamins that are needed for your emotional maintenance and overall well being. Endorphins are naturally released during exercise. This effect is especially pronounced during prolonged periods of strenuous exercise. Massive amounts of endorphins are released to help you mask any pain and help you push past your normal threshold. This effect is commonly known as the “runner’s high.” After exercise, instead of being tired, you actually may feel more exhilarated and remain invigorated for the next couple of hours. This is due to the high level of endorphins that remain in your system. Studies have shown that exercising regularly for 20 minutes or more can promote endorphin secretion.”

8Foods that will Boost Your Mood

Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate in undoubtedly the ultimate comfort food making millions happy across the globe. Dark chocolate contains high levels of phenylalanine which is known to be an effective anti-depressant since it enhances the production of mood-elevating chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine in the brain.

Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is known to be packed with more calcium than you can find in regular yogurt or even milk! Besides, Greek yogurt also has double the protein amount and half the sugar content of plain yogurt, so that’s another reason which makes it the best yogurt ever. A proper calcium and protein level is also known to help the brain release feel-good neurotransmitters that boost your mood and make you feel happier. Irritability, anxiety, and depression are known to be caused by low levels of calcium. So the next time you feel nervous, irritable, or agitated, you know a bowl of delicious Greek yogurt can fix you up.

Walnuts

Crunching on a handful of walnuts will give your mood a boost. Walnuts are known to be packed with Omega-3 fatty acids which have the ability to raise your spirits and leave you feeling chipper. Omega-3 fatty acids can also help you ease anger and boost your happiness levels. Walnuts are also known to be a good source of vitamin B6, tryptophan, and folate (vitamin B9) which helps fight depression. It has also been proved that walnuts are good for healthy bones and teeth, and promote the function of insulin in the body. If that wasn’t enough, research has shown that walnuts contain antioxidants that boost neural connections, enhance memory, and improve puzzle-solving abilities as well as math skills. So the next time you’re trying to solve a difficult Sudoku, crunching on walnuts might help!

Salmon

Eating salmon at least once a week can be a great source of development of the brain and the nervous system. Salmon is a heart-healthy fish that is known to be packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, as well as vitamin B12. Research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids lower blood pressure and cholesterol, fight depression, enhance memory, and improve focus. Salmon contains nutrients that increase the

8 Source: http://livinggreenmag.com/2013/11/22/food-health/daily-dose-endorphins-six-happy-foods-boost-surly-mood/

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levels of feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain – perfect for individuals suffering from depression. Whether you have it baked, boiled, grilled, in a salad, or even with rice or pasta, salmon is great for an added boost of serotonin.

Bananas

Perhaps one of the handiest fruits to eat while commuting, working, or even at home as a snack or dessert, a banana is a great way to kickstart your day. Bananas are packed with a host of minerals, amino acids and vitamins such as potassium, tryptophan, B vitamins, phosphorous, fiber, iron, and magnesium. These work great for energy, digestion, depression, anxiety, development of the nervous system, stress, and mood-elevation. The vitamin B6 releases neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin in the brain that reduce the symptoms of depression.

Turkey

Turkey and chicken are known to be a rich source of tryptophan, a vital nutrient that is essential for the production of serotonin which is a mood-enhancing neurotransmitter. Also known as the “feel-good” hormone, serotonin contributes majorly towards the happiness factor. Turkey is also known to contain another amino acid called tyrosine which helps combat symptoms of depression and stress. Need more reasons to gorge on a turkey breast?

Group Discussion Questions:

a. What are the possible positive and negative impacts of endorphins on an instructor?

b. What are the possible positive and negative impacts of endorphins on a student?

c. How can an instructor use the release of endorphins in his or her self to improve their presentation?

d. How can an instructor use the release of endorphins in students to improve their learning experience?

e. Give an example of a training topic where the release of endorphins would be a benefit to the instructor, student, or both.

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#2 Dopamine

Time Stamp: 7:58 – 14:15

Feeling we get when we accomplish a goal. We get dopamine when we achieve what we set to achieve. Dopamine helps us focus to get to that goal. Dopamine boosts are generated when we reach our dream. People love e-shopping because they get that feeling of finding what they were looking for. Dopamine is highly addictive: Nicotine, alcohol, gambling, mobile phone. Completion of intense cravings for food releases dopamine. When people hit money-based incentives at work they get dopamine releases.

Approaching a reward triggers dopamine. When a cheetah approaches a gazelle, her dopamine surges and the energy she needs for the hunt is released. Wanderers released dopamine when they found a water hole. The good feeling surged before they actually sipped the water. Just seeing signs of a water-hole turned on the dopamine. Just smelling a gazelle turns on dopamine in the cheetah. The expectation of a reward triggers a good feeling in the mammal brain and releases the energy needed to reach the reward.

