Book Review: Calm, Alert and Learning

March 18, 2013 Deborah Dykstra

The Canadian Self-Regulation Initiative is a project based on the research of Dr. Stuart Shanker of York University. Its goal is to coordinate and share the best self-regulation programs and practices from across Canada. This project is the second part of a project that began with a study on the effectiveness of a DIR/Floortime approach to early intervention for children with autism.

Dr. Shanker wrote the book Calm, Alert and Learning for educators about helping children with self-regulation.

Declining Ability to Self-Regulate

Calm, Alert and Learning is based on the observation that traditional or behaviouristic approaches to discipline are ineffective with many children. The author proposes that this is because there has been an increase in students who have not yet learned to regulate their emotions and attention.

Self-regulation is the basis for learning and connecting with other people, and includes “paying attention, ignoring distractors, inhibiting his impulses, modulating his emotions, and overall, maintaining a state of being calmly focused and alert” (Shanker, 2013). Various factors such as family stress or neurological disorders can interfere with this ability.

The 5 Domains of Self-Regulation

According to Dr. Shanker, self-regulation develops in five areas. The areas are interconnected, so a difficulty in one area may increase problems in the others. The five domains of self-regulation are:

Biological

The biological domain refers to the student’s ability to match their energy level with their current activities – not hyperactive or sleepy.

Dr. Shanker also discusses how stress affects the body and mind.

Different children respond to sensory input in different ways. A classroom might be too noisy, cluttered, or bright, distracting students from their learning activities.

Children also have a need for regular physical activity.

Dr. Shanker suggests several ways to adjust a classroom to accommodate these needs which vary from student to student.

Emotional

The emotional domain refers to a child’s ability to recognize and describe emotions, and appropriately expressing and responding to their feelings.

It is important for children to feel valued in their communities, recognize that everyone has strengths and weaknesses and believe that they and each of their classmates have something of value to contribute.

Recommended strategies include emotional literacy programs and a recognition of multiple learning styles.

Cognitive

The cognitive domain of self-regulation refers to activities such as sequencing thoughts, focusing attention, and recognizing one’s own learning process. Metacognition (thinking about thinking) is also a part of cognitive regulation.

Dr. Shanker also includes the importance of play-based learning in this section, noting that foundational thinking skills (such as imagination, problem-solving, observation, sequencing) are learned in play.

Social

The social domain refers to observing and understanding non-verbal and verbal communication. It involves the ability to co-regulate, or adjust interactions in response to a partner.

Dr. Shanker recommends using collaborative learning and social/emotional learning programs as a resource.

Pro-Social

The pro-social domain is an extension of the social domain, when students act with empathy and concern for others. We often think of this as character development.

Improving Self-Regulation

Calm, Alert and Learning encourages teachers to recognize and address the root causes of learning difficulties. They can do this by helping children understand their own needs, using strategies to meet those needs and supporting the growth of self-management and communication skills. By doing this, we can take children from needing a high level of adult support to knowing how to regulate themselves.

In the biological domain, this can be done by reducing distractions and providing activity breaks.

In the emotional domain, this can be done by teaching students to recognize and appropriately release their emotions.

In the cognitive domain, this can be done by helping students find ways to organize their thoughts.

In the social and prosocial domains, this can be done by teaching collaborative skills and empathy.

These domains are not isolated. To work on one area, we must work on them all throughout the school day. Teachers should adapt strategies to fit their student and classroom.

Classroom management is a proactive endeavor – by recognizing the obstacles to self-regulation and teaching students how to regulate themselves, many problems will be avoided and students will be better able to focus on their learning tasks.

Finding Complimentary Resources

Although Dr. Shanker includes several case studies with teachers looking for support with challenging classes, the solutions described indicate a gradual change of classroom environment and teaching styles. There are no quick fixes or suggestions for dealing with behavior when it happens.

Teachers will need to find resources to practically apply the principles in the book. Many resources are listed but, as the author notes, the information in the book is meant to be a starting point for educators.

Conclusion

Although we may tell a child to control themselves in hope that they will make better choices or create classroom reward systems to encourage appropriate behaviour, neither are effective, especially in the long term. When children aren’t able to understand why they behave as they do, they learn to stop communicating anything that we might not want to hear.

One of the best reminders for teachers is to “never assume.” Children have many barriers to learning. When they enter our classroom, we don’t know what they have learned and experienced, what their emotional or social difficulties are, or what skills they have yet to learn. It is best to approach them with curiosity, observe carefully, and be ready to teach what they have yet to learn rather than expecting behaviour or skills they have not yet learned.

Calm, Alert and Learning is a useful book for educators wanting to consider the developmental needs of their students. It is a beginning point for a deeper understanding of what children need to achieve full maturity as learners, as friends, and as participants in their families and communities.