Dopamine alerts your attention to things that meet your needs. How you define your needs depends on your unique life experiences. Each time dopamine flowed in your youth, it connected neurons in your brain. Now you’re wired you to meet your needs in ways that felt good in your past.

Dopamine motivates you to seek, whether you’re seeking a promotion or a parking spot near the donut shop. Dopamine motivates persistence in the pursuit of things that meet your needs, whether it’s the next level in a video game, or a way to feed children. You can stimulate the good feeling of dopamine without behaviors that hurt your best interests. Embrace a new goal and take small steps toward it every day. Your brain will reward you with dopamine each time you take a step. The repetition will build a new dopamine pathway until it’s big enough to compete with the dopamine habit that you’re better off without.

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Nutritional Note9

Fighting off mild depression involves positive thinking, but eating the right foods may be just as important. Certain nutrients found in healthy foods may alter brain chemistry which plays a larger role in your mental health. Complex carbohydrates, the B vitamins, and omega-3 fats are food groups and nutrients that may alleviate mild depressive symptoms and help you to feel more alert, primarily by increasing the amount of circulating neurotransmitters, chemical messengers, in the brain.

Low dopamine levels can cause depression, a loss of satisfaction, addictions, cravings, compulsions and an inability to focus. Tyrosine is another important amino acid (a building block of protein) found in dairy products, meats, poultry and nuts. It encourages your brain to release dopamine and norepinephrine. These neurotransmitters act as stimulating substances to the brain and can help perk you up by making you feel more alert and sharpening your thinking. In addition to meats and dairy products, other specific tyrosine-rich foods that help increase dopamine levels are almonds, avocados, bananas, lima beans, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds.

Group Discussion Questions:

a. What are the possible positive and negative impacts of dopamine on an instructor?

b. What are the possible positive and negative impacts of dopamine on a student?

c. How can an instructor use the release of dopamine in his or her self to improve their presentation?

d. How can an instructor use the release of dopamine in students to improve their learning experience?

e. Give an example of a training topic where the release of dopamine would be a benefit to the instructor, student, or both.

Time Stamp: 14:16 – 15:18 Discuss Classroom Safety

9 Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/86350-foods-increase-dopamine-serotonin/

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Selfless Chemicals:

#3 Serotonin

Time Stamp: 17:52 – 23:16 Discuss the Instructor as an AlphaTime Stamp: 25:30 – 26:24 What is the anthropological definition of an Instructor?

Gives us the feeling of pride and status . When you win something and get public recognition. you release serotonin. It gives self-confidence. Serotonin is attempting to reinforce behavior that encourages co-operation and collaboration. I will sacrifice and do good things for you so you can continue to do good things for other

people. It can get short-circuited: “Likes” on Instagram and Facebook are artificial because we did not do

anything for anybody. Conspicuous displays of status might offer serotonin but it is a fake burst because we did not do

anything for anyone to get it. The serotonin feeling eventually runs out. Serotonin is the chemical of leadership. Alphas get first choice (special treatment) but it does

not come free. Leaders will have to be willing to protect their people in times of danger as they are fitter and better fed than anyone else.

Confidence triggers serotonin. Monkeys try to one-up each other because it stimulates their serotonin. People often do the same. Our brain rewards social dominance because that promotes your genes in the state of nature. As much as you may dislike this, you enjoy the good feeling of serotonin when you feel respected by others. Your brain seeks more of that feeling by repeating behaviors that triggered it in your past. The respect you got in your youth paved neural pathways that tell your brain how to get respect today. Sometimes people seek it in ways that undermine their long-term

well-being. The solution is not to dismiss your natural urge for status because you need the serotonin. Instead, you can develop your belief in your own worth. People are probably respecting you behind your back right now. Focus on that instead of scanning for disrespect. Everyone has wins and losses. If you focus on your losses you will depress your serotonin, even if you’re a rock star or a CEO. You can build the habit of focusing on your wins. You may think it’s arrogant or risky or lame, but your serotonin will suffer if you don’t.

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Nutritional Notes10:

Certain substances are required for the production of serotonin in the body. The serotonin precursor L-tryptophan can be found in a variety of foods, such as milk, turkey, soy and other high-protein foods. It can also be taken in supplement form as 5-hydroxytryptophan, or 5-HTP, and is more likely to increase actual serotonin levels when taken in this way.

According to a study by Felice Jacka featured in the January 4, 2010 edition of “The American Journal of Psychiatry,” women eating a healthy diet rich in vegetables, fruits and healthy fats were half as likely to experience anxiety and depression as those eating a typical diet of processed and fatty foods, reinforcing the role of diet in mood and wellbeing. 11 People with low serotonin levels suffer from insomnia, depression or both. Some foods are rich in serotonin and many are rich in substances that increase the production of serotonin. Serotonin made by the body is called 5-hydroxytryptophan, or 5-HTP, and then is made into tryptophan. Tryptophan naturally exists in many proteins such as turkey, eggs, beans and fatty fish such as salmon, sardines and herring. The richest source of 5-HTP is the African Griffonia bean. Flaxseed oil contains both tryptophan and omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for cardiovascular health. According to the Muscle Health Fitness website, people who take a few tablespoons of flaxseed oil a day can improve their mood. Serotonin naturally exists in kiwi fruit, plantains, bananas, sour cherries, pineapples, tomatoes and plums.

Group Discussion Questions:

a. What are the possible positive and negative impacts of serotonin on an instructor?

b. What are the possible positive and negative impacts of serotonin on a student?

c. How can an instructor use the release of serotonin in his or her self to improve their presentation?

d. How can an instructor use the release of serotonin in students to improve their learning experience?

e. Give an example of a training topic where the release of serotonin would be a benefit to the instructor, student, or both.

10 Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/89032-natural-increase-serotonin-endorphins/

11 Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/261416-serotonin-rich-foods/

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#4 Oxytocin

Time Stamp: 27:29 – 37:19

It brings on that great feeling of love and trust. Oxytocin is trying to get us to look after each other. Physical contact produces oxytocin. The release of oxytocin requires that a sacrifice be made. Business is about human relations and our willingness to trust others. We are looking for

someone we can trust with our back and not fear that we will get stabbed in the back. Acts of generosity releases oxytocin: spending time and energy with NO expectation of anything

in return. Givers, recipients and witnesses of acts of generosity also can release oxytocin. Oxytocin boosts our immune system. Oxytocin make us more generous. Make us nicer people.

Trust triggers oxytocin. Mammals stick with a herd because they inherited a brain that releases oxytocin when they do. Reptiles cannot stand the company of other reptiles, so it’s not surprising that they only release oxytocin during reproduction. Sometimes your trust is betrayed. Trusting someone who is not trustworthy is bad for your survival. Your brain releases unhappy chemicals when your trust is betrayed. That paves neural pathways which tell you when to withhold trust in the future. But, if you withhold trust all the time, you deprive yourself of oxytocin. You can stimulate it by building trust consciously. Create realistic expectations that both parties can meet. Each time your expectations are met, your brain rewards you with a good feeling. Continual small steps will build your oxytocin circuits. Trust, verify, and repeat. You will grow to trust yourself as well as others.

Group Discussion Questions:

a. What are the possible positive and negative impacts of oxytocin on an instructor?

b. What are the possible positive and negative impacts of oxytocin on a student?

c. How can an instructor use the release of oxytocin in his or her self to improve their presentation?

d. How can an instructor use the release of oxytocin in students to improve their learning experience?

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e. Give an example of a training topic where the release of oxytocin would be a benefit to the instructor, student, or both.

#5 Cortisol

Time Stamp: 38:48 – 41:19

Cortisol feels bad. It alerts animals to urgent survival threats. Our brain alerts us to subtle threats as well as urgent ones. The bad feeling of cortisol will always be part of life because your survival is threatened as long as you’re alive. Cortisol especially grabs your attention when it’s not being masked by happy chemicals. You might have a sudden bad feeling when your happy chemicals dip, even though there’s no predator at your door. If you can’t get comfortable with that, you might rush to mask it with any happy-chemical stimulant you’re familiar with.

Your well-being will suffer. You will lose the information the cortisol is trying to give you, and your happy habit will have side effects. More cortisol will flow, thus increasing the temptation to over-stimulate your happy chemicals. This vicious cycle can be avoided if you learn to accept the bad feeling you get when a happy chemical surge is over. It doesn’t mean something is wrong. Cortisol is part of your mammalian steering mechanism, which motivates an organism to approach rewards and avoid threats. You need unhappy chemicals to warn you of potential harm as much as you need happy chemicals to alert you to potential rewards. If you learn to accept your cortisol, you will be free from the rush to mask it in ways that don’t serve you. You will make better decisions and end up with more happy chemicals.

Group Discussion Questions:

a. What are the possible positive and negative impacts of cortisol on an instructor?

b. What are the possible positive and negative impacts of cortisol on a student?

c. How can an instructor use the release of cortisol in his or her self to improve their presentation?

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d. How can an instructor use the release of cortisol in students to improve their learning experience?

e. Give an example of a training topic where the release of cortisol would be a benefit to the instructor, student, or both.

Building New Habits

Your brain got wired from past experience. Each time your neuro-chemicals surged, your neurons built connections. Experience wired you to turn on your brain chemicals in the ways they turned on in the past.

When you're young, your neurons build new connections easily. After eighteen, it's not easy to build new circuits to turn on in new ways. It takes a lot of repetition. So pick a new happy habit and start repeating it. Over time, your new happy habits will feel as natural as your old ones, and you won't have the unfortunate side effects.